Her brother was born with intellectual disabilities, and was institutionalised, sparking Kearney's interest in how and why students are marginalised and excluded from education.
[1][2] Kearney completed a Master of Education in special education with a thesis on the practice of using computers to increase educational inclusion, and a PhD titled Barriers to school inclusion: an investigation into the exclusion of disabled students from and within New Zealand schools, both at Massey University.
[3][4] Kearney then joined the faculty of Massey, rising to full professor in 2023.
Previously she was the Head of the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy in the College of Education.
[5] Kearney is an editor of Kairaranga, an interprofessional journal about equity in education.