Professor Emma Wainwright
Professor

Research area(s)

Through a geographical lens, my research focuses on social and educational inequalities. In particular, my work explores: 

• Higher education, student experience, widening access, poverty and precarity 
• Family, parenting and home-school engagement
• Further education, lifelong learning and training for work 
• Embodiment, body work and emotional labour
• Social housing and resident engagement

Research Interests

Current research interests include:

• HE participation, student success, commuter students, student poverty
• Early years, play and inclusion  
• Social housing, welfare provision, training and financial inclusion
• Embodied learning and professionalism
• Home-school engagement, parenting and care
• Engaging low-income families in research 

REF 21 Case Study based on resident engagement in education, training and welfare support REF21 Case Study - Education, Training and Welfare-to-Work

Project details

2025 Bhagat, A., De Benedictis, S., Tereschenko, A. and Wainwright, E. International students: precarious geographies of learning, work and welfare, BRIL award (£3,000) 

2024-2025, Wainwright, E. and Hoskins, K. City Family of Schools: parental engagement toolkit evaluation, City of London Corporation (PI: £10,000) 

2024-2025, Research Seminar Series: The role of educational institutions in alleviating food poverty: evidencing and theorising free food need and provision (with E McHugh) 

2023-2025, McHugh, E. and Wainwright, E. New spaces of free food provision: geographies of welfare, need and support among university students, British Academy/ Leverhulme, (Co-I: £10,000) 

2023-2024, Wainwright, E. and Hoskins, K. City Family of Schools: parents’ views on future educational priorities, City of London Corporation (PI: £10,000)

2023, Research Seminar Series: Experiencing and reimagining the university campus: critical, creative and equitable places of higher education, Human Geography research group, Brunel University London (with N Ansell and M Degen)

2023-2024, Hoskins, K., McHugh, E. and Wainwright, E.  Evaluation of the Unicorn Theatre’s Schools' Partnership Programme, Innovation Voucher, Brunel University London (Co-PIs: £5000) 

2023-2024, Hoskins, K., Wainwright, E., Mukerjee, U. and Xu, Y. (Nottingham) The potential of Froebelian philosophy to support and engage low-income families in the early years, The Froebel Trust (CoI: £43,243) 

2021, Hoskins, K., Wainwright, E., Xu, Y. (Nottinghlam), Gao, J. (UCL) and Zhao, J. (Zhejiang University) Engaging low-income families in education research: an interdisciplinary exploratory study, Institute of Communities and Societies, Brunel University London (CoI: £7,814)

2021, Household enactments of education during the Covid-19 pandemic among low-income families of primary-aged children (with Kate Hoskins)

2020, Canhato, A. Manika, D, Cohen, G. and Wainwright, E. The use of digital technology by residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea during the Covid-19 pandemic – Grenfell and beyond, Global Lives Research Fund, Brunel University London (CoI: £2,000)

2018-2019, Wainwright, E., Barker, J. (Middlesex University), Chappell, A.and McHugh, E. Childhood, parenting and the commodification of education: the growth and role of tuition centres in the UK, Research Development Fund, Brunel University London (PI: £4,984)

2017-2018, Wainwright, E., Hills, L. and Gilhooly, K. What works? Evaluation of the DOSH financial capability programme, The Money Advice Service/ A2Dominion (PI: £24,000)

2017, Wainwright, E. and McHugh, E. Financial capability and resident engagement: What works?  A desktop study, A2Dominion (PI: £1,000)

2016-2017, Chappell, A. and Wainwright, E. Successful students: exploring the factors that encourage and enable widening participation students to stay the course, Access and Student Success Fund, Brunel University London (CoI: £20,000)

2016-2017, Embodied learning, professionalism and identity in physiotherapy (with Meriel Norris)

2016-2017, Research Seminar Series: Creative Methods in Health and Wellbeing Research, Brunel University London (£2,493 with Wendy Martin, Monica Degen and Elizabeth Mackay)

2017, Wainwright, E. and Watts, M. Supporting 'first-in-family' students through university, funded by Learning and Teaching Innovation Fund, Brunel University (PI: £4,280)

2016-2017, Wainwright, E. Social Housing and New forms of Tenant Engagement: welfare, governance and active citizenship, British Academy/ Leverhulme (PI: £10,000)

2015-2017, Hills, L. and Wainwright, E. Evaluation of Street League and Street Step (training/ education programmes), Barclays (CoI: £25,000)

2014-2016, Wainwright, E. Investigating new landscapes of training for work: the extended role of housing associations, Athena SWAN award, Brunel University London (PI: £13,137)

2014-2015, Research Seminar Series: Contemporary family geographies: health, care and wellbeing, funded by Brunel University London research seminar series award, (£2,500 with John Barker)

2014 Research Seminar: Family Geographies, funded by the Royal Geographical Society, Geographies of Children, Youth and Families research group (£250 with John Barker)

2006-2009, Wainwright, E. The body-training choices, experiences and expectations of mothers in West London, ESRC First Grants Scheme (PI: £274,000)

2006-2007, Wainwright, E. Meanings of work, learning and motherhood in family learning, British Academy Small Research Grant (PI: £7,300)

2005-2006, Wainwright, E. An analysis of the learning needs and experiences of students with dependent children at Brunel University, Curriculum Innovation Fund, Brunel University (PI: £7,800)

2004-2005, Buckingham, S., Marandet, E., Smith, F. and Wainwright, E. Women’s progression through training: from socialisation to qualification, London West Learning and Skills Council (CoI: £52,000)

2004-2014, With team of academics at Brunel, Research Framework Agreement, Department for Work and Pensions

1998-2001, Wainwright, E. Full PhD funding, Owen Silver Scholarship, University of St Andrews