I am writing this report from the positionality of a white British woman. Although I am now in a position of relative privilege, I grew up in a low socio-economic, single-parent family and experienced prejudice relating to this (see Blog Post 3). My desire is to instigate meaningful change for students from low socio-economic backgrounds and those with intersectional identities by fostering a greater sense of belonging through the collection of meaningful data (K. Crenshaw, 1989 and B.Hooks: 1994). My intention is to help new students feel settled by understanding their needs more acutely and enabling staff to respond proactively to individual and intersectional needs (see Intervention Proposal).
I have written this report through the lens of an Hourly Paid Lecturer (HPL) teaching Year One on the new Cordwainers Footwear and Accessories course launching in September 2026. From my previous experience as a Year One tutor with a pastoral focus, I believe thoughtful data collection can be a powerful mechanism to support student success while empowering staff to understand the needs of their cohorts. I believe this intervention could eventually become part of the onboarding experience at UAL or other universities, provided it supports staff rather than adding to their workload.
The rationale for this intervention stems from the lack of meaningful information currently shared with hourly paid, fractional and teaching staff. During four years at LCF I have rarely been aware of students’ Individual Support Agreements (ISAs) until assessment periods. Although I know students have extended deadlines, I am often unaware of the adjustments they require, making it difficult to adapt lesson planning proactively (see Blog Post 1). My proposed questionnaire gathers information about learning preferences, additional needs, religion, language and wellbeing in a holistic way, enabling tutors to shape learning environments before barriers arise rather than reacting afterwards.
Students would also have the option to complete the questionnaire anonymously, creating a space in which they can share information without feeling exposed or under pressure. The overall aim is to give students equal opportunity to succeed regardless of disability, race, religion or other intersectional identities (see Blog Post 3).
My proposal was also influenced by noticing that many students miss significant periods of study due to important religious observances, including Ramadan and other key dates outside the Christian calendar upon which university timetables are largely based. Although UAL collects information about religion for equality monitoring (see UAL dashboards), it appears to have little influence on the student experience. If tutors/course leaders understood when significant religious commitments occurred, it might be possible to make reasonable adjustments to timetabling, deadlines or tutorial scheduling, potentially improving engagement and attainment.
Following discussions with my peer feedback group (see Peer Reflection Notes), further reflections emerged. The most significant concerned tutor workload. My colleagues teach cohorts of over 100 students, whereas the Craft programme on which I teach typically consists of 12–24 students. They felt the intervention, in its original format, would only be practical for small cohorts.
To address this, I reflected on adapting the questionnaire to an online form rather than the graphic physical document as proposed (see Intervention Proposal). Multiple-choice responses could be categorised automatically and presented as graphs, enabling tutors to interpret the data quickly and make simple but meaningful adjustments to lesson planning.
(Image created by Chat GPT – see ai log below: Created 30/07/2026)
Further discussion highlighted that translating the questionnaire and responses into multiple languages could create a significant workload. However, if delivered through Moodle, there may be opportunities to utilise existing accessibility and translation tools. This is an area I would like to explore further.
(Image shows translation tool in Moodle to 134 languages: Accessed 30/07/2026)
My colleagues also suggested simplifying the language used within the questionnaire. For example, replacing phrases such as “Night Owl” and “Early Bird” with straightforward statements including “I work best in the evening” would make the questions clearer for students whose first language is not English.
Finally, we discussed managing student expectations. Whilst tutors can make many reasonable adjustments, they cannot accommodate every individual preference where these conflict. Therefore, the purpose and limitations of the questionnaire would need to be communicated clearly. Small changes, such as providing recordings, handouts or more flexible tutorial scheduling, may often be more achievable than altering timetabled teaching.
Finally, one colleague highlighted that some of this information may already be collected by the university. Therefore, it would be important to understand what information already exists, what tutors have access to, and whether this project could be developed collaboratively with the onboarding team as a university-wide tool. It would also be essential to consider data protection and GDPR implications (see references).
This intervention would support my own lesson planning and FMP Enterprise (Final Major Project) tutorial scheduling by enabling me to better understand my students before teaching begins. It builds upon previous work I have undertaken, including asking first-year Footwear students to complete a learning style questionnaire (see Intervention Proposal) and the planning for my primary aged Summer Clubs (see Blog Post 1). The learning style data enabled me to adapt my teaching materials accordingly. Interestingly, most of that cohort identified as kinaesthetic and visual learners, with some preferring reading. No students identified listening as their preferred learning style.
I would also use the information to schedule tutorials more effectively. During the previous academic year, I noticed that some tutorials were timetabled at times that were not appropriate for students due to limitations within my own timetable. Some students were also unable to complete work for tutorials because they were observing periods of fasting and were too tired to undertake practical work. Had I been aware of these commitments in advance, I may have been able to make reasonable adjustments by scheduling tutorials after the fasting period or dividing a one-hour tutorial into two shorter sessions to make the workload more manageable (see blog post 2).
This intervention has reinforced that inclusive practice is not always about making large-scale changes, but about understanding students well enough to make thoughtful, reasonable adjustments that reduce barriers to learning. Whilst it would not be possible to accommodate every individual preference, even small changes to lesson planning, tutorial scheduling or the provision of learning materials could improve students’ experiences and foster a greater sense of belonging.
Throughout this process I have also learnt that planning an intervention is more complex than I had initially anticipated. It may not be possible to develop something that fully meets the needs of all students and tutors because of the wide variation in cohort sizes, teaching contexts and intersectional identities. The intervention therefore requires further refinement before implementation.
As a next step, I would like to undertake focus groups with both students and academic staff to gather feedback and continue developing the questionnaire. It would also be valuable to engage with the wider PGCert community, enabling colleagues from different disciplines to evaluate the proposal and identify potential improvements. Their perspectives would strengthen the intervention and ensure it is applicable across a broader range of educational contexts.
The feedback from my peer group has already proved invaluable. It has shifted my thinking from producing a static questionnaire towards developing a practical, digital tool that is accessible, efficient and manageable for tutors with differing workloads. Ultimately, my aim remains the same: to create a mechanism through which students can communicate what will help them to succeed, enabling tutors to make informed, inclusive decisions that foster belonging and reduce barriers to learning from the very beginning of their educational journey.
This intervention has reinforced how complex inclusive practice is and how difficult it is to develop something that meets the needs of all students and tutors alike. Throughout this process, I have reflected on my own positionality as a white British woman, an Hourly Paid Lecturer and someone who grew up in a low socio-economic, single-parent family. Whilst these experiences shape my perspective, I recognise that I cannot assume to understand the lived experiences of others. Instead, I believe it is my responsibility to create opportunities for students to tell me who they are and what will help them to succeed.
The peer feedback process was invaluable in refining my proposal. It challenged me to think beyond my own teaching context and consider how this intervention could be implemented sustainably across courses with different cohort sizes and workloads. It also highlighted the importance of balancing inclusivity with practical considerations.
Moving forward, I intend to continue embedding student voice into my practice, enabling me to make informed and reasonable adjustments to lesson planning, tutorials and learning materials. Ultimately, I hope this intervention will contribute to creating learning environments that recognise intersectional identities, reduce barriers to participation and foster a greater sense of belonging from the beginning of a student’s creative educational journey.
References:
Reference 1: IP Unit – Blog Post 3 – From Discomfort to Disruption: Reflecting on Race, Inequality and My Role as an Educator – PGCert – Emily Sunnucks. [online] Available at: https://emsunnucks.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2026/07/16/ip-unit-blog-post-3-race/ [Accessed 30 July 2026].
Reference 2: 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, [online] 1989(1), pp.139–167
Reference 3: hooks, b. (1994) Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge.
Reference 4: IP Unit – Blog Post 1 – Beyond Access: Exploring Intersectionality, Disability and Belonging in Creative Education – PGCert – Emily Sunnucks. [online] Available at: https://emsunnucks.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2026/05/06/blog-post-1-disability-intersections/ [Accessed 30 July 2026].
Reference 5: UAL Dashboards: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=99b2fe03-d417-45d3-bea9-1a65ebc250ea&dashcontextid=639210145708502815
Reference 6: Arts.ac.uk. (2026). Peer Reflection Notes – PGCert – Emily Sunnucks. [online] Available at: https://emsunnucks.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2026/07/30/peer-reflection-notes/ [Accessed 30 July 2026].
Reference 7: Arts.ac.uk. (2026). IP Unit – Blog Post 2 – Beyond the Box: Exploring Religion, Belief and Belonging in Higher Education – PGCert – Emily Sunnucks. [online] Available at: https://emsunnucks.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2026/05/21/ip-blog-post-2-religion/ [Accessed 30 July 2026].
Reference 8: UK Government (2025). Data Protection Act. [online] Gov.uk. www.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/data-protection [Accessed 30 July 2026].
Ai Log:
Prompt 1: Hi Chat gpt please could you slim the following essay down to 1500 words by removing repetition but keeping my words/voice (pasted original format)
Prompt 2: “Hi chat GPT, please could you produce a graphic to illustrate this information: Therefore, instead of producing the questionnaire as proposed in a graphic and manual format (see intervention proposal blog) it would be important to deliver this in the format of an online form and to make the data able to be categorised easily, along with offering multiple choices where possible, enabling collected data to be instantly formatted into graphs so tutors could read and digest the data quickly, to make positive but simple changes to their lesson planning.”
Prompt 3: Hi Chat GPT: Please write a good title for my report (report pasted)