I am from a white working class background and I have a BA hons in costume for performance from UAL. I am currently the specialist technician in costume for performance at London College of Fashion and I work with the BA and MA courses. I am an abled bodied woman and was diagnosed with learning difference in 2007. I have experience in applying for ISAs and DSA within UAL as I have applied for these as a student myself, and I recognise that I have a bias here. My learning difference also gives me insight on being a disabled student within UAL and how important inclusive learning environments are for students to flourish.
Category: Action Research Project
Observation preparation and reading.
I wanted to do some research on how to conduct the room observation in order to get the best data from it. After reading Methods of comparative analysis (Bolbakov, Sinitsyn and Tsvetkov. 2020) I understand more about how to conduct the room observation and collect measurement data for comparative analysis. I plan to collect measurements within the room and compare them to average mobility aid dimensions to see if they would work within the space. I believe this is the best method as “Comparison can be considered as an intelligent procedure that allows us to examine a set of objects in order to discover their relations or to assess the degree of their differences and similarities.” (Bolbakov, Sinitsyn and Tsvetkov. 2020) I am able to get the results without needing participants.
I have also tried to get a better understanding of spaces and those with disabilities accessing them. Although a paper about accessible toilets, it still gave be a better understanding of how important it is to have the same access as able bodied people. As said by Kitchen and Law “For disabled people, the provision of public services and the design of the built environment can be a crucial determinant of participation.”
The importance of ensuring that for those with physical disabilities and mobility impairments, the workshop was fully accessible became even more apparently after reading Imries paper Disability and discourses of mobility and movement (2000) He identifies that “Mobility and movement are also dependent upon access from one place to another and, for disabled people, to be able to move through spaces unimpeded by physical objects. Indeed, a prerequisite for movement is the means for connectivity between places, and yet for most respondents’ movement is often hindered by the lack of appropriate infrastructure or mechanisms to enable them to move easily from one place to another. For instance, for most wheelchair users, the discontinuous nature of routeways is an ever-present part of their daily lives”
References
Bolbakov, R.G., Sinitsyn, A.V. and Tsvetkov, V.Y., 2020, November. Methods of comparative analysis. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1679, No. 5, p. 052047). IOP Publishing. Available at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1679/5/052047/pdf [Accessed] 6th November 2023
Imrie, R., 2000. Disability and discourses of mobility and movement. Environment and planning A, 32(9), pp.1641-1656. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rob-Imrie/publication/23538979_Disability_and_Discourses_of_Mobility_and_Movement/links/5f113a484585151299a1353d/Disability-and-Discourses-of-Mobility-and-Movement.pdf [Accessed] 8th November 2023.
Kitchin, R. and Law, R., 2001. The socio-spatial construction of (in) accessible public toilets. Urban studies, 38(2), pp.287-298. Available at https://www.jstor.org/stable/43100392?seq=1 [Accessed] 6th November 2023
Action research cycle plan.
Now I have my question formulated and a plan for an intervention, I have used the spiral diagram to visualise what I am going to do.
I plan to read as much as I can about the use of room observations as a research method alongside looking at average wheelchair dimensions so I can compare the data to see if the rooms are compatible.
Although my focus is the barriers on the courses themselves, I do want to look at some external contributing factors to gain an understanding on the bigger picture.
References
Masters, S. (04/11/23) My Action Research Cycle
Research methods
This has been the biggest challenge so far with my ARP. Knowing which research methods to use to get the best data. I have already encountered a few problems along the way. Mainly being that colleagues have be very reluctant to have a formal interview with me for my research. I have heard some concerning comments made with the set up of East Bank on why certain decisions were made about aesthetics over accessibility. What happened to the height adjustable pattern cutting tables we were promised? Too Expensive. Why not have just one per room? They would not match the aesthetically. When I asked if I could talk to them formally for my research project, I was told no, this might have repercussions for me if I talk about this. That I understand. This project started in a positive light for me. I appreciated finally being in an accessible building and now wanted to see how we could push that further. To find out these discussion already happened and that choices were made against what I am trying to achieve with my research, not just because of financial reasons, but for aesthetics? I find that quite demoralising and also embarrassing. How can I get the information I need when know one is willing to talk to me. This isn’t a whistle blowing research project after all.
During my first group tutorial, I discussed these issues and how I felt stuck on which research method to use. It was suggested that I could use Autoethnography. This is a research method that I am completely unfamiliar with and will have to read about to get a better understanding of how I can use this for my project.
I have already been conducting Desk Research obtaining quantitative data that is already existing such as the percentages of students at university with disabilities that are already published. I will also be doing more Desk research to find out if it is possible to but alternative equipment for the rooms that are accessible to all students.
I still hope that I will be able to find colleagues that are willing to be interviewed to collect qualitative data, mostly the disability advisors. I have spoken to the advisor for performance, however they are incredibly busy due to the number of ISA’s they are processing. I hope that In time they will have availability to talk with me.
In an ideal world my project would consist of finding barriers, formulating an intervention, report the finding and start the next spiral. The reality is we do not currently have any students at LCF that could participate in my intervention. Due to the equipment barriers for physically disabled people, sewing is not a common hobby in that demographic. Finding an external disabled sewers to talk to is also something I am having difficulty in finding.
My colleague who is the support technician for 3D effects for Performance and also a dissertation tutor has been incredibly helpful. Through discussions with her about my project she made some great suggestions about my intervention. Observing the rooms EB822 823 824 and 828 (costume rooms) is a methodology and an intervention in discovering barriers that we have for the practical side of the course. Using my own observations of the equipment and furniture to see if any of these are wheelchair/mobility impaired accessible.
Research methods: Student participation.
Having made enquiries about the idea of a student survey to find out what barriers physically disabled students come across at LCF, I stumbled on a barrier myself. Finding those students! LCF has a number of students who identify as having a disability, however these are mostly learning differences, neurodiversity and mental health conditions. I have looked on social media to see if there are any UAL student disability support groups etc and I found nothing that is currently active. Due to confidentiality, I am struggling to find an option for doing a student survey and finding participants. I have asked colleagues in general if they have students with physical disabilities or mobility impairments on their courses and what adjustments if any are boing made. I have had a resounding no, we don’t have any that we know of.
As much as this makes me want to bang my head against a wall, as I feel as though I take one step forward and two steps back. It also confirms to me that there is a reason why these students are not here and that needs to change.
Unfortunately, I will have to think of another research method for now.
Rationale
“Disabled people are underrepresented in higher education and disabled students in higher education have somewhat worse outcomes from higher education than non-disabled students. Students with a disability are more likely to drop-out of courses and those that finish their degree tend to have lower degree results; in 2016/17 a lower proportion of UK disabled students were awarded a first or upper second-class degree than those without a reported disability.” Bolton and Hubble (2021:3)
I have spent this week trying to find statistics on how many students with physical disabilities are currently studying practical courses at university. I was quite surprised that this information is not easy to find. Maybe no one is collecting data on specific types of courses, as I was only able to find information on students as a whole. The last data collection that was publish that I could find is from the UK parliament website which shows that in 2019, only 2.5% of students in the UK were students with a multisensory, medical or physical disabilities. I’ve not been able to find out what percentage of those are just with physical disabilities or mobility issues. Academic courses may find it much easier to be accessible for students with physical disabilities as they are mostly taught in lecture theatres and now increasingly online.
As said by Bolton and Hubble “Disabled people are underrepresented in higher education” (2021:7) and those with physical are among the most underrepresented. There are many more studies abut students with learning differences and the awareness is much higher. When I first started thinking about my action research project, I initially intended to look at identifying barriers for all students with disabilities, but the realisation hit that there is more awareness for students with learning differences and neurodiversity, and what barriers there are for them. This underrepresented group of students who have physical disabilities or mobility issues who are not currently seen at LCF, and why are they not seen? why are they not there? As stated by Shaw (2021)”It is critical to identify the barriers faced by disabled H.E. students still denied the socially just opportunity to achieve their potential and make a positive contribution to society.”
References
Bolton, P and Hubble, S. (2021) Support for disabled students in higher education in England Available at https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8716/ Accessed 25th November 2023
Shaw, A., (2021). Inclusion of disabled Higher Education students: why are we not there yet?. International Journal of Inclusive Education, pp.1-19. Available at https://www-tandfonline-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1080/13603116.2021.1968514 [Accessed] 24th November 2023.
ARP Research Question.
Identifying barriers: What are the contributing factors on the BA and MA costume courses that prevent students with physical disabilities/mobility impairments from applying or succeeding on the course?
I have decided on this research question after noticing a lack of students who are wheelchair users. I have not seen any myself, neither have colleagues who I have asked. Mobility impairments are not always “seen” and so that can be difficult to identify if that demographic is within UAL. Due to data protection and consent to that information, this is not information disability advisors can give me. All I know though ISA’s that are sent to me, is that we currently have no students on the BA and MA costume courses. It is my belief that there are barriers that we have that is the reason for this under representation and my hopes that my starting to identify these, we can remove them and encourage students to apply in the future.
The Social model of disability.
“The social model of disability helps us recognise barriers that make life harder for Disabled people. These barriers are identified as being the physical environment, people’s attitudes, the way people communicate, how institutions and organisations are run, and how society discriminates against those of us who are perceived as ‘different’. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers Disabled people more independence, choice, and control.” Disability Rights UK (2022)
I Had learned about the social model of disability during the Inclusive Practise Unit and it made me view disability in a different way. The idea that people are not disabled, but it is the world around us that disables people a found inspiring. Although I do not have a physical disability, I do have a learning difference that I was not diagnose with until I was 22 which caused years of me feeling as though I was not clever enough and feeling very frustrated as to why I was struggling so much with my school work. My husband also suffered with a rare condition called Perthes Disease as a child, which lead him to using a wheelchair for many years and a full hip replacement as soon as his hit adulthood. Although no longer a wheelchair user, the condition has caused limitations in his mobility and seeing the struggles he can face in day to day activities makes me feel very strongly in favour of the social model of Disability. By identifying the barriers in the world around us that can prevent those with disabilities from being included, and finding ways to bring those barriers down to create a more inclusive society. As stated by Gomes.,et al “One important step in improving accessibility is bringing awareness of diversity and inclusion within our own society.” (2020)
I’ve always strived to make my teaching as inclusive as possible. During Covid I developed LCF Tech pages to guide students through technical workshops that they needed to do from home. Understanding that students have different ways of learning, I gave students options from videos guides, text and diagrams that were translatable and having an Immersive reader function. It is only since the move that I realised that I had not considered physical impairments and how we may have barriers on this course that could inhibit students with physical disabilities from thriving. It is my hope with this Action Research project that I can identify barriers within the BA and MA costume courses and start to find solutions for these in order to bring them down.
“By Identifying social barriers which should be removed, the social model has been effective instrumentally in the liberation of disabled people.” Shakespeare,(2006: 198)
Since I have been a technician at LCF, we have not had a student that is a wheelchair user, This is probably down to the fact that we were located on the first floor at Lime Grove without a lift. However now with the move to Eastbank and being in an accessible building, we can hope to expect that students who are wheelchair users may now apply. I plan to walk around the spaces we have and see what potential barriers we currently have.
References
Disability Rights UK (2022) Social Model of disability: Language. Available at https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/social-model-disability-language Accessed 20th November 2023
Gomes, K.M., Nguyen, T., Stonewall, J., Davis, K., Coppola, S., Hallett, K. and Williams, R.M., (2020) December. Inclusion and Accessibility in The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kermit-Davis/publication/349283531_Inclusion_and_Accessibility_in_The_Human_Factors_and_Ergonomics_Society/links/6036c6b4299bf1cc26ebefb9/Inclusion-and-Accessibility-in-The-Human-Factors-and-Ergonomics-Society.pdf [Accessed] 26th October 2023
UAL (2023) Disability services: Our Values. Available at https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/28829/Disability-Service-Values-PDF-1080-KB.pdf Accessed 20th November 2023
Shakespeare, T (2006) The social model of disability. The disability studies reader, 2, pp.197-204. Available at https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aiQlDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA195&ots=TCwo90Izu2&dq=By%20Identifying%20social%20barriers%20which%20should%20be%20removed%2C%20the%20social%20model%20has%20been%20effective%20instrumentally%20in%20the%20liberation%20of%20disabled%20people&lr&pg=PA199#v=onepage&q=By%20Identifying%20social%20barriers%20which%20should%20be%20removed,%20the%20social%20model%20has%20been%20effective%20instrumentally%20in%20the%20liberation%20of%20disabled%20people&f=false [Accessed] 19th November 2023.
The Action Research cycle.
I found it really useful during this weeks class looking at a visual of the action research cycle based on McNiff and Whitehead (2009)
As a visual learner myself it helps me start to formulate a plan of what I need to do for this project. I have spent the summer considering different options for my ARP, and as it has been 15 years since I last did academic research on this scale, I am feeling quite nervous about it.
I am still working on a question but I know that I want base it on how accessible we are as a course and what we can do to improve it for students with disabilities.
References.
Marsden, R and Bunting, L. ARP Workshop 2 – week 23 October 2023 v.3. The Action Research cycle based on McNiff and Whitehead (2009) p.g 6 Available at https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/mod/folder/view.php?id=1118464 Accessed on 28th October 2023
LCF moves to East Bank.
My first day at East bank required an online induction as the site was still under the construction company Mace, and PPE was required. Steel toe cap shoes, and covered legs in the summer heat was a must to be allowed on site. My first day on site was exactly 4 weeks before we would be open to students and there was lots left to do.
My first impressions of the building were great. The building felt spacious and open planed, the costume rooms felt bigger and more inviting. However, the rooms were still empty. Lime Grove was the first LCF site to be moved, but as our floor had only just been given the green light for early access staff to enter, our furniture was being stored on floors below us.
Each day, more of our equipment and packing boxes arrived and we started to experiment with positioning the machines to get the most out of the space. The room layouts had been designed for us at a time where are cohort numbers were lower and so the need to fit in extra machines was necessary. Due to plug sockets being positioned for the designed layout, we were unable to make and changes and kept to the original design plan.
The most exciting change from moving to East Bank from Lime Grove is the 8 lifts compared to 0 in D Block. The idea that we can now say we are an accessible course in an accessible building is a very welcome change. But are we an accessible course?
References
Masters, S (2023) LCF East bank August 2023
Masters, S (2023) MA Costume 8th Floor August 2023
Masters, S (2023) East Bank 8th Floor lifts November 2023