Projects

Social background & digital literacy

The Retain Achieve Succeed Research Programme (RAS) at the University for the Arts London developed intercultural understandings of some of the contexts of transformative, inclusive arts education in the Higher Education sector.

How does social background influence an undergraduate’s perception of their digital literacy ability?

The Retain Achieve Succeed Research Programme (RAS) at University Arts London (UAL) developed intercultural understandings of some of the contexts of transformative, inclusive arts education in the Higher Education sector.

RAS researchers pioneered cross-disciplinary research approaches.

The report set out to explore how an individual’s knowledge and experiences impacts on their digital identity. It explored social background, academic ownership, flexible learning, and knowing when to use technology and previous experience.

The invisible pedagogy of digital cultural capital creates an environment that makes it difficult to be able to foster a responsive, responsible, imaginative and inspirational environment, thus making it difficult to increase participation in workshops and to develop the digital cultural capital for all participants.

The report aimed to inform the curriculum and enhance student learning. The report used Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital and Bernstein’s concept of visible and invisible pedagogies to investigate the role an art and design student’s social background plays in their digital identity, and ultimately their identity as a whole. The report discussed the process and findings of the investigation and possible next steps.

conclusion diagram