Research Interests
Higher Education Teacher and student wellbeing Teaching and curriculum Student EngagementMiss Isabella Sauchelli
Higher Degree by Research Candidate
School of Psychology
College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences
My research interests include enhancing student wellbeing and success outcomes, particularly within the context of transitioning into and through Higher Education.
I am currently undertaking my PhD project, through which I aim to understand student and staff experiences and feedback on first-year university transition initiatives. Drawing upon transition pedagogy (Kift et al., 2010), my research started in 2024 at the University of South Australia by identifying support available to first-year students in an environmental scan. Through surveys and individual interviews, I then explored the experiences, expectations and belonging of the 2025 cohort of first-year Justice & Society students (i.e., Arts, Human Services, Law, Psychology and Social Work). Initial insights from this project highlight the differing ways in which stakeholders may improve first-year university transition initiatives, setting students up for success in their new Higher Education learning environment.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 - 2025 | Tutor | University of South Australia |
| 2021 - 2025 | Research Assistant | University of South Australia |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 - 2021 | University of South Australia | Australia | Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) |
Courses I teach
- BEHL 1029 UO Personal and Professional Development (2025)
- BEHL 2020 UO Social and Community Psychology (2025)
- BEHL 3011 Developmental Psychology (2025)
- BEHL 1029 UO Personal and Professional Development (2024)
- BEHL 1033 Personal and Professional Development (2024)
- BEHL 2006 Social and Community Psychology (2024)
- BEHL 2016 UO Developmental Psychology (2024)
- BEHL 2020 UO Social and Community Psychology (2024)
- BEHL 3011 Developmental Psychology (2024)
- BEHL 3027 Psychology Placement (2024)
| Date | Role | Committee | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | Co-Founder | Graduate Research Interdisciplinary Network (GRiN) | University of South Australia | Australia |