In recent years, the center has become the International Literacy Institute (ILI), co-established by UNESCO and the University of Pennsylvania.
He is the author numerous books[3] and articles on learning, literacy, cross-cultural research and methodologies, and is a frequent speaker at major national and international conferences across the world.
Following in his grandfather's and father's footsteps, Daniel Wagner completed his undergraduate degree in Engineering from Cornell University in 1968.
Later, he was a NIH postdoctoral fellow in human development at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education between 1979and 1981.
He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco for two years 1968–70 working as a civil engineer in rural areas of the Middle Atlas Mountains.
[8] As Director of the International Educational Development Program (IEDP) at the University of Pennsylvania, Wagner oversees an annual cohort of approximately 20–30 Masters and Doctoral students.
Since 2009, the IEDP has graduated more than 100 students, who work in a number of international organizations, such as: UNESCO, UNICEF, OECD, World Bank, Save the Children, and Aga Khan Foundation.
There are several instances in which Dan Wagner has shared racist and sexist beliefs about graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania.
This work focuses on understanding how learning takes place in children, youth and adults in a variety of settings.