IP. Dis?ability.
Collective exploration.
The three blog posts will intersect with socioeconomic class and status. Specifically looking at Working Class Home students. Many researchers and research papers indicate that socioeconomic class has the largest impact on social mobility and prospects, compared to any other personal characteristics (Wilson, S. 2022). The UK has the largest disparity between classes, with some researchers speculating that the current class gap is wider than that during the Victorian period (Two Nations, 2023).
(Two Nations, 2023).
Positionality.
Personally, I am not from an affluent background. I would be classified as from a Working Class background. When I was younger, access to affordable education provided explicit opportunity for a wider scope of opportunity. Given the impact of the Conservative educational reforms in 2009 (Porter, A. 2020), the current financial barrier to education would be too limiting for me to be a student currently. In a recent Course meeting with the Dean of LCC Kene Iqweonu, I raised my personal concerns on this issue. Are institutions doing enough to inclusively support a wide spectrum of working class home applicants to become students?
Definition. Socioeconomic Class.
Definition. Working Class.
(Oxford Dictionary, 2024).
Data.
48% of the UK population identity as Working Class (Kirk-Wade, E. 2023).
(Dashboard, 2024).
The participation of local areas (POLAR) classification groups areas across the UK based on the proportion of young people who participate in higher education. Quintile 1-2 represent the most disadvantaged groups (About POLAR, 2022).
Working class individuals make up 48% of the population but only make up 15-16% of the Home students at UAL. A disparity of 32%.
Disability.
24% of the population have a disability. (Kirk-Wade, E. 2023). This includes full working age group 16-64, statistically older adults have a higher likeliness of disability.
10% of the population has dyslexia (Dyslexia, British Dyslexia Association). Studies show that individuals in the creative field more likely to have dyslexia, up to 25% of individuals (Dyslexia Policy, 2022).
UAL.
(Dashboard, 2024).
The UAL LCC data is based on all disability. 15.6% as a mean average. With 24% of the UK general population having a disability, there is an under representation at UAL LCC of disability. The disparity is 8.4%.
Intersection of Working Class and Disability, specifically dyslexia.
Working class students are less likely to be diagnosed with dyslexia than their more affluent peers (affluent 15%, working class 06%), and have less access to support once diagnosed, according to research by Dr Tammy Campbell visiting senior fellow LSE (Campbell, T. 2023). This is due to multiple factors, such as social stigma, lack of awareness, limited access to individual support, and general governmental under funding of resources for these student bodies. This impacts on the perceived intelligence of students. A study by Siegel and Himel (Siegel, L, S. Himel, N. 1998), highlighted that in IQ test systemically scored working class students with dyslexia lower due to the tested literacy with no accommodation or awareness.
The UAL data highlights that for both Working Class and disabled students there is a under representation.
When I was younger I was not tested for dyslexia, due to a deep misunderstanding and fear from my parent what a diagnosis would imply. There was a presumption that this would be a negative label and ostriches me to specific learning groups at school and opportunities on life. With a speech impediment and undergoing speech therapy as a child I understand the pressure and misplaced fear around this decision. My diagnosis was confirmed as an adult in higher education at an art a school. Neither of my parents completed school, so were not equipped with this information.
Conclusion
As Course Leader I recruit the students. I am unfortunately unable to reduce course fees which is a major barrier of entry for Working Class students, but I will continue to petition and raise concern’s around fees wherever possible. Regarding dyslexia these challenges will of impacted individuals in such a way that many will have not even have the opportunity to apply due to the system.
In the teaching space, I leverage by own personal experience of dyslexia and speak on what works for me. There are many talented supportive Disability Officers that we work with on the course and connect students with support for this. The recent change in UAL policy around reducing the need of evidence to support an ISA application has been a welcome one, and represents a decision in the right direction in my opinion.
Overall there is not a perfect answer I can offer here, but raising awareness and continuing to discuss these topics is important.
Reference List.
About POLAR (2022). Office for Students. Available at https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/young-participation-by-area/about-polar-and-adult-he/#:~:text=How%20is%20POLAR4%20calculated%3F,%2Dlevel%20statistical%20building%20block).
Last accessed 10th July 2024.
Campbell, T. (2023). ‘Children in Affluent Areas get More Special Needs Support’. The London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2023/k-November-2023/Children-in-affluent-areas . Last accessed 10th July 2024.
‘Dyslexia’. British Dyslexia Association. Available at https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia . Last accessed 10th July 2024.
Dashboards, Enrolment and Profiles, Student Profiles, (2024). Available at https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638573471260687090 . Last accessed 10th July 2024.
‘Dyslexia Policy’, (2022). RCA. Available at https://www.rca.ac.uk/more/organisation/policies-and-codes-of-practice/dyslexia-policy/ . Last accessed 10th July 2024.
Kirk-Wade, E. (2023). ‘UK Disability Statistics: Prevalence and Life Experiences’. House of Commons Library. Available at https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9602/CBP-9602.pdf . Last accessed 10th July 2024.
Oxford Dictionary, (2024). Available at https://www.oed.com/?tl=true . Last accessed 10th July 2024.
Porter, A. (2020). ‘Ten Years On’. Higher Education Policy Institute. Available at https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/12/09/ten-years-on-the-politics-behind-the-2010-tuition-fee-reforms/ . Last accessed 10th July 2024.
Siegel, L, S. Himel, N. (1998). ‘Socio-economic Status, Age and Classification of Dyslexics and Poor Readers: The Dangers of Using IQ Scores in the Definition of Reading Disability’. Dyslexia: an International Journal, 4.
‘Two Nations’, The state of Poverty in the UK, (2023). Centre for Social Justice. Available at https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CSJ-Two_Nations.pdf . Last accessed 10th July 2024.
Wilson, S. (2022). ‘Social Class is the Biggest Barrier to Career Progression, KPMG Research Finds’. KPMG. Available at https://kpmg.com/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2022/12/social-class-is-the-biggest-barrier-to-career-progression.html . Last accessed 10th July 2024.