M Needham PG Cert Blog

Undertaking this action research project has taught me that the difficulties of embedding social, racial and climate justice within teaching methods and curriculum have much to do with the problems many staff members face within the Educational Institution. There are many factors included within this theme, such as systemic hierarchy, student numbers, and lack of staff support; however, I now have a more concise understanding of how I could address my question if I were to continue with this research. I enjoyed conducting interviews with staff members as the experience has allowed me to understand where they place themselves within the conversation – I would say it has built stronger connections with them.

The project has also enabled me to gauge an understanding of the student perspective (at a small scale) and how they feel that these areas of sustainability are embedded and taught within their courses, with some feeling that these themes are included in the curriculum but not in their design tutorials. The student feedback from the session has allowed me to understand that my teaching approach, lesson plan, and attempts to foster a culturally relevant teaching environment are successful, with students requesting more. The student sessions are inspirational for me also. Moving forward, I will continue to develop these workshops for the MA students and propose to conduct similar sessions with other pathways and courses I teach in the hope they will benefit from this way of thinking.

The pedagogical theory I have referenced in this unit includes revisiting references that have proved significant to me throughout the Pg Cert, such as Paolo Freire’s views on radicalising and diversifying pedagogy within the curriculum (Freire, P., 1971). I have also gained knowledge about new theories, such as Aronson and Laughter’s theory and practice of culturally relevant education, which enabled me to analyse what I am already doing and how I can ensure that the open dialogue of my teaching approach continues to develop moving forward. (Aronson B., Laughter J., 2016)

Back in February 2023, Lindsay Jordan led a session where we were asked to analyse and make adjustments to the UAL Climate, Racial and Social Justice principles (UAL, 2023), see post here. Since then, these principles have been a reference point for my role at Central Saint Martins and more recently, I have been asked to provide my professional feedback on improvements for the new revision, scheduled to be published this year.

Challenges

• Time Management: Managing time productively between gathering data and analysis was difficult and not evenly distributed.

• Data Collection/Method: Data gathered from interviews should have been smaller and could’ve provided a more concise evaluation of my first research cycle. Thematic Analysis seemed to work well however very time consuming to analyse everything.

• Project Changes: My project title has had many variations and may have been more successful if it were more specific/niche.

• Educational Institution: Lack of support from my line manager and department meant that I was working an additional day per week without remission.

• Anxiety/Personal Life: This unit in particular has been greatly affected by diffuclties at home and with family. I’ve struggled with annxiety more often because of this which may have affected my output.

Plan of Action

• Conduct a revised research cycle with close reference to the UAL Climate Action Plan (UAL, 2023) and Climate, Racial and Social Justice Policy (UAL, 2023) when conducting the interview schedule in future.

• Be more concise in my approach by asking whether the resources available, such as the Climate Action Plan, are communicated well to staff members within the department.

• Design practical steps that can be taken to make for a more supportive teaching environment and approach to social, racial, and climate justice.

• Interview fewer individuals over an extended period of time.

• Interview staff members from different pathways and colleges to cross reference with the data I have.

• Work with students to design ways of embedding Climate, Racial and Social Justice in their design tutorials.

• Manage time more efficiently: take on less data, allow more time spent on analysis.

References

Aronson B., Laughter J. (2016). The theory and practice of culturally relevant education. Review of Educational Research, 86, 163–206. Crossref ISI. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Opressed. London: Continuum.

UAL (2023). Climate, Racial, and Social Justice Principles. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/374149/principles-for-climate-racial-and-social-justice.pdf (Accessed: 26 Jan 2024)

• Ethics form – DONE
• Participation Form – DONE
• Information Sheet – DONE
• Draft activity plan/brief – DONE
• Conduct Interviews – DONE
• Capture Outputs – DONE
• Context – DONE
• Positionality – DONE
• Rationale – DONE
• Research Methods – DONE
• Get Tutor Feedback – DONE
• Collate Student Feedback Data – DONE
• Plan next steps – DONE
• Reflections/Challenges – DONE
• Presentation slides – DONE
• Practice Presentation – DONE

When looking for theory to contribute to my Action Research Project, I came across the theory of Culturally Relevant Education or (CRE) by Brittany Aronson and Judson Laughter. I resonated with their 4-step method as much of which feels relatable to how I also approach my teaching practice. Throughout the course of the Pg Cert, I have made reference to how my positionality and my role feel conflicted – being the only individual employed to advocate on sustainability yet attempting to avoid imposing my western bias. Because of this, I often aim to facilitate an environment for students to develop critical perspectives that challenge societal inequalities and their own cultural influences. An example of this is the “Why Are You Designing?” Student Sessions through which I aim to provoke an open dialogue yet avoid imposing my viewpoints.

4-step approach:

1. Use constructivist methods to develop bridges connecting students’ cultural references to academic skills and concepts while also building on the knowledges and cultural assets students bring with them into the classroom;
2. Engage students in critical reflection about their own lives and societies and using inclusive curricula and activities to support analysis of all the cultures represented;
3. Facilitate students’ cultural competence and construct a classroom learning environment in which students both learn about their own and others’ cultures and develop pride in their own and others’ cultures; and
4. Explicitly unmask and unmake oppressive systems through the critique of discourses of power, extending their work beyond the classroom in active pursuit of social justice for all members of society. (p. 167)

References

Aronson B., Laughter J. (2016). The theory and practice of culturally relevant education. Review of Educational Research, 86, 163–206. Crossref ISI.

All Staff Members who took part in the interview process (data collection) has reviewed and signed the Participation form below.

Interviews were conducted with staff members from the fashion programme at Central Saint Martins in November and December 2023. The data was audio recorded and transcribed for the purpose of the research. Staff members were asked at random, based on who I came into contact with. This reflects the nature of conversations around these subjects, mainly happening in the staff office between teaching and is to avoid implementing an unconscious bias.

Participation Consent Form

Project Information Sheet

Ethics Form

After Submitting my Ethics Form, I received some feedback from John:

“Good question and also big question! Researchers can often get stuck when their initial question is large-scale. It can be an easier process starting with a small intervention and then seeing all the larger domains and issues it is connected with.”

• This was definitely true in retrospect. Having gathered my data and interviewed 9 members of staff, I realised that the question itself is very broad and there are many ways in which I could’ve analysed it. However, I also believe, upon reflection, that the question is vague because of my uncertainty of where we stand within the department. Moving forward, I would select a smaller element, perhaps centred around small steps/logistics of what is currently being embedded within teaching and work with what’s already being implemented.

In reference to Section 5: “this whole section is thoughtfully designed. If you mention any of this in the presentation or questioning I think you can emphasise the ‘affective’ aspect of ‘risk’ which you where keen to take care of. And perhaps this affective dimension is therefore critical to the  project as a whole?”

In reference to Section 6: “This is really interesting too as it highlights your positionality and context of the research – again that affective dimension, one description of that might be  ‘uncertainty’, perhaps even ‘liminality’. Liminality in the sense that your role, and your relation with others has been made more fluid through the research question and the practice of research.”

After realising that I had collected far too much data, I decided to review all of the interview response data I had collected and began to analyse them through thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). By identifying key themes, phrases, and reccuring topics, my aim was to gauge a greater understanding of shared viewpoints as to which factors were important with how, and why social, racial, and climate justice is and could be embedded within the department. Key themes that were reccuring:

Zeitgeist/Societal Shift

Reference to the societal shift in the zeitgeist surrounding the importance for discussing and applying social, racial and climate justice and systemic injustice. Also,  into the curriculum and teaching environment at UAL (UAL, 2022). This became apparent within some staff interviews, with reerence to their personal belief and value systems and the student voice. 

Industry 

Influence/recognition of the importance that the industry plays a part in how the students are taught, what they are taught, how they are influenced, and whether the staff have the knowledge and understanding of implementing this knowledge and experience into their teaching practices and the curriculum. 

Educational Institution

The systemic structure of UAL and Central Saint Martins, how students are taught, what they are taught, and who teaches them. This also includes reference to staff development, staff support, timetabling, marking, budgets, and logistics within the University and it’s structure. 

History/Reputation

The longstanding history of Central Saint Martins is a reccuring theme mentioned by the majority of the tutors interviewed, most of which were of Gen X and studied at the university during the 1980’s/1990’s.  For the 4th year in a row, University of the Arts London (UAL) is top of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 for undergraduate art & design. (UAL, 2022).