Rate My Professor Sally Patfield

Dr Sally Patfield is a Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow in the Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, School of Education, University of Newcastle, Australia. Originating from a rural background in Scone, NSW, as the first in her family to attend university, she brings over 15 years of educational experience, spanning primary teaching in NSW public schools, arts education at local government, community cultural development, and academic roles including course coordination for EDUC6000 Understanding Aspirations for Greater Equity and tutoring in research design, numeracy, and schooling subjects. Her degrees comprise a PhD in Education (University of Newcastle, 2018), Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (University of Newcastle), Graduate Diploma of Museum Studies (Deakin), and Master of Cultural Heritage (Deakin). Her PhD thesis on prospective first-in-family students' aspirations received the Ray Debus Award for Doctoral Research in Education (AARE, 2019), University of Newcastle School of Education Higher Degree by Research Excellence Award (2018), and Australian Council of Deans of Education Poster Award (2016).

Patfield's academic interests center on the sociology of education, equity and social justice, quality teaching, teacher professional development, and higher education, with 50% focus on sociology of education, 25% on higher education, and 25% on teacher education. Her research analyzes structural inequalities shaping disadvantaged students' schooling experiences, transitions, and university participation, advocating for targeted supports for first-in-family students—a category she helped establish in Australian policy. She co-leads the national First-in-Family Network with Professor Sarah O’Shea. Key publications include "Community Matters" (book, 2023, Gore et al.); "The untold story of middle-class Indigenous Australian school students who aspire to university" (chapter, 2024); "Disrupting the Discourse of Under-representation: The Place of Rural Students in Australian Higher Education Equity Policy" (chapter, 2022); "How early entry schemes can help to widen access to higher education" (Higher Education Research & Development, 2026); "Problematising the ‘job-ready graduate’ ideal in Australian higher education" (Australian Educational Researcher, 2025); and “We’ve got a bit of a family mantra that you don’t give up”: A cross-national study of first-in-family students’ persistence" (Higher Education, 2026). Patfield's contributions extend to collaborative projects on teacher retention and quality teaching frameworks at the University of Newcastle.