Case study Organisation: Burton College Type of FE provider: College Focus on: Equality and Diversity (Race)
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Raising Awareness of Cultural Diversity Summary of activity
Set-up and implementation
This case study provides an example of how to use external and internal drivers to embed race equality within the learning framework in a creative way, including the use of images and iweb grabs.
In 2007/08 the college organised a series of student-centred activities in order to raise students’ awareness and knowledge of Black history. Using external guides, such as a photography competition and Black History Month, as well as internal resources and advice from the college’s Equality and Diversity Committee, staff devised two projects which encouraged students to learn more about Black history.
Background and strategic drive for activity Burton College has over 11,000 students, 2,000 of whom are full-time. Most come from the local area, but there are an increasing number attending from further afield. The college is part of the Staffordshire Universities Regional Federation, which aims to provide programmes related to the needs of local people. Burton College also provides higher education courses through Wolverhampton University and Nottingham Trent University.
The college’s Equality and Diversity Committee is chaired by a senior manager who leads on all matters relating to equality and diversity. Staff members are drawn from all curriculum areas and part of their role is to assist teachers in the promotion and implementation of equality and diversity within teaching and learning.
different media, and was displayed and enjoyed by other students in the college. For example, around 40 first year students produced a book jacket for the FUJI competition, and a similar number of second year students developed web pages on Black History Month and black music.
These projects were delivered to National Diploma Photography students at Burton College between November 2007 and 2008. The projects had exciting briefs that challenged students to create visually striking and well-researched work on Black history and culture.
This activity has enabled the college to start embedding race equality within the pedagogical framework, and also contributed towards promoting good relations between different racial groups. This helps to meet their legal obligations under the third strand of the Race Equality Duty, as set out in the Race Relations Act 1976 (as amended).
The first project was the FUJI Student Award – a photography competition that students were asked to enter as an assignment. The brief was to produce an image that would appear on the cover of the next edition of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (first published in 1952), as part of Penguin’s Modern Classics series. One of the images entered by a Burton student was shortlisted as a merit winner. The second project focused on music from the 1950s to present day, with particular emphasis on how music had given each generation a ‘voice’. Students were asked to research and compile evidence online using iWeb. This encouraged them to find images, audio files, speeches, statements and other factual information about the historical context of black music and history in the latter half of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first centuries. The collected research was then compiled into an online student sketchbook. This resource was highly original and prompted students to explore independently the important issues and historical events which have shaped black and world history. Students were driven by their own interests, discoveries and collective sharing during the production of this coursework.
Impact and achievements The activities proved to be very effective in engaging learners in black culture and history. The project plans were used in staff training at curriculum level to promote more active lesson planning and classroom delivery. The work produced by students was visual and involved
Links to legal requirements
Next steps The college is building on the success of these projects by: • promoting a systematic inclusion of equality and diversity themes in all appropriate student learning and outcomes • sharing exemplar materials across the institution • exhibiting student work within community venues to promote local and regional interest in the college and its activities • putting together a visual campaign of diverse cultural achievements related to areas of study and curriculum.
“…useful in terms of raising awareness and embedding equality and diversity into teaching practice in an innovative way, that other colleges could learn from.” The Workforce Race Advisory Group
Provider contact David Spooner Head of Learning Creative Industries Burton College Lichfield Street, Burton upon Trent Staffordshire DE14 3RL david.spooner@burton-college.ac.uk Find out more about the work of The Workforce Race Advisory Group: www.lluk.org/3151.htm. RW09/09/200910.024
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