Thematic analysis is a method for identifying, analysing, and interpreting patterns aka themes within qualitative data. After completing my interviews and receiving the questionnaire responses, I followed the six steps recommended by Clarke and Braun (2017):
Step 1: Become familiar with the data Step 2: Generate initial codes Step 3: Search for themes Step 4: Review and refine themes Step 5: Define and name themes Step 6: Write up
I will only cover the first 5 steps in this blog post.
Step 1: Become familiar with the data
To do this, I printed out the interview transcripts for annotation. I highlighted phrases that stood out to me in terms of psychological safety and sharing. I noted initial observations, such as mentions of trust, fear of judgment, or collaborative practices and used thematic content analysis to identify common themes across the transcribed interviews (Clarke and Braun, 2017).
Rough notes after transcribing, reading and re-reading the interviews and questionnaires as follows:
Participants seem to value safe spaces for for exploration and sharing unfinished ideas and drafts without fear of judgment. Large groups and unfamiliar settings tend to inhibit participation. Strategies like anonymity and proactive facilitation (e.g., encouraging participation) can help create safer online spaces. Feeling respected and being able to express oneself freely, even when views differ, are key to psychological safety. Participants associated this with an inclusive atmosphere where differences are acknowledged and accepted.
Step 2: Code generation
I have decided to use. open coding – I don’t know what is going to emerge out of the research (if anything!) so this seems to be the best approach.
Using the initial notes as a starting point, I started to work through the data (transcripts and questionnaire responses) to create codes. Codes are concise labels that captured key features of the data relevant to the research question. This step involved both data-driven (inductive) and theory-driven (deductive) approaches.
I highlighted different segments of text and assigned descriptive codes, e.g., “fear of criticism,” “peer support,” “power imbalance,” and “trust-building activities.”
I then colour-coded each group according to the relevant code (e.g., codes related to fear in orange, collaboration in green, etc.) and then pulled out each code and put it onto Miro.
Examples of codes:
Fear of critique in competitive settings
Feeling excluded in group activities.
Competitiveness with peers discouraging sharing.
Encouragement to share drafts.
Safe spaces for experimentation.
Initial coding on Miro
Step 3: Searching for themes
The thematic analysis of the questionnaires and interviews revealed several initial emergent themes, listed below:
Curating safe spaces
Respect, inclusion and identity in creative spaces
Creating non-competitive learning environments
Group dynamics
Cultural barriers
The role of the tutor
Designing it into the curriculum
Grouped codes according to themes
Step 4: Review and refine themes
During my analysis, I found I needed to take a closer look at my initial themes to make sure they really captured what my participants were telling me and that each theme told its own clear story. Looking back at my data, I wanted to be certain they worked together naturally within each theme.
I noticed some themes were actually telling similar stories and some codes appeared in multiple places (e.g., cultural aspects appear under both Cultural barriers and Respect, inclusion and identity)
“Curating safe spaces” and “Creating non-competitive learning environments” also have significant overlap – both deal with fostering supportive learning atmospheres so the themes of these can most likely be combined… similarly, “The role of the tutor” and “Group dynamics” both touch on interpersonal relationships in learning.
Initial thoughts…
Curating safe spaces could be elevated to an overarching theme, with Creating non-competitive learning environments as a sub-theme
Designing it into the curriculum and The role of the tutor could be merged
Cultural barriers could be integrated into Respect, inclusion and identity for a more cohesive narrative
Step 5: Define and name themes
Defining and naming themes involved clearly articulating what each theme captured and its significance in answering the research question. This step ensured the themes were distinct, cohesive, and meaningful. It also helps me to clarify the meaning of each theme and, crucially, how it helps me to interpret the data.
The defined themes I ended up with:
Creating conditions for trust: The foundational environmental and interpersonal conditions necessary for learners to feel secure enough to share their work and ideas.
Structure and empathy: The intentional pedagogical frameworks and institutional structures that facilitate safe sharing and learning
Overcoming cultural barriers to sharing: The identification and navigation of cultural differences that impact willingness and ability to share in educational settings
Power dynamics in groups: The recognition and management of power relationships and their impact on group interaction and learning
As I mentioned in my action plan, but wish to emphasise here: My project focuses on psychological safety. It is essential, therefore, that my ethical approach reflects this, ensuring that my participants feel safe and supported throughout the research process.
I’ve uploaded both versions of my ethical action plan, to show the progression and thought process change between the two. My tutor John’s comments were invaluable to me as I widened my considerations and added in further details highlighted in yellow, based on his comments. One of the key feedback points was looking at the ‘crit’ as an ‘inherited institutional form of sharing – blending performance and ritual, power and cultural capital, vulnerability and an (often tacit) pedagogy’. (O’Reilly, 2024). I want to explore this idea of tacit pedagogy and whether (or how) it translates into online learning.
One of John’s suggestion was to incorporate visual elicitation (be it photo or object) in interviews, allowing participants to express their perceptions of psychological safety through photo or object prompts or perhaps asking them to bring or make something that articulates or expresses ‘feeling safe’. I love this idea and think that this concept is definitely worth exploring and while it might not be feasible to do during my interviews with student due to time constraints – I’d like to find a way to include it in my practice as a learning designer when it comes to designing activities in which students are asked to share.
Data collection methods
While exploring research design approaches, I found Creswell’s (2023) central questions for mixed methods particularly helpful in structuring my methodology.
What knowledgeclaims are being made by the researcher (including a theoretical perspective)?
What strategiesofinquiry will inform the procedures?
What methodsofdatacollection and analysis will be used?
1. Knowledge claims
I think my approach is a constructivist one where knowledge is co-created through shared experiences and shaped by the social, cultural and digital environments in which we operate. My goal is to explore how students experience psychological safety within online learning spaces and to understand how this impacts their willingness to share creative work. I’m also cautious not to hide behind theory. As Nyemba and Mayer (2017) caution, academic researchers can sometimes become disconnected from the realities of their co-researchers and community partners. To avoid this, I want to keep my research grounded in the lived experiences of the students I work with, ensuring their voices remain central throughout. This is one of the main reasons I have opted to use semi-structured interviews.
2. Strategies of inquiry
As student voice is central to my project, it made sense to me to adopt a phenomenologicalapproach as my research strategy.
3. Data collection methods and analysis
Researchers may first survey a large sample of individuals, and then follow up with a few of them to obtain their specific language and voices about the topic. In these situations, the advantages of collecting both closed-ended quantitative data and open-ended qualitative data prove advantageous to best understand a research problem.
Creswell (2023),p. 22
As the topic and area of psychological safety is new to me, I’d like to adopt an open, exploratory approach (qualitative) which is also one that does not assume variables (quantitative). For this reason, I will be adopting a mixed methods design.
Mixed-methods approach
Qualitative approaches prioritise understanding individual experiences, using open-ended methods like interviews and narratives to capture rich, contextual insights. On the other hand, quantitative approaches focus on measurable data, using tools like surveys to test hypotheses or identify trends.
However, neither approach alone seemed sufficient to fully address the complexities of psychological safety in online learning. I wanted to capture both the breadth of student experiences through quantitative measures and the depth of individual perspectives through qualitative data. This led me to adopt a mixed-methods approach, which aligns with pragmatic knowledge claims and allows for both open- and closed-ended data collection methods.
To support my project, I have developed the following materials:
Data collection method
Mode of delivery
Questionnaire
JISC (online survey)
Semi-structured interview
MS Teams
Data collection methods
Data collection methods
I’ve included a copy of the questionnaire, the interview schedule and the interview slides for reference.
Creswell, J.W. (2003) Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
Lenette, C. (2022) Participatory action research: ethics and decolonization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Neubauer, B., Witkop, C. and Varpio, L. (2019) ‘How phenomenology can help us learn from the experiences of others’, Perspectives on Medical Education, 8(2), pp. 90–97. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-019-0509-2.
Nyemba, F. and Mayer, M. (2017) ‘Exploring the roots of participatory action research: An interview with Dr Marja-Liisa Swantz’, Action Research, 16(3), pp. 319–338. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750316684003.
O’Reilly, J. (2024) Feedback on my ethical action plan.
Pauwels, L. (2019) ‘Visual elicitation in interviews’, in Atkinson, P., Delamont, S., Cernat, A., Sakshaug, J.W. and Williams, R.A. (eds) SAGE research methods foundations. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526421036846496 (Accessed: 14 October 2024).
I feel like there is a certain irony in mapping a project focused on ‘realising human potential’ (McNiff 2013, p. 35) into a Gantt chart, but here I am, trying to bring structure to the journey!
Project action plan. Click on the image for a full-screen version.
Doing this has helped me to see what’s coming up and how much there is left to do. It looks very neat and ordered, I’ll be very surprised if it plays out like this, but it’s been useful doing this process mapping exercise. I hope the assumptions that I’ve built my plans on hold.
If there’s one thing (and there’s been many!) I’ve learned about myself throughout this PgCert is the importance of having a clear deadline as means of structuring my work well!
References
Mcniff, J. (2013) Action research : principles and practice. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge.
To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now.
Beckett, 1965.
There’s a strange sense of discomfort that I am feeling as I engage with the ARP unit. At its core, this discomfort stems from a significant shift: moving from structured, directive learning to a space of increased autonomy and self-direction.
This transition has left me feeling unsettled. The familiar scaffolding of clear instructions (what to read, what to submit, when to submit it) has been switched out to a more open landscape of possibilities. It’s not just me; conversations with peers reveal a shared experience. We find ourselves yearning for the comfort of clear directives, even as we step into this space of greater academic freedom.
What’s particularly interesting is how this mirrors my research into psychological safety in learning spaces. The tension between desiring structure while navigating autonomy reflects a deeper question about how, as learners, we adapt to different levels of academic freedom.
This reflection prompts important questions about the delicate balance between providing supportive frameworks and fostering independent thinking in higher education. How much structure is enough? When does scaffolding become limiting? These questions seem particularly relevant as I continue my investigation into creating safe learning spaces.
In an attempt to combat my own feelings of disorganisation, I stuck the A3 poster of the action research cycle that was shared with us in the first workshop on my wall.
Poster of McNiff and Whitehead’s Action Research Cycle, 2009
I find myself staring at it almost daily, trying to make sense of the different segments and how my project might ‘map’ onto it. No matter how I try, my project seems to resist this structuring. It follows part of the spiral but then something needs to be tweaked to make it flow neatly into the next part. Instead of seeing this as a failure of my action research project, I’ve begun to reframe it as a feature of the process itself. This resistance, as Cook suggests, helps me recognise “the interconnections and complexities involved in [the] enquiry, despite being unable to isolate clear lines of progression” (Cook, 2009).
Embracing mess
Research often demands order: structured steps, clear outcomes, and a researcher who occupies a position of knowledge and power. This kind of structure, in theory, appeals to me. It feels settled and reassuring. I know this isn’t the right approach for the ARP unit. Action research, especially a participatory approach, thrives in the messiness. It requires us to sit with uncertainty, to question the rules we use to frame our understanding of the world. Cook goes one step further, arguing that “making the mess visible is also an act of generosity towards future researchers, helping them understand how outcomes were achieved and how they might build on those outcomes” (Cook, 2009). In this context, mess becomes “a forum for exchange—a place where perceptions, beliefs, and knowledge are unearthed, co-constructed, and critiqued” (Cook, 2009). Cook goes one step further to state that:
Making the mess visible is also an action of generosity towards ‘future researchers to understand how outcomes were achieved and how they might build on those outcomes’
Tina Cook, 2009.
Vulnerability and psychological safety
If I want to explore the concept of psychological safety and asking students to be vulnerable in sharing their creative work in this action research project, I too need to open myself up to vulnerability and potentially failure. It wouldn’t make sense to explore such a topic without taking the ‘messy turns’ that are implicit in it. As Lenette suggests, “vulnerability as an ethical research practice refers to academic researchers being open to and welcoming the impact that others, including co-researchers, can have on their sense of self” (Lenette, 2020).
Why does mess matter?
Grappling with what Ahmed deems the ‘sweaty concepts’ (I can confirm all of this is making me very sweaty) is part of this process. Research is embodied practice. I cannot remove myself from this action research project, as much as I might want to. I need to embrace it and let it uncover what needs to be uncovered and keep concealed that which isn’t ready to be made explicit.
Participatory action research thrives on messiness. It demands a balance between diverse voices and the researcher’s own intentions, often disrupting initial plans. But this disruption is where meaningful (and decolonial) co-learning and change occur. As Lenette notes, it is in these messy spaces where methodological learning is possible, where issues of power, partnerships, and ethics are interrogated (Lenette, 2020.).
In many ways, researchers, like artists, are tasked with finding structures that can hold the diverse, sometimes chaotic, elements within a community. Beckett’s observation reminds us that the goal isn’t to eliminate the mess but to create forms that allow it to exist, embracing its complexity while making space for co-construction and transformation.
The need for mess
Marie Kondo, Japanese organising consultant
Marie Kondo’s philosophy of tidying up revolves around the idea of decluttering your space by keeping only the items that “spark joy.” Her method encourages an almost ritualistic approach to eliminating excess and creating a sense of calm through order. It’s a process that aligns beautifully with my want for clarity and control.
I don’t think this process is about getting comfortable with mess or even learning to embrace it. It’s also not about Marie Kondo-ing it, getting rid of everything that doesn’t “spark joy.” Instead, it’s about finding forms that can hold the mess, allowing it to exist as it is, with all its complexity. The goal isn’t to tidy it up, but to create structures that can accommodate the mess and let it serve its purpose. Maybe the mess is what helps us make sense of our realities. In doing so, we are able to ‘contribute through the development of practical knowledge to the increased well being of human persons and communities in economic, political, psychological, spiritual senses, and to a more equitable and sustainable relationship with the wider ecology of the planet” (Reason and Bradbury, 2008).
See you on the other side!
References
Beckett, S. (1965) Proust: And three dialogues with Georges Duthuit. London: Calder.
Cook, T. (2009) ‘The purpose of mess in action research: building rigour through a messy turn’, Educational Action Research, 17(2), pp. 277–291. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09650790902914241.
Lenette, C. (2022) Participatory action research: ethics and decolonization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Reason, P. and Bradbury, H. (2008) The Sage handbook of action research : participative inquiry and practice. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Citations
KonMari (n.d.) [Photo of Marie Kondo]. Available at: https://konmari.com [Accessed: 15 October 2024].
Psychological safety, as defined by Edmondson (1999), is the “freedom from fear, embarrassment, or humiliation in groups.” It plays a critical role in cultivating environments where individuals feel safe to express themselves, take risks, and share ideas without fear of negative consequences. In the context of online learning, psychological safety is particularly significant, as it directly influences how students engage with their peers, tutors, and the creative process.
Fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work. Fears about others prevent you from doing your own work.
David Bayles, The Art of Fear
Understanding how to avoid this fear lies at the heart of my research question: How do students’ perceptions of psychological safety in online learning environments affect their willingness to share creative work?
The PDF of the report is available to download at the end of this post.
Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid, to make us choose safety instead of risk, sameness instead of diversity. Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, reveling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer, that gives us a world of shared values, of meaningful community.
bell hooks
The context
‘I notice that you use a shortened version of your name on your blog.’ ‘Yes… I do.’
When I first started at UAL in December 2021, I had some issues logging into my UAL account. A month passed, and after weeks of using my personal email and laptop and countless calls to MySupport, someone from IT explained that my name was ‘too long’ to fit in the system to create my username.
When Shani pointed this out in our second tutorial, it got me thinking. Why do I do that? And when did I decide to do that? Was it a choice I had consciously made, or was it one I had subconsciously taken to fit in?
Looking back, I’ve always tried to ‘fit in’ – be it in educational or professional, physical, or virtual spaces. I would choose which bits of my identity would fit, and which bits to leave at home. I wanted, and if am honest, still want to present in a way that allows me to ‘fit in’ into the systems. Sometimes, what that requires is communicated in subtle ways. Other times, it’s presented as a system requirement i.e. my name being too long for the system. The result either way is Yasaman becoming Yasi. A move that lets me ‘fit in’ so that my name wouldn’t appear so long or foreign in online spaces, and when coupled with choosing a profile picture, turns my identity into even more of a pick and mix.
This is just a snapshot of one moment in time. What about the other unseen moments at UAL where staff11 are made to feel like they must ‘fit in’ by the inherent design of technical, structural, and political systems? What if we were to challenge the narrative of ‘who gets to be at home, who gets to inhabit spaces (Ahmed, 2007) so that it is not about fitting in but creating a psychologically safe space where you can be authentically and comfortably yourself?
These questions are crucial in addressing the systemic barriers that many staff members, particularly those with intersecting marginalised identities, face in academic and professional settings. Acknowledging these challenges means that we can start to shift the narrative by cultivating online environments where diversity and differences are not just tolerated but celebrated. This shift in perspective aligns with bell hooks’ idea of ‘moving through fear’ to elicit connections while revelling in our differences. How can we design online spaces that are habitable for all, where individuals can bring their whole selves to their work without fear of judgment or exclusion?
Whilst I cannot always change existing systems, in my role as an online learning designer I have a responsibility to design proactively inclusive learning experiences. By encouraging people to share their stories, it becomes possible to weave a rich autoethnographic threadscape of experiences, that may exist only in the online space, but have the potential to reach far beyond digital boundaries.
The intervention
Fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work. Fears about others prevent you from doing your own work.
David Bayles
In many professional environments, especially academia, there’s an unspoken assumption that those in power have a right to emotional and psychological comfort, often rooted in white, middle-class norms of professionalism (Garrett, 2022). This construct can pressure individuals, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, to assimilate or silence their authentic selves, forcing them to shape-shift in order to fit in.
What the data tells us
The UAL Staff Survey (Winter 2023) revealed concerning results regarding staff authenticity, sense of belonging and perceived value of their background and experience at work.
When asked to respond to the statement ‘I feel I can be my true self at work’, 15% of participants strongly disagreed and 22% of participants were ambivalent. UAL staff member’s sense of belonging to UAL declined from the previous year’s survey. This suggests that over a third of staff members may not feel comfortable expressing their authentic selves in the workplace and I think this warrants further exploration. Similarly, only 50% of participants felt that their ‘background, difference and lived experience were valued at the University’, with 30% actively disagreeing with this statement. (Appendix 2).
Intervention aims
Through my intervention, I aim to challenge this by creating a space where the sharing of lived experiences is actively encouraged and celebrated. I hope this might help dismantle invisible structures built on an idealised, yet exclusionary version of ‘normal’ and redefine professionalism in our digital learning spaces.
My intervention forms part of a continuous professional development (CPD) module called ‘Fundamentals’ which we ask unit leads who will be working with UAL Online to complete prior to starting the learning design process.
The intervention creates a space where educators can reflect on their own intersecting identities and lived experiences and consider how these shape and inform their teaching approaches. By bridging the gap between personal authenticity and professional practice, we model the importance of this approach for student engagement. We also foster a culture where vulnerability is rewarded and sharing the parts of ourselves that we fear ‘won’t fit’ strengthens the fabric of care and compassion that underpins our teaching and learning.
How does it work?
The activity is called ‘Voices of practice’ and is designed, built, and hosted on Moodle. It is a standalone, modular activity that could be integrated into any CPD course tailored for teaching, technical or support staff. It is designed to be run asynchronously and is created using the ‘Database’ activity type on Moodle. (Appendix 1)
Culturally relevant pedagogy and mattering
The learning design approach brings in critical and culturally relevant pedagogic principles, encouraging teaching staff to bring their existing knowledge, whole selves and lived experiences to their professional praxis, much like we ask students to do (Ladson-Billings, 1995).
The intervention embraces the principle that ‘mattering is not about if you fit or not, it is about being valued.’ (Felton and Weston, 2021). The concept of mattering as opposed to belonging is far more nuanced, especially for marginalised individuals who are historically disempowered and who might feel that ‘belonging to a community’ is beyond their reach.
Theoretical framework
Critical pedagogy and intersectionality are valuable frameworks for starting to engage with these issues. One of the strengths of intersectionality lies in the recognition that unique lived experiences and challenges faced by individuals with intersecting identities shape their perspectives on and their approaches to education and educational spaces. I argue that this recognition (and what my intervention hopefully addresses) could be a step towards empowering ‘teaching staff […] to bring the things that make them the most human to their planning and instruction.” (Martin, 2020) whilst eliciting the ‘potential coalitions’ between intersecting identities and teaching praxis. (Crenshaw, 2006).
Activity design
The activity makes use of ‘stem statements’ to prompt open-minded reflexive thinking as opposed to ‘one-and-done’ answers that are given as answers.
Instead of asking:
‘What has your journey in online education been shaped by?’
We can change this to:
‘My journey in education has been shaped by… (this could include personal experiences, cultural background, or professional achievements).
This is a small change of phraseology which promotes open-ended reflection, rather than answering the question for answering the question’s sake. Stem questions don’t have right or wrong answers – and is a small linguistic change that can result in big changes. I managed to get one response to the activity within the timeframe for writing this report, which I thought was interesting in it’s depth of response (Appendix 3).
The selected photo was taken at LCC whilst studying MA in Academic Practice and I remember when I nervously hopped onto the tube expecting to have eyes judging me, but it is surprisingly quiet. At the universities in England wearing a sari is quite unheard of and, given it was my first experience of this, I felt strangely nauseous, exposed, and apprehensive – yet comfortable. After hearing compliments from peers, I felt at ease. Thereafter, I came to a decision by choice to wear the sari at UAL not because it has been imposed on me, but in essence, I am showing who I am in the sari and I’m owning it with pride in the UK and showing that it is professional attire for a UK university and/or any employment outside of India.
I embark on learning and creating high quality opportunities that are required for students learning across online courses, modules and degrees. I will look to develop spaces that encourage and support inclusive practice in a variety of subjects. My expertise is in leveraging in-depth knowledge and experience in Textiles, Art, Fashion & Design to provide relevant information and first-hand experience. I have used blended learning for the number of teaching assignments delivered at UAL since Covid and I am continuing to improve ways to deliver and promote engaged learning ensuring students have an enjoyable educational experience.
Anonymised response
Reflecting on feedback
My tutorials with Shani helped me in terms of revising my proposed intervention. Originally, I wanted to design an activity around developing feelings of psychological safety for online students. Upon reflection, I think that my desire to ‘fit in’ with the others in my peer group and across my cohort influenced my thinking. I wanted to do something with students to ‘fit in’ with my peers who all work closely with students either in a teaching, technical or support capacity. But, my only interaction with students is indirect, and not in a teaching capacity. After presenting my originally proposed intervention to my peer group, it was interesting to hear that many of their suggestions around facilitating psychologically safe environments were largely rooted in residential and tangible practices (sending booklets to students, etc.), which prompts the question of whether it is possible to facilitate such environments online.
Final thoughts
In the future, this activity could be expanded into a resource or workshop to help teaching staff develop a critical professional praxis. This approach would encourage educators to consider the ‘moral, social, and political aspects of their actions, leading to more coherent and informed teaching practices’ (Francisco, Forssten Seiser and Grice, 2021). Additionally, it could include resources that promote reflexive thinking about identity in relation to professional praxis.
Moving beyond the concept of ‘fitting in’ towards designing environments where individuals can be authentically themselves, aligns with Lorde’s powerful statement that ‘the visibility that makes us most vulnerable is that which also is the greatest source of our strength.’ (Lorde, 1984). Only by willing to stand out, can we be outstanding.
For now, the focus is on designing moments that show respect and care for the souls of our educators (and in turn, our students). This approach acknowledges that tutors, like students, bring valuable, diverse experiences to the learning space. As Martin (2020) asks, ‘How successful can teachers be in honoring student backgrounds if their own are disregarded?’ By creating a space for tutors to explore and express their intersecting identities, we empower them to bring their whole selves to their teaching practice.
A genius is the one most like himself
Thelonious Monk
With all that being said, let me re-introduce myself. Hi, I am Yasaman…but as I don’t want to break the system 😉 you can call me Yasi.
[1624 words]
Bibliography
Ahmed, S. (2012) On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press.
Bayles, D. and Orland, T. (2023) Art & Fear. Souvenir Press.
Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity politics, and Violence against Women of Color’, Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp. 1241–1299. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039.
Felten, P. and Weston, H. (2021) Is ‘mattering’ a more helpful way of thinking about student belonging at university? Edinburgh: Media Hopper Create, The University of Edinburgh. Available at: https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/1_xv45vrlp (Accessed: 20 June 2024).
Francisco, S., Forssten Seiser, A. and Grice, C. (2021) ‘Professional learning that enables the development of critical praxis’, Professional Development in Education, pp. 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2021.1879228.
Garrett, R. (2024) ‘Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education’, Globalisation, Societies and Education, pp. 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2024.2307886.
hooks, b. (2003) Teaching community : a pedagogy of hope. New York: Routledge.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995) ‘Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy’, American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), pp. 465-491.
Lorde, A. (1984) Sister outsider. New York: Penguin Books.
Martin, J.G. (2020) ‘Teaching without Fear: Psychological Safety Can Alter the Professional Learning Landscape.’, Learning Professional, 41(2), pp. 36–38.
UAL Staff Survey (2024) London: People Insight, pp. 1–13.
Appendix
Appendix 1: Screenshot of the activity in Moodle
Appendix 2: Screenshot from the UAL Staff Survey 2023
Appendix 3: Screenshot of tutor response
Throughout this report, I use the terms staff, teaching staff, tutors, unit leads and educators interchangeably to refer to those who interact with students in any capacity. I didn’t want to use terms like ‘academics’ or ‘instructors’ because I think this supports the notion of imparting knowledge in a didactic way. ↩︎
Spaces also take shape by being orientated around some bodies, more than others… After all, institutions provide collective or public spaces. When we describe institutions as ‘being’ white (institutional whiteness), we are pointing to how institutional spaces are shaped by the proximity of some bodies and not others: white bodies gather, and cohere to form the edges of such spaces.
Ahmed, 2007
Sara Ahmed’s concept of ‘institutional whiteness’ is an interesting lens to view the invisible yet perceivable boundaries that define and shape who does-or-does-not-belong within academic spaces.
A cold climate
Higher education institutions, typically celebrated as spaces that provide knowledge and progress, are also spaces that perpetuate a ‘cold climate’ that hinders the success of BPOC students. This climate is ’caused by institutional racism and racism micro-aggressions’ (Tate, 2019). This cold climate, Shirley Ann Tate suggests, contributes to the attainment gap which means that students cannot go on to postgraduate study which in turn ‘continues to reproduce academia as white.’ This sentiment is echoed in Rhianna Garret’s article, where two interviewed PhD students saw academia as a space ‘that failed to support their intersectional identities as students’ (Garrett, 8).
Academic spaces don’t physically displace subjugated groups and bodies, but they perpetuate the systemic manner in which educational policies, practices and processes privilege certain groups at the expense of others.
Reproducing structural inequalities
One of these educational policies is the Baseline Assessment highlighted in Alice Bradbury’s article. Bradbury analyses this policy using critical race theory as a framework to identify how this policy (which on the surface seems unproblematic and not-disadvantageous) disproportionately disadvantages bilingual learners (often from ‘minoritised groups’) by failing to account for their linguistic diversity and thereby contributing to a ‘tacit intentionality’ that perpetuates white dominance at the very start of a child’s schooling experience.
A proposed idea that stood out to me from Bradbury’s article was that educational policies tend to romanticise bilingualism when it involves European languages, but not when they are seen as immigrant languages, thereby perpetuating ‘the dominance of the English-speaking (mainly white) majority, through the under-assessment of the marginalised linguistic (and often racialised) Other. (Bradbury, 2020). The idea that there are certain identity traits (socio, linguistic or cultural) that are seen as ‘safe’ by a dominant majority is captured well in this video from Goodness Gracious Me, which I remember watching with my parents who immigrated to the UK in the 1970s. Sanjeev Bhaskar’s character looks down on the immigrant character, but will never be seen as equal to the white British character, an inequality he internalises in his attitude towards his former compatriot.
Change beyond performance
Inclusive teaching and learning is more than including diverse perspectives in the curriculum. It demands structural changes in teaching methods so that we create environments that genuinely value and incorporate lived experiences. (Sadiq, 2023). The challenge lies in ensuring that we create psychologically safe environments where students can integrate their lived experience without fear of their identity being displaced by the bodies that seek to de-voice anyone posing a ‘threat’ at the periphery of ‘institutional whiteness.’, a scenario exemplified by former LCF student, Romero Bryan:
I wanted to explore my culture, in terms of reggae music and the dancehall scene, being I am originally Jamaican, with links to Cuba also. Unfortunately, it was frowned upon by the tutors. I guess they were scared they couldn’t relate to my experiences… It was very much a Western approach to the subject areas you were allowed to explore. Anything outside of that was a no-go zone.
Romero Bryan, Shades of Noir, 2020
Conclusion
By recognising how spaces are orientated around certain bodies, we can begin to dismantle the barriers that exclude others. As Ibram X. Kendi states, the ‘only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it.’ The journey towards a truly inclusive education system is exactly that, a journey. It requires persistent commitment to embracing the discomfort that comes with deep, meaningful change. Only then can we create educational spaces where all bodies feel they belong, and more importantly, that they matter.
Ahmed, S. (2007) Queer Phenomenology : Orientations, Objects, Others. Erscheinungsort Nicht Ermittelbar: Duke University Press.
Bradbury, A. (2019) ‘A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: the case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England’, Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp. 1–20. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2019.1599338.
Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism. [Online}. Youtube. 30 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg
Garrett, R. (2024) ‘Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education’, Globalisation, Societies and Education, pp. 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2024.2307886.
Inclusive Practice: Alchemy – Transformation in Social Justice Teaching. (2020) Shades Of Noir. Available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/journals/inclusive-practice/ (Accessed: 21 June 2024).
Kendi, I.X. (2023) How to Be an Antiracist. One World.
Sadiq, A. (2023) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. TEDx [Online}. Youtube. 2 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw
Tate, S.A. (2018) Tackling the ‘BPOC’ Attainment Gap in UK Universities [Online]. Youtube. TEDx/Re:Act, Royal School of Speech & Drama. October. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPMuuJrfawQ
While there have been serious attempts at integrating issues of sexual, racial, class, and national difference within feminist theory, questions regarding religious difference have remained largely unexplored.
Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety
Religious difference can often be overlooked as an intersection. I will look to explore this in more detail, using Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality as a way to address the ‘single-issue analyses that intersectionality challenges.’ (Crenshaw, 1989). This blog post explores how faith, particularly for female Muslims, intertwines with other aspects of identity to shape lived experiences.
Embodied intersectionality
I’m particularly interested in the concepts of ‘embodied intersectionality’ (Mirza, 2013) and ’embodied practices,’ such as wearing the hijab to explore how these practices serve as expressions of faith but also as markers of broader social and cultural identities.
The hijab, which provides Muslim women with an ‘inner strength’, can simultaneously be used as a weapon against them. As Mirza states, the veil is ‘given a symbolic meaning that goes far beyond its actual religious or social status’. (Mirza, 2013). This contradiction highlights the need for a framework that moves beyond simplistic, essentialist notions about ethnicity, tradition, and religion. (Mirza, 2013).
Is intersectionality enough?
While Crenshaw’s framework of intersectionality provides a multi-layered approach to understand the discrimination and complex lived experiences of Muslim women in relation to the hijab, I am not sure how, in practical terms, it could be applied to mitigate the ‘persistent view that equates the veil with oppression itself’ (Rekis, 2023). This application of intersectionality is something I am struggling with. If intersectionality as an applied framework becomes the lens through which we see everyone, that might risk us prioritising group identity and moving away from Crenshaw’s original use of the term as an explanation for multi-dimensional discrimination against black women in legal contexts. Emphasising collective identity could also be a way of allowing for racialised stereotypes to come to the fore. I think there’s a balancing act to be achieved between prioritising group and individual identities – so they affect but don’t define our lived experiences. I know this is a grey area, and in keeping with the nature of this unit I don’t think it’s a time to come to concrete answers but more so to allow for deeper reflection. I’m curious to know what my blog group thinks about this!
An autoethnographic approach
I wonder if adopting an autoethnographic approach might help to bridge the gap between the individual and group views of identity.
As a method, autoethnography:
Uses personal narratives as the basis to explore intersectionality
Emphasises the connection between identity negotiations and embodied practices (micro-level) and the socio–cultural context (the macro-level)
Focuses on the situated perspectives of those living at the intersections to highlight the nuances within a marginalised group.
In my context (online PGT) I could design activities that support students to develop their own intersectional autoethnographic narratives – prompting them to articulate how systems of power and privilege manifest in their own creative practice and how their work is perceived by others.
Conclusion
UAL data shows student religious affiliation declining year on year. We shouldn’t, however, disregard religion or underestimate the connection it has with race and gender. This would constitute an epistemic injustice (Rekis, 2023).
By centering subjugated voices and their embodied intersectional experiences, we can develop a deeper sense of care and empathy. Through intersectional autoethnography, we honour individual narratives while illuminating the intricate threads that weave our collective identities together to form an intricate threadscape that transcends reductionist approaches.
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P.s. I love this (now viral) clip displaying the care and empathy that I believe can be developed in all arenas of life.
Adams, T.E., Stacy Holman Jones and Ellis, C. (2021) Handbook of Autoethnography. Routledge.
Crenshaw, K. (1989) Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics, University of Chicago Legal Forum. Available at: http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8.
Mahmood, S. (2005). Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject (REV-Revised). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvct00cf
Mirza, H.S. (2013) ‘“A second skin”: Embodied intersectionality, transnationalism and narratives of identity and belonging among Muslim women in Britain’, Women’s Studies International Forum, 36, pp. 5–15.
Rekis, J. (2023) ‘Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account’, Hypatia, 38(4), pp. 779–800. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2023.86.
Artwork: Yui Yamamoto, 2021 MA Performance: Design and Practice, Central Saint Martins, UAL | Photograph: Alys Tomlinson
There is labor in attending to what recedes from view
Sara Ahmed, 2012
This blog explores how Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality (that we looked at as part of the first workshop) helps us understand how various forms of discrimination can compound the experiences of individuals with intersecting identities, including race, disability, gender identity and sexual identity.
While watching the interviews, it became clear that intersections play a critical role in shaping the experiences of each individual discussed. The interviews reveal recurring themes and differing perspectives that are crucial for understanding their experiences more comprehensively through the lens of ‘potential coalitions‘ between race, gender and disability. (Crenshaw, 2006).
Intersecting identities
Ade’s lived experience illustrates how societal structures can ‘disable’ individuals by preventing full participation in society. His perspectives on the lack of accessible transport and buildings reminded me of a training session run by the UAL Disability team. In this session, UAL Head of Disability Service Caroline Huntley introduced the social model of disability, which posits that disability is caused by the way society is structured, rather than by a person’s impairment.
Ade’s experience as a black male Paralympian means that he ‘intersects disability and race’ and recognises that addressing them separately does little in terms of progress. As a trans man who is neurodiverse and queer, Chay Brown encounters layers of misunderstanding and discrimination that necessitate advocacy that acknowledges ‘multiple grounds of identity’ (Crenshaw, 2006). This acknowledgement can help to avoid what Crenshaw refers to as ‘mutual elisions’ that are potentially areas of tension and conflict.
Exclusion in creative arts education
Christine Sun Kim discusses how she was turned away from taking creative art classes at high school and university. The lack of support class highlights that disabled students are often denied them of the opportunities that their peers have access to.
Through her creative work, Christine asks us to reconsider accessibility and what ‘normal’ communication might look like. A lot of Christine’s work has parallels with the universal design in learning (UDL) principles. I thought her idea of ‘captioning the world’ and making it more accessible to all was a telling reminder that we do live in a society that is designed in an inherently disadvantageous way to people with impairments.
How this applies to my role
Acknowledging the lived experiences of students with intersecting identities means that we can enhance their learning environments. We must make our educational spaces (physical and online) welcoming for all groups of students, following the principles of UDL. This involves recognising the barriers that disabled and neurodiverse students face and actively working to remove them, upholding the Public Sector Equality Duty of ‘advancing equality of opportunity between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.’ (UAL Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Annual Report 2022/2023). In my role as an online learning designer, I need to be proactively designing inclusivity and accessibility into the curriculum and not treating it as an afterthought. There are small wins such as ensuring that multimedia content is appropriately captioned, clear and accessible language is used, (avoiding jargon and acronyms), and providing multiple formats for course materials to cater to various learning preferences and needs.
As quoted at the start of the blog, ‘we must attend what recedes from view’ (Ahmed, 20212) if we want to to truly create an inclusive educational environment that values and supports everyone.
Ahmed, S. (2012) On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press.
CAST (2018) Universal Design for Learning Guidelines Version 2.2, UDL Guidelines. CAST. Available at: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/.
Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity politics, and Violence against Women of Color’, Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp. 1241–1299. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039.
Assessing learning and exchanging feedback (A3, V3)
Contextual Background
Part of my role includes supporting academic staff in the design of assessment during the design stage of course and unit development and ensuring that any assessment is inclusive, flexible and accessible. The current course I am working on is a series of 14-week long, 30-credit units as part of an online MA in Graphic Communication.
Evaluation
When it comes to choosing assessment methods, the conversation tends to focus on delivering assessment of learning, however, assessment for learning is not often discussed as an effective mode of teaching and learning, particularly when it comes to teaching creative arts disciplines online.
Furthermore, there isn’t always diversity in how feedback for assessments is given. Feedback is typically written, and time-consuming to give. As a result, academic staff tend to be reluctant to build in opportunities for formative assessment as it increases their workload and the value of it isn’t always apparent.
Moving forwards
To address this, I’d like to incorporate elements of Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick’s seven principles of good feedback practice. I will build in more opportunities for low-stakes formative assessment. Asking students to share their work-in-progress regularly should help to reduce the fear around a ‘high-stakes big submission’ at the end of the unit. This should help academic staff to gain early and regular feedback on student progress and comfortability with the project brief.
I recommend using ‘Process Portfolio’ as part of the unit assessment strategy. This can be a collection of artefacts that may include artworks, reflective writing or preparatory sketches that evidence creative processes and progress towards a final product. This can be built over time, allowing for chunking of assessment tasks at various points in the unit.
Using Mark Russell’s models of assessment patterns, I recommend the following model for formative assessment opportunities within a 14-week unit. The green represents low-stakes formative assessment and the red represents high-stakes assessment which in this instance is going to be summative.
Appendix A: The distribution of formative (green) assessment opportunities, leading into the summative assessment in Week 14
This approach will alleviate the pressure associated with high-stakes summative assessments by distributing student effort across the unit, promoting a continuous and reflective approach to learning. Providing regular feedback on work created as part of the process can ‘strengthen the students’ capacity to self-regulate their own performance’ (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2021). Every formative feedback point should be planned and expectations made clear to students (Bunting et al).
I wanted to explore different strategies for providing feedback, such as ‘feedforward’ and exploring video as a format of giving feedback. The combination of regular formative assessment opportunities combined with audiovisual feedforward strategies can ensure that the feedback loop is closed (Boud, 2000) and that ‘assessment has an effective developmental impact on learning’ (Gray, 2016). This approach seemed to work well when I tested it in a shorter course, with one of the student’s stating that it ‘Let me know more about the teacher and feel closer to the teacher.’
Appendix B: Example of a feedforward video posted by the tutor on a student’s process portfolio on Padlet
By implementing Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick’s feedback strategies and focusing on regular formative assessments and different ways of giving feedback, we can encourage self-regulation, and complete the feedback cycle.
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References
Boud, D. (2000) ‘Sustainable Assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society’, Studies in Continuing Education, 22(2), pp. 151–167. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/713695728.
Bunting, L. et al. Eliminating inequality in formative assessment. AEM. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/190153/AEM-Eliminating-Inequality-Formative-Assessment-PDF-288KB.pdf (Accessed: 15 March 2024).
Gray, L. (2016) Feedback and feed forward Using technology to support students’ progression over time. Available at: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/feedback-and-feed-forward (Accessed: 13 March 2024).
Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2021) ‘Formative Assessment and Self-regulated learning: a Model and Seven Principles of Good Feedback Practice’, Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), pp. 199–218.
Reimann, N., Sadler, I. and Sambell, K. (2019) ‘What’s in a word? Practices associated with “feedforward” in higher education’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(8), pp. 1279–1290. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2019.1600655.
Russell, M. et al. (2018) ‘The ESCAPE Project’, BRILL eBooks, pp. 40–50. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004393455_004.
