The Cultural Diversity Pilot Project The North West Institute of Further and Higher Education DerryL

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The Cultural Diversity Pilot ProjectThe North
West Institute of Further and Higher Education
Derry/LondonderryUpper Bann Institute
PortadownSeptember 2004 May 2005
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The Cultural Diversity Team

• Robin Percival NWIFHE
• Marilyn Lento NWIFHE
• Paul Breen UBI
• John Gray - UBI

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Overview of the Project Aim

• To create awareness and to promote a positive
  image at both NWIFHE and UBI to welcome learning
  about people with differences and creating a
  tolerant environment.

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Project Tasks

• Project Launch
• Internal Steering Committees established
• External Steering Committees established
• Recruitment of Lecturers for CD curriculum
  assignments
• Student Advisory Groups Established
• Website Development and Access
• Joint Campus Activities Workshop 1
• Individual Campus Activities
• Exchange Visits to each campus
• Residential
• Development of Cultural Diversity Units
• Joint Campus Activities Workshop 2
• Staff Development through Racism Training
• Joint Presentations of Assignments Workshop 2 and
  Evaluations
• Project Completion Certificates provided to all
  Students

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Project Structure
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Tangibles
The Projects Reality Check!!!

• This project made us face many of the cultural
  diversity issues which exist, but in the past we
  as students, just ignored. (David Nash, HND
  Year 2 Business Student, NWIFHE)
• The reality was that learning about each other
  cultures and community and visiting each
  campushelped us to appreciate and bring
  diversity into the forefront of learning
  (Timothy Kelly, HND Year 3 Building Engineering,
  UBI)

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Tangibles

• In the Report of an Evaluation of the Cultural
  Diversity Pilot Projects by ETI (regarding UBI
  and NWIFHE)
• This collaborative work was useful in developing
  a programme of learning activities and
  assignments that facilitated the sharing of good
  practice.
• The activities.linked closely to real lifeand
  successful to bringing cultural diversity issues
  and world of work to students.
• A UBI student commented that the involvement in
  the pilot had changed his perspective of migrant
  workers.
• The projects were well planned and provided
  students with the opportunity to develop good
  skillsincluding team building (across
  institutes).

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Tangibles
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Tangibles

• UBI and NWIFHE Project Participants Included
• 4 Project Coordinators (and Human Resource
  Personnel from both Institutes)
• 13 Course Coordinators
• 16 Course Coordinators/Tutors Participate in
  Racism Training
• Approximately 150 students from UBI and NWIFHE
• From 13 Curriculum Areas

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The Projects Reality Check!!!
Tangibles

• ? Project Evaluation
• Results (for
• students) indicated
• the following

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Sample of Each Campuses Activities
Tangibles
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Tangibles
The Project Initiative Each Campus in
Developing the Curriculum

• The purpose of working with course coordinators
  and tutors was to
• Utilise their expertise and creativeness in the
  inclusion of Cultural Diversity issues into their
  assignments
• Provide a realistic approach with topical
  Cultural Diversity issues for students
• Meet the individual course specifications and
  outcomes
• Ensure that no additional work was created for
  either the student or the tutors involved
• Provide a gleamed perspective on the topics
  selected relating the project
• Ensure their support within their own teams

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Tangibles
The Project Initiative Each Campus in
Developing the Curriculum

• The purpose of working with course coordinators
  and tutors was to
• Collect data regarding the students progress on
  the assignments
• Flag any issues relating to the curriculum and
  discuss solutions
• Provide the Cultural Diversity Project
  Coordinators with a realistic view of the
  curriculum area
• Integrate their feedback into the developing CD
  Units (at levels 3 and 4) which could be useful
  to students in the future
• To use their persuasive abilities to encourage
  students to dip in and dip out of the project
  (once it was realised that no student would have
  the time to attend and participate in all the
  projects activities).

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Courses which contributed to the Curriculum
Development of the Project
Tangibles

• UBI
• HND Building Engineering, Year 3
• HND Computing Year 1
• HNC Multi-Media Year 2 (Part-time)
• Combined Social Behaviour Sciences Diploma Year 2
• HND Computing Year 3
• HND Graphic Design Year 2

• NWIFHE
• HND BUSINESS (Advertising Promotion ) Year 2
• HND Travel and Tourism Management (Conferences)
  Year 2
• HND Travel and Tourism (Heritage) Year 2
• National Diploma in Travel and Tourism Year 2
• First Diploma in Travel and Tourism Year 1
• National Diploma in Early Years (Professional
  Practice) Year 2
• Diploma in Foundation Studies in Humanities) Year
  2
• Diploma in Childhood Education Year 2
• First Diploma in Electronics Year 1

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Curriculum Areas - Cultural Diversity into
Assignments
Tangibles

• NWIFHE
• Cultural Diversity and Tourism Conference (HND
  Business, HND Travel and Tourism, National
• Diploma in Travel and Tourism)
• Production of Radio Programmes on Positive Issues
  regarding Racism in Community (HND Business)
• Study on Promoting Ethnic Diversity in Primary
  Schools (Diploma in Childhood Education)
• Investigation of how the Travelling Community are
  inducted into an Early Years Setting (National
  Diploma in Early years)
• Essay Questions on Engenderment- Racism and
  Problems with EU Workers (Diploma in Foundation
  Studies in Humanities)
• Recycling Computers for 3rd World Countries
  (First Diploma in Electronics)

• UBI
• Housing Survey Migrant Workers Accommodation (HND
  Building Engineering)
• Attitudinal Survey of people in area towards
  migrants, travellers (CSB Diploma)
• Study of racially motivated crime in Portadown
  (HND Computing)
• Public Relations for the Project (HND Computing)
• Websites Development (HND Multimedia)
• Logo Design/Posters for the Project (HND Graphic
  Design)

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Tangibles
Cultural Diversity Units

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Tangibles
Barriers with Developing the Curriculum Areas

• These included
• Few resources to use in discussing the potential
  cultural diversity issues/topics into the
  curriculum.
• Time consuming endeavour to spread the word about
  the project and the use of Cultural Diversity
  topics in assignments.
• Many programmes/courses already had assignments
  designed much effort was made to persuade course
  coordinators/tutors to participate.

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Tangibles
Barriers with Developing the Curriculum Areas

• These included
• Some negative attitudes as it was a one off
  project
• Fear of extra work for coordinators, tutors and
  students
• Lack of knowledge about Cultural Diversity issues
  and importance in FE Sector
• Short Time line from project start to finish.

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Tangibles

• How the Project Coordinators dealt with Barriers
  with Developing the Curriculum Areas
• With continuous refocusing on the Projects
  Time line
• With guidance from their Internal Steering
  Committee
• With guidance from their External Steering
  Committee
• With humour and perseverance
• Taking any opportunity which arose to spread
  the word about the project and its
• proposed activities
• By going to see course coordinators (and
  selling the projects benefits)
• By visiting classes/courses and
  marketing/selling the projects activities
• (workshops, residential, and meeting new
  people through project exchanges)
• By using all campus promotions and events to
  promote the project.

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The Project Dividends Milestones Achieved

• Obtained NUS funds - 3000 to develop more fully
  a Cultural Diversity and Tourism Conference in
  January, 2005 at NWIFHE
• The success of UBI Cultural Diversity Posters
  (designed by UBI students) which were
  oversubscribed and sought after by both campuses,
  student groups and community groups in Portadown
  and in Londonderry/Derry
• NWIFHE Website is short listed for Chartered
  Institute of Public Relations design awards

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Intangibles Near Future

• Awareness of Cultural Diversity increase of
• across NWIFHE and UBI campuses
• ? Cultural Diversity issues raised with
  ethically
• sensitive and inclusive environment
• Cultural Diversity expands and encompasses
• Equality framework
• ? Cultural Diversity becomes a buzz word

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Intangibles Near Future

• Cohesiveness of Internal Steering Committee
  teams at
• UBI and NWIFHE develop more fully
  (possible project
• opportunities in 2005-2006?)
• Excellent Links developed with external ethnic
  and
• minority groups to continue after project
• Cultural Diversity becomes student centred
  and staff
• sanctioned topics of discussion

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Intangibles Near Future

• Websites Development expands the thrust of
  
• Cultural Diversity beyond just current
  participating
• student groups NWIFHE and UBI to
  maintain Websites
• Reviewing the usage of the VLE to provide a
  medium
• promote Cultural Diversity
• Activities to continue on each campus to
  reinforce
• tolerance, respect and role of
  ethnicity in the FE
• environment

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Intangibles Near Future

• Integration of cultural diversity issues into
  the
• curriculum becomes a focal point linked
  to Equality
• SENDO training at NWIFHE and UBI
• Benchmarking new ideas about Cultural
  Diversity and
• its related issues and how to build and
  integrate these
• into the wider curriculum has been
  raised by lecturers
• across both campuses

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Intangibles Near Future

• NWIFHE integrates Cultural Diversity into its
  Student Induction
• Programme 2005-2006
• Cultural Diversity units can be offered at
  both institutes as stand
• alone units.
• UBI is spreading the word and hoping that its
  student group will
• help formulate a programme of events
  supporting diversity which
• ultimately leads to the establishment of
  its own Student Union

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Lessons to be Learned/Improvements

• The Project did not
• Enable a direct means for students from both
  campuses to communicate with each other.
• Provide opportunities for communications with
  other Cultural Diversity projects (for
  benchmarking purposes) and for example looking at
  other institutes/colleges e.g. Letterkenny,
  Dundalk.
• Provide an opportunity to continue after May
  (with resources) e.g. Incentives for students to
  participate - curriculum content rewarded in
  their assignments and activities.
• Allow for larger numbers of students to
  participate.

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Conclusion

• The NWIFHE and UBI would like to thank the course
  coordinators, lecturers and administrative staff
  at each campus who dedicated their time, effort
  and hours to support this cross institutes
  project to make it a widely acknowledged success.