Rate My Professor Anne O'Donnell-Ostini

Anne O'Donnell-Ostini is a fixed-term lecturer in the Department of Early Childhood Education within the School of Education at the University of New England in Australia. She serves as the University of New England's Inclusive Education Advisor on Nauru, where she leads initiatives grounded in a rights-based, social model of disability to foster inclusive classrooms in the Pacific region. Prior to this role, she lectured in inclusive education at the UNE School of Education, covering topics such as inclusive mathematics classrooms, young children with exceptionalities, and social justice in education. An experienced early childhood teacher, O'Donnell-Ostini holds qualifications in both early childhood education and special education from the University of New England. She is currently pursuing a Research Masters at UNE, supervised by Dr. Michelle Bannister-Tyrrell, Dr. Brenda Wolodko, and Professor Jeff Bailey. Her master's research focuses on 'Toward the identification of preschool children with twice exceptionality,' reflecting her long-held commitment to ensuring equitable opportunities and optimal participation rights for children of all abilities in early education.

O'Donnell-Ostini's research interests center on early childhood education, inclusive education practices, twice-exceptional children, gifted education, early intervention, transition to school, and mainstream inclusion. She has contributed to scholarly discourse through co-authored publications, including 'Initial Teacher Preparation for Teaching Students with Exceptionalities: Pre-service Teachers’ Knowledge and Perceived Competence' (2018, Australian Journal of Teacher Education), which surveyed undergraduate teacher education students and highlighted gaps in preparation for teaching students with exceptionalities. Another key contribution is her chapter 'Creating Inclusive Classrooms in the Pacific Region: Working Together in Solidarity' (2021) in the edited volume Instructional Collaboration in International Inclusive Education Contexts, detailing collaborative efforts between UNE and Nauruan educators. She has presented at multiple UNE Postgraduate Conferences (2016, 2017, 2018) on topics such as identifying twice-exceptional children in early years and professional development needs for teachers supporting gifted and talented students. Her work emphasizes solidarity, teacher collaboration, and addressing dichotomies in Pacific inclusive education models to achieve positive outcomes for diverse learners.