Shades of Noir also recognise as SoN, is a platform, established in 2009, that hosts a wealth of resources that aggravates and challenges higher education institutes, to encourage the intentional dialogue of subject matters concerning race, equity, culture and social justice. Articles, journals and research are residents of this platform, which empower marginalised groups to have a voice; stating opinions and experiences encountered whilst practicing or studying within higher education.
I commend the disruptive five “R” framework (“Representation, Remuneration, Reparation, Reclamation and Redistribution”) and can relate to the injustices mentioned within the resources, due to my positionality and intersectional attributes. Having been affected by racial and cultural inconsistencies, within HE, I can also see how people of colour can make a difference in impeding oppression and prejudice present within biased institutions and systems through active representation. Conversations about race can be uncomfortable, as it requires the scrutinising of motives and frameworks of the curriculum. The approaches to teaching and assessment can often in themselves situate subjective bias, affecting the core tenets of general academic life. Studies by the equality’s regulator and universities’ own representative body highlight the challenges of racism within academia; ignorance and complacency towards culture and the impact of systemic failure, in attempts to initiate a teaching environment that all students deserve. The outcome of this research is an invitation to HE and FE establishments, to find ways of operating to embrace the full diversity of their students, rather than expecting students to change and comply.
Authored in 2016, by Aisha Richards of SoN and Terry Finnegan, the Retention and Attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design report considers the retention and attainment of students from diverse backgrounds within the subject discipline of Art and Design at the university. It centres on statistics providing an insight into what is happening to students studying creative disciplines, whilst heightening levels of susceptibility for certain groups in relation to perseverance and achievement. Also explored are cultures of academia, its relations to diverse student cohorts and the customs of subject areas with references to outputs and outcomes.
HE is now more accessible to society and as a result of this evolution there has been an increase in marginalised participants and international students, who contribute to the opulence and diversity of new perspectives and knowledge in higher education (Office for Students March 2022). However, research shows that this increase in participation from students of diverse backgrounds results in a struggle with endurance and accomplishments. The Office for Students report (2022) in the academic year of 20/21, highlighted that over 600,000 international students enrolled into higher education in the UK; this equated to 22% of the entire population of all students in HE. 80% of which came from non-EU countries and 30% came from China.
There is an attainment gap between UK and non-EU/international students which has been decreasing, but the gap persists at 11.6% amid ‘good degree’ outcomes and (apparently) remains largely unexplained. However, research does show negating factors such as economic disadvantage, ethnicity, disability, gender and whether a child has been in care or has special educational needs and disability (SEND), directly impacting on retention and attainment. And it is forecasted that this gap is likely to grow as the government pursues its 2030 target, (Smith 2020).
Within a video, a mature female of colour speaks about unconscious bias, within a conversational context. She articulates different circumstances, in which the term bias is used, but the video suggests the possibility of unconscious bias being a shield that is used to excuse racially motivated behaviours. It is also questioned whether unconscious bias is actually a conscious act. Unconscious bias is defined by Professor Uta Frith’s publication for the Royal Society as a “judgment or decision made on the basis of our prior experience, our own personal deep-seated thought patterns, assumptions or interpretations, and we are not aware that we are doing it.” This definition helped me to consider/question if the racial judgment was the result of racial favour within society or ‘white privilege’? A term coined in 1989, by Peggy McIntosh.
Is it possible that unconscious bias is an excuse for groups or individuals?
According to Simon Fanshawe “Biases apparently just leap out, uncontrolled.” He also acknowledges that biases are learned, so can be given pardoned or tolerated. In the case of racial unconscious bias, it is to avoid taking responsibility and tackling the issue of prejudice.
My mindset agrees with the Fanshawe and notions made in the video; when privileged within an environment individuals use implicit bias as an excuse to continue their behaviours and to continue to gain favour. But it is my opinion that bias should be changed if its impact targets others for their characteristics and traits that are part of their identity.
The frameworks within my practice do not intentionally celebrate racial differences, so platforms such as Shades of Noir/SoN enable me to be and keep informed of systemic challenges faced by marginalised groups, from diverse backgrounds.
I hold a position within the group of students whose ethnicity may be affected by retention and attainment. As an alumnus of UAL, I found experience there was no representation of my positionality or intersectional traits within resources or amongst the staff which often led to negative outcomes for my chosen learning contexts. I often lost interest in engagement, feeling alienated within a self-detached educational environment. My IP journey in relation to my teaching practice allows me to invite changes, enhance current approaches and manipulate frameworks; encouraging inclusion to support the narrowing of the attainment gap.
Prejudice has implicit social connotations that can be formed by perceived conscious awareness. It enables most people to hold beliefs about others who may identify as being part of a different social or racial group, flawed decision-making and judgments. In my practice minimise the impact of unconscious bias by making resources anonymous, to support the elimination of social stereotyping.
Identifying as a British female of colour, the complexity of my positionality has been to champion my skills, attributes and abilities, within my professional practice. Unwanted acquaintance with racial and colourism prejudices is common to me because being fairer (closer to white) rewards individuals within this society and has an economic value which seemingly is the social reserve for specific racial groups, dating back to the 15th century. https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/safeguarding/skin-bleaching/ .
My lived experiences align with barriers caused by prejudice themes that occur within HE institutions and the failures within society, which likewise impact other marginalised groups. According to Prof David Richardson, chair of Universities UK’s advisory group, “UK universities are institutionally racist and must do more to support students of colour” (2021).
I am familiar with and acknowledge biases within my practice and my experiences do not steer my profession. A lack of privilege has resulted in me choosing to embrace my curiosities, refrain from historical ignorance and educate myself on racial differences, to celebrate and include diversity. Framework and course design should be demonstrating and evaluating institutional prospects to intersect race and ethnicity in the current climate however consideration may need to be made given to cultural literacy amongst staff, to make students feel confident. “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist” (Davis., A.Y). Neither Staff nor Students should consider changing their research due to cultural inferences. Research shows that lectures can be challenged and projects for a lack of interest in speaking about race in the classroom for fear of being sanctioned. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is destabilizing and uncomfortable but is a necessary tool for implementing change for the good.
Reference: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/about/ Accessed 01/06/2023
Equality and Human Rights Commission (October 2019) https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/tackling-racial-harassment-universities-challenged.pdf Accessed 01/06/2023
Office for Students, published 16/03/2022 https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/learning-more-about-international-students/
hepi.ac.uk – 20th February 2020. https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/02/20/what-about-me-international-student-attainment-in-uk-higher-education/#:~:text=The%20attainment%20gap%20between%20UK,government%20pursues%20its%202030%20targets . Accessed 08/06/2023
Wincester. N, Educational Attainment GAP: Regional disparities, published 02/09/2022 https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/educational-attainment-gap-regional-disparities/#:~:text=1,Educational%20disadvantage,needs%20and%20disability%20(SEND).
Fanshawe. S, People Management, published 31/03/2022 https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1751852/why-unconscious-bias-training-isnt-fit-for-purpose Accessed 21/06/2023
McIntosh. P (1989) ‘White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack’.
Professor Uta Firth, Unconscious Bia Revisited published 08/03/2022
https://royalsociety.org/blog/2022/03/unconscious-bias-revisited/ accessed 21/03/2023
https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/safeguarding/skin-bleaching/ – Accessed 14/06/2023
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/apr/28/uk-universities-are-institutionally-racist-says-leading-vice-chancellor – Accessed 14/06/2023
https://www.buffalo.edu/content/dam/www/inclusion/docs/Comm%20Health%20Equity.pdf – Accessed 14/06/2023
https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/safeguarding/skin-bleaching/ – Accessed 14/06/2023
interesting points, Michelle!
The Attainment gap is something I am also interested in, especially in finding ways to address the root causes of attainment gaps. I’ve been doing research on this subject and found some resources which you might also be interested in:
– The Academic Enhancement team has a page on canvas with reports on Attainment gaps, including reports on student’s experiences of identity and attainment at UAL – https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/200513/what-is-academic-enhancement
– They also have a website with a lot of resources related to this : https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/200302/academic-enhancement-support-research-and-policy
I’m still going through these but I’m finding them really helpful, hopefully you will too 🙂
Thank you for your comments and the resources shared.
Great point Michele, it’s really interesting to hear how you embrace your curiosity and promote diversity while also experiencing racism and colourism within the institution. A agree that representation at all levels of the organisation improves the student experience – for all students. I am also interested in the attainment gap. I think it is shortsighted that the focus seems to be on quantitative research. When you look at the dashboards, you just see numbers but there is no explanation. How can we fix the problem when we don’t know exactly what is causing it? From your wider experiences at work, and as an alumni of UAL, I’m sure you have some evidence that would help the institution to understand the problem. I have never been asked to contribute any qualitative evidence – maybe you haven’t either. It’s just interesting to me that we could probably figure out the answers with contributions from unit evaluations, the CSS/NSS and staff anecdotes but no one is working on that as a central project (although maybe something is included in the source Mariana listed above!)
Thank you for your comments and sharing your interests in the topics that I have critically reviewed.
This is a really informative blog to read. Thank you for sharing your personal experience. I work on an international programme and this will be the 2nd year that we have home students in our cohort. It would be interesting to see if retention and attainment has an impact on the data. Your comment on retention and attainment are really interesting.
I particularly enjoy Professor Uta Firth’s publication “judgment or decision made on the basis of our prior experience, our own personal deep-seated thought patterns, assumptions or interpretations, and we are not aware that we are doing it.” I feel my intersectionality and positionality comes to play in this context. There is an extra reading perhaps you might be interested. It provides an insightful analysis how intersectionality theory can strengthen multicultural approaches. It shed light on the historical roots of intersectionality in critical race theory. “Privilege and Oppression in Counselor Education: An Intersectionality Framework”.
Privilege and Oppression in Counselor Education_ An Intersectiona.pdf