This report by Finnigan and Richards considers the retention and attainment of students from diverse backgrounds with the discipline of Art and Design within universities, published in 2016 but using 2010-11 data from a HEA (Higher Education Academy) report (Woodfield 2014).
While retention and attainment was a huge issue then and remains a huge issue now, I think its important to get an understanding of where the retention and attainment figures are now in 2023 and how they may have fluctuated in the years between. I’ll be specifically looking at UAL as an example as it’s the institution I work within.
Woodfields report shows in 2010-11 the awarding gap between White and Black Home students was 33%. However it’s important to note that these are numbers for the Art and Design sector and not UAL specifically.
Looking at ‘UAL’s Action and Participation Plan for 2020/21 – 2024/25’ the below graph shows the attainment rates and awarding gaps from the years 2013/14 – 2017/18 between white students and POC students. While the awarding gap is closing the gap is still disproportionate.
I then looked at the UAL dashboard to look at the figures for more recent years, and specifically the years that I have been teaching at UAL. The following graphs show the attainment rates for home white and home BAME students from the years 2019/20 – 2021/22 and the awarding gap for the year 2021/22. This number is now sitting at 11% which while improved by 2/3 compared to the 2010-11 figures is still sitting within the red zone. Work is being done but further work needs to be done to close the gap even further to at the very least sit within the +/-5% green zone.
It’s clear to see that the university is taking action to close the awarding gap, and reading through Finnigan and Richards report has highlighted some important points that I can bring more light to in my teaching practice to help close the gap within my course.
Something I learnt was the ‘pedagogy of ambiguity’ which is prevalent within art and design education. Open briefs that encourage students to engage with problem solving and lean into risk taking and failure.
In block 1 of each year I teach on a YR2 unit and run YR3 technical workshops, and in block 1 I lead a YR1 unit. At the beginning of the year I get myself into a head-space of working with students that are further into their higher education journey and have a better understanding of these open briefs, problem solving and risk taking. Then going into teaching YR1 I am aware that I need to be more mindful that these students are still in their first year of study and still navigating how HE works. They are still unlearning some of the more formulaic ways of learning from secondary and further education, who may have expectations based on concrete and certain. The idea of there being no ‘correct’ end result or ‘correct’ way of doing it can be unsettling and students will be constantly looking for certainty and reassurance. I need to make sure that I factor this into my expectations of students and carve out regular points of contact throughout the project to provide that support.
Another thing that now seems obvious but wasn’t at the forefront of my mind is the explicit impact of having POC role models in teaching staff to retain students. I have a Brazilian colleague who joined UAL at the same time as me, and she was contacted by a south American YR3 student who reached out just to say how happy she was to see south American representation within the teaching staff and how excited she was to work with her. A case study right there in front of me which shows that diversity within teaching staff makes an impact.
This also got me thinking about applications and how having more diversity among teaching staff will encourage more diverse students to apply. On our course home page we have the names of the teaching team and small blurbs about ourselves. Seeing representation within the teaching staff when looking to apply for a course is important, and could encourage some students to apply who might not have otherwise.
I am not in a position currently where I am involved in the process of on-boarding new staff, however what I can do is make sure that I support and amplify the voices of my POC colleagues who will inevitably face more inequities than me as a result of structural and institutional racism.
A point raised in the report has reinforced some concerns I have had since I have started teaching. Finnigan and Richards note that with increasing group sizes, providing feedback on an individual level has become increasingly challenging. With one to one feedback still used, it can lead to students feeling like they are receiving very little teaching.
As a technical tutor many of my sessions are centred around helping students realise a garment design in 3D. Students have very individual work with each garment design requiring different processes, so as a result I need to work with each student individually. This leaves students to work on their own until I am able to come and help them, and for some this means sitting their twiddling their thumbs or looking through their phones; for others they are more confident and crack on with their work. Is there a way that I can engage students as a group whilst focusing on helping an individual student?
Bibliography
Finnigan, T and Richards, A. (2016). Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design. York: Higher Education Academy.
Woodfield, R. (2014) Undergraduate Retention and Attainment Across the Disciplines. York: Higher Education Academy.
UAL (2022). University of the Arts London Access and Participation Plan 2020/21 to 2024/25 [Online] Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/375682/University-of-the-Arts-London-Access-and-Participation-Plan-2020-21-to-2024-25-PDF-773KB.pdf [Accessed 16.Jun.2023]
I really enjoyed reading your blog post, James, you make such good points.
The pedagogy of ambiguity is something I was also unaware of before reading this report, and this highlighted to me the importance of ensuring there are enough points of contact throughout a unit to check in with Y1 students and provide reassurance, especially as I lead a block 1 Y1 unit.
The impact of representation on students is something that I was aware of, but funny enough I had never thought of the impact my own presence would have on other students in terms of representation until I was approached by the Latinx student (for anyone who might be reading this – I’m James’ Brazilian colleague 🙂 ) In retrospect, I can see how my presence can have an impact, and I have wondered if the reason I never considered this before was the fact I don’t see myself represented within the university – I am one of two Latinx lecturers I am aware of within our programme/school – and I think in a way this makes me think of my ethnicity as ‘invisible’ because it is not present in my everyday. It’s hard to explain, but this has made me consider what other ways exist to increase representation within our course. I feel like FDD is already very diverse in terms of its staff, but while there is always room for improvement, there are also limitations – how can we increase representation if we are unable to hire more staff? One way I’ve been thinking about are case studies within projects, as well as previous student work shown during presentations on best practice. Whereas in the past my only focus was the work itself, I’ve been trying to also ensure there is diversity within the work so students can see themselves represented.
Still on attainment, I recently came across two sessions run by the Academic Enhancement team that might interest you too:
supporting attainment with unit design: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/200302/academic-enhancement-support-research-and-policy
Teaching for retention: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/teaching-for-retention-tickets-619837319107
just realised the teaching for retention sadly falls on the graduation day – but worth checking again for the future as they seem to run it multiple times a year 🙂
Thanks for commenting Mariana, and it’s funny how we can so easily overlook things – especially when related to ourselves! You’ve raised a really good point around not actually being able to hire more staff to increase representation, as our team is already quite big. Case studies within projects and representation of students work in presentations are great examples!
It could also be HPL (Hourly Paid Lecturers) and AL (Associate Lecturers) where there is more scope for representation if there is no space for permanent positions; or guest lecturers, industry partners and brands used within projects? There is really so much scope for representation within the teaching team and curriculum!
Also thank you for bringing my attention to the term Latinx! I already knew it, but hadn’t really utilised it within my own vocabulary. I think I have a tendency to avoid words and terminology I’m not overly familiar with in fear of using them incorrectly. Definitely a word I am going to be using more in my daily life and teaching practice.
And finally thank you for the links to the retention and attainment sessions I’ll definitely look into booking on these when they don’t conflict with graduation!