Time to Ponder: Transformation in First-generation Creative Industries Students.

Abstract

“Transformative” is often used to describe and promote Higher Education in the UK. I investigated this promise in relation to Creative Industries education by observing it through a Transformative Learning lens (Mezirow, 1978 - 2006). A longitudinal study of the experiences of first-generation students whilst on Creative Industries degrees at Southampton Solent University between 2015 -16 is presented with follow-up interviews five years after graduation. My experiences as a first-generation student, craft professional, educator, and program leader also shape the reflexive aspects of this work. At Southampton Solent University, students on creative industries degrees were invited to engage with PonderLogic, an online research space where I posted weekly moving image prompts. Participants were then invited to record and upload responses in their own time. Students aged between twenty and forty-four, three males and three females, contributed over 200 clips while completing their studies. They were again interviewed five years after they graduated. Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006 - 2022) was adapted to code the data within the NVIVO software using Mezirow’s ten phases of perspective transformation (1978) as a triangulation base for emerging themes and an iterative framework. I sought first to critically analyse Mezirow’s transformation cycle (1978) to explore strengths, failings or potential additions. Then to identify aspects of the students’ experience that might map to the cycle and, ultimately, this journey towards experience design. The practical, active learning environment and collaborative nature of Creative Industries programmes in Higher Education can result in perspective shifts and lead to transformative social, learning, and career gains. My research aimed to derive utility from transformative learning theory and proposes a perspective transformation benchmark approach to curriculum development. My Frame of Reference Model (FORM) for transformative education design and 13-step Transformation System (TS13) are offered as next-stage contributions.