Biography
An experienced teacher, educational leader, lecturer and researcher, Sarah has worked across a range of educational sectors and contexts. She is committed to building teacher and school leader capacity through professional learning, collaboration, and evidence-informed practice. Her academic and research work at UNSW has focused on gifted education and twice-exceptionality (2E), with a particular interest in understanding the educational...view more
An experienced teacher, educational leader, lecturer and researcher, Sarah has worked across a range of educational sectors and contexts. She is committed to building teacher and school leader capacity through professional learning, collaboration, and evidence-informed practice. Her academic and research work at UNSW has focused on gifted education and twice-exceptionality (2E), with a particular interest in understanding the educational experiences of gifted students with ADHD and translating these findings into meaningful classroom practice. Sarah has held leadership roles in high potential and gifted education (HPGE), diverse learning, and curriculum. Across these roles, she has worked closely with teachers and school leaders to translate research into practical approaches to teaching, learning and differentiation that respond to the needs of diverse learners.
My Qualifications
Doctor of Education in Gifted Education - UNSW
Emphasis areas: Twice-exceptionality, social-emotional wellbeing, giftedness, autonomy-support.
Master of Education in Gifted Education - UNSW
(with Excellence)
Emphasis areas: Giftedness, bibliotherapy, curriculum differentiation for social-emotional learning.
My Research Activities
Research Projects
Inclusive Teaching Practices in Higher Education: Implementation and Impact of Universal Design for Learning (2026, with Cumming, T. M. and Hoenig, J.).
Twice-Exceptional university students: Perceptions of effective supports (2025 with Cumming, T., Townend, G., and Jolly, J.).
Looking back: Twice-exceptional adults’ perspectives on their educational experiences (2025-2026, with Townend, G., McGregor, M., Jung, J., Merrington, H., Robinson, A., & Clark, T.). DOI: 10.3390/edusci16081254.
Teacher efficacy and its predictors in relation to teaching creativity across subject disciplines (2023-2026 with Townend, G.).
What does differentiation currently ‘look like’ in the NSW public school classroom K-12 (2024 with Eacott, S., Lee, E., Jolly, J., Beswick, K., and MacGregor, M.).
Teacher attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence in education. (2023 with Lee, J.).
Research Publications
Fleming, S., Townend, G., Cumming, T. (2026). Bibliotherapy as a tool to meet the social and emotional needs of twice-exceptional students: A guide for teachers. Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education, 1-13. https://doi.10.1017/jsi.2026.10013
Fleming, S., Cumming, T., & Townend, G. (2026). Twice exceptional students’ lived experience of social emotional autonomy support. Roeper Review. (Publishing scheduled for July, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2026.2689888
Cumming, T. M., Jolly, J. L., Townend, G., & Fleming, S. (2026). Twice-Exceptional University Students: Perceptions of Effective Support. Education Sciences, 16(8), 1226. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16081226
Commissioned Reports
Eacott, S., Lee, H., Fleming, S., Jolly, J., Beswick, K., & MacGregor, M. (2024). Optimising Learning for Every Student: Insights and Directions Paper. Sydney: UNSW Gonski Institute for Education and School of Education
Location
Contact
ORCID as entered in ROS
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5703-4578