Emma joined the Department of Education Studies in 2017 having previously held Chairs at the Universities of Birmingham and Leicester. Before joining academia she worked for six years as a secondary school chemistry teacher and special educational needs co-ordinator in the South Wales valleys. Emma researches social justice issues in the field of education. She is particularly interested in the role that policy can play in reducing inequalities and closing gaps in participation and achievement at all levels of education. She has published widely in this field, most recently on the career trajectories of STEM graduates, and her research has been funded by the ESRC, Nuffield Foundation and the European Union. She is also interested in research methodology, especially the use of large-scale secondary datasets to address questions about educational equity, and is a co-editor of the BERA SAGE Handbook of Educational Research

She teaches the module 'Education and Social Justice' on the BA Education Studies programme. The module is based around her book 'Key Issues in Education and Social Justice'

Emma is keen to supervise doctoral students who are interested in researching education policy and inequality in the national and international context.