Week 5
"Will it ever be possible to think about students without assuming they are a certain age or in a particular life stage?"
Arts competitions aimed at students: A practitioner’s perspective.
#AdultConversations #52weeks52speaks
Week 5 Professor Sam Broadhead
Introduction.
I am currently Head of Research at Leeds Arts University. Previously, I have been an Access tutor specialising in art and design. I have worked in prison education departments, community settings and in further education. I serve on the Journal of Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning’s editorial board. I have co-authored a book with Professor Maggie Gregson (2018) Practical Wisdom and Democratic Education - Phronesis, Art and Non-traditional Students, Macmillan Palgrave. I have also has co-authored with Rosemarie Davies and Anthony Hudson (2019) Perspectives on Access: Practice and Research, Emerald Publishing.
The issue with Arts competitions.
There are many arts competitions offering substantial cash prizes aimed at artists, musicians, poets, film-makers and other creative practitioners. These competitions sometimes have age restrictions although others, such as the Turner Prize, recognise that artists of any age can experience breakthroughs in their work. Sometimes the organisers of arts competitions target students and contact educators in the hope that they will encourage their cohorts to participate. For those working with adult learners, these competitions raise important questions about merit, art education and assumptions about age.
Coming to education later in life.
There are many reasons why people do not achieve the qualifications they need at school. Social, cultural, economic, demographic, political, and/or health factors mean that some students do not get a fair opportunity to achieve when at school age. For example, they may be looked-after children; they may have to care for ailing parents; they may have suffered a long-term childhood illness or they may have family members who are incarcerated, all of which could disrupt a person’s education. The family context may mean that there is a need to be constantly moving around the country or the globe. The quality of school education a child receives may not be very good. There may be instances where a person suffered bullying at school. In fact, school and education in general could represent feelings of trauma, alienation, failure and frustration in some people.
Accordingly, some adults need to return to education later in life and this is a courageous thing to do, especially if earlier learning experiences were negative. Often the decision to re-enter education can be a risk to financial security, a person’s identity and/or a sense of belonging to their communities. In order to study, adults and their families sometimes need to make sacrifices so that they have the physical and emotional resources to succeed. Mature students may need to juggle caring responsibilities and part-time employment with the requirements of their course. They also may have to deal with unexpected life changes such as bereavement, ill health, issues to do with their employment, housing, children or aging relatives.
Access to HE (Art and Design).
Within the context of art and design I would interview prospective students for an Access to HE course. An Access to HE course is designed for adult students who want eventually to undertake a degree but do not have the required qualifications. A common story I was told was that a person had always wanted to study the arts but had been dissuaded from doing so by their family. This was because the arts were perceived as being precarious and not leading to a ‘proper job’. Linked to this was a lack of good quality careers advice that was able to communicate the many possibilities that could spring from an arts education. However, the need to be creative and to learn artistic skills and knowledge is a drive that some people cannot ignore so they choose to follow their hopes and dreams to become artists, designers and craftspeople later in life.
My experience as an Access to HE educator.
As an Access to HE art and design teacher and course leader I was often contacted through email by organisations offering competitions, residencies or internships aimed at young people. These opportunities were often targeted at ‘young’ artists and often carried explicit age restrictions. It seems that for some a ‘young’ artist is anyone under the age of 30. I was asked to share these notifications with my students. Occasionally, I would email back explaining that three quarters of my cohort were over the age of thirty. These people may be biologically older but in some ways they were still young or new practitioners. Another way of describing them was that they were emerging artists. I asked if it was fair to share activities that were not inclusive - from which some of my class would be excluded. My questions were often ignored; on occasion I would get an offhand response. One respondent apologised but added that the competition was linked to funding criteria. As I have argued many if not all my students had been brave enough to study the arts while they had other responsibilities and commitments – surely they were deserving enough to take advantage of the openings on offer? I made the decision to only share opportunities if there were no age restrictions so that no one would feel excluded or disappointed because they could not take part.
I continue to see similar examples where art and design competitions have age restrictions. I ponder that while age is a protected characteristic it does not seem to be fully considered in some contexts. Furthermore, will it ever be possible to think about students without assuming they are a certain age or in a particular life stage?
Access all areas!
Access to HE Diploma: continuing to transform lives.
#AdultConversations #52weeks52speaks
Week 5 John Earland
I think we can all agree that 2020 has been an unusual year in all spheres of life and not least education generally and adult education specifically. Unusual of course is a classic understatement! Another word, which seems to be the word of 2020, is extraordinary! Not that coping with extraordinary circumstances, adversity or threatening situations should deter anyone who has ever been involved with the Access to HE Diploma qualification. Throughout its long and distinguished life this precious qualification has faced funding issues and structural issues which has endangered its very existence more times than I care to remember. Thankfully, a good few years ago now, the UK government recognised the particular significance of Access to HE and so have given it special considerations which means it remains secure in its current position, for now!
For those who are unfamiliar with this qualification, it is a full Level 3 Diploma which is primarily aimed adult learners who want to progress to higher education. It is not expected that these learners will have any previous qualifications and typically students don’t. Access students come from a wide range of backgrounds and personal circumstances with differing levels of responsibilities and personal issues. However, the one thing they all have in common is the determination to change their lives. A sense that things must not continue as they are and that they want a career which ultimately starts with the need to hold a higher education qualification. You can find a whole load of amazing statistics on the QAA website and on our own website at One Awards, there are lots of inspirational case studies with some students appearing on camera talking about their own experiences. Not to be missed.
In December 2020, I began to publish a monthly podcast, ‘Access to HE Uncovered’ and we began by talking to Julie Mizon, the Access to HE Manager at QAA, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the UK which also happens to be the regulator for Access to HE Diplomas. We aimed to uncover the importance and history of the qualification and to find out about her role too. In the second podcast we speak to four new students and chat about their hopes and aspirations and they can found here. These students come from a diverse background and their stories reinforces my belief that Access to HE remains a transformational course. A qualification that anyone with the determination and ability to success can do, irrespective of previous attainment.
Without going into their personal details these individuals come from ordinary backgrounds like you and me but they demonstrate extraordinary determination and will to achieve. As you will discover, one student is pursuing a career in nursing having spent many years as a healthcare assistant whilst bringing up a family and this is, in many ways, a common thread amongst Access students which is why I am so passionate about this qualification; it gives people hope and another chance in life. Another student is looking to become a physiotherapist, another an Occupational Therapist and one student intends to enter Social Work. Very often, people are inspired to follow a career in particular area by meeting someone they admire and have a thought that “I could do this” and this, in particular, is how one of the students decided to follow a career in Social Work. It’s a remarkable story. Why not look it up on Apple iTunes or Spotify or alternatively follow this link https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1491730.rss and subscribe.
So with 2021 upon us, who knows what this year will present to us, but one thing I am proud and delighted to say is that Access to HE really is continuing to change lives.
John works for an Access awarding body and is a radio presenter and podcaster.
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