Sarah Fine

Sarah Fine is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Studies at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and a core faculty member of the UCSD-CSUSM Joint Doctoral Program in Education Leadership. Her work focuses on educational change, learning sciences, and social justice pedagogies, with a commitment to humanizing PK-12 schools. Dr. Fine holds a doctorate from Harvard University (2017) and has extensive experience as an educator, including founding director of the San Diego Teacher Residency and adjunct roles at UCSD and Harvard.

Her research explores intersections between restorative justice, deeper learning, and school transformation. She has authored influential works like In Search of Deeper Learning (2020), which won the 2021 Grawemeyer Award in Education. Her media contributions include op-eds for The New York Times, Education Week, and TEDx talks. Dr. Fine’s teaching spans educational leadership, qualitative research methods, and deeper learning frameworks at both master’s and doctoral levels.

Her career trajectory reflects a blend of practice and scholarship: beginning as a high school English teacher (2005), transitioning to teacher education leadership, and now advancing research-practice partnerships. She emphasizes qualitative methods that combine rigorous theory with accessible storytelling to engage broad audiences.