Esmeranda Manful

Esmeranda Manful, a Professor of Social Work, is a dedicated academic whose career spans research, teaching, and policy engagement. She brings extensive experience in macro-level social policy practice to her work, enriching her contributions to education, community development, and institutional service.Her research primarily focuses on child and family welfare, with additional interests in gender and social protection. Driven by a commitment to expanding the limited literature on these topics in Ghana, she employs qualitative methodologies to explore challenges facing at-risk children and vulnerable populations. Her work offers practical insights for improving social work practice and informing effective policy and program implementation.Prof. Esmeranda Manful’s research has been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals, including Child & Family Social Work, Journal of Child & Family Studies, Family Relations, Children & Youth Services Review, Research on Social Work Practice, and Children & Societies.She currently serves as Head of the Department of Sociology and Social Work (since November 2022) and previously held the position of Vice-Dean at the International Programmes Office (January 2022 – October 2025). Her service to the university includes work on quality assurance and fostering a supportive academic environment for students.Prior to joining KNUST in 2012, Prof. Esmeranda Manful held roles at the Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University (UK), the Northern Ireland National Assembly, and the former Ghana National Commission on Children. She is an alumna of the University of Ghana and Queen’s University, Belfast.Prof. Esmeranda Manful has been involved in several research activities including: