Category: Unit 2 Inclusive Practices (Summer 2025)

Aspects of Diversity to Consider
I would like to focus on supporting dyslexic and neurodiverse students by making our workshop resources and learning materials more accessible. While we already have documents of materials available, these do not currently meet accessibility guidelines, and this can be a significant barrier to learning. By revisiting and reformatting our existing materials, and creating some new ones, I hope that it can only enhance accessibility for those with specific learning needs, but also improve clarity and usability for all students. The goal is to create inclusive, clear, and concise materials that benefit every learner, regardless of their needs.

In Unit 1, I began exploring this area and proposed developing a set of accessibility guidelines based on the UK Government’s Accessible Communication Formats (2021), the West Yorkshire Health & Care Partnership (2021), and the Dyslexia Association (2025). The refined resources will adhere to the following:

• Left-align text, use wide margins, and set line spacing to 1.5 for readability.
• Use short sentences (10–15 words max) for clarity.
• Include relevant images and software screenshots, positioned to the left of the text.
• Set font size to a minimum of 14pt, using Helvetica or another sans-serif font.
• Avoid italics, underlining, and decorative fonts; use bold, clear headings.
• Print on cream/off-white paper; for digital versions, offer a pastel background option.

Additional to this, I would like to create some recorded content whilst using workshop specific softwares (Adobe Photoshop and Wilcom) with audio. To adhere to UAL’s showcase student guidance, I will:

• Provide accurate captions
• Use high-contrast colour combinations to ensure readability
• Avoid any flashing content
• Ensure that recordings are clear with minimal background noise

Link to My Practice
This proposal links directly into my daily practice within the workshop. Over the past couple of years, we’ve worked to develop guidelines to help students prepare files for printing and embroidery. While these guidelines are useful, they often heavily rely on 1:1 instruction during workshop inductions. Time constraints and increasing student numbers have made it challenging to provide consistent, comprehensive support, especially for students who may require additional time or alternative learning formats. By creating accessible and well-structured guidance, both in print and online formats, I hope to provide a more inclusive and equitable learning experience.

Feasibility of Implementation
Implementation is highly feasible, as I intend on building on existing resources or use this as a basis for new material. The core content already exists; it simply needs to be refined to align with accessibility standards. We also have digital platforms in place, such as Padlet and Moodle, which already host video and audio content. I have found recently, that students increasingly record workshop sessions for later review, which suggests there is a strong demand for these kinds of resources.

“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”— Alexander den Heijer

References:

• Dyslexic.com (2017). Quick Guide to Making Your Content Accessible – Dyslexic.com. [online] dyslexic.com. Available at: https://www.dyslexic.com/quick-guide-making-content-accessible/ [Accessed 22 May. 2025].
• GOV.UK (2021). Accessible Communication Formats. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/accessible-communication-formats [Accessed 22 May. 2025].
• Leeds Autism AIM (2021). Making information accessible for neurodivergent people. [online] Available at: https://www.wypartnership.co.uk/application/files/3716/4735/6437/making-information-accessible-for-neurodivergent-people-final-v2-20.04.21.pdf [Accessed 22 May. 2025].

Faith does not exist in isolation but is deeply intertwined with other aspects of identity, including race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Across all three resources; Appiah (2014), Trinity University (2016), and Jawad (2022), a recurring theme is the complexity and intersectionality of religious identity. Jawdad (2022), for instance, focuses on the experiences of hijab wearing Muslim women in sport and how under respresented they are. Not only because of their faith, but because of other intersectional barriers they face for example sexism, islamophobia and sometimes economic limitations. The article addresses how institutional structures often fail to accomodate faith-based needs and often their religious and cultural needs are ignored, which in tern, reinforces systemic exclusion and inequality.

This analysis is echoed and supported by Ramadan’s (2022) in article When faith intersects with gender, where she writes about the experiences of Muslim woman academics. Hijab wearing academics often face micro-agressions and institutional bias, often requiring them to work harder than their white or non-Muslim peers to achieve similar professional recognition and progression. Both authors highlight how gendered Islamophobia and structural discrimination restrict opportunities. They also show a collective similar trait of agency in Muslim women, whether by creating inclusive environments or challenging stereotypes.

In In the Trinity University video (2016), Simran Singh reflects on how race and religion intersect, and how he addresses this within the classroom. Singh shares personal experiences of being stereotyped and descriminated against becuase of his visible religious identity – marked by his turban and beard. He shows similar agency to confonting these bias, emphasising the importance, particularly in a educational setting to promote empathy and understanding among students/colleagues of all backgrounds.

I found this blog more challenging to engage with than others, and I felt a sense of discomfort in realising that I’ve rarely considered faith in my teaching practice. Unlike other barriers such as disability as an example, which I’ve more naturally integrated into my thinking, religion has been something I’ve overlooked. That realisation in itself was powerful and highlighted a gap in my awareness.

It feels like the issue of faith within education is an issue much larger and at a systematic level, however, moving forward, inspired by Singh’s call for inclusive teaching, I’m committed to making small but meaningful changes. For example, during student bookings or tutorials, I could be more explicit in letting students know they’re welcome to take breaks when needed, or that appointments can be rescheduled if the timing conflicts with other obligations they have.

Another area I’m reflecting on is language. I often refer to Christmas or Easter breaks, which might carry a christian-centric assumption. Going forward, I’ll use more inclusive terms like “Winter” and “Spring” break. Similarly, I aim to be more aware of the habitual language I use in phrases such as “oh my God” or “thank God”, which might unintentionally alienate others. It’s a small but important reminder of how I also have a responsibility to be more thoughtful in the way I speak and interact in diverse spaces.

References:

TED (2014). Kwame Anthony Appiah: Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2et2KO8gcY.

Ramadan, I. (2021). When Faith Intersects with Gender: The Challenges and Successes in the Experiences of Muslim Women Academics. Gender and Education, 34(1), pp.1–16. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2021.1893664.

University, T. (2016). Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in Classroom. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CAOKTo_DOk [Accessed 9 Oct. 2020].

Discuss specific examples from the resources that illustrate the intersection of disability with other identity aspects:

Video 1: Ade Adepitan, Disability and Race:

• Ade Adepitan talks about paralells between his disability and race, one of which that is discussed is systemic discrimination in society. He mentioned how although overt racism such as name calling in the street isn’t as prominent now, covert and inbuilt prejudice still stands. It is easy to hide rejecting giving BAME and disabled people a job.  
• Limitations that are put in place in society, “I’m disabled because society has not allowed me to shine. And not because of my disability”. Disability (and you could say any element of intersectional) is not the barrier. In the video, Abe gives the example of how The Paralympics is a space where people are able to shine and be the best that they can be: given the right training, equipment and event. 
• If adequate support and environments were put in place to ensure everyone had the same opportunity to thrive and succeed, there wouldn’t be barriers and disparity. 

Video 2: Cristine Sun Kim, Friends and Strangers:

• Cristine Sun Kim starts the video with clips or her working in the studio, showing works and having a voice-over talking about her alignment with the word “echo” and repetition, which progresses into her talking about how using an interpreter is for her a repetition, and this has strong themes throughout. 
• Bridging the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds. Using graphics to show an idea without barriers, crossing languages and cultures. 
• Mentions her life in Berlin is a lot easier due to a government that cares about their citizens, for instance providing free childcare. Another barrier that she might have faced – parenthood and being an artist. Gives her more freedom. Perhaps an intersection reflection of class & sex? 
• “Scale equals visibility, and that has the ability to shape social norms.”  

Video 3: Chay Brown, Disability and Gender:

• Chay Brown talks about being a trans, white, gay man with hidden disability. He talks about having privilege within the LGBTQ+ community being a white man, in comparison to friends who have more visible disabilities. 
• Physical barriers in place for LGBTQ+ members that have physical disabilities meaning that they not being able to participate and be involved. And with things like audio barriers to people that are sensitive to sound. Alot of events are based around alcohol and music. Isolating an already marginalized community.  

Impact of lived experiences and recurring themes or differing perspectives:

• Systemic and Structural Barriers: The environment and systems, not the individual, are what truly disable people. All 3 videos showcased how with their intersections of disabilities with other identities, they had unequal access to education, opportunities, maybe lived experiences in the ways that they have unequal access to even transportation for instance. Supportive environments remove barriers and allow marginalized individuals to fully participate in society.
• Visibility and Representation: Being seen (or unseen) deeply affects how people are treated and included. For example Ade uses the Paralympics as a metaphor for visibility, showing how people thrive when given the chance. Chay discusses how hidden disabilities often go unrecognized, even within marginalized spaces
• Coping & Resilience Strategies: The examples from video 2 + 3 showed how people are more likely to surround themselves with other peers with similar lived experiences/identities to themselves. Shared experiences can offer strength and solidarity. But it also might have drawbacks, such in video 2, whereby Christine Sun Kim had a fear of interacting with the wider non-deaf speaking community. It might be isolating for people to not/be able to expand their circles. 

List the disability considerations in your own teaching context, drawing on UAL data and your own experience.

• The workshop isn’t accessible to anyone that might have physical disabilities: height of table, reaching threads + frames, general room set up  
• Machines are loud and not auditory sensitive.  
• Often, we are at max capacity, and this limits the time and space we can give to students, often not leaving room to be able to properly support. Might without meaning to marginalize people even further who are already feeling that way.