“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.
Support for disabled students in higher education in England. Bolton and Hubble (2021)
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
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 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)
UAL (2023) Disability Services: Our Values
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
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.
I found it really useful during this weeks class looking at a visual of the action research cycle based on McNiff and Whitehead (2009)
Marsden and Bunting. The Action Research Cycle from workshop 2 (2023)
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 cyclebased 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
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.
LCF East bank August 2023 Authors own
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.
MA Costume 8th Floor August 2023 Authors own
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?
East Bank 8th Floor lifts November 2023 Authors own
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
I spent the summer considering what I would like to do for my action research project and felt very uninspired. I started to get concerned that I would never come up with a viable idea that I felt passionate about. I do not consider myself an academically minded person and always struggled reading and writing due to my dyslexia, and felt like I had a mental block.
That was until I read a post on a sewing Facebook group that I am a member of. A lady had posted asking if her sewing days were over after becoming paralysed from the waist down due to a car accident. There were many comments of support, encouragement and practical advice about domestic sewing machines that do not require the use of a foot pedal. The same domestic machines that I had purchased for the costume department 2 years ago. This lead me to think about the industrial machines we have and how they are not wheelchair accessible due to the height and the required use of the foot pedal in order to operate them.
LCF’s move to East bank promised many new opportunities for us as a course. Coming from the 1st floor in D block Lime Grove which did not have a lift, to the new building that is wheelchair accessible gives us a opportunity to be more inclusive.
Access Able guide to 1st floor D Block Lime Grove (2023)
I started to think about the social model of disability from the Inclusive practise term and using this to identify barriers on the BA and MA costume courses that would prevent students who are wheelchair users from applying to the courses now we are moving to an accessible building.
Reference
AccessAble (2023) London college of fashion – lime grove – block D. Available at: https://www.accessable.co.uk/university-of-the-arts-london-ual/london-college-of-fashion-lime-grove/access-guides/london-college-of-fashion-lime-grove-block-d Accessed 17th November 2023
“Differences are pervasive, ordinary, and acceptable, inclusion of all students in education is critically important for creating societies that recognize and embrace human variation.” (Baglieri, S. & Knopf; 2004, pg. 526)
My decision to create a resource rather than working on a theoretical intervention was clear from the get-go; I created a London college of fashion (LCF) Technical resource page on fittings and fitting etiquette that could be used by students as a reference tool. I wanted the content to be as inclusive as possible, to guide students on how to prepare for fittings of all performers rather than focusing on performers with differences, using the social model of disability as an inspirational tool to create a page on how to approach fittings for performers with differences in a normalised way.
As the UALs disability service values aim to “Champion the social model of disability. We use it as a tool to identify barriers that could be removed for the benefit of all students…” (2019); through advanced communication and accessibility within the new LCF building, specialist requirements should not be needed, however students need to be aware that these barriers still exist, and how they can contribute to removing them. It is our responsibility to teach students how to treat all their performers equally despite differences.
I am a 38-year-old, cis gender, straight, working class female with a BA (Hons) in costume for performance. I have dyslexia and my husband has physical disabilities with English being his second language, which gives me a further understanding of learning differences, physical differences, language barriers and how important inclusivity can be to people. This has impacted my view on this artefact.
I am the specialist technician for the BA and MA costume for performance courses at LCF. While fashion designers create their garments and find models to suit the outfits, in costume, we create bespoke garments that give information about the character for an already chosen performer. In this industry Costume Creators have no say in who these performers are as they are chosen by casting directors. Historically, able bodied performers portrayed the roles of characters with differences. Thankfully, the performance industry has come a long way in casting performers with disabilities and differences for such characters.
In the film Saving Private Ryan producer Mark Huffam has been quoted for working with amputees and paraplegics to achieve realism in war scenes. Notably actors such as Troy Kotsur, a deaf actor playing a deaf character in the film Coda (2021), who won the Oscar for best supporting actor to an audience applauding in ASL, are achieving higher representation in the industry.
According to RespectAbility (2021) despite there being an increase in characters with disabilities on screen, there is still a long way to go to reflect the percentage of those with disabilities in the population. With many organizations and discussions about increasing the representation of not only those with disabilities, but also performers who identify as trans and non-binary and performers of ethnic minorities, it is important that our students are well informed on etiquette to be as professional as possible when entering an industry emphasising this representation. When Tracy Davenport interviewed director and performer Josh Odsess-Rubin for Backstage magazine, he stated “As a cisgender theatre professional, I see it as my responsibility to educate myself first and foremost. If I don’t understand the nuances of Trans identity and the proper language I should be using [when] working with trans actors, I will undoubtedly do harm even if I’m well-intentioned.” (2023) With UALs Strategy 2022-2032 having a focus on employability, it is our responsibility to give the students the etiquette, skills, and confidence to work in the industry and be an integral part of changing it for the better.
Fittings are an integral part of the costume making process involving the performer to contribute ideas or concerns about the costume. After all, the costume helps the performer become the character they are hired to play. Fittings are intimate, and performers can also have vulnerabilities and insecurities that can surface during this time, regardless of ablism, disabilities, gender, or ethnicity. Currently, students learn how to do fittings one to one with the tutor. There are no professional resources to help remind students on what to do, what to bring and how to act. There is no class or resource embedded within the course that covers performers with differences. As students currently pick their performers, I want the resource to normalise the idea of working with performers that have differences, knowing they will get the support from the staff and university. “A classroom discourse that dialogically and pedagogically explores and embraces differences nurtures relationships within the classroom community and leads students towards a broader appreciation of difference.” (Baglieri, S. & Knopf; 2004 pg. 527)
The use of LCF Technical resource pages was expanded during Covid to enable us to teach inclusively online. Combining connectivism pedagogy with student centred learning; they have become an integral part of the technical workshops. Links to pages are embedded into Moodle for each unit and students are familiar with using them from year one term one in their own time, accessing the information and links to additional resources, if they wish, to further their own learning. The pages are accessible on any smart device.
It was important to me creating a resource that was not only inclusive in content, but accessible for all students regardless of learning differences or English being their second language The page includes an immersive reader function without the need for a specialist program and careful consideration was taken in terms of the language and terminology used to ensure that easily translating the page was an option. With an aim to implement differentiated instructions to “seek to move away from teaching to the whole class in the same manner and addresses the needs of all learners, including those who are at risk and the gifted, through various forms of well planned, well-organized, flexible curriculum and instructional strategies,” (Thakur 2014 pg. 1) within an online environment.
The page also includes information about underwear worn by trans and non-binary performers and terminology of these garments, alongside modesty garments by Intimask – a leading industry provider in modesty garments for performers in inclusive skin tones. These are vital in costume and very personal to the performer’s identity. The page also includes the law regarding fittings for under 16 performers which applies to students if they choose a child performer for one of their projects.
Due to the term ending before completing the LCF fittings and fitting etiquette LCF tech page, I have been unable to get students’ feedback. However, once the page goes live in October, a QR code that links to a feedback form will be provided to all students after their fittings referring to the tech page and its success. Unfortunately, after finishing the page I discovered that this is only accessible by LCF staff and students and not open to the rest of UAL. This is something I am consulting my line manager about to make the future of making pages accessible for all students of UAL.
QR code for student feedback
Through a tutorial and consultations with LCF co-workers, and an ex-co-worker of mine that works at Trinity Laban dance school; a school that is renowned for their inclusive practices in industry; I gained valuable feedback on the page and how to make it more inclusive. I changed questions in the performer questionnaire referring to trans shape wear. Replacing this with “Underwear” refers to garments such as binders as well as cis underwear, which would make the question inclusive, knowing all performers need to wear the same underwear that they would wear for a performance as it can change the fit of the costume. It was also suggested to add preferred pronouns of the performer to the questionnaire, and pronouns of the character if different. During the peer to peer presentations, it was suggested that I directly ask students for feedback as early as possible in order to gain suggestions to make any changes before the page goes live.
First draft of pre fitting form.Changes made to pre fitting form
It was also recommended to remove the link to the measurement video guide for menswear as we currently have no guide for womenswear. Noticing this, I have planned to collaborate on a video guide without referring to gender. This will be filmed and added in September.
The most valuable suggestion received was to add a section to the page about getting verbal consent before the fitting starts, and talking to the performer about what you are about to do to keep them at ease. This is a part of fitting etiquette I missed adding to the page initially. These are all changes that I plan to do before the start of term, collaborating with colleagues involved.
The success of my artefact will show as soon as students start using it providing formative feedback before and after fittings. This resource will inevitably evolve over time through student suggestions and academic colleagues’ input.
This assignment gave me greater insight on the challenges of making the resource inclusive for all when there is a need for specialist adjustments for specific needs. We aim to live in a world that is inclusive for all, and I hope that the students we are teaching now can make that a reality. “The social model demonstrates that the problems disabled people face, are the result of social oppression and exclusion, not their individual deficits. This places the moral responsibility on society to remove the burdens which have been imposed, and to enable disabled people to participate.” (pg. 198)
Link to the LCF Technical resource page Fittings and Fitting Etiquette
Baglieri, S., & Knopf, J. H. (2004). Normalizing Difference in Inclusive Teaching. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37(6), 525–529. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194040370060701
There are big differences between fashion and costume for performance that are often not considered even within UAL. Most notably, fashion designers find models that will fit the garment, where in costume, we make to measure the garment for the performer. Actors are hired to play a character and it is very common for productions to hire actors with disabilities for authenticity of the character. In the film Saving Private Ryan producer Mark Huffam has been quoted as saying that “we had somewhere between 20 and 30 amputees and paraplegics who worked with us, creating very realistic scenes where we could use effects to make it look like soldiers were losing limbs. Some might say it was an insensitive approach, but they all did it with great enthusiasm.” (2018)
Saving Private Ryan 1998
We have had students find performers with disabilities and extra measures need to be considered that the students often overlook as it is not taught within the curriculum regarding fitting the costumes. A student did not inform us that their performer was in a wheelchair and the LCF costumes rooms in Lime Grove D Block are not wheelchair accessible. We managed to create a fitting area within the 3D effects room, which is on the ground floor, but this was not considered by the student before the day of the fitting. Accessibility to fitting areas, asking performers in advanced if they have any special requirements or requests, for example I have worked with ASD performers who do not like to be touched which can be complicated if you are not familiar with this and how to work around it. This is not limited to just performers with disabilities but also extends to performers who are Trans as well who may feel more comfortable with extra measures in place, particularly when getting undressed in front of the costume team, and students may not be familiar with garments such as binders and gaffs. It is common for performers to be transparent with the production team, but its important for students to understand that might not always be the case if the performer wishes for confidentiality. Preparing for any situation that can occur during a fitting and having the correct fitting etiquette can prevent any issues occurring.
It has been a plan of mine to create an LCF technical resource page on fitting etiquette for the performance students for a while to help them prepare for their fittings and creating this as my artefact felt right. The LCF tech pages were created during Covid and have now become a staple resource site for our students to refer to. I do not want to create a page solely on fitting performers with differences but create a page about fitting anyone and everyone to be inclusive. Creating a page that contains information on what kit to bring to fittings, having an assistant to help them, to gender neutral measurement sheets, accessibility to fitting areas for all performers regardless of ableism, disability, or gender. Understanding differences from fittings within the college compared to industry and linking to further information they can access on inclusive fittings. It is imperative for students to understand that treating all performers the same and being prepared for everything will help create a comfortable environment for the performer who may feel anxious and vulnerable in this space . It is also important that the LCF Tech page itself is accessible for all students too. Ensuring that the text is easily translatable, there are photos and where possible videos, to give students as many options to help with their own learning styles.
Josephine Kwhali’s talk on unconscious bias resonated with me. It posed the question: how we can still have unconscious bias in education after all this time in an environment full of educated and intelligent people? This led me to thinking about Critical race theory and its links to unconscious bias Listening to the podcast Critical Race Theory with David Gillborn: Staying Critical and Realistic (2020) better informed my understanding of critical race theory. It is a sizable and complex topic which I hadn’t encountered before the PG Cert. Gilborn (2020) explains that as a white person, it is ok to feel uneasy when discussing white supremacy and racism as the UK education system has failed to prepare us for thinking critically about these issues. Our educational system has, in fact, done the opposite and taught us how to fit into the racist system without thinking about it. Since many academics still struggle to recognise the deep-rooted systemic racism within the UK education system, it really is no wonder that these issues and unconscious biases will continue until it can be openly discussed and changed.
Both Kwhali’s and Gilborn’s work made me more deeply consider my own positionality, a topic that I’ve struggled to both internalise and analyse this term. I now understand that I have had a different upbringing than most of my peers within the university. I am a white working-class straight woman who was born and raised in an established multicultural East London in the 1980s. Poverty united people of different faiths and races rather than dividing us. When talking about contact hypothesis in A Pedagogy of Social Justice Education: Social Identity Theory, Intersectionality, and Empowerment, Hahn Tapper (2013) states “if individuals identifying with particular groups in conflict interact with one another in a positively structured environment, they have an opportunity to re-evaluate their relations with one another such that one-time enemies can become acquaintances or even allies” (p.g. 415) Smith (2010) explains “Historically east London has also been one of the key target areas for racist and fascist organisations. They have attempted to pit white workers against migrant workers. But this has always been matched by a rich history of resistance. East London is a place where local people have fought for black, white and Asian unity – and where people of different backgrounds have come together to fight the bosses.”
Most of my teachers through primary school and secondary school were other than white, something that was normal for me. I am only now starting to understand that my education was not the norm within the UK, and grasp how I would have benefited from this experience. The NUS Race for Equality, A report on the experiences of Black students in further and higher education (2011) states that ethnic diversity among staff is important for both Black and White students (pg 61). The work puts forward that positive role models, as well as a range of perspectives, can enrich learning and demonstrates an institution’s commitment to diversity. This report in mind, the University and colleges need to improve the diversity of their staff to better reflect the diversity of their student body. I was lucky as to have had ethnically and racially diverse educators and role models. However, learning about critical race theory highlighted to me that the content that I was taught through my educational history was not as inclusive as I once thought, as it was not designed by those who taught it.
Understanding the findings outlined in the NUS’s report (2011), it should be considered that staffing may be a contributing factor to student attainment and retention of students of colour within UAL. The universities Anti-racism action plan (2021) may have a target of employing 30% Black, Asian and minority ethnic within 3 years, but is this figure high enough? This may be a reasonable target for outside of London, but as 46.2% (2021) of London’s residents are other than white, we should be aiming higher?
Looking at the findings in Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design (2016) “31% of Black British Caribbean and Black British African students gain an upper degree in comparison to 64% of White students” (pg. 4) I believe that it would be informative for UAL to collect data on each course regarding ethnicity percentages for student applications, accepted offers and attainment throughout the course. This could then be used to comprehend the successes and failures across the board, and positive changes could then be implemented. As a technician, I am not involved in student interviews, designing units, and marking Nevertheless, anecdotally I have seen the course I teach on recruit diverse students who have been outstandingly successful. This leads me to question why other courses failing to retain students of colour? The BA Costume course encourages students to take a set text, then independently interpret this text to create a new concept. This freedom allows the students full creative control explore their interests within their own cultures, or the exploration of new cultures and identities. Is this why our course attainment is higher than others? This conceptual freedom was implemented before I studied the on course in 2006, and I’m I feel that it was a key contributing factor to the success of the course. As recommended in Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design (2016) “a more inclusive approach to the curriculum by identifying more diverse reading lists and key visual references and more inclusive pedagogies, review and/or audit the inclusion of embedded diversity and student-centred learning in the curriculum and create greater opportunities for students to have a sense of ownership over their environment” pg 19
Hahn Tapper, A.J. (2013) A pedagogy of social justice education: Social identity theory, intersectionality, and empowerment. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 30(4), pp.411-445 Available at: https://certainlycert.myblog-staging.arts.ac.uk/files/2017/04/A_Pedagogy_of_Social_Justice_Education_S.pdf (Accessed 25th June 2023)
