I have been reading about how ‘Racism Shapes Careers’ (Garett, 2024) in the context of the progression workshops that I run for BA illustration third year students. This text highlighted how the ‘temporary and spatial experiences of UK higher education and related perceptions and imaginations shape career choices.’ (Garett, 2024)
As part of my initial research, I reflect on my positionality and its potential limitation for the scope of career trajectories available to the students I teach. There are many ways that my own experience may differ from a students current knowledge of how to think about the future, and I want to make it part of my research to understand how students career trajectories may be affected in ‘the early stages of building their careers from a racialised, intersectional perspective’ (Garett 2024), in order to make the progression workshops more inclusive and relevant to third years.
The BA illustration course cohorts are made up of approximately 50% home students and 50% international students. I am aware that as a woman brought up from a middle class background in the UK, my field of reference of future trajectories is perhaps narrow, and there will be students’ work, ideas and plans that sit outside my cultural awareness. I therefore ask myself the question, how can the workshops support underrepresented or marginalised groups? And how can I promote change within them to reduce inequality? It is therefore through my action research project that I aim to understand ‘how identities and academic career motivations intersect’ (Garett, 2024)
‘Trajectories and mobility from one spatial context to another, be it within an institutional career or beyond, is influenced by factors such as ethnicity and gender, and their intricate social and spatial relationships (Cresswell 2010). Worth (2011) suggests transition theories must look to the future rather than the past to understand complex transitional periods.’ (Garett, 2024)
I also think it is important to mention that the role of ethics is very important in this context, and that it is not enough just to state my own positionality in this context, and rather that I need to be reflexive within my research practice in order to be an ethical researcher (Lenette, 2022).
I have developed 2 questions to ask students as the first part of my action research, that will be posed at the end of each progression workshop this term. These questions aim to address why students may not access the studio, and what factors may prevent them from attending BA3 Illustration workshops including Progression activities.
- Is there anything that prevents you from attending progressions workshops?
- Is there anything that would make you feel more welcome or supported in the studio?
Really good to see all the work you did on this particular posting day!:) I would say this is a great example of documentation and would you mind if I shared this with others? best, Tim