Dr Emma Croft

Assistant Professor

Department: Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Dr Emma Croft is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work, Community Wellbeing and Education. Her research is grounded in critical disability studies and explores the social, cultural, and political dimensions of disability. While she has a particular interest in visual impairment, her work engages with disability more broadly, seeking to challenge exclusionary practices and promote equity and inclusion across different contexts.

Emma is committed to participatory and inclusive methodologies that foreground the voices and experiences of disabled people, and she works to highlight the everyday realities shaped by ableism, policy, and social attitudes. Her research examines how systems of support, education, and care can be made more inclusive.

In addition to her work on disability, Emma has conducted research into student transitions from higher education, exploring the challenges and opportunities students face as they move beyond university. This includes a focus on how institutional structures, social support, and identity shape post-university pathways for diverse student populations.

Her research contributes to debates across disability studies, education, and social policy, with a particular interest in fostering inclusive practices and reimagining support systems through a social justice lens.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Disabled People's employment in the UK: A thematic review of the literature, Croft, E., Olsen, J., Blackmore, T. 17 Jul 2025
Exploring UK residents’ views on substantive education reform: adversarially co-produced narratives indicate fluidity in support: adversarially co-produced narratives indicate fluidity in support, Hudson, K., Mulholland, K., Croft, E., Benton, P., Stark, G., Littlefair, D., Atkinson, J., Johnson, S., Reed, H., Johnson, E., Johnson, M. 17 Sep 2025, In: Political Research Exchange
Food bank practices, local development and the potential of community wealth building and universal basic services in the UK, Lee, R., Graham, P., Croft, E., Hackett, K. 2023, In: Local Economy
“Everyone Thought My Library Assistant was My Mum”. Visually Impaired and Blind Students’ Experiences of Interactions with Support and Other Staff in Higher Education, Croft, E. 1 Dec 2022, In: Journal of Disability Studies in Education
Experiences of Visually Impaired and Blind Students in UK Higher Education: An Exploration of Access and Participation, Croft, E. 23 Dec 2020, In: Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research