Browsing by Author "Crofts, Melanie"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 43
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Addressing differential degree awarding through critical-race methodologies
    (2020-07) Crofts, Melanie; Ansley, Lucy
    In UK Universities, white students are 13.6% more likely to be awarded a good honours degree than students of colour . Historically, a deficit perspective has been used across the sector to counter this reality, rooted in the “view that the problem lies with the students and that it is some attribute of the student that means they attain less well, rather than because of an institutional factor such as curriculum design/development” . This approach not only fails to acknowledge the role the institution plays in differential degree awarding, but also ignores the body of research which shows that even when a range of factors (including prior attainment) are controlled for, an unexplained difference still occurs between students of colour and white students (Broecke and Nicholls, 2007 ; McDuff et al., 2018 ). This suggests that further exploration of the experience of students of colour is required. At De Montfort University, the Freedom to Achieve project aims to address differential degree awarding through a multi-faceted programme of individual projects designed to enhance our cultural diversity and support success for all. A core element of the project to date has been the implementation of student consultations, which allowed for further exploration of the lived experience of the curriculum for students of colour. Underpinned by a Critical Race-Grounded Methodology, these consultations sought to unearth the non-dominant narratives of student experience at De Montfort University. Of particular interest are the findings from these sessions which suggest that a focus upon the curriculum alone is not sufficient to impact student experience on campus. Therefore, this paper will share the findings of the Freedom to Achieve project and will use these to illustrate why initiatives aimed at addressing differential degree awarding needs to include work around the curriculum, but also around a sense of belonging, relationships, community and student development.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Addressing differential degree awarding through critical-race methodologies
    (2020-03) Crofts, Melanie; Ansley, Lucy
    In UK Universities, white students are 13.6% more likely to be awarded a good honours degree than students of colour . Historically, a deficit perspective has been used across the sector to counter this reality, rooted in the “view that the problem lies with the students and that it is some attribute of the student that means they attain less well, rather than because of an institutional factor such as curriculum design/development” . This approach not only fails to acknowledge the role the institution plays in differential degree awarding, but also ignores the body of research which shows that even when a range of factors (including prior attainment) are controlled for, an unexplained difference still occurs between students of colour and white students (Broecke and Nicholls, 2007 ; McDuff et al., 2018 ). This suggests that further exploration of the experience of students of colour is required. At De Montfort University, the Freedom to Achieve project aims to address differential degree awarding through a multi-faceted programme of individual projects designed to enhance our cultural diversity and support success for all. A core element of the project to date has been the implementation of student consultations, which allowed for further exploration of the lived experience of the curriculum for students of colour. Underpinned by a Critical Race-Grounded Methodology, these consultations sought to unearth the non-dominant narratives of student experience at De Montfort University. Of particular interest are the findings from these sessions which suggest that a focus upon the curriculum alone is not sufficient to impact student experience on campus. Therefore, this paper will share the findings of the Freedom to Achieve project and will use these to illustrate why initiatives aimed at addressing differential degree awarding needs to include work around the curriculum, but also around a sense of belonging, relationships, community and student development.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    “Addressing differential degree awarding through critical-race methodologies”
    (2021-07) Crofts, Melanie; Ansley, Lucy
    In UK Universities, white students are 13.6% more likely to be awarded a good honours degree than students of colour . Historically, a deficit perspective has been used across the sector to counter this reality, rooted in the “view that the problem lies with the students and that it is some attribute of the student that means they attain less well, rather than because of an institutional factor such as curriculum design/development” . This approach not only fails to acknowledge the role the institution plays in differential degree awarding, but also ignores the body of research which shows that even when a range of factors (including prior attainment) are controlled for, an unexplained difference still occurs between students of colour and white students (Broecke and Nicholls, 2007 ; McDuff et al., 2018 ). This suggests that further exploration of the experience of students of colour is required. At De Montfort University, the Freedom to Achieve project aims to address differential degree awarding through a multi-faceted programme of individual projects designed to enhance our cultural diversity and support success for all. A core element of the project to date has been the implementation of student consultations, which allowed for further exploration of the lived experience of the curriculum for students of colour. Underpinned by a Critical Race-Grounded Methodology, these consultations sought to unearth the non-dominant narratives of student experience at De Montfort University. Of particular interest are the findings from these sessions which suggest that a focus upon the curriculum alone is not sufficient to impact student experience on campus. Therefore, this paper will share the findings of the Freedom to Achieve project and will use these to illustrate why initiatives aimed at addressing differential degree awarding needs to include work around the curriculum, but also around a sense of belonging, relationships, community and student development.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    Barriers to BME Women in Higher Education
    (2017-05) Crofts, Melanie
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemEmbargo
    Challenging Gender-Based Violence within the Campus Transition
    (2018-09) Crofts, Melanie; Hill, Kimberley
    Sexual assault, harassment and violence on university campuses is a prevalent and pressing concern. A recent Universities UK taskforce report recommended that urgent action in this area is needed and universities are significant sites for implementing a joined up approach. As a campus of Changemakers, inter-disciplinary researchers and support staff at University of Northampton decided to take action to address this significant and important issue. As one of only 60 institutions across the country to be awarded funding from HEFCE’s Catalyst fund, our ‘New Spaces: Safeguarding Students from Violence and Hate’ cross collaborative project aimed to create vital partnerships in tackling sexual violence and hate crime on campus. The aims of the project were to evaluate existing policies and develop a student-led collaborative approach to identify what currently happens when disclosures are made; staff and student perceptions and experiences within the campus transition; as well as provide recommendations for new institutional policies, strategies and recommendations to support students in reporting harassment, sexual abuse, sexual violence and hate crime. As part of this work, a survey of the existing literature, as well as an evaluation of existing processes and policies at The University of Northampton were carried out. Additional data collection involved 2 Staff and 2 student focus groups, as well as 11 interviews with members of the senior management team. These were conducted to discuss the nature and extent of issues at the University of Northampton, what support was in place for disclosures and recommendations for future practice within the new campus space. One of the student focus groups utilised photo-elicitation methods to allow students to visually conceptualise and create a new, safe campus space for the campus transition. This paper will present findings from the report compiled from this research and some reflections on the research process. An overview of the potential impact this project has, as well as the impact of this data on institutional processes and support mechanisms will also be provided. Recommendations and implications for future work and the HE sector will be discussed.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemEmbargo
    Consent on Campus - Challenging Gender based Violence
    (2018-03) Crofts, Melanie; Hill, Kimberley
    Rising rates of gender-based violence, sexual assaults and victimisation have made on-campus consent an important topic of research. Research suggests that consent is often misunderstood, but limited research has focused specifically on the perceptions and attitudes of consent among university students. In 2014, the National Union of Students (NUS) in the UK initiated a campaigned called ‘I Heart Consent’, which aimed to raise awareness of consent and challenge myths around gender-based violence. The campaign followed research conducted by the NUS which found that sexism and ‘lad culture’ were pervasive on campuses. The University of Northampton (UoN) is a campus of change-makers and wanted to start its own conversations about consent on-campus. Inter-disciplinary researchers from Law and Psychology convened a local ‘I Heart Consent’ week of action, to raise awareness about consent at a local level. This week of action involved cross disciplinary sessions as well as involvement from local organisations, such as Rape Crisis and an LGBTQ group. During this week, students were surveyed about their perceptions and understanding of issues around sexual consent, as well as their knowledge of gender-based violence and support services. This paper will provide an overview of the UoN’s week of action, while outlining findings from this research. A focus will be on the direct and practical applications of this work. For example, these findings may inform local policy and practice, as well as systems within Higher Education which provide support for students disclosing incidents of sexual violence and sexism. This will also include implications that this work has for future research, including how these findings might inform existing campaigns and the development of new campaigns which seek to address perceptions of consent within Higher Education in the UK. The implications of this research impact on the wellbeing of staff and students and discusses the implications of inter disciplinary working and the role of legal education when it comes to raising awareness and running campaigns addressing sexual violence on campus.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Consent on Campus - Challenging Gender Based Violence
    (2017-07) Crofts, Melanie; Hill, Kimberley
    The National Union of Students (NUS) in UK initiated a campaigned called ‘I Heart Consent’ in 2014 which aimed to raise awareness of consent and challenge myths around gender based violence. The campaign followed research conducted by the NUS which found that sexism and lad culture were pervasive on campuses. Using the NUS campaign slogan, the University of Northampton had a week of action to raise awareness at a local level. This involved cross disciplinary sessions as well as involvement form local organisations, such as Rape Crisis and an LGBTQ group. During the week, students were surveyed about their perceptions and understanding of issues around sexual consent. There has been very little in depth research looking specifically at the perceptions and attitudes of consent amongst students. This paper will therefore explore perceptions within a case study following extensive surveying of students. The research is interdisciplinary, involving both law and psychology, and the results will have practical applications and will be used to inform policy, practice and systems within Higher Education to provide support for students disclosing incidents of sexual violence and sexism. The results will also be used to improve existing campaigns and developing new ones which seek to address perceptions of consent within Higher Education.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    Creating Conversations about Consent through an on-Campus, Curriculum Embedded Week of Action
    (Taylor and Francis, 2020-04-20) Hill, Kimberley; Crofts, Melanie
    Sexual violence is a widespread issue on university campuses. Although not a new concern, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) within the United Kingdom (UK) have only recently begun to implement specific on-campus prevention strategies. Many approaches focus on increasing knowledge of consent and related harms, but are often not evaluated, or sit outside of the curriculum. While research is increasing, UK students’ perceptions of such approaches, as well as their on-campus experiences, reporting preference and advice seeking behaviour remain unclear. This article presents a case study of an award-nominated, annual ‘Consent’ week of action involving a range of free, cross-campus, inter-disciplinary workshops and events taking place within existing programme curricula activities. 171 students and 10 staff participants completed a 25-item survey focusing on event feedback, sexual violence victimisation experiences, bystander intervention opportunities, reporting preferences, support service knowledge and perceptions of consent. Our findings suggest that sexual violence is prevalent, with many students witnessing incidents, but not knowing where to report or seek advice. Reasons included self-management, stigma, safety concerns, limited faith in existing reporting mechanisms and the normative nature of sexual violence within UK HEIs. Students appeared to find consent difficult to navigate, viewing it as one-sided and binary. Students and staff rated the cross-campus ‘Consent’ week of action as excellent, outlining a range of benefits, particularly in increasing knowledge around consent. Our work highlights the importance of embedding consent-related initiatives within programme curricula, while highlighting challenges and recommendations for future initiatives within UK HEIs
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Criminal Conflicts
    (2015-06) Crofts, Melanie; Boaden, Gemma; Prior, Ross
    These clips have been produced with the purpose of providing a visual representation of a criminal case study which is used by undergraduate Criminal Law students at the University of Northampton to understand the legal issues. The visual representation brings to life the scenario and the talking heads enables students to understand concepts such as Mens Rea. The clips will be used in conjunction with a written case study and statements and the students will examine the case study in taught sessions throughout the year. All of the assessments are based on the scenario. The clips will be shown in lectures and seminars at appropriate times in the year as the relevant issues are covered and following this they will be made available to students to refer back to in order to help them with seminar preparation and revision etc. Although the case study and the clips have been designed for the use of Law students, they could also be utilised by other subject areas, for example, policing students could use the clips for training purposes as could social work students and health students as some of the issues could be discussed in these differing contexts. For example the clip relating to domestic abuse could prompt discussions around how such a situation should be dealt with by the different agencies who would be involved.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    Criminal Conflicts - A Legal Learning Case Study
    (2015-05) Crofts, Melanie; Prior, Ross; Boaden, Gemma
    Introduction/Context Criminal Law is a year 1 module which has around 160 students. It is compulsory for Law but many JH students choose it as a designated module. This means that some students are studying one Law module in isolation and many students struggle with the technical legal concepts. Rationale The aim was to involve the students in a new learning experience based on a neo-experiential learning model. Method A Criminal barrister wrote a case study which was based around a fictional scenario. This case study is used in the seminars and all the assessments are connected to it. As a pilot study actors were hired to act out a scenario which was loosely based on part of the case study in the first Criminal Law lecture. As a follow-on, further funding was sought by Acting which enabled sections of the case study to be professionally filmed on location alongside ‘talking heads’ for the statements. These mini films will be made available for students to use and refer back to when revising and preparing for their assignments. Findings From student responses received following the pilot, the role play seemed to have an impact in terms of engagement with the module at first instance, but comments seemed to suggest that the initial role play was less helpful in terms of using it to help them prepare for seminars or revision. The use of the professionally recorded sections of the case study will be evaluated. This evaluation will be carried out using focus groups at the end of the academic year (after the exam period) as the recording will only ‘go live’ to students in February/March 2015.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    Decolonising DMU
    (2021-03) Crofts, Melanie; Connolly, Paris; Patel, Kaushika; Hall, Chris
    An overview of Decolonising DMU
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Decolonising DMU: Developing an anti-racist pedagogy of tomorrow
    (2021-07) Crofts, Melanie; Basra, Hardeep; Towlson, Kaye; Loonat, Sumeya
    This session will provide an update of the work of Decolonising DMU which, at its heart, adopts a ‘whole systems’ approach to the entrenched inequalities prevalent in higher education institutions. Although a lot of work has been done at DMU to embed inclusive teaching practice there are still significant challenges to address the ‘whiteness’ of the curriculum and disrupting mainstream pedagogic approaches. In order for teaching practice to be truly inclusive a critical rethink of the entire curriculum and learning and teaching approaches is required. This workshop will give staff an opportunity to share ideas about how to decolonise the curriculum and learning and teaching practises. It will enable staff to discuss tangible steps HE teachers can take to challenge what is considered ‘central’ in their learning and teaching environment, giving the opportunity for diverse voices and experiences to be explored in their teaching, both in design and/or delivery. Specifically, the session will focus on three key areas: 1) It will draw upon the recent work undertaken to critically review and transform the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, as a basis to get new teachers in HE to conceptualise and position their teaching as truly inclusive and to consider anti-racist approaches to learning and teaching. It challenges existing scholarship of learning and teaching and pedagogic approaches claiming HEIs are reinforcing whiteness through knowledge, norms and behaviours which does not fully prepare academics to consider anti-racist practices or the impact of their teaching on diverse students. 2) It examines the development of anti-racist pedagogy through the power and composition of the reading list. It will acknowledge the perceived pedagogic authority and impact on students’ learning that reading lists have and speak to their role in connection, identity and belonging. Tools for decolonising the reading list will be offered, enabling a co-creative and discursive approach to this decolonising development. 3) Lastly, it explores the intersectionality of race and language within a teaching and learning context. There are significant barriers faced by students of colour in higher education and the mainstream framing of these students is usually viewed through a deficit model which is harmful as it perpetuates negative stereotypes and hinders progress to address racial inequalities. This session considers alternative approaches which enhance the student sense of belonging through the use of language and habitual learning and teaching practices. The aim of the breakout sessions will be an opportunity for staff to ask questions about the 3 areas and how they might adopt some of the good practice into their own teaching practices. The breakout rooms will be designed more as a conversation and to raise issues/questions about the areas in question.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    Decolonising DMU: Interim Report, 2022
    (2022-01) Hall, Richard; Ansley, Lucy; Aujla Sidhu, Gurvinder; Connolly, Paris; Crofts, Melanie; Hall, Chris; Patel, Kaushika; Prescod, Mark; Towlson, Kaye
    The aim of DDMU is to create the anti-racist University. In the first phase of the project, work built upon a previous Office for Students' project on the awarding gap, Freedom to Achieve, in order to focus work upon the following priorities: institution; students; staff; Library and Learning Services; and research and evaluation. This interim report gives an overview of the evaluation of these workstreams between November 2019 and December 2021, and the ways in which this work supports equality, diversity and inclusion/Race Equality Charter commitments. The report includes the collection of qualitative and quantitative data, and analysis of relevant documents, to look at the impact an challenges of project activities. The purpose of this report is to ascertain the impact of decolonising at DMU on staff and student stakeholders so far, and the extent to which it has been embedded across the institution at a range of levels. The report closes by showing how this work has now shifted in Phase 2, to focus upon 4 commitments: equality of education and research; progression, talent and representation; governance and accountability; and understanding culture and behaviour. These demonstrate a renewed mapping across to DMU's Access and Participation Plan, Race Equality Charter, and the awarding gap.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Disability Discrimination Act
    (2015-11) Crofts, Melanie
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Equality in Legal Assessment: A Scoping Study
    (Web Journal of Current Legal Issues, 2009-06-26) Crofts, Melanie; Sneddon, Simon
    This paper analyses the performance of students taking compulsory LL.B modules at the University of Northampton between 2002-3 and 2006-7. The grades for each student in each element of assessment on each compulsory module are compared and analysed on the basis of the student’s ethnicity, gender, age at enrolment and declared disability. The results of these analyses are then taken on a longitudinal basis and any emerging trends are investigated. The results suggest that there is little significant statistical difference between students on the basis of gender, age at enrolment or declared disability, although clearly there is a range of ability across the various cohorts. The results further suggest that there is a difference in attainment when the ethnicity of students is used as the comparator, and that this difference occurs in many different types of assessment. The paper further analyses the results of a series of student focus groups and on-line written contributions, which were encouraged with the aim of attaining a cross section of views across the equality variables analysed in the quantitative data. Results from the qualitative data seemed to demonstrate that some students, for example mature students, employ differing strategies which seem to give them an advantage over younger, school-leaver students. Tentative conclusions are drawn as to possible reasons for these differences, although considerable further work would be required in order to draw any deeper conclusions.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    Equality Processes in Higher Education: A Case Study
    (2016-12) Crofts, Melanie
    The aim of this paper is to discuss the impact of the politics and perceptions relating to equality on compliance with legislative requirements as reflected through the equality processes within a case study institution. Such an analysis could have wider implications on how equality and compliance with the law is dealt with in other Higher Education Institutions (HEI). The main methodological tools used were Document Analysis and Content Analysis. The aim of analysing the documentation was to provide both an historical and developmental overview of equality processes and outcomes at the case study institution to consider both the gap between the law and practice as well as the impact of the law limitations.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    Formal Equality, Legal Compliance and the TEF: Impetus for Change?
    (2018-03) Crofts, Melanie
    This research builds on a previous paper which explored the politics and perspectives of various social actors regarding anti-discrimination legislation and equality within a higher education setting. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a theoretical basis, this paper discusses the impact of the politics and perceptions on compliance with legislative requirements as reflected through the equality processes within a case study institution. The question is, does the tendency towards adopting the formal equality stance also impact on the case study’s equality processes and, in turn, their response to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)? In addition, this paper will explore the implications of the approaches to equality and the PSED for the TEF, given the clear need to take into account the experiences of students with protected characteristics. The commitment of senior management in advancing the equality agenda within higher education was highlighted as significant in previous research. Conclusions which were drawn were that managers, as well as some other members of staff within a case study, viewed equality along formal lines. This meant that, along with a perception that there were no equality issues which needed to be dealt with, they were less likely to ‘see’ the problems relating to discrimination within the case study. This was particularly the case where there were instances of institutional discrimination, as highlighted by the experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and disabled staff and students. There was a steady deterioration over the period covered by this paper in the fulfilment of the statutory requirements. In addition to this decline was a parallel deterioration in the processes at the case study institution which were established to manage equality. Deterioration in relation to compliance with the PSEDs and the decline in processes was not coincidental. The reduction in the processes to deal with equality was reflective of the priority which it was given by management. Given the formal equality stance and the view that HEIs do well in this area, there was no imperative to maintain the equality structures which provided the means with which to address some of the institutional barriers faced by BME and disabled staff and students. The formal equality stance is prevalent. The institutional barriers are not seen by those tasked with implementing the PSEDs because a substantive approach is not adopted. The processes which were established which had the potential of dealing with substantive equality issues were eroded and eventually disappeared altogether. This therefore means that there is no action to address substantive inequalities. Concepts coined by CRT are useful in explaining the inaction and decline of the institutional processes with regards to equality at the case study institution. The situation is unlikely to improve whilst the external pressures on institutions decline further. However, this paper will discuss the role of the TEF and whether the need for institutions to consider the whole student journey in relation to the various protected characteristics could provide the impetus needed for institutions to demonstrate their commitment to equality.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemMetadata only
    I *Heart* Consent Week
    (2016-11) Crofts, Melanie