Nicky Dulfer

Nicky Dulfer is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, serving as Senior Lecturer in Education Policy and Academic Coordinator for the Master of International Education (International Baccalaureate Diploma Program). Originally trained as a teacher librarian at the Melbourne Institute of Education, she discovered her passion for teaching and worked as a secondary school teacher of English, History, and Library in hard-to-staff schools in England and Australia. There, she supported students from refugee backgrounds, those with disabilities, and individuals facing various wellbeing challenges, which highlighted stark disparities in educational access. Returning to Melbourne over fifteen years ago, she pursued a master's degree and began her academic career as a research assistant investigating inequalities in education. She later completed her PhD and progressed through roles at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, contributing to research on educational equity and inclusion.

Dulfer's research agenda is driven by a social justice imperative, aiming to transform how marginalised students experience education by exploring curriculums, institutions, and the interplay between those who work and study within them. Her work emphasizes supporting teachers through collaborative action research to address diverse learning, social, and emotional needs, differentiated instruction, and digital inclusion initiatives. She has been involved in cross-disciplinary projects, including the Understanding Digital Inequality study in Carlton Housing Estate, funded by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and ACCAN, and leads the Social Infrastructure for Digital Skills Development project. Key publications include 'Building belonging in online classrooms: relationships at the core' (2024, with Annie Gowing and Julie Mitchell), 'Differentiated instruction: an investigation into the effect of class compositional factors on teaching processes' (2025, with Tim Saito and Amy McKernan), 'Moving from Feedback to Feedforward in IBDP classrooms' (2021), 'Using collaborative action research to enhance differentiated instruction' (2021, with Jeana Kriewaldt), and industry reports such as 'Fuelling Great Teaching Through Collaborative Mentoring' (with Jeana Kriewaldt and Edith Nicolas) and the International Baccalaureate report 'Different countries, different approaches to teaching and learning?'. She coordinates an online international course fostering a global community aligned with the IB's holistic approach to student development.

Professional Email: dulfern@unimelb.edu.au