July 2022-word count 1524
Shahpar Abdollahi Inclusive Unit-PGCERT
Reflection on Inclusive practice Unit learning Journey:
My Journey- Reflection on the past and how it shaped my Positionality:
My ongoing reflection on my teaching practice and how my PGCERT and inclusive learning Unit has led me to critically think on my own background. This reflection for sure will be impacting my teaching as although I was always conscious of my background and what led me to be the teacher I am today, admittedly I have never consciously questioned aspects like inequality in education from gender, race, religious and even more so from intersectionality perspective so deeply and consciously up to now. Perhaps this current Unit-Inclusive Practice- also led me to question my own role in society and how my professional role as educators can facilitate to help my students to feel at ease in teaching environment and find their inner confidence and voice trough listening to themselves and their peers in democratised way? This also has led me to think our role as teachers and educators is to build community and make the focal point of our learning to becomes more of an empathetic, co-creative, way rather than teachers taking more of a central and focal position. I wonder what we can do to build a community with our fellow students, the one being built on trust and shared knowledge, which draws parallel lines with what Tapper Social justice in Higher education (2013) paper calls in for new co-creative way of teaching.
But let’s visit the past: This reflection takes me to a long journey visiting my education background back in my home country in Iran. Growing up through a revolution and a war-torn country. Back in 80s education system back home tried to somehow decolonise western education from the system, but more so by bringing in a lot of one-sided religious verses and incorporating Arabic and Islamic history as a way to promote Shiism as on the core education backbone in Iran. I must admit being born to a lesser religious family background made me always question the imposing new educational system (alongside the old) and wondered how censorship and dominat religious education could make us to seek further available sources of knowledge as other point of refernce. After finalising my postgraduate degree in one Iranian State university I certainly realise I needed a fresher and further approach to my one-sided education to that date. Thus, I embarked on a new journey and came to the Netherlands for postgrad, and then UK for my Research degree in Business and Management discipline.
Reflection on Inclusive Practice Unit
When I moved to the Netherlands for my second postgraduate degree, the idea of being an outsider as an Iranian and Muslim woman somehow got fizzled by simply as a non-practicing Muslim rebellious side of me, as I thought I can push my feminist ideology of education and feel comfortable and be who I want to be. Again, once I came to the UK and started my research degree my identity focus shifted yet again. This time as a Middle Eastern researcher (not necessarily Muslim) but certainly a woman and thought how I can fulfil my dreams in higher education being a role model for those women who come from my part of the world to pursue their dreams.
Perhaps this resonates deeply, that as an Iranian female academic who was raised during a war and Iranian revolution, both religion and my cultural heritage played a close role in shaping my belief in education, women’s power and yet feeling intimidated on how your role as a woman comes short in a society specially in Middle eastern society due to many societal restrictions which could be hidden or not so hidden.
It has been almost 2 decades since I have been involved in UK higher education either in the form of international research student or an educator in Business area on UK higher education. This brings me to reflect deeply on my positionality. It makes me realise my own complex identity, its dynamic nature and how I can make a stance and a positive change by understanding others similarly diverse identities in an institution like UAL that hosts students from different backgrounds.
This Unit (Inclusive Practice) somehow in a very conscious way opened my eyes to prejudice towards minorities and lack of acceptance in a wider sense in a society we live in, and it makes me reflect what is our role as educators to facilitate a social justice education way of co-creation with our students? This could be due to the fact that trough education we might be learning to break existing prejudice or overcome career obstacles and make our student co-hort to feel their place in making that change.
Reflection on the Present and how I can be useful?
The inclusive Unit overall has given me an insight to the degree of discrimination we are faced in UK Higher education (Adams, 2017), and in that matter any other Western Education System (Jiang, 2020). Through the unit we have reflected upon and discussed on how white-privilege and Western Universities past colonial backbone still carries on and this has imposed its white supremist view on Higher Education in wider sense (Bhopal, 2018). Through the Critical Race Theory (CRT)(Bell, 1980) we have been analysing and blogging what needs to be considered and reflected upon when being at a position of shift bearer as an educator in Higher Education.
This made me realised the more I dug in and read through, all my so-called neutral space of teaching fades into an un-neutral and biased apace. My untrained eyes on my adopted educational found mecca starts to crumble and yet see through the inequality of our student communities, especially those coming from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Through reading and educating myself on aspects like race, disability, gender, and religion this new lens, it has become obvious, whilst education for any social class offers its challenges, it is even more so challenging to fulfil that dream once coming from further and more diverse background, this makes me reflect on my role and ever-changing face of modern education. Based on Social Justice theory of education (Tapper, 2013), perhaps one positive way forward would be to embrace our shifting role as educators which would morph us towards facilitators rather than education imposers.
In line Freire (2006) pinpoints of the change in educator’s role. He highlights the true change will come through a democratise approach of pedagogy. Accordingly deep learning is not achieved through a depository process, thus it could be experienced and expressed through sharing, co-creating and co-learning with ones students rather than dominating and imposing ones view (Rozas, 2007).
Reflection on Arteffect creation
Through this, we can sense sometimes the attempt being made on behalf of educational system and organised policies that has only contributed to further societal inequality (Savva, 2017). In other words the impact of certain policies have resulted in lesser chances for more vulnerable and diverse part of society resulting the dominance of whites in sphere of education, and socio economic dominance (Bonilla-Silva 1997). In similar sense could all students bring an example of a Company who demonstrates diversity on their marketing practice and to what extent they stand by it, and how students think this brand represents their community.
My in-groups of collegue feedback on this reflection and peer cohort were very positive on the process. My question in particular was to ask them to help me shape this workshop in a sense all students of all diverse background feeling part of Fashion marketing Student community and share their experience and thoughts within group of best practice/ not necessarily best practice. One peer kindly suggested to run the workshop based on object-based learning.
Upon reflection I think it might dilute the impact of critical thinking if object-based practice becomes the focal point here. My main point of this workshop is to push students of all backgrounds (International and home and mainly BAME) to think out of the box and reflect on positive role models changing the inclusive face of Fashion Industry in a positive way. Thus, perhaps shifting the focus to object-based learning steals the message from critical analysis of sustainable and diversity practice (Appendix2).
I am also so grateful of Jhinuk who took time to listen to my reflection and doubts on my journey for this unit which I massively enjoyed and value her final recommendation saying, think how you will use all your learning in your practice?
To answer the above, going forward: we need to think critically and be more conscious how to attend to the existing gap amongst BAME group of students and the rest of cohort. How we can incorporate more modern and new ways of education and the way we teach, interact, intermediate and share knowledge in a democratic and modern educational space. We constantly need to be open to receive feedback from our co-hort students and look into to what extend we incorporate co-creation in our classes. Hopefully this will be going be the topic of my next term’s action research topic for PGCERT.
Bibliography:
Bell, D. A. (1980). Brown v. Board of education and the interest-convergence dilemma. Harvard Law Review, 93(3), 518–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/1340546
Bhopal, K (2016) The experiences of BME academics in higher education: a comparative study of the unequal academy. Routledge: London and New York;
Bonila-Silva, E., “Rethinking Racism: Toward a Structural Interpretation”, American Sociological Review, Vol 62, no. 3, PP. 465-480;
Delgando, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical race theory: An introduction. New York University Press.
Freire, P. 2006. Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30th anniversary ed. New York: Continuum;
Finnigan and Richards, (2016), ” w ‘Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design’, HE Academy; Accessed June 2022:https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document- nager/documents/hea/private/ug_retention_and_attainment_in_art_and_design2_1568037344.pdf;
Henderson & Harmeling, (2021), 7 months after George Floyd’s death, corporations are still ‘diversity washing’ instead of making actual changes, Accessed at July 2022: https://www.businessinsider.com/diversity-washing-greenwashing-george-floyd-corporations-black-lives-matter-2021-1?r=US&IR=T
Jiang, S., ( 2020) , “ Diversity without integration? Racialization and spaces of exclusion in international higher education” , British Journal of Sociology of Education, pp. 32-47
Rozas, C. (2007), “The Possibility of Justice: The Work of Paulo Freire and Differences”, Studies in philosophy and Education 26, PP. 561-70;
Savva, M., (2017), “Learning to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students through cross-cultural experiences” Intercultural Education, Vol 28, issue 3, PP. 269-282;
Tapper (2013) “A pedagogy of social justice education: social identity”, Theory and Intersectionality’, PP. 411-417
The Proposed Artefact:
The Artefact has been presented in Appendix 1. Which is a workshop on critique of Brands diversity washing. How students can find good examples and defend the chosen brands or criticise the ones who are misleading them in their marketing campaigns. Appendix 2 is direct response on the plausibility of the offered artefact.
Peer to Peer discussion recording:
Appendix 1
BA (Hons) Fashion Marketing
2022-23
Seminar Plan for FMS (Fashion Marketing Strategy) Y3
Week 7 Thursday 7th of November 2022
Session topic: Diversity In Fashion Branding _seminar Activity
Seminar title: The changing role of Marketing Branding
Link to assessment: Assessment
Link to theory: branding theory-Greenwashing/ Diversity Washing
Seminar task: Individual and group task
Pre-class learning activities:
Read this article: Fashion And Beauty Brands Embracing Diversity In Their Marketing Designs by clicking the two links below:
Please choose a fashion brand of your choice to bring in to the class (This could be an international brand from your home country / Home brand who has a diversity stance in Branding)
Seminar Plan:
Goal: How Inclusivity washing is turning into new buzzword
✓ 40 minutes
In small groups each of you should introduce and brief the group members of one chosen brand which you think Does Inclusivity branding best.
▪ Please discuss the following:
- 1.Please offer the chosen brand to the group and explain why you have chosen this brand.
- What are positive aspects you think the brand is doing
- To what extend you think they are diversity washing? Be as critical you wish with evidence.
- How do you feel about these brands who make inclusivity their focal aspect of Marketing?
- How does that impact you as a consumer to these brands?
- Do you see your own identity has got a place in the way this brand tells its story? Discuss…
10 min
Discuss and reflect on your conclusions in the larger class. Upload the answer to assigned Padlet.
Appendix 2:
Plausibility of offered artefact by answering the indicative questions.
When choosing your artefact consider the following questions:
- What aspects of diversity do you want the staff, students or colleagues to consider and why?
Going back to Tapper’s (Tapper, 2013)work I would like students to reflect on their own identity and inclusivity stance and bring their perception of a right minded brand who is taking foot on the right direction. Equally to be critical of the companies who do diversity through lip service. I am hoping this will create warm, inclusive debate in the class that students want to share their own finding with their co-hort.
• How does it link to your course curriculum, departmental strategy or PRAs?
The designed seminar is aligned with my Fashion Marketing Strategy Unit (BAFMAK-FMS) material and I am hoping through this learning and exposure my Year 3 students will take these learnings to expand this topic for the FMP( Final Major Project Unit) and hopefully conduct successfully diverse research on diverse Brands and branding strategies from Fashion Marketing perspective.
During this unit we have been exposed to very sad and fascinating truth of existing education gap of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) groups and we have encouraged to critically think of ways to alienate these existing gaps which even falls deeper in Art and Humanities discipline (Finnigan and Richards 2016). This could be due to existing cultural capital (Bourdiou,1986) being solely accessible to white demographic members of society.
• When would it be most useful to deliver or implement?
I am planning to deliver this seminar on Week 7 of Academic Year 22-23, which is the Second week of myself running the Unit. This way students have already got a clear Idea of definitions of Marketing Strategies and Branding and they can start to look into diversity best practice in the industry.
As well big idea for this is through searching for best practice in diversity, students can revisit their own identity and how they can see themselves part of brand’s story telling.
• What do staff, students or colleagues think about the artefact?
This will be first time running and I am very keen in particular to ask this question from my student co-hort in their Unit evaluation. For sure I will also incorporate the question on the day but the real test will come when students have finalised the Unit and they need to reflect on different seminars.
As for Colleagues, I will also intend to bring their attention to this and how we can use such icebreakers and activity to promote more interactive community.
• How do you intend to evaluate and critique its implications, success and impact?
Through Unit evaluation and on the session. Hopefully their feedback will empower me to incorporate more positive changes for the years ahead. One thing I am sure this is the beginning of the positive change.