Facilitating conversations about race: staff views on the importance of accountability and trust in a student-led project

Claire Hamshire, Rachel Forsyth

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Significant conversations provide a private and safe space for teachers to develop their thinking about teaching and learning. These conversations are important to academic development but may be limited by their privacy, although Roxå & Mårtensson noted that it was possible to create a culture which led to extended networks. This study explores how the concept of such conversations can be developed further to contribute to institutional change and the development of inclusive learning communities. Led by students of colour, a project, ‘The Big Change’, was designed to provide an empowering space for open and non-judgemental conversations between students and staff about the experiences of student of colour in a modern university. The paper explores the experiences of the staff (N = 15) who participated in online focus groups in which they explored their experiences of the project and the complexities of vulnerability and public discourses. Within these focus groups we provided a space for conversations in which trust and accountability were identified as key factors for meaningful change, particularly in a sensitive area of work such as anti-racism. This approach, based on student-led interventions plus safe conversations, provides a model for facilitating cultural change within higher education.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalInternational Journal for Academic Development
    DOIs
    Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 2024 May 14

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

    Subject classification (UKÄ)

    • Pedagogy

    Free keywords

    • Conversations
    • equity
    • inclusive practice
    • student partnership
    • trust

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