Personal statement

Dr Katie Crouch is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at Bath Spa University whose research and teaching are driven by a commitment to inclusion, language development, and social justice. With a professional background spanning early years education, schools, healthcare settings, consultancy, and family support services, she brings extensive practical expertise to her academic work and is dedicated to supporting the development of reflective, research-informed practitioners.

Katie has completed a PhD at the University of the West of England, where her doctoral research explored children's phonics acquisition through the lens of sound symbolism. Her work investigated how children make connections between speech sounds and meaning, challenging traditional assumptions about phonics learning and contributing new insights into the cognitive and linguistic processes underpinning early literacy development. By drawing on theories of sound symbolism and language acquisition, her research offers innovative perspectives on how young children engage with phonics instruction and develop foundational reading skills. This work has contributed to wider discussions on literacy pedagogy, language development, and evidence-informed approaches to early childhood education.

Her academic qualifications also include a BA (Hons) in Early Childhood Studies and Linguistics, a PGCE, an MA in Education (Early Years), and the National Award for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinators (NASENCo). She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has presented her research at national and international conferences, sharing findings on language development, phonics education, inclusion, and children's meaning-making.

Katie has developed a strong profile in disability studies and participatory research. As a Research Fellow on projects including the Wellcome Trust-funded We Are The People programme, she has worked collaboratively with disabled people, families, community organisations, and fellow researchers to explore lived experiences, promote advocacy, and influence policy and practice. Her research on profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), disability activism, and inclusive participation demonstrates her commitment to ensuring that marginalised voices are represented within research and society.

Through her teaching, scholarship, and community-engaged research, Dr Crouch continues to make a significant contribution to the fields of language development, early childhood education, inclusion, and disability advocacy.

Academic qualifications

  • PhD, University of the West of England
  • MA Education (Early Years), University of the West of England
  • National Award for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinators (NASENDCo)
  • PGCE, University of the West of England
  • BA (Hons) Joint honours: Early Childhood Studies and Linguistics, University of the West of England.

Professional memberships

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • British Association for Applied Linguistics
  • Bristol Centre for Linguistics.

Other external roles

  • External Examiner for ECS International ECS Programme University of South Wales
  • External Examiner for Supporting Teaching and Learning Open University, Leeds City College and Keighley College
  • External Examiner for Health Play Specialism FdA at Leeds City College.

Areas of expertise

  • Promoting equality, equity and inclusion
  • Language, literacy and phonics
  • Cross-culture learning and pedagogical practises.

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce

Creating a resource that captures the social histories and lived experiences of the PMLD community: which stories should be collected and shared, and how?
article

Simmons, B, Churchill, B and Crouch, K (2024) 'Creating a resource that captures the social histories and lived experiences of the PMLD community: which stories should be collected and shared, and how?' PMLD Link, 36 (3). p. 42. ISSN 2042-5619

“There are no wrong answers.” Empowering children to be diverse thinkers, explorers, and experts of their own worlds
conference_item

Crouch, K (2024) “There are no wrong answers.” Empowering children to be diverse thinkers, explorers, and experts of their own worlds. In: EECERA Annual Conference, 3 - 6 September 2024, Brighton, UK.

“… [k] looks like a robot.” How can adults sustain children’s diverse approaches to cognitive processing when encountering new linguistic experiences?
conference_item

Crouch, K, Piasecki, A and Kirjavanien, M (2024) “… [k] looks like a robot.” How can adults sustain children’s diverse approaches to cognitive processing when encountering new linguistic experiences? In: EECERA Annual Conference, 3 - 6 September 2024, Brighton, UK.

Children’s awareness of sound-symbolism and the inclusivity of current phonics teaching within English schools
conference_item

Crouch, K (2024) Children’s awareness of sound-symbolism and the inclusivity of current phonics teaching within English schools. In: iMean7: Language and Inclusion, 19 - 21 June 2024, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.

Phonemes and phonics: an exploration with young children about their thought processes and meta-language when encountering new sound-symbolic experiences
conference_item

Crouch, K, Piasecki, A and Kirjavanien, M (2023) Phonemes and phonics: an exploration with young children about their thought processes and meta-language when encountering new sound-symbolic experiences. In: EECERA Annual Conference, 30 August - 2 September 2023, Lisbon, Portugal.

‘How do you know that?’ The impact of adult-child interactions when investigating children’s thought processes
conference_item

Crouch, K (2023) ‘How do you know that?’ The impact of adult-child interactions when investigating children’s thought processes. In: EECERA Annual Conference, 30 August - 2 September 2023, Lisbon, Portugal.

Children's interpretations of sound symbolism: an analysis of children’s psycholinguistic processing and the influence of multi-sensory stimuli
thesis

Crouch, K (2026) Children's interpretations of sound symbolism: an analysis of children’s psycholinguistic processing and the influence of multi-sensory stimuli. PhD thesis, University of the West of England.

Something’s got to change: listening to the stories from families and allies of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities
commissioned_report

Churchill, B, Crouch, K, Simmons, B, Brickley, K, Vernon, H, Holt, A and Read, S (2025) Something’s got to change: listening to the stories from families and allies of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. We Are The People: Bath Spa University, Bath.

We are everywhere
commissioned_report

Howard, A, Crouch, K and Read, S (2024) We are everywhere. Bath Spa University, Bath.

Activism and protest research report
commissioned_report

Crouch, K, Read, S and Howard, A (2024) Activism and protest research report. We Are The People and Wellcome Trust, Bath.