Category: Inclusive practices

Introduction  

In this report, I will reflect on my journey in this unit and the intervention for inclusive practice I have developed. Through this unit I learnt about difference, intersectionality and how this shapes experiences and perspectives. I saw how a lack of inclusivity prevents equal opportunities at UAL. Yet, I took hope in critical pedagogy as a tool to actively challenge myself, my practice, and the systems I work within. 

Artefact description and development process 

As a learning technologist I create e-learning resources for CSM’s technical workshops. My artefact “Alt-text as poetry workshop” (Appendix A) focuses on writing alt-text for online images to create greater inclusion through digital accessibility. While I run sessions about educational content development, I find it challenging to convey the importance of digital accessibility. 

It struck me, through the experiences of Christine Sun Kim (2012), Khairani Barokka (Okka) (2017), and Claudette Davis-Bonnick (2020), that there is a narrow perception of creative practice when intersected with disability. I then reflected on UAL as a university with a message of social justice. While we have a social model of disability and an awareness of the importance of accessibility, there are challenges with engagement and implementation of best practice. Even UAL’s 2022-2032 strategy doesn’t mention digital accessibility, despite the goal to expand online learning.  

I developed my artefact in response to this; considering alt-text as something poetic, creative, and expressive that may open up the topic of digital accessibility in an engaging way, making our teaching and creative practices at UAL more inclusive in the process.   

Action – use and impact of artefact  

I haven’t facilitated this workshop yet. However, I will pilot it with the digital UAL learning teams in our Autumn away day. Through this I can gain more feedback and make more improvements before delivering across UAL. 

This artefact will be a continuation of my work delivering staff training. However, it is different in its inclusive focus. Additionally, I believe it leans into our strength as an institution of creative thinkers. I am excited to see how this approach works and could change my practice for future training sessions.  

My positionality  

This unit has taught me to consider my positionality throughout my practice and my life. For this artefact I therefore need to consider that I am white, cis female, and I do not have disabilities. While I am passionate about creating inclusivity, particularly in the digital realm, I do not rely on alt-text for meaning. While I have experienced sexism, sexual assault, and prejudice related to being Irish, I have not knowingly experienced incorrect assumptions about my identity, nor have I experienced racism. This creates several implications. One, with my positionality comes privilege and a power dynamic that I need to consciously work to counter. Two, topics may emerge during the workshop that participants will have experienced, but I won’t.  

Critical pedagogy provides a framework for this. In Pedagogy of the oppressed, Freire states both student and teacher identities must be considered in the classroom, appreciating that everyone will be coming from different places.  This is key for me in approaching the workshop. Freire also critiques the “banking notion” of education, where a teacher deposits knowledge into students. To counter this, I will begin each workshop stating that I am learning alongside the attendees, so it is an open environment of exchange.  

Context  

Disabled people face significant exclusion from the internet. An Office for National Statistics report states, “In 2017, 56% of adult internet non-users were disabled” and that 60% of internet non-users between 16 to 24 years old were disabled. (Serafino 2019) This alarming trend is important for the UAL context, especially as in 2021-2022, 28.8% of UAL students declared a disability, which is higher than the 17.4% average (Office for Students, 2023).  

E-learning content is legally required to be accessible (Legislation.gov.uk, 2018). However, Ability Net’s 2022 report revealed that of 200 HE professional respondents “Almost 80% said that accessibility is seen as a high priority for their organisation, but a key concern is that commitments made by senior managers are not matched by the resources needed to deliver change.” (Mannion 2023) The report also illustrates the lack of strategy, ownership, and training around digital accessibility.  

It is within this context that I developed my artefact as an active way I can contribute to inclusivity as a learning technologist. 

Inclusive learning theory and practice 

The ‘Art for a Few’ (2011) report examines UK art colleges’ exclusionary admissions processes, finding that they enact Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and cultural capital. A habitus is the perspective one develops within their context and lived experience, a field is an environment within which one interacts with others, and cultural capital is the power dynamic created by cultural knowledge. Thus, a field such as an art college is shaped and regulated by people from a certain habitus who perpetuate certain cultural capital, which makes it extremely difficult for people from different backgrounds to enter that field. The report states: 

one must possess the habitus which predisposes you to enter that field and not another, that game, not another. One must possess at least the minimum amount of knowledge, or skill or ‘talent’ to be accepted as a legitimate player (Bourdieu, 1993:8). If habitus confronts an unfamiliar field, although the experience can be transformative, it more often produces feelings of ‘discomfort, ambivalence and uncertainty’ (Reay et al., 2005:28). (2011, p.21)  

This highlights the difficulty of just entering an art college. However, admission is the first hurdle; students from different backgrounds, including disabled students, will continually encounter barriers throughout their studies. Referencing Paulo Freire and bell hooks, Aisha Richards and Terry Finnegan (2015) argue that there must be:  

a shift in the field of higher education itself, such that HE moves towards inclusive practices to develop a transformative approach in all its actions: that is, to develop flexible and anticipatory approaches. This is how we need to proceed within teaching and learning in the art and design disciplines. The concept of critical pedagogy (Freire 1968; hooks 1995) is key for embedding this work into inclusive and transformative learning. (p. 6) 

E-learning has accelerated during the pandemic and UAL’s new strategy aims to increase it. As a learning technologist I must think critically about the barriers within this space. Digital accessibility is one area with the potential to include/exclude. Training workshops, such as my artefact, encourage conversations, reflection, and change. This can reinvent power and push institutions towards inclusive practice, rather than forcing students to learn in systems that have not been designed for them. 

Evaluation 

As I have not yet run the workshop, I will evaluate it based on peer feedback and how I will measure the workshop’s success.  

I outlined the workshop with UAL digital learning teams and received an enthusiastic response to the idea of alt-text as a creative entity, especially in UAL’s context. I also presented this to my blogging peer group which was a great opportunity to gain feedback from a diverse range of colleagues outside of online learning.  Some of the positive feedback they included was that “Just in the short description, it’s made me think about alt-text completely differently.” (Blogging group 17, 2023) Another said “I’ve been to quite a lot of accessible training. I do know about alt-text, but I’ve never really thought about making creative interventions of it so like, that’s already kind of opened up a whole new way of being creative to me.” (2023) 

My blogging group made some great constructive feedback for the workshop. One suggestion was to encourage attendees to be experimental and embrace the ‘pedagogy of ambiguity’ (Finnigan and Richards, 2016) of art and design education to gain confidence with alt-text. Another suggestion was to use alt-text examples that speak to UAL staff. In my presentation I used an example of alt-text written for a fashion show by Sinéad Burke (2018), which they found powerful and would work well within UAL. This is therefore a key consideration for the workshop. 

I originally envisaged this as a staff workshop for developing online learning content. However, as my peers mentioned, digital accessibility is also important for students. UAL has a chance to lead on this front and as students go on to become creators and managers, having leaders who value digital accessibility is a powerful contribution UAL can make to society. In the staff sessions I therefore will discuss how students understand digital accessibility and whether staff will share this guidance and best practice to their students as part of the design and making process.  

To measure impact, success, and generate suggestions for improvements, I will run post session surveys to understand confidence levels with alt-text before and after the session, how likely staff are to build on the session through their practice and by discussing this topic with students. If the staff sessions are successful, I will speak with Academic Support to discuss delivering student sessions. 

Conclusion 

This process has taught me so much. I have learnt that institutionally, digital accessibility is not embedded in our professional and academic practices as much as it should be. This is pertinent for UAL as we strive towards being a social purpose university with increased use of online learning. 

I’ve learnt about the power of exchange with colleagues, particularly those outside of my typical working relationships. While I received encouragement from my fellow digital learning peers, the real constructive feedback on my artefact came from my blogging group, colleagues I didn’t know prior to the PgCert. This demonstrates the importance of diverse thinking and opportunities for us to collaborate outside of our professional silos.  

Finally, through critical pedagogy I’ve learnt that change starts in the classroom. I’m empowered to use creativity as a tool for UAL to think about alt-text and digital accessibility differently, and for the change that we can collectively make.   

Bibliography  

Barokka (Okka), K. (2017) “Deaf-accessibility for Spoonies: Lessons from touring Eve and Mary are Having Coffee while chronically ill,” Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 22(3), pp. 387–392. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569783.2017.1324778.  

Blogging Group 17 (2023). ‘Artefact sharing’. University of the Arts London, Microsoft Teams. 

Burke, P. J. and McManus, J. (2011) ‘Art for a few: Exclusions and misrecognitions in higher education admissions practices’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 32(5), pp.699-712. Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/art-few-exclusion-andmisrecognition-art-and-design-higher-education-admissions (Accessed: 1 March 2022).  

Burke, S. (2018) Richard Malone: the perfect start to London Fashion Week. @richardmalone is one of the kindest people in fashion but constantly […]. [Instagram]. 14 September. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BntDnKsl1wF/ (Accessed 17 July 2023) 

Christine Sun Kim (2012) A Selby Film. Available at: https://vimeo.com/31083172 (Accessed: 4 May 2023).  

Coklyat, B. and Finnegan, S. (2020). Alt-Text as Poetry Workbook. (Online). New York: Self published. Available at: https://alt-text-as-poetry.net/assets/Alt-Text-as-Poetry-Workbook-PDF-2020-12-01.pdf (Accessed 26 May 2023).   

Davis-Bonnick, C. (2020) ‘Understanding visual impairments: Ocular centred mainstream Creative Arts Universities’, Shades Of Noir, pp. 106-109. Available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/content/understanding-visual-impairments/ (Accessed: May 4, 2023).  

Finnigan, T. and Richards, A., (2016) ‘Retention and attainment in the disciplines: art and design’. York: Higher Education Academy, Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/retention-and-attainment-disciplines-art-and-design (Accessed: 19 June 2022) 

Freire, P. (1970). ‘Pedagogy of the oppressed’. London: Continuum.  

Legislation.gov.uk (2018) ‘The public sector bodies (websites and mobile applications) accessibility regulations 2018’, Legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/852/contents/made (Accessed: March 19, 2023).    

Mannion, A. (2023) ‘Higher Education Sector Digital Accessibility Gaps highlighted in Global Report’, AbilityNet. Available at: https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/higher-education-sector-digital-accessibility-gaps-highlighted-global-report (Accessed: 13 July 2023). 

Office for Students (2023), ‘Access and participation data dashboard, electronic dataset’. Available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/access-and-participation-data-dashboard/data-dashboard/ (Accessed: 12 July 2023)  

Richards, A. and Finnegan, T. (2015) ‘Embedding equality and diversity in the curriculum: an art and design practitioner’s guide’, The Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/resources/eedc_art_and_design_online_1568037256.pdf (Accessed 16 July 2023).  

Serafino, P. (2019) ‘Exploring the UK’s digital divide’, Office for National Statistics. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/householdcharacteristics/homeinternetandsocialmediausage/articles/exploringtheuksdigitaldivide/2019-03-04#what-is-the-pattern-of-internet-usage-among-disabled-people  (Accessed: 13 July 2023).  

University of the Arts London (2022) ‘Our strategy 2022-2032: the World Needs Creativity’. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0036/339984/UAL-our-strategy-2022-2032.pdf (Accessed: 13 July 2023).  

  

Appendix A 

Shannon Finnegan and Bojana Coklyat, both disabled artists and activists, developed the Alt-Text as Poetry workshop to show the role of alt-text as a poetic, descriptive entity rather than something that is written in a perfunctory way. They have made the workshop materials available to anyone to share, adapt and use for the purpose of learning. You can view their workshop materials online. 

The “Witness Unconscious Bias” video calls out the idea of racism being an “unconscious bias” especially in the context of UK HE. Josephine Kwhali counters the idea of prejudice being unconscious as this gives people a get out of jail free card with regard to upholding structural inequality; they are let off the hook by saying they weren’t aware of the fact that they were doing it. This isn’t good enough, especially with the amount, of continual “efforts” to counter racism and increase diversity in UK HEIS. These initiatives are therefore either performative and/or there simply isn’t the will to actively engage with making change. As a side note, this reminded me of Reni Eddo Lodge’s 2014 blog post and precursor to her book Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race where she says

I can no longer engage with the gulf of an emotional disconnect that white people display when a person of colour articulates their experience. You can see their eyes shut down and harden. It’s like treacle is poured into their ears, blocking up their ear canals. It’s like they can no longer hear us.

Reni Eddo Lodge

In “I don’t hate people I just can’t stand white supremacy” (SoN pp. 116 – 117) Julie Wright talks about the weight of the white gaze, its perniciousness and endless judgement and how it can be impossible to respond to this gaze without receiving more recrimination, hostility and bias. She speaks about the way white people perceive black-only spaces as a form of “reverse racism”. Wright rightly states that reverse racism is a fallacy, and in my view it’s a case of white people again centering themselves in conversations about racism. Black only spaces allow black people to be themselves without fear or pressure of the white gaze. Wright states that when white people essentially have the world, in terms of the privilege they exact globally and the spaces they are afforded access to, black people need to have their own spaces.

The second piece from the SoN TOR (pp. 118 – 123), “Visible faces in white spaces”, is inspired by an exhibition by Rhian Spencer where he showcased the black staff of Camberwell. The SoN version expands this out to showing staff and students of colour and their work across the whole of UAL. This piece sort of unlocked my response to what Julie Wright says it feels like to be the only black person in the room or building. In my role at CSM technical, I’ve recently commissioned a photographer to take pictures of our technical spaces in use by staff and students. These images will be used on Moodle but also some of the public facing digital content accessed by prospective staff and students. Ensuring that these, like the SoN article, include the staff and students of colour at CSM is important because CSM is behind in having a more diverse workforce. Representation is part of trying to change that and in turn create inclusion.

Aisha Richards and Terry Finnigan’s research paper sparked some ideas for how I within my role I could move from representation to inclusion.This research report explores how art and design universities operate and how these practices create an unlevel playing field, meaning that not all students have the same opportunities to succeed and that students of colour and working class students are most at a disadvantage. Just one of the many stats this paper mentions:

It appears that socio-economic class (SEC) also impacts on students’ achievement of an upper degree. Overall, 71% of students from SEC one and two achieved and upper degree compared with 65% of students from lower SEC three to nine. In addition, there are some significant findings around attainment, and students from ethnically diverse backgrounds within Art and Design. 31% of Black British Carribbean and Black British African students gain an upper degree in comparison to 64% ofWhite students (Woodfield 2014, pp. 63-4). This is an attainment gap of 33%.” 

Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design, p.4

The paper also includes a number of case studies where interventions have been made in arts colleges to counteract retention and attainment gaps. While all were interesting a few in particular made me think of interventions I could make in my practice. 

“Case study 1: curriculum audit (Ravensbourne)” involved auditing the handbooks, briefs, and resources included in curricula. This auditing process included pedagogies of social justice but also universal design.  I’ve been particularly keen to explore how universal design approaches could benefit all students but particularly students whose first language isn’t English and neurodivergent students within the context of technical education. My thinking has thus far been to develop our blended learning offering so that there is a range of materials (ie instructional videos) for students to access as needed alongside the face to face teaching. I was therefore encouraged to see this approach acting as part of a framework of inclusive practice alongside social justice.

I then read on to Case study 4: collaborative learning (Plymouth College of Art). This project aimed to “Develop a community of filmmaking practitioners, and therefore develop students’ professional working practices.” (p.15). I really enjoyed reading this as it chimed with what was mentioned in the “Tell us about it” case study at UAL that found that “encouraging students to produce something that reflects their learning experience in Art and Design is transformational.” (p. 14). These case studies together made me think how working with students might be a way of developing CSM technical’s blended learning approach. This could involve identifying areas that students need support with (ie the instructional videos I mentioned in the last paragraph) and working with students to develop these, importantly via arts temps so that the students would be paid and gain professional and educational experience. In terms of creating and developing the content, this would be an opportunity with students of colour/working-class students in mind. Additionally, it would be important to make sure that the videos are representative in terms of the technicians and students featured and that they are aligned with areas of need (particularly students whose first language isn’t English and neurodivergent students) so that they would create more inclusive avenues of learning. 

These readings have therefore sparked some thoughts for inclusive projects I can research and act upon for the Action Research part of the PgCert and work as a learning technologist.

Readings

Eddo-Lodge, R. (2021). Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race. [online] Available at: https://renieddolodge.co.uk/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race/ (Accessed: 19 June 2022).

Finnigan, T. and Richards, A., (2016) ‘Retention and attainment in the disciplines: art and design’. York: Higher Education Academy, Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/retention-and-attainment-disciplines-art-and-design
(Accessed: 19 June 2022).

Shades of Noir (2018) ‘Peekaboo We See You: Whiteness’. Available at https://issuu.com/shadesofnoir/docs/disabled_people (Accessed: 19 June 2023).

UCU – University and College Union (2016). Witness: unconscious bias. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6XDUGPoaFw. (Accessed: 19 June 2022).

My recurring thought through each of these resources was that religious identities are only partly about religion. Kwame Anthony Appiah’s lecture reminds us that religion is not just what you believe, it’s what you do and who you do it with and that creed is often informed by practice rather than the other way around. This is reiterated by Craig Calhoun in the ‘Religion in Britain” paper. In Mark Dean’s (chaplain and interfaith advisor for CCW & CSM) interview for the SoN faith terms of reference, he points out that:

“approximately 50% of UAL students identify as religious and of those who don’t only a small minority identity as atheist”.

p.25

This paints a picture of religion and spirituality as something more fluid than I had considered especially within the UAL community.

The idea of creed being only just a component of religious identity really struck me as a non-Catholic who was raised in Ireland, a Catholic country. Catholicism, because of its dominance over my country, feels part of my identity also because of the traditions and customs I have had to observe all my life. So, on a personal level these readings have been illuminating. 

Relating this back to my teaching and professional practice is slightly less tangible to me as a learning design technician who supports online learning within the technical workshops rather than directly teaching students.  However, it is still important for me to understand that religion is an intersectional dimension of student identity. While it may not seem apparent to me now, it can inform my approach to learning and digital design. 

Mark Dean’s interview also shows me that there is religious, spiritual, and sometimes just general life guidance available to students via chaplains. Additionally, as Craig Calhoun states that for

“‘pastoral care’ in UK universities; chaplains are important to it, and academics offer less than they once did.”

p.20

Signposting this support in digital spaces could be a way I can support students but also being mindful that while this provision is becoming more of a scarcity in our HE landscapes, students are not needing less of it.  This reminded me of a study I read by Clare Sams about how arts technicians see their role. One technician shared a poster hanging their office that said “Psychiatric help: the doctor is in”, and explained that they:

chose this image into order to reveal a lesser-known aspect of the technical role, that of supporting students in a more holistic sense. The specific skills training and support provided by technicians are important, yet Technician A felt that the face-to-face interaction they provide is also of significant value to students.

p.64

While I personally am an atheist and my personal preference would be for a secular educational system, the fact that academics are increasingly less able to provide this kind of pastoral care to their students feels less like a symptom of secularism in the UK (indeed as the readings show secularism may actually be more religious than it seems) and more so a symptom of neoliberalism. To be clear this is a criticism of universities being forced to operate as businesses and service providers rather than a criticism of academics, tutors etc. who are doing their best in this system. It again speaks to the need for critical pedagogies to challenge the diminishing space for care in our neoliberal education systems.

Readings

‘Creed’ (2016) The Reith Lectures, BBC, Radio 4 Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07z43ds (Accessed: 18 May 2023)

Modood, T., & Calhoun, C. (2015). ‘Religion in Britain: Challenges for higher education’. Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Available at: http://www.tariqmodood.com/uploads/1/2/3/9/12392325/6379_lfhe_stimulus_paper_-_modood_calhoun_32pp.pdf (Accessed: 26 May 2023)

Sams, C. (2016) ‘How do art and design technicians conceive of their role in higher education?’, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, 1(2), pp. 62–69. 

Shades of Noir (2023) ‘Higher Power: Religion, Faith, Spirituality & Belief’. Available at https://issuu.com/shadesofnoir/docs/disabled_people (Accessed: 26 May 2023).

Forging a life and livelihood in the arts is not easy. Surviving economically, being understood and respected as an artist is a challenge. Thinking about intersectionality, what are the other factors that act as barriers to entry and success within the arts?

A common thread in each of the below texts was meaningful expression of individual subjectivities, often through art. Disability was also a unifying factor in each person’s lived experience and there were also sadly themes being silenced, dismissed, and erased. 

Christine Sun Kim is an artist who is deaf, and her work explores how sound can be seen and felt. Khairani Barokka uses art, performance, and poetry to express the invisible but real pain often ignored when experienced by brown women. Vilissa Thompson, a disability activist, started #DisabilityTooWhite to decry the lack of representation for people of colour in disability discourse. She speaks of erasure when nondisabled actors of colour play what few roles there are for disabled people of colour in film and TV. Claude Davis-Bonnick’s case study challenges the ocular centred focus within art universities by having a more inclusive teaching and learning approach for garment design and construction.

Davis-Bonnick says a common attitude they experience is “If they can’t see, how can they understand what beauty is?” This illustrates the pervasive narrowness of conceptions of art and beauty and who is allowed to participate in these spaces. Reading these cases I asked myself if any one of these writers/artists came to study at UAL, how would they learn? When we imagine a UAL student, are we thinking of them?

The UAL disability pages foreground the university’s social model of disability and share key information for prospective and current students. I saw the role of my work in online learning in delivering this social model of disability. Making online resources available for students to access whenever and however – ie through videos with transcriptions/captions, to alt-text and screen reader friendly resources – makes the learning environment accessible for everyone.

But work needs to happen even before prospective/current students encounter these online resources. Non-disabled people, like me, must listen to disabled people’s experiences to ensure that disability is not a barrier to art and creativity and to champion representation so that disabled people can see their place at UAL as well.

Readings

Barokka (Okka), K. (2017) “Deaf-accessibility for Spoonies: Lessons from touring Eve and Mary are Having Coffee while chronically ill,” Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 22(3), pp. 387–392. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569783.2017.1324778. 

Blahovec, S. (2016) “Confronting the Whitewashing Of Disability: Interview with #DisabilityTooWhite Creator Vilissa Thompson,” Huffpost, 28 June. Available at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/confronting-the-whitewash_b_10574994?guccounter=1 (Accessed: May 4, 2023). 

Christine Sun Kim (2023) Vimeo. Available at: https://vimeo.com/31083172 (Accessed: May 4, 2023). 

Davis-Bonnick, C. (2023) Understanding visual impairments: Ocular centred mainstream Creative Arts Universities, Shades Of Noir. Available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/content/understanding-visual-impairments/ (Accessed: May 4, 2023). 

University of the Arts London. (2023) Disability and dyslexia, UAL. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services/disability-and-dyslexia (Accessed: May 4, 2023).