Rate My Professor Sarah Powell

Sarah Powell serves as Senior Lecturer in Creative Arts (Music/Movement) at the Macquarie School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University. She is affiliated with the Lifespan Health and Wellbeing Research Centre and the Early Childhood Education Research Centre. Powell earned her PhD in Music Education from Western Sydney University in 2015, with a thesis on perceptions of success influencing male participation in choir. She also holds a Master of Teaching Honours (2009), Master of Education (2008) from Western Sydney University, and a Bachelor of Music (Music Education) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney (1999). With more than 15 years of teaching experience in preschool, primary, secondary, and tertiary education, she previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher and casual academic at Western Sydney University before joining Macquarie in 2018.

Her academic interests center on music and creative arts education in early childhood and school settings, the role of music in literacy and embodied learning, teacher professional development in arts pedagogy, and online teaching practices in creative arts. Key research projects include 'Singing with Young Children,' which built teacher confidence in singing with preschoolers; 'Creative Arts learning online: Preservice teacher experiences during COVID-19'; and collaborations such as 'Naming the World' on literacy and sustainability. Selected publications comprise 'Drumming in excess and chaos: Music, literacy and sustainability in early years learning' (Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 2020), 'Thinking posthuman with mud: And children of the Anthropocene' (Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2019), 'Singing with young children: Empowering early childhood teachers to sing Orff-style' (Musicworks, 2019), 'Engaging young string players in metacognition' (International Journal of Music Education, 2018), and 'Preschool zombies: Embodied, socio-(re)enacted, productive spatial literacies' (Discourse, 2022). Powell has been recognized with Fellowship of the UK Higher Education Academy, a New Staff Grant, Faculty Emerging Scholars Scheme, Faculty ECR Research Fellowship, Professional Teachers Council Outstanding Professional Service Award (2018), and a shared Organisation for Early Childhood Education New Scholar Award (2024). She contributes as Editor of the Bulletin and Committee Member for the NSW Orff Schulwerk Association, and has presented her research locally, nationally, and internationally.