21 May 2024

This blog was written by Gabriel Tsang, a Lecturer in Graphic Design, and a PgCert student from the 2023/2024 cohort, as part of the Higher Education in Practice: Personal reflections on your discipline and the wider context of higher education submission.

Gabriel 1

In my teaching experience, I actively contribute to enhancing the global standing and reputation of LCCA through internationalisation, aligning with the institution's goal of providing students with theoretical knowledge and understanding of the debates, historical contexts, and international frameworks that underpin these disciplines (LCCA 2023, p. 14). This effort helps attract and retain diverse academic communities, preparing them for future global challenges. Internationalisation is a crucial strategy to nurture students, encouraging them to extend their horizons and explore future possibilities (AdvanceHE 2020). It promotes the inclusivity of marginalized ethnicities and aims to develop a more inclusive and socially responsible approach that addresses ethical concerns, rather than focusing solely on revenue, soft power, and excellence (De Wit & Altbach 2021, p. 44). 

As an educator, my role in the internationalising process involves fostering a globally aware and inclusive learning environment. At the community college of Wollongong University in Hong Kong, I specifically managed the cross-cultural education for Level 4 students studying digital visual design. Through collaboration with Wollongong University in Australia, I facilitated discussions via Discord, and provided critique in the subject, Game Media, directly influencing the curriculum and student experiences across cultural boundaries. Nowadays, my teaching at LCCA involves students from diverse ethnic backgrounds across the globe. Ann Healey, the Academic Dean at LCCA, emphasizes the college's mission to transform communities through knowledge and education, embracing diversity and inclusiveness to accommodate multi-ethnicity (LCCA 2023). As a community college offering creative art education within the context of a widening participation policy, LCCA addresses institutional concerns to create inclusive, equitable, and anti-discriminatory practices in higher education admissions (Finnigan, & Richards 2016, p. 5). With the help of blended learning in the subject, Visual Culture, my efforts to foster inclusiveness in creative arts education are vital. Cultural capital is particularly significant within art and design disciplines, recognized as 'creative subjects' that prioritize 'talent' over ‘privilege' (Finnigan, & Richards 2016, p. 6). My interaction with multi-ethnic students and colleagues enhances the institution’s engagement globally, contributing to the virtuous circle described by David Carter: high-quality research builds the reputation of a university, which attracts international students; the extra funds are reinvested in research, which raises the university’s profile even higher, which aims to grow, not just income but also knowledge and influence (2021). Moreover, pedagogies of belonging are also a strategy to tackle the problem caused by internationalization, especially for Diaspora students who have difficulty in communication and social support. Pedagogies of belonging encompass what they teach, how they teach, and why they teach in the ways they do, coming together to enable all young people to feel a sense of belonging and prepare them to help build more peaceful and equitable futures. (Dryden-Peterson 2023, p. 1). 

My creative response is inspired by Paul Klee's methodology, which uses an inductive approach to explain visual elements, thereby creating both a physical and intellectual space for viewers (Klee 1954, p. 9). I have chosen pastels as my medium of expression to reflect the evolving changes brought about by internationalization and inclusiveness of marginalized ethnicity in the study of Visual Culture within the UK's creative arts education. The phenomenon of marginalized ethnicity occurs when dominant national-cultural repertoires influence minorities' self-understanding of ethnicity, a process that challenges the notion of 'imagined homogeneity' (Banai and Shoshana, 2020, pp. 1092, 1095). In creative arts education, the liberalizing effects of internationalization and the inclusiveness of marginalized ethnicities can diminish the concept of 'imagined homogeneity,' thereby decentralizing national-cultural 'privilege' that often overshadows diverse perspectives of creative ‘talent' (Banai and Shoshana, 2020, pp. 1092). 

My artwork attempts to articulate the learning experiences of marginalized ethnic students. It features a continuously expanding circular form that is constantly reformed and reshaped by external influx from above and below (fig. 1). Additionally, the internal struggle within the circular form is depicted as a crater shattered with lines and strokes. This expression of unstable forms seeks to convey the dynamic and often turbulent journey of marginalized ethnic students. Pastels uniquely build tonality through the overlaying of pigments. Tiny particles of colour pigment, understood as ‘talent’, can be seen through the layering or smudging by the artist, but they cannot be completely hidden by 'privilege'. The richness of the picture emerges from the complexities of pigment—various hues, tints, and shades. I use the blending of colours to exemplify the incorporation of diversity and inclusiveness, forming a viscous flow of colour. This metaphor also mirrors Carter's concept of a virtuous circle, where expanding knowledge and influence mutually benefit both students and the institute. 

  • References: 
    Banai, A. and Shoshana, A., 2020. Relocated ethnicities: how do national-cultural repertoires shape the ethnicities of migrants? Evidence from Israeli Mizrahim in Israel, the United States, and Germany. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43(6), pp.1091-1109. 
  • Carter, D 2021, What is an international strategy, really?, Wonkhe, viewed 13 May 2024, <https://wonkhe.com/blogs/what-is-an-international-strategy-really/>. 
  • De Wit, H. and Altbach, P.G., 2021. Internationalization in higher education: global trends and recommendations for its future. In Higher education in the next decade (pp. 303-325). Brill.

Dryden-Peterson, S., 2023. “Introduction,” In Pedagogies of Belonging: Educators Building Welcoming Communities in Settings of Conflict and Migration (edited by Sarah Dryden-Peterson and Hania Mariën). Refugee REACH, Harvard Graduate School of Education: Cambridge, www.reach.gse.harvard.edu. 
  • Finnigan, T. and Richards, A., 2016. Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design. Higher Education Academy, 4, pp.1-23.

Healey, A., 2023. Transforming Lives and Communities through Experiential Learning at LCCA. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://youtu.be/IbmJReCakzU?si=zONTMB4XjTw4qPeE [Accessed 15 May 2024].

 
  • LCCA ed., (2023). Limitless Possibilities, the home of creative talent: Prospectus 2023/24. [online] https://www.lcca.org.uk. LCCA. Available at: https://indd.adobe.com/view/publication/a6f537be-ec67-4132-99fe-f9ab3e8056af/1/publication-web-resources/pdf/Prospectus_23_-_web.pdf [Accessed 21 May 2024]. https://indd.adobe.com/view/publication/a6f537be-ec67-4132-99fe-f9ab3e8056af/1/publication-web-resources/pdf/Prospectus_23_-_web.pdf. 
  • Internationalising higher education | Advance HE 2020, Advance-he.ac.uk, Advance He, viewed 13 May 2024, <https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/guidance/teaching-and-learning/internationalisation