Although I have been aware of the attainment gap between different ethnic and socio-economic groups in higher education for some time, reading the differential again in the report ‘Retention and Attainment in the Disciplines; Art and Design’ by Terry Finnigan and Aisha Richards reminded me of the importance of doing this course. Some of the retention and attainment figures in art and design institutions made for troubling reading. For example, the fact that at the time of the report’s publication, 31% of Black British Caribbean and Black British African students gain an upper degree in comparison to 64% of White students – an attainment gap of 33%. It was also interesting to learn that art and design has one of the highest percentages of students leaving with no award in the HE sector. There are significant differences here also with, for example, 6% of white students leaving with no award as opposed to 13% of Black or Black British African students.
It was useful to be reminded that admission processes can be discriminatory – how class and race can be barriers to certain forms of cultural capital, the knowledge of which is often used to assess the suitability of applicants: Certain kinds of art can only be decoded, and appreciated by those who have been taught how to decode them (Bourdieu in Burke and Mcmanus 2012). It is crucial to take a more rounded and open approach to evaluating potential within our applicants.
The report observes that the increased size of student cohorts makes the ‘atelier’ model of teaching and the use of one-to-one feedback problematic as it leads to students feeling as though they have been left to work on their own, whilst the encouragement to take risks can lead to feelings of vagueness and confusion. However, I agree with the view that we have to understand the emotional investment students feel for their work and how they have to be encouraged to find their own voice.
The collaborative learning case study from Plymouth University proposed some useful reminders about the creation of productive learning environments, where students should not only feel that their voices are represented but they should also feel a sense of ownership over their work spaces and means of communication. Social spaces and spaces to informally test and present work to one another are very important but increasingly rare given the limited studio footprint that fine art courses have to work with. However, creating a sense of inclusion and agency for those spaces is crucial.
The report’s observations on the role of identity in art education are revealing as some students perceive that some tutors’ preferences have a large role to play when it comes to getting a good grade. It also highlights the power that tutors have to encourage or discourage students’ interests. This highlights the importance of continued decolonisation and the emphasis of transformational and inclusive education to ensure that our students feel supported and that the tolerant, open, risk-taking and democratising spaces within the art studio are truly places for everyone (Sabri 2015).