The most useful piece of writing I came across throughout my research project was an online blog, Facilitating Community-based research – Starting with ourselves. Tips from Prof. Lesley Wood (Sage, 2023). ‘We need to first start with ourselves and ensure we are not living contradictions of what we profess. We have to be skilled in facilitation, which requires active listening (focussing on person as a whole, body language, feelings etc. and not just words); ability to handle conflict and tension; keeping people focussed but allowing for creative thinking; not being afraid of dealing with feelings etc. These skills are best learnt through experiential learning.’ (Sage, 2023). Equipped with such tools and tips, now I feel like I can start.

Social Justice part of my goal of ensuring that students with learning difficulties have an equal opportunity to succeed in education, has been tackled with this project. It is not just giving them access to education but creating a system, a structure that removes barriers to learning and allows them to thrive based on their strengths. Here I’m interviewing a pool of students with an ISA given to them because of their learning difficulties. These can range from dyslexia (reading), dyscalculia (math), dysgraphia (writing), ADHD (attention). So, potentially, for every student , the educational need could be different and could possibly require an individual plan for educational success. But there must be some commonalties. I have my inclinations but I’m eager to start and discover.

Furthermore, I never thought that ethics would be so important, but going though this process, the consequence of not having a solid stance on disclosure, anonymity and the ability to withdraw consent is enormous. It was equally important to communicate with clarity to the participants what the project is all about and what they are consenting to. This has put the interviewees at ease and allowed for a very open discussion.

Through interviewing selected students, I have noticed how much this has empowered them to advocate for themselves and participate in decisions related to their education. By making some simple but also some more complicated changes we can enable students with learning difficulties to reach their full potential. But this is ongoing process that needs regular intervention and collaboration between students, educators, parents and policymakers (Sage Research Methods, 2023).

Recruitment of students. Obviously, the students recruited are students that hold an active ISA. The list was given to me by our course administrators. But how do I chose from the list? By doing my own subtle selection process over the course of this academic year, I noticed that I was inclined to approach students that I already had a connection with. We had a relationship. This would eliminate or at least reduce this notion of me being a researcher, in a position of relative power. I’m not hiding that I’m a researcher and interested in the inquiry, but I start with having a coffee and a chat. If they are interested, then I pursue, if not we part ways. Basing it on real life, getting to know people, seeing if our interests align, and moving forward – or choosing not to. (Sage Research Methods, 2024). I selected my students, scheduled calls and gathered data.

Now that I gathered data, I have to analyse it. My tutor suggested Braun & Clarke’s (2021) Thematic Analysis. Their 6 step approach was very helpful and slightly less daunting process for someone who has never done this before.

The interviews went very well, much better then I expected. The students wanted to talk. They really wanted to talk and tell me all their worries and also ideas. The interviews were planned for 20-25 minutes but all took nearly an hour. I spent the first 10 minutes just chit chatting about them, life, course, everything and anything, which put them at ease. The information I got from them was wast, sometimes overwhelming, but most importantly to the point and actionable.

The key findings and results from the interviews can be summarised in groups below.

• STRUCTURE AND TIMETABLING of course delivery. This includes lectures, seminars and workshops.
• TUTORIALS – the way they are structured and delivered.
• ASSESSMENTS – extra time allocated to ISA students.

Structure and timetabling

All the interviewees had an issue with how the delivery is structured. All the units are scheduled as 1 hour lecture, followed by a 2 hour seminar, followed by a 2 hour workshop. All in one day with short breaks in between. My attention span is very short and all the interviewees who have ADHD, same as me and found it very hard to keep focus. All said, that after the 1st hour of the seminar their focus is lost and no more information is retained. Very similar to me. Suggestion were given in the shape of timetabling the delivery differently and having lecture and seminar in one day with a long break in between, at least 30 min. And then having a workshop on another day. This way, the information will be absorbed and retained better.

Tutorials

Most of our tutorials are done online and each student is given 10min individual slots. When analysing the data given by the interviewees, it was evident that they do not work. They are attended poorly and students with ISAs don’t find them useful. When prompting with more questions as to a reason why, the following were given. Intimidation from 1:1 environment and the power imbalance, the fear that they would not be able to log in properly, as well as having only 10 minutes to discuss the topic and sometimes all they want you to do is to look over their work and review if they are on the right path. Suggestions were made by all interviewees for in-person drop ins/ tutorials were possible. Where a tutor would sit in the classroom for a few hours and students would drop in with their work to share with a tutor and other present students. This type of tutorial was trialled by me in the autumn 2024 term and it worked very well. In terms of attendance and the follow up feedback from the students in the unit feedback forms. Proposal would be to introduce these type of drop ins instead of 10 minute online tutorials. This would not only benefit ISA students but the rest of teh student population.

Assessments

There was a lot pf prise the way the assessments were planned and delivered. The extra time given to ISA students works very well, it gives them time to plan and organise themselves properly, gives them time to focus more but also time to go over their work and identify and rectify the mistakes. No further suggestions were made here.

Next steps

Following up on these ideas and suggestions from the students and myself are the next steps. What’s important is to tackle this gently and pick the most relevant and beneficial proposal to push with the management and scheduling. The first thing is to introduce drop in tutorials for the next academic year. This proposal was suggested to my course leader and has been approved. Great result!

The next on the agenda is the more tricky timetabling which affects stuff on our course but also the timetabling on other units/courses. This has been proposed and is in the discussions with the programme director. Nothing can be done for the next academic year, but fingers crossed the discussions continue and we can move in the right direction for the academic year 25/26.

Limitations

• only 3 students were interviewed, all from the same year and course
• All the interviews were conducted in the same of 1 week
• No additional research method was used to validate, humanise the data gathered
• my own positionality could have influenced the students responses

References

• Sage Research Method Community (2023) ‘What is “Critical Participatory Inquiry”?’. Available at: https://researchmethodscommunity.sagepub.com/blog/critical-participatory-inquiry (accessed 24 June 2024)

• Sage Research Method Community (2023) ‘Facilitating Community-based research – Starting with ourselves. Tips from Prof. Lesley Wood’. Available at: https://researchmethodscommunity.sagepub.com/blog/facilitating-community-based-research-starting-with-ourselves-tips-from-dr-lesley-wood (accessed 25 June 2024)