Session 1 Monday 17th April

I’m nervous about this unit now I understand what’s required, but this this term will be really interesting & challenging. On a personal basis, I have never considered myself to be disabled. I always ticked ‘No’ on job applications, but it turns out diabetes, which I’ve had since the age of 4 is a long-term chronic condition which Ual considers to be a disability. When applying for my job as a 0.6 I ticked ‘Yes’ to a box with ‘Diabetes’ – an autoimmune condition put in the same category as having cancer or being HIV positive, I’m not sure how I feel about any of this but it does make me relook at my aspects of my life. The form also asked if I was pregnant – I found this surprising and intrusive, I didn’t think you were allowed by law to be asked questions like that. It’s also so interesting to think about visibility and invisibly in this, and about the decision to share/not share as an emancipator moment.

As a group we struggle, adjusting to the new learning experience of being online.  As a group in unit 1 we became very close, I loved meeting such an incredible group of educators and getting to observe several in their teaching practices at Chelsea School of Art and the London School of Fashion – I learnt a lot from these experiences.  The Session is challenging, discussing heavy ideas in context, I missed the joy of being in person, meeting colleagues and learning from them.

No one has understood or managed to do all the pre-tasks – it was too much work.  We discuss this and are advised to start with the ones that interest us, the more you are able to do, the more you will get out of it. This is social justice education, from multiple viewpoints, to learn to be more inclusive. The pre tasks are part of the learning to digest difficult & uncomfortable learning content without an audience.  We find it hard to converse online and read the chat – the session feels unfamiliar and initially we don’t enjoy this experience – it feels quite uncomfortable, but the session is packed full of information that I digest and take onboard.

We are told that no one is here to catch you out, learning is about making mistakes. We exist in a work culture where we are expected to know everything.  All sessions are dialogic spaces, engaging with the resources to benefit from the discussion. We are being given the gift of time – to process the information & discuss, this is where the learning happens, with the opportunity to share our perspective. Consider multiple ways of looking at things. ‘This is your day to better your practice’ – brilliant. We are told ‘Give yourself time to digest it, the content is heavy and sensitive – theory, behaviours, beliefs, be gentle with yourself.’ I appreciate this advice.

This unit is about transforming/changing an aspect of what we do in terms of diversity as Art & Design practitioners, we are asked to consider – What can you do to make a change in inclusive practices for your teaching context? How does critical pedagogies relate to UK HE and to your own practice? What are the central concepts of critical pedagogy?At its core to fulfill the values of the professional standards framework – identifies education as being inherently political and therefore, not neutral – seeks to empower students through enabling them to recognise the ways in which dominant power operates in numerous and often hidden ways. 

Shades of Noir

• How does this influence your current teaching practice?
• How does your participation on this unit affect every aspect of your personal & professional relationships?
• What is inclusive practice and what are the benefits?
• The challenge we are being tasked is to embed social justice pedagogy into an Art & Design school.
• Student led campaigns to decolonise – inform your teaching practice and the learning experience.

Critical Race Theory
A theoretical framework in the social sciences focused on the application of critical theory, a critical examination of society & culture, to the intersection of race, law and power. White supremacy and racial power are maintained as true, the law may play a part in this – investigate how the possibility of transferring the relationship between law & racial power.

Our need for change
Students and educators engage in dialogue and facilitate change through learning & teaching each other. How will I put that into my space? Switch the teacher/learner hat.

The pedagogy of ambiguity in Art & Design
Participating encounters through the whole journey of education. Teaching practice to apply and re-evaluate my teaching practice.

Cultured capital
Devalue certain ethnic, working class groups. Dominant groups.

Social Justice
Equal justice in all aspects of society People have equal rights & opportunities.

Paulo Freire 1970
Inclusive pedagogies – creating individual inclusive spaces – developing student centered strategies. Application of inclusive practice.
Raise awareness of intersectionality etc. It’s an ideal, small steps.

Task 1 – Positionality
We learn about Positionality – social, political, the context that creates your identity in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality and ability status. It describes how your identity influences and potentially biases your understanding of and outlook on the world. Shaping the scope of your study, defining your world view on your research topic.  As researchers we need to be conscious of our background, experiences, values & assumptions: how they will affect our research, being conscious of our own biases, making them explicit within our research papers through reflective/reflexive comments. This positionality is known as reflexivity/positionality statement.

I must consider my positionality – how my background shapes my view of my research. As a white woman from a middle-class family. I completed a 2-year BTEC, a 3 year undergraduate degree and 2 year post graduate course in the Netherlands. I was the first in my family to go to university. and received a grant to support my studies the last offered in the UK. I didn’t have to worry about how to pay for my studies – we were paid to learn which looking back is just incredible. In acknowledging who I am, my limitations and how they affect the research I conduct, I illuminate my biases by recognising, talking about them and try to eliminate them.

I have multiple hats as a teacher, maker, pg cert student and can see from multiple viewpoints – be aware. ‘Examine who I am in relation to the community that I live in and lead me to consider how I’m commenting on that through my personal practice’ says Joe during our session online. I must write my narrative and consider why my role is important. How can I use this to be more inclusive with my students? As academics we don’t often get the time to think and better our practice, we fortunate to have the opportunity to do so.

We learn that you can acknowledge your positionality within your paper as a statement wherever it fits – introduction, method section, discussion, throughout your paper. or at the end of your study as a conclusion, a personal vignette – before you begin your paper, talking about your positionality, as an introduction to you as a personal statement. We can be standing on the same planet but from very different viewpoints.

Task 2 – Critical Pedagogies. Racial & Social Justice
The educator must engage in critical thinking with the students in the quest for mutual humanisation. They must be partners = a cycle of teaching and learning. There is no such thing as a neutral education process. Banking concept of education – Freire 1970 experienced growing up. Teacher confuses the authority of knowledge. Freire says it’s not a neutral process, power. Practice being, articulating professionally in those difficult spaces with students and colleagues. Race, fragility, white. Equality act 2010 – protected characteristics of age, disability, race & gender.

Task 3 – Intersectionality
We’re asked to refer to the protected characteristics, we experience & are reminded that we can easily make judgements that are incorrect: identify presumptions or biases. I found this very uncomfortable. It made me examine my ocular bias, decision making based on limited visual information supplied by an image versus face-to-face with conscious or unconscious bias to make assumptions based on our positionality. The questions are impossible to answer. How we see people – we must make an effort to avoid relying on an ocular bias, we want to find out about people rather than presuming. Thinking about the protected characteristics – this exercise feels like a trick, some in the group are angry about it. As an educator how can I be more aware of those characteristics and provide an intersectional approach? Regardless of sharing what you think, you are still making those assumptions, we do that with students – be aware of the decisions you are making – delivery, content I engage with or not, why does it matter? Think about what is happening in your mind in terms of your position as an academic. All the images we were given to ‘read’ are those of senior academics including the Vice chancellor at UAL and the race & class activist Akala. ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover cover’ ‘everyone has biases and it’s important to be aware of them’ are some of the comments in the chat during this session. Try not to make assumptions outside the reflective context of working. UAL has made me much more aware of this practice, its part of how our brains work, is this need to know someone’s heritage linked to our own positionality? Ask students what is important for me to know about you in and outside of UAL that might impact how you experience and move through the year? What support do you need from me? Create a speculative framework. Speculating through this exercise enables us the freedom to share assumptions that still let all our different biases and preconceptions surface. Dismantle this – what makes it uncomfortable? – It makes you realise other people judge you. There is also the fear that we will be judged for the way we think or make assumptions. Making statements about others when we should be listening without assumption. ‘Disability is often hidden’ We are not aware of how much of this we do this. Interconnecting nature of social catergorisations of race, class and gender. How they apply to a given individual or group. Create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage – through the awareness of intersectionality, we can better acknowledge and ground the differences among us.

Task 4 – Case study A. Jaydin – A Mature Students Experience. Shades of Noir: Journals p191-193

• What do you take from the case study? How would you have dealt with it?
• Do you know if there is an institutional policy to refer to this scenario?
  Jayden had a lack of support from tutors, this was a failing of the university, despite the situation being escalated into every aspect of student’s life. We must support students directly, Jayden started to feel so uncomfortable that they stopped coming to class. There should have been one-to-one support much earlier on. Set ground rules – how do students take responsibility, not put pressure on other students? This student had a terrible experience and was then penalised for it. They used her for her skills of organisation, ability to meet deadlines and understanding of what was required on the course. The student interaction felt like bullying, as a tutor to talk to the tutee, decide to intervene, make sure the student feels supported. The tutor and course leader need to get involved. Read guidelines. We are advised to tell someone if there is repeated bullying and harassment, this can be done anonymously by staff and students – report racist, misogynistic homophobic behaviour. Always push it up to the next level, speak to your line manager, there is a process for grievances but it’s very stressful. A university must believe in inclusive pedagogy but must do something when problems occur. Shades of Noir – integrated in the curriculum but it’s no longer part of Ual. Created and directed by Aisha Richards but she’s since left, it is now its own company. We must make some room and do the work. Using the case studies, we can look at the approach that was taken and use it to see how we would respond to difficult situations. In this case study some students were not integrated, I see it a lot with our Chinese students and consider what I can do to improve this.

Mixed reactions, this reminds me of the experience I have wearing a closed loop insulin pump for the last year. It alarms when my sugar levels go out of range, it’s very loud, everyone asks if it is a fire alarm? I’ve had people copy the noise in shops, not realising what it indicates. I feel self-conscious but more annoyed now than embarrassed. I own my disability and make sure people can see it – I want them to question me in the hope of raising awareness to always be kind and see the benefit of the doubt.

Case study B. It Started with the Teacher. Shades of Noir: Journals p158-160
Students claimed ‘there is no such thing as racism anymore’ the student was left to defend herself, with no staff support, she was undermined in her opinion. Poor facilitating of the session: set up/outline ground rules/house rules students should reflect & be respectful of other thoughts and opinions. The staff came across as well educated in the area but by allowing the student to educate the class, they invalidated and diminished that person’s views. The teacher could have challenged other students to question: why don’t they think? – provide evidence, unpack the more uncomfortable question of ‘why?’ Gain an understanding of other people’s opinions.

Case study C. Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones… Shades of Noir: Journals p105
Appropriate action was taken. It took a while to get there. The students knew how to get help, staff member was ignorant. Cams – academic misconduct.

Task 5 – Ual data
Explore the links – Data dashboard. Make observations that you feel are significant. Consider how they impact your professional practice. Ask WHY it does and WHY it doesn’t? Develop an understanding of key concepts, theories, the law which shapes this unit and the stories/her stories/his stories attached. Give yourself the time & space to make this a meaningful experience.

References

Shades of Noir. Inclusive Practice: Alchemy – Transformation in Social Justice Teaching. Available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/journals/inclusive-practice/

Crenshaw, K. (July 1991) Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review. pp. 1241-1299 Available at: https://is.muni.cz/el/fss/jaro2016/SPR470/um/62039368/Crenshaw_1991.pdf

Goodwin, P. The Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN). Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/research/research-centres/train

Ual Decolonising Arts Institutes. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/ual-decolonising-arts-institute

Ual: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2021/22. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/?a=389423

(Accessed all 2023.)