Sarah currently leads Foundation Year teaching on core Education, Scholarship and Society modules at Newman University Birmingham. Through a new materialist and critical pedagogic lens, Sarah’s principle research interests explore notions of institutional transformation to enable student progression and success. This primarily involves conducting participant action research projects that actively involves those affected by particular institutional activities or processes.
In 2009, Sarah established the HEAD suite of transition support programmes that were shortlisted for a 2016 Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Award. She co-wrote Newman’s Foundation Year in 2017, with specific responsibility for the core Education, Scholarship and Society modules. These form the basis for ongoing discussion between staff and students regarding the notion of students’ ‘possible selves’ that are drawn from and relate to their past and future representations of ‘self’ to prompt reflection on their own ‘becoming’ within the context of the University. Through sharing common educational experiences in this way, a sense of belonging between students can be fostered; staff can better get to know their students and all can recognise that learning may be associated with bad experiences or feelings. This approach has translated into module completion rates that are 20% above the University average.
Sarah has led several change programmes including Newman’s involvement in the former HEA (now Advance HE), Paul Hamlyn and Action on Access “What Works? Phase 2” programme between 2012-2016. This facilitated construction of a ‘transitions pedagogy’ within programme design through discrete modules at level 4 and level 5 across the validation framework. Additionally, Sarah led the 2019 CATE award-winning HEFCE Catalyst project ‘Collaborative development of pedagogic innovation’ (2016-2018) that established data-informed peer mentoring as an effective mechanism for supporting student success.
Sarah contributes to the professional development of colleagues through informally mentoring professional staff completing the Association of University Administrators Post Graduate Certificate in HE, as well as formally mentoring and assessing staff traversing the Continuing Professional Development framework to Advance HE Fellowship. She contributes to teaching on the Post Graduate Certificate of HE for colleagues new to teaching in HE, and annually leads student-staff partnerships across a range of areas.