Career development learning for neurodivergent tertiary education students - A case study of best career development practice for students with disability

Sep 1, 2026

Career Development Learning for neurodivergent tertiary education students documents a case study of best-practice career development learning for students with disability. The project critically examines existing good practice in CDL, then develops, pilots, and showcases additional examples of programs and resources. Conducted by the Curtin University project team, the work details program aims, delivery and research methods, then synthesizes findings, assessment of delivery, workshops, resources, and recommendations for practice. It includes an expert-committee review and references to the funded National Career Development Learning Hub.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatDOCX

Pages16

Reading Time6 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Context

Program aims

Program delivery

Research methods

Findings

Assessment of program delivery

Hearing everyone’s stories, perspectives and experiences

Evaluation of own strengths through the lens of neurodiversity

Discussion on needs and adjustments

Interactive book with resources

Introduction to Studium as an alternative to résumés

Opportunities and implications

Workshop 1 with Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program students

Workshop 2 with wider neurodivergent student community

Workshop observations

Recommendations for practice

Further workshops

Physical resources

Resources

Conclusion

References

Career development learning for neurodivergent tertiary education students A case study of best practice career development learning for students with disability Project team: Associate Professor Jane Coffey Ms Emma Lovegrove Professor Dawn Bennett Associate Professor Tim Pitman January 2023 Acknowledgements This document was produced as part of a project funded by a National Careers Institute (NCI) Partnership Grant (NCIPI000759): O’Shea, S., Austin, K., Pitman, T., Groves, O., Bennett, D., Coffey, J., Dollinger, M., Kilpatrick, S., Drane, C., Eckstein, D., & O’Donnell, N. (2021-2023) National Career Development Learning Hub for students with disability. National Careers Institute Partnership Grants, Department of Education, Skills and Employment. This project aimed to critically engage with existing good practice in CDL for students with disability and then develop, pilot and showcase further examples of best practice programs and resources to complement what already exists. This document has been written by the Curtin University project team led by Associate Professor Jane Coffey with the support of Ms Emma Lovegrove. We thank the broader project team for their contributions. The full team are: Professor Sarah O’Shea, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University Dr Kylie Austin, University of Wollongong Associate Professor Tim Pitman, Curtin University Dr Olivia Groves, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University Professor Dawn Bennett, Bond University Dr Jane Coffey, Curtin University Dr Mollie Dollinger, Deakin University Professor Sue Kilpatrick, University of Tasmania Dr Cathy Drane, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University David Eckstein, Swinburne University of Technology Nuala O’Donnell, University of Wollongong The project team was also supported by Dr Jodi Lamanna, Dr Janine Delahunty and Ms Trish Morton-Smith. We would like to thank the members of the Expert Committee for their ongoing commitment and advice regarding this project. The members are: Dr Matt Brett, Deakin University Professor Julia Coyle, University of Wollongong Claire Field, Claire Field and Associates Elicia Ford, National Disability Coordination Officer Program Anthony Gartner, La Trobe University Professor Sally Kift, James Cook University Dr Mary McMahon, University of Queensland Emeritus Professor Wendy Patton, Queensland University of Technology Erica Schurmann, Curtin University David Swayn, National Disability Coordination Officer Program Shelly Waters, Curtin University Professor Denise Wood, University of the Sunshine Coast Please use the following citation for this document: Coffey, J. and Lovegrove, E. (2023). Career Development Learning for Neurodivergent Tertiary Education Students: A case study of best career development practice for students with disability. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "https://www.adcet.edu.au/resources/cdl-hub" https://www.adcet.edu.au/resources/cdl-hub Contents TOC \o "1-4" \h \z \u HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086549" Career development learning for neurodivergent tertiary education students PAGEREF _Toc130086549 \h i HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086550" Acknowledgements PAGEREF _Toc130086550 \h ii HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086552" Introduction PAGEREF _Toc130086552 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086553" Context PAGEREF _Toc130086553 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086554" Program aims PAGEREF _Toc130086554 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086555" Program delivery PAGEREF _Toc130086555 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086556" Research methods PAGEREF _Toc130086556 \h 4 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086557" Findings PAGEREF _Toc130086557 \h 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086558" Assessment of program delivery PAGEREF _Toc130086558 \h 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086559" 1. Hearing everyone’s stories, perspectives and experiences PAGEREF _Toc130086559 \h 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc130086560" 2. Evaluation of ow

FAQs

What is the purpose of the project case study?

The project aims to critically engage with existing good practice in career development learning for students with disability and then develop, pilot, and showcase further examples of best-practice programs and resources.

How was career development learning delivered to neurodivergent tertiary students?

The document describes program delivery supported by the Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program, plus additional workshops and resources, including an interactive resource and an introduction to Studium as an alternative to résumés.

What outputs are reported from the program implementation?

The study reports findings, an assessment of program delivery, workshop observations, and recommendations for practice, along with further workshops and lists of physical resources and resources used.

Sep 1, 2026

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