Rate My Professor Sarah Kennedy

Sarah Kennedy is an Honorary Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle, associated with the Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition within the College of Human and Social Futures. She graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2012 with a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science, where her final-year work experience at the Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition ignited her interest in education. From 2013 to 2014, she worked at the centre while completing a Master of Teaching (Primary) at the University of Newcastle and a Master of Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning) at Edith Cowan University. In 2016, Kennedy commenced her PhD at the University of Newcastle on the ‘Resistance Training for Teens’ project, a health-related fitness program for secondary school students across New South Wales aimed at equipping adolescents with the knowledge, skills, and motivation for lifelong physical activity. She previously served as a Lecturer in Health and Physical Education at the University of Newcastle, coordinating and teaching courses across early childhood, primary, and secondary levels.

Kennedy's research centers on innovating evidence-based programs to enhance physical activity levels among children and youth, with a focus on resistance training integration, school-based health promotion, and implementation science for large-scale rollout. Her contributions include key projects such as Burn 2 Learn, ActTeens Program, Muscle Movers, iPLAY intervention, and the ‘Learning to Lead’ cluster randomized controlled trial, as well as redeveloping resources for the Resistance Training for Teens program dissemination in partnership with the New South Wales Department of Education—the first such school-based strength training initiative at statewide scale. She has produced over 54 journal articles and a book chapter, including ‘Implementation and scale-up of school-based physical activity interventions’ (2020), ‘Development of a Resistance Training Curriculum for School-Based Implementation: Adaptation of the Athletic Motor Skill Competencies Curriculum’ (2025), ‘Feasibility of ‘Muscle Movers’: a teacher-delivered program to support children’s participation in muscle-strengthening physical activity’ (2026), and ‘The impact of sports participation on psychological health and social outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review’ (2026). Her work in physical education and development curriculum and pedagogy significantly influences youth health promotion strategies.