Finding the language for a research career
When Kathleen McCarthy attended her first university graduation in 1994, one detail stood out. Amid the sea of gowns and sashes, it was the distinctive bonnet worn by PhD graduates that caught her eye.
“I didn’t know what a PhD was,” she recalled.
“But I knew I wanted to wear one of those bonnets.”
More than three decades later, that ambition has led her to complete a Graduate Certificate in Research with CQUniversity and begin a PhD exploring how teacher education and accreditation systems can become more inclusive for Autistic educators.
For Kathleen, the journey to research has been anything but traditional. Growing up in Blacktown in a working-class family, she was the eldest of six children and the first person on both sides of her family to be born in Australia. She was also notably the first in her family to finish high school or attend university.
“I loved school for no other reason than it provided me the opportunity to learn, and I loved learning,” Kathleen said.
However, even with her innate love of learning, Kathleen’s childhood dreams of being a detective or rock star did not resemble where she is today.
“I never wanted to be a teacher. And I didn’t even know what a researcher was.”
Over the years, Kathleen built an extensive and varied career spanning finance, education, workplace training, instructional design, change management and project management. Yet despite her diverse experience and qualifications, including a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Social Science, Graduate Diploma of Arts and Master of Teaching, she found herself drawn towards a different path.
“There was a point in time around my 30s when I knew I wanted to be the person who thought about new things rather than doing old things,” she said.
That desire eventually sparked an interest in doctoral research.
“About 10 years ago, I was studying sociology, and I was becoming quite frustrated with learning about what was already known. I wasn't sure I always agreed with the information, either.”
“One of my lecturers asked me if I was planning to go on and do a PhD. I think I knew at that moment that this was the pathway that would bring everything together for me.”
However, pursuing a PhD proved more difficult than expected. For several years, Kathleen encountered barriers when trying to gain entry to doctoral study.
“The main issue seemed to be that I had not completed any research in any of my previous studies, and I couldn’t seem to get any clear direction as to how to rectify this.”
The breakthrough came when she discovered CQUniversity’s Graduate Certificate in Research (GCR).
“I chose CQU because it had a framework that provided access for non-traditional study pathways,” Kathleen said.
“The Graduate Certificate in Research filled the gap I had and met the eligibility criteria I needed for a PhD.”
The experience proved transformative.
“The GCR gave me the time to explore the structure that would underpin my research idea,” she said.
“I was able to spend time developing the research language I would need while also having the time to develop my own language for my research plans.”
A pivotal moment came shortly after Kathleen submitted her application, when she was contacted by CQUniversity academic Dr Nadia Mead.
“My application had landed on her desk, and she wanted to talk about my research plans,” Kathleen said.
“During our conversation, Nadia told me that my research idea wasn't just a PhD, it was a whole research career.”
“She was the first person to ever tell me that I could have a research career.”
Dr Nadia Mead, who now supervises Kathleen's research, said her project addresses an important gap in current understanding.
"Kathleen brings a unique combination of lived experience, professional expertise and intellectual curiosity to her research," Dr Mead said.
"Her work explores questions that have the potential to inform more inclusive approaches to teacher education, accreditation and professional practice."
"Researchers like Kathleen demonstrate the value of creating accessible pathways into research careers and the important contributions that diverse perspectives bring to academia."
Now undertaking her PhD, Kathleen is examining how Initial Teacher Education and professional accreditation systems are experienced by Autistic teachers and whether those systems can be made more accessible and inclusive.
“My research will explore what happened when I went through teacher training and accreditation as an Autistic teacher,” she explained.
“It looks at how we decide what a proficient teacher looks like - how they think, communicate and teach. It aims to make teacher education and accreditation more accessible and inclusive by exploring different ways of demonstrating professional proficiency.”
The research has been shaped by Kathleen's own lived experience.
She was diagnosed with ADHD during the COVID-19 pandemic at age 49, after her youngest daughter also received a diagnosis. Around 18 months later, she was diagnosed as Autistic.
“Knowing that I am AuDHD has its ups and downs,” Kathleen said.
“I see the world in a way that is not just unique, because we are all unique, but is somehow a different kind of different.”
Her research seeks to bring those perspectives into conversations that have traditionally been shaped without them.
“Autistic voices contribute knowledge about how meaning is assigned to behaviours, and how these meanings may be shaped by neuro-normative assumptions,” she said.
“Conversations about neuro-inclusivity frequently occur after the systems that inform professional standards, accreditation and employment have been constructed, which is why conversations about inclusion are usually about accommodations rather than design.”
Alongside the challenges of postgraduate study, Kathleen navigated a period of significant change and grief with the loss of her sister, Susan.
Reflecting on that experience, she said it reshaped her understanding of the purpose behind her work.
“The purpose of my research took on a new meaning. It became more than just new knowledge; it became about my legacy,” she said.
“I began to think a lot about what my legacy will be and what I will leave behind. I want to leave something behind, something better than what is here currently.”
With her research journey now well underway, Kathleen hopes to help organisations recognise and address the limitations of neuro-normative assumptions embedded in professional systems. She is also passionate about supporting the next generation of researchers.
“I want to support new neurodivergent researchers as they navigate the complexities of research and academia through teaching and mentoring,” she said.
Looking back, Kathleen says her graduation from the Graduate Certificate in Research meant much more than the qualification.
“I never had the language to describe a career in academia, and without the language I could never see what that career would look like,” she said.
Now, with her PhD journey underway, that bonnet is no longer a distant ambition but part of a future she can clearly see.
Discover your pathway to research like Kathleen with a Graduate Certificate in Research.
