Sarah Harkins PG Cert

FOCUS: CITATIONS IN PERSON WORKSHOP

Today, at the beginning of the session, Malika and Kwame (M&K) asked us ‘If your project were a weather forecast today, what would it be?’ 

Most of my colleagues had fairly positive responses – hopeful even. But after my early conversation regarding consent & ethics (and, of course, GENERALLY), I feel very gloomy. Stormy black clouds and not a great outlook. This all stems from feeling overwhelmed by work (for my practice, teaching practice and being a student), I am not feeling positive about my progress or thinking. The only consolation in all this is I don’t feel alone – I recognise that all my colleagues on the PGCert are more or less in the same boat. So, onwards and upwards, eh?

However, as the discussion in the room circled around preparing for the ARP and how we should identify and embed methodologies. I felt my mood slip further. When I reflect on this now, I see that it was the amount of work to do, whilst continuing my actual teaching and just life, that, whilst M&K discussed mapping our projects to the AR spiral, I was in fact spiralling. I recognised that M&K were only doing what they needed to prepare us for what lay ahead, to ready and activate us to consider which methods we would use to collect data (interviews, collective autoethnography, document analysis, creative autoethnology, questionnaires). I was dazed at this point! 

D A Z E D

It was timely, and I was utterly relieved when we were asked to undertake a data collection activity. In small groups, take a walk around the ground floor LCC and identify the following:

• make a note of any visual data tools such as images, photos, spatial arrangements
• we were asked to reflect on any pitfalls we observes or could predict
• what could improve it?
• what refinements/adjustments could be made?

Jess, Carlotta and I went downstairs to the ground-floor coffee lounge area and reviewed the recent addition to the entrance area. The area (corner) in the immediate entrance area had been painted with blackboard paint, with an illustration to define the existing LCC tower (iconic in the area), with messaging on the walls ‘creative communication transforms’ and decals strategically placed on the floor with ‘pose here’ and ‘have your say’ messaging.

Within my practice as a spatial designer, I appreciated that this corner is difficult to make useful. However, Jess, Carlotta and I all agreed that it was an improvement, given that it sits within the entrance threshold, its proximity to the security barriers, and the amount of foot traffic passing through. The walls were covered in messages, some political, motivational, and international languages, and others were just doodles. It felt liberating to have a space that encourages freedom of expression, and something that should be more of a feature in our institutional buildings. There were two students sitting next to the wall, and we asked them if they would mind telling us what they felt about it. One was ambivalent, the other gave positive feedback.

The next space we reviewed was the noticeboard outside the library, another space defined by a blackboard painted black, framing a door that was covered with layers and layers of notices, overflowing onto the door. There was a poetic depth to the notices. It seemed that notices weren’t removed but covered with a refreshing randomness. I was particularly intrigued by the photo of a cute kitten with a speech bubble saying ‘Help me!’ and a QR code. Inquisitive, I clicked on the QR code and it took me through to a survey researching anxiety surrounding not replying to read messages. Clever marketing ploy using the picture of a kitten.

In the afternoon, we focused on citations. As part of preparatory reading, I looked at Living a Feminist Life, in which Sara Ahmed argues that theory is produced through ‘citational chains’, in which repeated citation reinforces which knowledge is recognised as authoritative (p. 8). She explores how the chains often privilege white, male, Western theorists, marginalising feminist and decolonial scholarship. Ahmed highlights that citation is therefore a political and ethical practice rather than a neutral academic convention. In response, she calls for the development of a citation policy (pp.15–16), framing citation as a feminist intervention that can challenge institutional power and reshape how knowledge is produced and valued. I found her voice captivating. When she says, “To live a feminist life is to live in very good company,” I looked around at my peers (who are mostly female), and I feel that quote resonates. Ahmed has courageously shunned the accepted texts that would happily pigeon-hole her ‘Are you a Derridean? No, so are you a Lacanian? No, oh, okay, are you a Deleuzian? No, then what? If not, then what? Maybe my answer should have been: if not, then not!’ It was refreshing and inspiring to find a voice that treads a path less travelled.

Ahmed’s writing aligns with the second paper we were asked to read. Here, Christina Templin cites Ahmed’s writing and argues that feminist research demands the recognition of ideas valued yet whose contributions remain unacknowledged. Similarly, in her article on citational justice, Diane Kwon highlights researchers’ responsibility to actively counter exclusionary knowledge systems. Reflecting on these texts, I could see that, within my own teaching and action research practice, this is a challenge that prompts me to cite more intentionally, seeking out feminist, decolonial, and practice-based voices, as well as recognising students’ lived experiences as legitimate forms of knowledge. 

Next steps

In response to the citation challenge, my next step is to discuss citational filtering with UAL librarians, with a focus on identifying and accessing feminist, woman-centred and practice-based scholarship.

Alongside this, I will develop a timeline for my research project, recognising its importance in structuring the collection of evidence and data. Defining clear phases for data gathering, reflection and analysis to support a more rigorous and manageable action research cycle, ensuring that ethical considerations and reflective practice remain embedded throughout the project.

References

Ahmed, S. (2017) Living a Feminist Life. Duke University Press

Templin, C. (2021) Why Citation matters: Ideas on a feminist approach to research. https://blogs.fu-berlin.de/abv-gender-diversity/?s=Christina+templin

Kwon, D. (2022) The rise of Citational Justice: How scholars are making references fairer, Nature News. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00793-1 (Accessed: 13 January 2026). 

FOCUS: ETHICS AND CONSENT – In Person Workshop

Our first session, returning to Action Research, focused on ethics — a topic that is fundamental to research practice, yet I initially found it overwhelming in scope and complexity. The session prompted me to reflect not only on formal ethical frameworks, but also on my responsibilities and position as a practitioner–researcher working within an educational setting.

The session began with an activity led by Malika and Kwame (M&K), who asked us to list the actions we had taken so far that day. Working in groups revealed how differently we interpret the idea of “action”. Some focused on everyday behaviours, while others framed actions as deliberate steps towards problem-solving. This exercise highlighted how often we overlook the ethical weight of our actions and set the tone for understanding action research as a reflective and intentional process.

M&K framed Action Research as a form of problem-solving, where identifying an issue must be accompanied by the question: what can I do about it? Planning actions, reflecting on their impact, and revisiting decisions were presented as essential to ethical practice. This approach aligns with McNiff and Whitehead’s You and Your Action Research Project, in which action research is described as non-linear and cyclical, often involving revisiting earlier stages as understanding develops.

The introduction of the ethics planning form marked a shift from discussion to responsibility. I felt immediately daunted because formal ethical documentation is unfamiliar to me and falls outside my usual professional experience. M&K directed us to the BERA Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (Fifth Edition, 2024), which they described as the industry standard. While reassuring, their scale and ambition felt intimidating, and I questioned how such comprehensive guidelines translated to small-scale practitioner research.

Further conversations with colleagues helped to contextualise these concerns. Speaking with Karen Tang, a Foundation tutor and PhD researcher, led me to explore UAL’s own ethical frameworks. I found reassurance in UAL’s stated commitment to maintaining rigour and integrity in all aspects of research. I also encountered UAL Ethics for Making, a resource aimed specifically at creative practitioners. Its exploration of consent, collaboration, representation, freedom and responsibility — through the documentary Justine — felt accessible and directly relevant to my own teaching and research practice.

TA key ethical challenge discussed during the session related to consent, particularly when working with under-18 students on the Foundation programme. Initially, it was unclear whether parental consent would be required for students to participate in my Action Research Project. Suggestions included excluding under-18s from the data, which I felt would be neither inclusive nor representative. Through further research, including guidance on the gov.uk website, I clarified that parental consent was not required in this context. While this resolved the immediate issue, it raised broader questions about how autonomy and agency are unevenly assigned at the threshold between childhood and adulthood — an issue I recognise as worthy of future exploration.

The morning session concluded with a discussion of methodology and data. M&K emphasised that familiar teaching practices — such as feedback, observation, and group discussion — already constitute forms of research. This reframing helped me see ethical planning not as an administrative hurdle, but as an integral part of reflective practice. Considering what data I wish to collect — whether relating to student experience, engagement or learning — has reinforced that ethical responsibility underpins every stage of the action research cycle, shaping both the methods I choose and the actions I take.

Next Steps

Reflecting on this session, my immediate next steps include:

• Creating a formal ethics planning document using the UAL ethics template, ensuring that consent, anonymity and data use are clearly defined.
• Reviewing my proposed research activities through an ethical lens, particularly in relation to working with under-18 students.
• Aligning my methods with both institutional guidance and action research principles, so that ethical considerations remain embedded throughout the research cycle rather than treated as a one-off requirement.

Bibilography

Kara, H. (2020) Creative Research Methods: A Practical Guide / 2nd Edition. (Bristol University Press)

McNiff, J. Whitehead, J.  (2016) You and Your Action Research Project / 4th Edition  (Routledge)

McNiff, J. (2013) Action research: principles and practice. 3rd edn. London: Routledge

McAteer, M. (2014)  Action Research in Education (Sage Publications Ltd)

Bell, J. Waters, S. (2014) Doing Your Research Project  (McGraw Hill Education)

Gray, C Malins, J.  (2004) Visualizing Research: a guide to the research process in art and design

Digital

Research with children and young people (no date) Department for Education User Research Manual. Available at: https://user-research.education.gov.uk/guidance/ethics-and-safeguarding/research-with-children-and-young-people#:~:text=2.,to%20participate%20in%20your%20research. (Accessed: 08 January 2026). 

https://user-research.education.gov.uk/guidance/ethics-and-safeguarding/research-with-children-and-young-people#:~:text=2.,to%20participate%20in%20your%20research.

https://www.arts.ac.uk/research/research-standards-and-ethics

https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/81716/educational-ethics-policy-and-guidance-for-staff

In reflecting on my Action Research Project (ARP), I needed to think carefully about it as a whole: its purpose, structure, and the position I bring to it as an educator. Learning as a student is generally enjoyable, but I have also found it to be deeply stressful at times. Throughout my professional career, learning has largely taken place through practice — through evolving projects, collaboration, and reflection — rather than through formal academic research. Undertaking the PGCert, particularly through the in‑person workshops, has made me more aware that delivering an Action Research Project with depth requires a different kind of learning. It requires me to start with myself: who I am, what I do, and why this research matters.

POSITIONALITY: Who I am

My name is Sarah. I am a white woman in my fifties, born and raised in the Midlands in the UK. I have a BA in Interior Design and a Master’s degree in Interior Design and Architecture. Since completing my MA, I have worked within design and architecture practices across a range of sectors, including retail, exhibition, and workplace design. These varied contexts allowed me to explore design outcomes at multiple scales and contributed to a broad, practice‑based understanding of spatial design.

In 2004, I joined an architecture firm where I led the interiors team. This role enabled me to consolidate my professional experience and shaped my collaborative approach to practice. In 2012, I began working independently while teaching part‑time on the BA Interior Design programme at Regent’s University London. I taught across year groups, drawing on professional practice to support students’ understanding of design processes. Over time, my teaching responsibilities expanded to include the Integrated Foundation programme and, later, leadership of the 3D module, where I developed curriculum content and briefs to support consistent design learning at Level 3.

Since 2019, I have worked as an Associate Lecturer on the Foundation at UAL Central Saint Martins (now the UAL School of Pre-Degree Studies), teaching Architecture and Spatial Design. I also teach on short courses, the InSights outreach programme, and as an Academic Support Tutor. Teaching predominantly international students at Regent’s and a mixed cohort at UAL has enriched my understanding of cultural diversity and strengthened my commitment to inclusive and decolonised pedagogic practices. The reciprocal relationship between my professional practice and my teaching continues to energise and inform my work.

As Sarah Homan writes in How to Write a ‘Positionality Statement’ (and Why Positioning Identity Matters in Decolonising Research and Knowledge Production):

” one of the (many) ways I can contribute is to reflect on my identity, including my beliefs, attitudes and behaviours, and also my work and practice. In doing so, I acknowledge that my work is shaped by what I know and what I know is shaped by who I am and what I’ve experienced”

This reflection underpins my approach to this research project.

WHAT: The aim of the project

The aim of my Action Research Project emerged from an intersection of my spatial practice, my role as an educator, and the relocation of the UAL Foundation in Art and Design to the Lime Grove campus in Shepherd’s Bush. The project sought to enhance students’ learning experiences by better understanding — and ultimately improving — the spaces in which they learn.

CONTEXT:

The merger of the CSM and CCW Foundation courses in the previous academic year created significant challenges for staff and students. Teaching across two sites, unclear communication, and a hurried amalgamation of curriculum content contributed to uncertainty and disruption. This academic year marks the consolidation of the newly formed School of Pre‑Degree Studies (such a mouthful!) into a single location at Lime Grove. While intended as an improvement, the relocation involved substantial compromise and became the catalyst for my research project.

During the previous academic year, I noticed increasing unease among students regarding how and where they were learning. Many required additional one‑to‑one support during the taught sessions and outside the studio environment. Perhaps my awareness was heightened by my role as an Academic Support Tutor? Nevertheless, it was clear that the learning environment was affecting students’ engagement and sense of belonging.

The first week in the new space was overwhelming. The teaching studio was overcrowded with furniture and desks, circulation space was restricted, and the environment felt oppressive. If I felt overwhelmed, I questioned how students must have been feeling. This prompted me to research how learning spaces are designed, how emotional geographies shape experience, and how spatial environments can support creativity.

I explored UAL institutional approaches to student feedback, including standard surveys such as the NSS and additional internal feedback mechanisms. While universities frequently claim that student feedback inspires change, I was sceptical about how much meaningful consultation takes place before spatial decisions are implemented. UAL states that:

“Every year we survey students to help inspire change” UAL Internal Communications (2022)

After reading this, I was intrigued by how much change is actually implemented. In the UAL web Story ‘Enhancing our physical spaces’ (2023), the Student Communications team states, “We’re actively improving our campus environment. We’re investing in our spaces, not only to accommodate more students but also to enhance your overall learning experience and broaden our academic offerings, in line with Guiding principle3 of our Strategy and in response to your feedback.”

Witnessing the changes at Lime Grove firsthand and knowing that students had not been significantly consulted reinforced my concern. But rather than focus my frustrations on institutional policies, I saw an opportunity to create a platform for students to articulate their experiences of the spaces they were learning in.

HOW? Research Design and Methodology

My research was guided by McNiff and Whitehead’s action research framework, which emphasises reflective enquiry, participation, and improvement of practice through cyclical processes. This framework encouraged me to move beyond personal perception, practice and experience and ground my concerns in evidence.

To achieve this, I adopted an ethnographic approach aligned with practitioner‑led research. Ethnography enabled me to explore how students experience learning spaces in real contexts, capturing insights into the relationship between space, behaviour, and learning. Gathering data directly from students ensured that the research reflected their lived experiences rather than my assumptions.

Timing was a critical factor. I chose to work with my own students in the Architecture and Spatial Design pathway in Unit 2, once the specialisms had been allocated and relationships had begun to form. Ethical considerations informed the development of consent forms and questionnaires, which were written in accessible language to support inclusivity, particularly for international students. Prior to completing the form, I spoke with my colleague Ursula Dimitirou about the activity and aim of the research project, discussing the tone and language I would use. She was supportive and helped me understand that by keeping the language clear and the activity simple, I would be inclusive to all students.

The activity was conducted across two cohorts, with participation remaining voluntary and anonymous. Attendance across sessions was approximately 65%, with a participation rate of around 63%. While willingness to engage varied between cohorts — influenced by project deadlines and student stress levels — the overall response was sufficient to identify emerging themes.

Students were asked three questions:

1. What do you need in a space for learning?
2. What do you want in a space for learning?
3. How do you prefer to learn (online, face‑to‑face, or hybrid)?

These questions mirrored professional design processes by distinguishing between needs and wants, while also acknowledging the impact of post‑pandemic learning experiences.

Evaluating the responses on the activity sheets, I noticed themes emerging. Using thematic analysis (see reference), I coded the responses to identify a series of themes that would inform my analysis.

REFLECTING ON THE PROCESS

Although full analysis of the data is still in progress, reflecting on the activity highlighted areas for improvement. The timing could have been more sensitive, and the activity itself, while student‑centred in outcome, lacked an element of enjoyment or engagement, which wasn’t the intention.

This realisation was reinforced after attending peer presentations in December 2025, particularly Genevieve Muwana’s work on experiential learning, which emphasised active engagement, meaningful experiences, and student‑centred outcomes. Her presentation prompted a key insight: teaching — and research — should feel experiential and engaging.

In line with McNiff and Whitehead’s framework, I now recognise the need for further research cycles. Revisiting this activity with a more experiential emphasis will strengthen both the data and the students’ engagement. While subsequent cycles are yet to be undertaken, this initial phase has already deepened my understanding of action research as an iterative, reflective process.

By embedding ethnographic and participatory methods, I believe the project’s plausibility and purpose have been strengthened. The research remains grounded in students’ experiences and aligned with the core aim of action research: to improve practice through reflective, evidence-informed change.

NEXT STEPS

• By consolidating the data analysis through coding and identifying key themes (TA, ), I have begun to reflect more critically on how these insights can shape the next stage of the research. This process has helped me recognise that the emerging themes should not simply sit within the analysis, but actively inform future activities that respond more directly to students’ lived experiences.

• I am working towards developing a workshop-based activity that encourages students to engage through creative and visual responses. Drawing on approaches used in the recent Into the Forest introductory activity, I see potential in using drawing and other visual methods to increase participation and deepen engagement. I believe these approaches may enable students to express their experiences of learning spaces in ways that written responses alone cannot, while also contributing to a richer, more layered visual body of research that underpins the conversation and legacy that this year’s students have established.

References:

Homan, S. (2025) How to Write a ‘Positionality Statement’ (and Why Positioning Identity Matters in Decolonising Research and Knowledge Production)

https://www.equalityinstitute.org/how-to-write-a-positionality-statement-and-why-positioning-identity-matters-in-decolonising-research-and-knowledge-production

https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/postgraduate-study/postgraduate-community/stories/positioning-myself-as-an-investigator

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09518398.2025.2452989#abstract

https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/skills-employability/tool-resources/vocational-education-exchange/student-voice/student-voice-vocational-education

George, T. (2023, April 21). What Is Action Research? | Definition & Examples.
 Scribbr. Retrieved 5 January 2026, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/research-methods/action-research-cycle/

https://www.aude.ac.uk/media/hahj44f4/ci_gettingstudentspacesright_final_lowres.pdf

(2023) Enhancing our physical spaces | UAL. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/stories/enhancing-our-physical-spaces (Accessed: 12 January 2026). 

(2022) Guiding policy 3 | UAL. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/strategy-and-governance/strategy/guiding-policy-3 (Accessed: 12 January 2026)

Richardson, C. Mishra, P. (2017) SCALE Support of Creativity in A Learning Environment.

Above: I am an avid note-taker

Above: Powerpoint slides presented in the peer to peer session - with responses noted

I was nervous about the peer to peer session with Jade, Jess and Daniel. I had met them all previously but we hadn’t actually spent much time together. I had heard both Jade and Jess make comments in the IP sessions, and if I’m honest was a bit in awe of them. Both coming across as well-informed, critical thinkers and articulate experts in their field. I often feel like I’m not upto scratch in terms of thinking critically (imposter syndrome? my brother once described me as being as deep as a puddle. We were teenagers at the time). I have never enjoyed the theoretical academic portion of work in any of the studies I have done. I don’t see it as an area of strength for me.

In my tutorial with Victor. I was pleased with the feedback I received. I was honest with him about my initial intervention piece and how I had asked a friend (with whom I was on holiday at the time – she is a midwife who has a teaching portion within her role) to read it. Her feedback was very direct, she didn’t hold back; she said it was just waffle, focused more on my positionality and she couldn’t understand what I was actually proposing. Hmph. Back to the drawing board (well, iPhone as I decided last minute – stupidly – not to bring my laptop on holiday!) and I critically tore my intervention apart. Putting my practitioner’s hat on, I wrote the intervention as though I were writing a planning design report. I supported my thinking with some research, and ran the new piece through Grammarly to check spelling and grammar structure. And then I tentatively handed it back to my sunbathing friend. This time she said. ‘Well done, very clear & I can understand what you are proposing. Now get me a cocktail!’ phew!

In Victor’s feedback, he genuinely seemed interested in the intervention I had proposed and he gave me insightful suggestions and research to follow up on.

I prepared my intervention piece, ready for the peer-to-peer session, which sadly looked like the world’s blandest PowerPoint presentation.

Jade gave her presentation first, and WOW. It was amazing. The presentation started with her positionality, which clearly set out her personal journey to learning and the connection to her practice. The intervention focused on enhancing the technical handouts that go to students. She was reflective about her practice and had been able to identify where she (and her colleagues) could build more inclusivity within the technical information offered to students. We offered her constructive feedback on testing this – perhaps using anonymous questionnaires to gauge how students felt about the support for technical tasks. Daniel, suggested it might work better as an analogue rather than digital tool and Jess, agreed that students love a handout (my experience too!) but that Jade may want to consider the sustainbility aspect – by only printing out the minimum and laminating them and locating them in clearly visible places in the studio space.

Daniel presented his intervention next. He admitted to struggling with academic references, as he came to teaching through being a practitioner. Dan’s invention involved rethinking a workshop that he delivers to BA students, in which students create a poster. His intervention would include an exhibition of the posters, which he said was difficult to visualise, even theoretically at this point, due to the course moving location, stating that it would be difficult to test (although I believe the intervention can be hypothetical). He included a great range of research and reference points. I think we were all very excited by Dan’s proposal, maybe because he was looking at ways to improve an existing piece of curriculum, and also, he showed outcomes from the previous workshop. Jess made a great suggestion that this could be a ‘guerrilla exhibition’, and leading from that, I suggested that he could pick a location (Peckham? culturally diverse), hence avoiding the uncertainty surrounding where the course would be located. Jade questioned whether there would be great value in the workshop if it was run across the 3 years of the BA, resulting in an evolution of ideas from the same students, enabling them to reflect on how their positionality might change.

For Jess’s intervention, she set out her positionality stating that she actively … TBC

Fig 1. Still taken from Migeul Jirón's animated film, 'Sensory Overload' (2013)

My thinking behind this intervention was primarily driven by a strong commitment to improve inclusivity, which I proposed by redesigning the traditional teaching space layout to create a more inclusive and support the physical learning environment for all, especially those students with invisible disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, anxiety, and sensory processing challenges. Drawing from existing research and lived student experiences, I aimed to create a space that supports autonomy and wellbeing, while aligning with contemporary industry practices that acknowledge the impact of space on participation and belonging.

In my practice, I teach Architecture and Spatial Design, and I also serve as an Academic Support tutor at the UAL Foundation. In the 24/25 Academic year, I witnessed (in both roles) a significant increase in students disclosing neurodivergence (often accompanied by physical disabilities). So, wearing the two teaching hats (although I felt like these were the six metaphorical hats, as described by Edward de Bono “a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved” firmly in place, when deliberating the intervention I wanted to implement, I had to consider what could be done to improve the learning experience for students within the teaching space. 

Within my professional background in Spatial Design, I worked for many years as a workplace designer, a sector I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a great deal about (spatial) ‘need and desire’ from the experience. Although I advocated the ‘redesigning’ of traditional classrooms (a term I find to understate their value to the level of education for FE and HE students) as a significant need for students, I was also aware the intervention would be considered as a radical proposal. Fortunately, I have found one potential opportunity to realise this idea. The UAL Foundation (UAL FAD) doubled its size by merging CSM and CCW foundation courses and relocated us to the LCF site at Lime Grove, beginning in September 2025. This, I felt, was a significant opportunity to see a practical rationale for spatial change to the teaching space. 

As the discipline of Architecture and Spatial Design is my specialism, I aimed to examine the layout of the spaces to allow for more fluidity for those with invisible disabilities. This would incorporate more modular setups to encourage movement, choice and small group collaboration, thereby reducing stress and support self-regulation. Applying approaches that have been in use for some time in commercial workplace design is a good place to start reflecting on inclusive teaching spaces. Gail Napell, a sustainability and inclusive design strategist at Gensler, Interior Architecture firm, has answers. ‘Inclusive design makes spaces and places healthier, safer and more convenient for everyone. Inclusive design goes that extra step, to say, “Let’s look at all the aspects of a human being – not just our physical size and shape, but also mobility, age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, cognitive abilities or disabilities.”

Through further research, I became intrigued by the work of Dr Katie Gaudion, Senior Research Fellow at The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art. Her research primarily focuses on how design can enhance the physical environment for individuals with autism. Gaudion has worked on several initiatives that develop tools to connect, communicate, and engage with neurodivergent/autistic people and their support networks, enabling them to be active participants in the design research. Putting Gaudion’s ideas into practice has resulted in a wide range of outcomes, including the utilisation of colour-coded designs with message cards to help neurodivergent individuals understand and interact with sensory environments in the built environment. In the recent webinar Designing for Neurodiversity, hosted by The RIBA Journal, Gaudion opened her talk with an animated short movie, ‘Sensory Overload‘, directed and animated by Miguel Jirón, that was created for Mark Jonathan Harris’ and Marhsa Kinder’s “Interacting with Autism”. Launched in. 2013, the animation ‘gives the viewer a glimpse into sensory overload, and how often our sensory experiences are stretched by everyday life’. Thought-provoking and direct, it acutely addressed issues and responses similar to those of students I witness in my practice. Gaudion advocates for greater guidance through practical aspects, such as lighting, wayfinding (including graphics and signage), materials, finishes, and spatial layouts, to create inclusive spaces.

In her contribution to the BSI’s PAS6463 Design for the Mind, she argues that her guidelines are insightful and shouldn’t be used as a tick-box exercise. Gaudion explored this further with research at the RCA, carrying out a project called Space in Mind, collaborating with neurodivergent staff and students to consider sensory, social and emotional experiences. Overall, the key theme was how to foster a sense of belonging in a spatial context. I agree with Gaudion that inclusive design doesn’t mean you are designing one thing for all, but you are designing a diversity for people to participate with. 

Fig 2. Illustrative poster for 'Design for the Mind', and cover of the PAS 6463 (2022), contributed to by Dr Katie Gaudion

One of the key influences on my decision-making process for this proposal was recognising that learning spaces are never neutral – what suits one student will inevitably not suit another. As highlighted in the feedback, spatial design can either facilitate inclusion or reinforce marginalisation. This understanding shaped my efforts to develop an environment that actively invites participation rather than unintentionally excluding neurodivergent learners. I found it particularly valuable to consider how design choices—such as lighting, acoustics, materials and layout—could help reduce sensory overload and foster a sense of safety and comfort.

Feedback from colleagues and peers confirmed that this is an often-overlooked but pivotal area of inclusive design. In the peer-to-peer presentation with Jess, Jade, and Daniel, they highlighted the potential for this intervention to support a wider range of learners than initially anticipated, prompting discussions about the potential for this to become a student-led activity and the need for more considered investigation of the proposal’s scale. My tutor Victor’s comment that the work aligns well with LO4 (Realisation) was reassuring, as it indicated that the intervention was moving beyond theory into thoughtful, practice-based implementation.

A significant challenge I encountered was the lack of a unified framework that combines neurodiversity and inclusive spatial design. While existing guidance from UAL and sector-wide frameworks like Advance HE, and their strategies provide a starting point, I had to synthesise insights from several sources and adapt them to fit and develop the specific needs of my initial thinking for the intervention. This required critical engagement with ongoing debates,  around policies concerning, decolonisation of curricula, freedom of expression and EDI policies to ensure that the intervention doesn’t reproduce existing hierarchies or assumptions about access.

Another area of complexity emerged when reflecting on intersectionality. My tutor’s feedback prompted me to think more deeply about how race, gender, religion, or class may interact with sensory needs (Crenshaw). This was a significant moment, as it opened a richer, more nuanced understanding of spatial marginalisation and the potential for exclusion. I now view this as a key area for future development, where user co-design and inclusive consultation processes could help shape more reasonable and unbiased outcomes.

Ultimately, after receiving the feedback, I identified several potential risks. One is the possibility of unintentionally creating separation or division, or an overly controlled environment that could stigmatise some users. As with any proposal to spatial changes, especially within an educational lens, balancing safety and flexibility remains a core concern, and I will continue to iterate on the thinking around the design to maintain user interaction. How would this proposal be achievable? Reflecting and acting on peer feedback suggestions, I reconsidered my approach, and I believe that by offering students the opportunity to address inclusivity as a more challenging but applicable outcome. By generating a questionnaire that can be integrated into a workshop (an icebreaker task, potentially?), students could consider responses from an intersectional perspective to promote inclusivity, considering the types of questionnaires that students could engage with. To include questions such as ‘What space would help you learn and work in the optimum way, respecting everyone’s learning needs? Can you visualise any quick fixes you would want to change in this space? Asking students to record their thinking (activities similar to the IP workshop brainstorming sessions, see Fig. 3) and generate ideas in their sketchbooks, listing changes and making a visual mind-map in response. I would propose that this be done face-to-face in small groups, so that peer discussion can foster debate on inclusivity from their intersectional lens. Allowing students to consider adjustments to the studio space according, giving personal consideration to their comfort and activity needs, thereby granting them agency.

Fig 3. IP Brainstorming session, each of us giving ideas to set standards for Ways of Working 

This intervention has highlighted the importance of intentional, inclusive spatial design as a lever for equity in education. I think the feedback I have received has deepened my understanding and provided me with valuable direction for future refinement. In my view, this is fundamental to creating a diverse and inclusive approach that ensures all individual students feel valued, are able to participate fully, and achieve their full potential.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

De Bono, E. (1985). Six Thinking Hats. London: Penguin Books

Kucharek, J-C. (2025) Designing For Neurodiversity  [Webinar]. RIBAJ & RIBAJ Spec in partnership with Crown Paints. Available at: https://www.ribaj.com/intelligence/designing-for-neurodiversity-webinar(Accessed: 15 July 2025)

Sensory Overload (2013). 1 January. Available at: https://cargocollective.com/mibaji/Sensory-Overload-Interacting-with-Autism (Accessed: 15 July 2025). 

Neurodiversity & the Built Environment – PAS 6463:2022 (no date) BSI. Available at: https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/insights-and-media/insights/brochures/pas-6463-design-for-the-mind-neurodiversity-and-the-built-environment/ (Accessed: 15 July 2025). 

Crenshaw, Kimberle’ Williams (1989) “Demarginalising the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” University of Chicago Legal Forum 1989:139–67, p. 149

Fig 1. Heterotopia Concept collage, Bella Fula, UAL FAD student 23-24, investigating traditions and cultures, like African scarification rituals, that reflect belonging. 

We were asked to review and respond to several sources, from videos to academic papers. I found the sources to be very broad, which, to some extent, confused me about how to approach the content for this blog piece.

From all the source material, I was left with the questions: how does all this material help us learn to embed positive change? 

In the paper Racism Shapes Careers Rhiann Garrett explores statistics through intersectionality and CRT. She looks at students who have regularly experienced the impact of white privilege and structure on their career path, finding themselves often overlooked for promotion, asked to undertake extra tasks, and frequently observed by other racialised students. She includes a survey of 22 PhD students, from diverse cultural backgrounds, who recognised that often they might have to ‘give up’ part of themselves to fit within academia, and that one student felt their ‘drive for righteous indignation’ would be eradicated if she were to remain in academia. 

The second paper, Alice Bradbury, explores the significance of how the CRT could construct a framework for education policy analysis by investigating early years bilingual learners and how they are assessed. Identifying significant gaps in support for children in the earliest formative education who do not have English as their first language.

In the video ‘The charity turning UK universities woke’, Dr James Orr, professor in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at Cambridge University, focuses on the inferred influence that Advance HE has on promoting inclusivity, through its Athena Swan and Race Equality Charters and incentivisation schemes and the need to address the existence of systematic racism in academic institutions. Within the context of the video, Orr uses vox pops of students to respond to whether they feel free speech is restricted in higher education. There are some contradictory answers, but most say they don’t believe their right to free speech is limited. But is he asking the right questions? 

Of the three video sources, considering racism through different educational ages, the 4-minute Channel 4 short, “The School that tried to end Racism”: I found this the most emotive piece.

Fig 2. Above, The school that tried to end racism; snapshot of start line before questions. 

Fig 3. Above, The start line once questions had been asked. 

The video starts with a teacher stating that they will be running a race, but the starting position in this race will be decided by a series of questions that the teachers ask. As the questions are asked, some students move forward. But for others, the divide widens, and the inequality of their position becomes clear. 

The pupils who haven’t been able to progress vocalise the unfairness, and one pupil turns to his friend, stating that ‘none of us are white’.  The teacher then asks if it’s a fair way to start a race. One pupil says he feels alone, another says it’s frustrating that all the white kids are at the front. One (white) pupil recognises that it’s unfair that they’re not all being allowed to start from the same point. Dr Nicola Rollock, Professor of Social Policy and Race at King’s College London, comments in the video:

“People often confuse privilege with being wealthy or being rich, and it isn’t about that; it’s about having to live with the consequences of racism.”

The video was an excerpt of a 3-part documentary that documents a school in South London taking part in a trial on unconscious racial bias. The school was aiming to move away from ‘colour blindness’ as an anti-racism policy.

This is an issue addressed in Reno Eddo-Lodge (2022) ‘Why I’m Not Talking to White People About Race’. She says in a piece she wrote for the Guardian in 2017, 

“This emotional disconnect is the conclusion of living a life oblivious to the fact that their skin colour is the norm and all others deviate from it. At best, white people have been taught not to mention that people of colour are different in case it offends. They truly believe that the experiences of their life as a result of their skin colour can and should be universal. I just can’t engage with the bewilderment and the defensiveness as they tried to grapple with the fact that not everyone experiences the world in the way that they do.”

In Asif Sadiq’s TED Talk, he argues that traditional diversity training is biased, stereotypical, and fails to create the desired inclusive and equitable workplace. He considers that education, not just in a conventional classroom but also experiential learning (has he been reading Bell Hooks?), as a whole needs to be critically examined, as it often lacks diverse perspectives and regularly fails to provide representation for underrepresented groups. Different learning styles and neurodiversity must be taken into account to create effective education that leads to meaningful change, he concludes his talk with this: 

“ For learning to be impactful, it has to be continuous. It’s for all. Not an Us/ them game. We must own the journey. True change goes beyond box-ticking. “

UAL has generated valuable data on diversity demographics within the university. It has solid policies on anti-racism within the university. Critically, there is some level of box-ticking happening. But it does promote Zero tolerance. I carry this through into my own teaching space; there is no room for racism. 

Every year I have a diverse cohort of students from wide cultural backgrounds. In academic year 23-24, I had a young, black male student (from here on in I will refer to him as D). In the early weeks of the course, I could see D was struggling to engage. One colleague complained that he wasn’t doing any work. Why wasn’t he excited to be on the course? My answer was that I wasn’t surprised he might not be enjoying it – how could he? There was no representation for him to be inspired by on the teaching team (We are mostly white tutors). Whilst I couldn’t give D the representation that he desperately needed, I did my best to engage with him and listen to him. I ensured that he had relevant research sources, reflecting the global majority, where he could see there was representation for him.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bradbury, A., 2020. A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: The case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England. Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp.241-260. Read pages 241-247. 

Garrett, R. (2024). Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, pp.1–15. Read pages 2-5 & 7-11. 

Sadiq, A. (2023) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. TEDx [Online}. Youtube. 2 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw 

Orr, J. (2022) Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke. The Telegraph [Online]. Youtube. 5 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU

Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism. [Online}. Youtube. 30 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg 

Eddo-Lodge, R. (2017) Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/30/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race (Accessed: 14 July 2025). 

Reflect on and analyse how disability interacts with other aspects of the individuals’ identities, such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and more. 

Fig 1. Disability History Month campaign 2024 | Campaign design direction: Creative, UAL

When I read the question above, I felt a bit overwhelmed. It’s so huge that I asked myself, “Where do I begin?” And I realised that, as an able-bodied (mostly) rational human, I had just identified a very leading question that I imagine most people who have a disability ask themselves all the time. Where do I begin? How do I do this/get there/work this out … It must be endless. The idea that disability is only a visible and/or physical thing is a bias. Disability doesn’t exist as an isolated concept, and everything impacts other things, often unintentionally. 

Fig 3; Snapshot of data taken from the UAL Active Dashboards, utterly bewildering categories that offer no clarity. 

In the reference pieces we were asked to watch an interview of Ade Adepitan by Nick Webborn. Adepitan considered whether there are opportunities for people, regardless of race and disability. Adepitan, a black, disabled paralympic athlete and TV presenter, was reflective but clear and responded with a challenging question; 

“… as a society, do we want to tackle inequality?” 

He considered that although inequality has been discussed for many years by successive governments, he has experienced it through an intersectional focus (Crenshaw). He could see (over the last 20 years) that there were multiple schemes discussed and touted, but none of these had come to fruition in meaningful change. He felt that while overt discrimination doesn’t happen, systemic discrimination still exists and is evident as barriers to employment and opportunities. 

Fig 2, Installation view of Christine Sun Kim’s “Time Owes Me Rest Again.” (Photo: Hai Zhang. Courtesy the Queens Museum.)

In Christine Sun Kim’s “Friends and Strangers”, she addresses how her disability intersects with her experiences in the hearing world. Expressing her life as ‘one big echo’ and noting that sign language (which she uses to communicate instead of lip reading) is full of echoes, repetition, and patterns, which reflects her experience of growing up deaf. Kim uses diagrammatic art pieces to explore the impact of being deaf in a hearing world. Her path to becoming an artist was not easy, was regularly excluded and told ‘no’ due to her deafness. More recently, having relocated to Berlin and as a mother to a young child, she has experienced a level of support (less cost, free childcare) enabling her to work at a greater scale (spatially), bringing ‘visibility’ to the awareness of how deaf people exist in the hearing world through her art. 

In the film, she addresses a presentation with the quote from writer Sara Nović’ 

“I can one hundred per cent promise that you learning sign language is easier than a deaf person learning to hear”. 

Having taught a profoundly deaf student (Male, Asian) on the UAL foundation academic year 22/23) made me reflect on my practice when I saw Novic’s quote, which Kim had presented, and this ties in with the practice of “engaged pedagogy” that I always strive for in my practice. In her book, Teaching to Transgress, Bell Hooks proposes an engaged pedagogy that challenges traditional teaching methods. She believes that education should be a dynamic, interactive process, allowing both teachers and students to be involved in learning and knowledge exchange. She proposes that teachers (tutors, lecturers) must demonstrate some vulnerability to empower students to take risks. With this in mind, I wondered how my student – let’s call them F – could have had an enhanced learning journey. When we (specialist ASD team) knew we would have a deaf student, we met with him to discuss how we could ensure that they would be able to work and integrate in the studio environment. I decided that choreographing how I delivered information to the class was key to ensuring that F – and the other students – would receive instructions and guidance for work. Working in a complex space (columns, room divider furniture) was not ideal. Each session involved logistics: a projector and a secondary screen, both working for digital information, and a whiteboard used for analogue signposting. I would gather students in a centralised seating area so that they could see me and ensure that F had visibility of my face (F does not use BSL, he has a cochlear implant and uses lip-reading), whilst also ensuring I did not have my back to the other students. It was a challenge, and I checked in with F regularly to ensure they understood. F completed the foundation and is currently studying architecture at CSM and reported that their experience was good and enriched by small changes. 

With this experience, I regularly question how much further I, and my colleagues, can go to ensure inclusivity in our teaching spaces whilst promoting an improved, enhanced learning experience for those with and without disabilities. This is an area I want to explore further in ARP. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Crenshaw, Kimberle’ Williams (1989) “Demarginalising the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” University of Chicago Legal Forum 1989:139–67, p. 149
• Hooks, B. (1994) Teaching to Transgress; Education as the Practice of Freedom – Chapter 1, Engaged Pedagogy: p.13-22.
• Adepitan, A. (2020). ‘Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism’. Interview with Ade Adepitan. Interviewed by Nick Webborn for Paralympics GB, 16 October. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU ( Accessed April 2025)

• Kim, C. S. (2023) ‘Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers” – Season 11 | Art21’. Interview with Christine Sun Kim. Interviewed for Art21, 1 November. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI&t=1s ( Accessed April 2025) 

• Yang, L and Sear, E. (2025 Empowering our disabled community through UAL’s first Disability History Month campaign design, https://www.arts.ac.uk/brand/brand-in-action/shaping-the-design-of-uals-first-disability-history-month-campaign

• UAL Active Dashboards 2024/25 Available at : https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638681486282992055 ( Accessed May 2025) 

Fig 1. Alice Farrow, student, UAL Foundation, 2023-24. Heterotopia Project: A Secular Space

Within my teaching practice, I annually experience students from diverse cultural backgrounds that (mostly) reflect the global majority, including students whose lives focus on their faith or religion. I grew up with a non-practising Catholic father and an atheist mother, both of whom shunned any idea of organised religion and would regularly disabuse me of the suggestion ‘let’s go to church’. (They did enjoy Dave Allen’s take on religion, however.)

I am not religious, but I have close friends who actively engage in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and I support them in their choices. 

UAL offers support through the Chaplaincy Service and celebrates the UN’s World Interfaith Harmony Week, an annual initiative on ‘Uniting for Peace’, since 2010. The university has five active student societies to support some of the 13 faiths (source). 

The UAL EDI 22-23 states that (for staff) the university will.

“Embed a culture of inclusion and respect where staff feel safe to practice their religion and/or belief.” 

There is no parallel statement for students. How is this fully inclusive for the students? 

While the EDI Annual Report provides data only, the reporting data doesn’t fully reflect an accurate statistical view. Some data the EDI reports on fractional staff, not HPLs or arts temps, and the student data is based on home students only. It seems ‘skewed’ and not truly reflective or even inclusive of the total University population.

There is no suggestion of proactivity. Although the UAL EDI Annual report 2024 reports “We have Multi-faith Rooms at College sites, designed to be used for prayer, personal reflection or meditation” having taught out of several UAL buildings, I’ve observed that there is a lack of easily accessible, appropriate ‘reflection or faith spaces’ available for students in some of the existing UAL building stock *. How do we ensure that students who require greater cultural representation can practice and support their faith and beliefs? A reasonable assumption is that the university would need to improve its facilities and the representation of BAME and global majority teaching staff. The latter is not an overnight solution, and it is one that UAL actively works on. 

In Simran Jeet Singh’s video, Challenging Race, Religion and Stereotypes in Classrooms, he states that a significant challenge faced in a diverse classroom is the tendency to club people together, noting that “no community is a monolith“. And that to challenge stereotypes, we (as educators) would be better placed to recognise differences with empathy.

I am keen to support students as individuals. I respect their right to social justice. I find the support from the institution for students who weave their faith and culture to be, at times, less than inclusive. 

When teaching students (in 23/24), a group of young Muslims in my cohort found themselves without an appropriate place to pray and innovatively (some might say) used the goods lift lobby, adjacent to the studio space, to pray. I was appalled that there was no other available space for them, and I felt powerless to help them find a more suitable space (and I tried). However, when discussing this with them, their choice of space was clear. It was a mostly unused space that they used during the quietest time of the working day. 

As part of my practice this academic year (24/25), I was aware that Ramadan and Eid would fall during term time, which would likely impact students’ focus and attendance. Before Ramadan, I initiated regular catch-ups with the culturally diverse Islamic students who would be observing Ramadan to ensure that I understood how it might impact their studies over the coming weeks. I told my students I (and the teaching team) would support them and made them aware of upcoming deadlines. To enable students to continue observing Ramadan and feel supported throughout their course progression. 

Whilst I recognise the university does a great deal of good work in collecting data, for it to be advantageous and impactful, the data could represent the university population as a whole. 

The university could consider better platforms for ongoing engagement with student feedback, such as town hall style student forums, rather than the digital student surveys, ensuring students feel heard and included.  

A more consistent policy for dedicated reflective spaces to be utilised for multifaith purposes – for students and staff. 

* I currently teach at the Archway Campus, and this statement is based purely on my experiences of teaching at that campus.

Bibliography

UAL Equality Diversity Inclusion Annual Report, 2022-23; https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/432141/SPCB23435-EDI-report-2022-23.pdf

UAL Equality Diversity Inclusion Annual Report, 2024; http://UAL Equality Diversity Inclusion Annual Report, 2024

Singh, S. J. ( 2017) Trinity University: Challenging race, religion and stereotypes in the classroom Available at: https://youtu.be/X2et2KO8gcY?si=N7oMbyyns9rIN9Gz

World Faith Harmony Week, an annual UN initiative, https://www.un.org/en/observances/interfaith-harmony-week

The intervention I am proposing involves a redesign of the traditional classroom layout to create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for students with invisible disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, anxiety, and sensory processing challenges. Traditional classroom settings—with rigid desk arrangements, limited personal space, and high sensory stimulation, such as lighting and acoustics, can pose significant obstacles to meaningful engagement, levels of comfort, and academic achievement for these students.

By replacing traditional rows of desks/tables with a more fluid, modular setup that encourages movement, choice, and small group collaboration. Desks and chairs should be easily movable, allowing students to adjust their personal space based on comfort and activity demands. This approach can reduce stress and supports self-regulation. Applying approaches that have engaged for some time in commercial workplace design feels like a good place to start. Gail Napell, a sustainability and inclusive design strategist at Gensler, Interior Architecture firm, has answers. ‘Inclusive design makes spaces and places healthier, safer and more convenient for everyone” 

“Inclusive design goes that extra step,’ continues Napell, ‘to say, “Let’s look at all the aspects of a human being – not just our physical size and shape, but also mobility, age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, cognitive abilities or disabilities.”

Integrating commercial workplace design principles such as designated breakout areas within the classroom to enable small group work, peer collaboration, or one-on-one instruction with teachers/lecturers. These areas have been found (in commercial workspace environments) to promote personalised learning and offer quieter, low-pressure spaces where students can decompress or engage in focused interaction.

Where possible, I would hope to include sound-absorbing materials (e.g., carpeted areas, acoustic panels, fabric-covered or acoustic display boards) into the classroom landscape, to reduce ambient noise, which can cause discomfort for students with sensory sensitivities. Similarly, materials, furnishings and lighting should be sourced to minimise glare, harsh lighting, and visual clutter. A neutral palette (on walls and throughout furnishings) can promote a calmness to the environment, encouraging focus and emotional well-being. 

References

Goodwin, M (2020) Making the invisible visible: Let’s discuss Invisible disabilities, ERIC Educational Resources Centre. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1294871.pdf (Accessed: 27 May 2025). 

Moriña, A. (2016) ‘Inclusive education in higher education: challenges and opportunities’, European Journal of Special Needs Education, 32(1), pp. 3–17. doi: 10.1080/08856257.2016.1254964.

Díaz-Jiménez, R. M., Yerga-Míguez, M. D., Relinque Medina, F., & Granados Martínez, C. (2025). Inclusion pyramid for university students with intellectual disabilities: input from the university community in European countries. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2025.2486534

Jansen, D., Petry, K., Ceulemans, E., Noens, I., & Baeyens, D. (2016). Functioning and participation problems of students with ASD in higher education: which reasonable accommodations are effective? European Journal of Special Needs Education, 32(1), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1254962

Moore, E. (2023) Making workspaces inclusive through design, ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/1002463/making-workspaces-inclusive-through-design (Accessed: 26 May 2025). 

You have presented your Artefact as the concept of a workshop on ‘Research Analysis’, that you hope to expand in focus and enable a cross discipline participation. This is an interesting proposition because a wider set of participants can help to bring a broader set of experiences to the conversation. With appropriately scaffolded and unpacked terms this could foster a much more inclusive and diverse space for students. 

However, you may wish to consider your definition and application of diversity and inclusivity in this context. There is a deep and long colonial legacy of categorisation as a means of control. How do you intend to challenge this in the practice? How can you bring this more into focus within the activities? Have you considered these terms within the frameworks of Intersectionality and Critical Race Theory?   

Additionally, I agree that a supporting ‘contextual bibliography’ would certainly assist in the scaffolding of more inclusive approach to the activity and perhaps will be a space to introduce some decolonial thought into the process. You may choose to consider how ‘inclusivity’ as a term exists as a remedy to ‘exclusivity’ therefore think about what may have been exclusive in this activity in the past and how it could be challenged in your next iteration of the activity. 

Finally please find some further questions as provocations to support your evolution on this unit, with what we hope to be supporting resources: 

• How can you signpost and unpack the deeply entrenched terms within Architecture? Here is a resource with expansive additional and contextual reading lists –   
  
  https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/100993/3/Race_space_and_architecture.pdf 
  
   
• How can we define inclusivity and accessibility?-  

• An example of the intersection of Decolonialisation/architecture and history –  
  
  https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/02/24/the-project-of-independence-architectures-of-decolonization-in-south-asia-museum-of-modern-art 
  
  I hope that you find this information useful and I welcome the opportunity to have a discussion with you in our 1 to 1 tutorial, which can be booked here: https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/mod/scheduler/view.php?id=990097