Professor Susana Castro-Kemp

• PhD Psychology
• MSc Psychology

With a background in Psychology, Susana has been the 125th Anniversary Chair and Professor of Inclusion at the School of Education at the University of Birmingham since April 2026. Before joining the University of Birmingham, she served as Director of the UCL Centre for Inclusive Education at UCL’s Institute of Education, where she was based for four years. In that role, she authored and led the implementation of a new strategy and operating model for the centre, focusing on impactful research and strengthening the centre’s international reputation.

Prior to this, she spent eight years at the University of Roehampton in London, where she worked as a Senior Lecturer and was later promoted to Reader.

Before her work in England, Susana gained research experience in several other countries, including Portugal, Sweden, and the United States. She completed a fully funded PhD in 2012, jointly awarded by the University of Porto (Portugal) and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill (USA). During this time, she developed a strong international network of partnerships that has continued to grow and thrive over the years.

Inclusion in education, special educational needs and disabilities, inclusion policy, disability and health classifications, socio-emotional and mental health in education, early childhood intervention, professional development in education.

Candidates must have a clear proposal to be discussed.

Susana's research focuses on inclusive education systems, across policy, lived experience, professional practice, professional development, multi-agency work and early intervention. She specialises in classifications of disability and health in the context of education and in that capacity, she has advised national and international organisations and governments. She uses a range of methodologies in her research, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, mixed methods and evidence syntheses.

She has a track record of publications and funded projects in these areas, including large international multi-country grants, totalling approximately £2.5 million. Her research has received funding from the UK Government’s Department for Education, the Nuffield Foundation, The British Academy, the European Commission, and the Economic and Social Research Council, among others.