Mainstreaming: Equality at the Heart of Further Education Final Report
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Mainstreaming: equality at the heart of further education Final report 1 Background
The mainstreaming programme for Scottish colleges commenced in summer 2011. This report presents the progress and outcomes to date.
The overall aim of ECU’s programme was to develop institutions’ understanding and ability to mainstream equality across their functions and support the delivery of the aims and aspirations of the public sector equality duty (PSED) of the Equality Act 2010.
The PSED replaced the previous duties for race, gender and disability with one duty across the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex and sexual orientation. The broad purpose of the duty is to make consideration of equality integral to the day-to-day business of public authorities. When carrying out its functions, an institution is required by the PSED to have due regard to the need to: eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it
While the initial driver of the programme was legislative requirement, participation also provided colleges with valuable support for broader mainstreaming aims, such as: developing an inclusive culture and promoting an institution-wide understanding of equality issues improving the staff and student experience enhancing the institution’s reputation for employment and study 2 Programme overview
2.1 Defining mainstreaming
Work to address equality and diversity can be regarded as a well-established aspect of developing and delivering policies and practices in further and higher education. For many years further education has been recognised as a stronghold of inclusive approaches to learning, seeking to actively include and fully engage all students, whatever their background, culture or ability. Equality, diversity and inclusion are central to the mission and culture of further education. It is, by its very nature, inclusive.
This has been driven not only by legislation and government policy but also by the need to provide accessible, worthwhile post-16 education to a broad range of students and the recognition that a diverse and cohesive student body enhances students’ experience, is beneficial to the college and supports positive learning outcomes. Consequently, advancing equality and diversity has been a core part of college strategy, policy and delivery for some time.
Many colleges are already taking a proactive approach, delivering multiple activities to address equality and diversity issues including work to develop specific equality outcomes as part of single equality schemes. However, such approaches often focus solely on processes, procedures and specific, often isolated, interventions without making the most of their potential to deliver equality and diversity impact, for example greater equity in experience, progression and achievement for all groups of students and staff.
This is not necessarily because these processes, procedures and interventions are inadequate. It may be that they are being interpreted or implemented in an inappropriate or unintended way, or are not being used strategically to their best advantage. In addition, the focus of action is often only associated with certain areas of a college rather than considering equality and diversity across all facets of the college’s delivery, from learning and teaching to cleaning, catering and support services.
The Scottish college sector has already made significant progress in developing its approach to mainstreaming through inclusive learning and teaching, but it recognised that there is still work to be done both in the classroom and across other areas of activity and operation.
Mainstreaming may start with implementing effective processes and procedures, but it goes beyond this to challenge and question the status quo. This means changing people’s attitudes, the ways in which they behave, the language that is used and how messages are conveyed. It takes equality and diversity into the heart of an institution, moving it from a bolt-on aspect of delivery to an integral part of the way it thinks and functions.
Often referred to as a ‘journey’, mainstreaming is an organic process of change. This is challenging in itself, not least because changing behaviour is difficult; it doesn’t happen overnight and is often hard to express in terms that can be incorporated acceptably into institutional policy and strategy.
This programme therefore set out to provide a structure which would support colleges to develop their approach to mainstreaming, bringing new perspectives to addressing equality and diversity in their institutions and enabling them to take a co-ordinated, holistic approach to current activity and bring about sustainable change. 2.2 Programme framework
The programme for colleges took place from September 2011 to April 2012, following on from a similar programme for Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs). It comprised a research publication for colleges followed by a facilitated action learning programme to help participating colleges develop and implement mainstreaming initiatives.
2.3 Initial research publication
Research for colleges, containing approaches and tools developed and used in the further education sector throughout the UK, was published in September 2011. This was produced as a supplement to earlier research tailored for HEIs, published in May 2011.
Together, these publications consider our understanding of, and approaches, to mainstreaming and set out a framework for mainstreaming. They provide examples of tools that have proven to be effective in the further and higher education sector or elsewhere.
Both publications are available online: www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/mainstreaming-equality-at- the-heart-of-he
2.4 Action learning programme
The action learning programme focused on supporting participating colleges in developing an initiative, testing different approaches to mainstreaming and applying some of the tools highlighted in the initial research publications.
Participation
Twelve Scottish colleges participated in the action learning programme: Anniesland College Borders College Cardonald College City of Glasgow College Clydebank College Edinburgh’s Telford College James Watt College of Further and Higher Education Kilmarnock College South Lanarkshire College Stevenson College Edinburgh Stow College West Lothian College
They represent the diversity of the Scottish college sector, varying in size, geographical location and student population. All participating colleges were keen to develop their approach to mainstreaming equality and diversity and build on the range of initiatives they were already delivering.
Three core functions were offered as areas of focus: governance and management student services staff development
Seven of the colleges focused on staff development, four on student services and one addressed both of these areas. Several are now replicating their approach in other functions.
Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) recommended that teams were made up of at least two staff members from the chosen function, including a senior manager or head of department and a middle manager or staff member responsible for delivery, along with a staff member with a remit for equality and diversity. It was also suggested that it would be helpful to include a member of staff from the college’s senior management team responsible for decision-making for the function.
It became clear as the programme unfolded that the inclusion of this range of staff, and particularly senior staff with authority and influence, was crucial to making progress.
Programme structure Initial interviews with teams A telephone interview was undertaken with members of each team at the beginning of the programme to gather information on the current position of equality, diversity and inclusive practice in their college, and their strategic drivers (in addition to legislative requirements) for mainstreaming equality. Facilitated learning set days These provided a forum for participants to: engage in discussion and debate exchange ideas access peer support make use of resources and expertise
The first learning set day took place in November 2011. In the session colleges were able to refine their institutional vision and develop a mainstreaming action plan for their initiative. The second meeting took place in February 2012 to assist development of strategies for implementing initiatives. The final meeting took place in April 2012 where colleges reviewed their progress and planned the next steps for their mainstreaming initiative. Reflective questions Reflective questions followed each learning set day to help to gather evidence about the teams’ experience in delivering their mainstreaming initiatives at each stage of the programme. They were formulated to give participants the opportunity to consider their learning as teams and as individuals and delve further into their own knowledge and thinking regarding equality, diversity and mainstreaming. The questions provided an opportunity to reflect on the overall progress of initiatives and the development of approaches to mainstreaming. Ongoing support Telephone and email support were offered by BSV Associates and ECU throughout the programme. A JISCMail list was created to facilitate knowledge-sharing and to encourage a community of practice across participating colleges.
Terminology Tools The initial research publications refer to mainstreaming ‘tools’. This term encompasses actions, interventions and methods that can be used as part of an overall approach to mainstreaming and that can be adapted to meet the context of their application. On their own they are not the answer to mainstreaming, but are aspects of an integrated process of, and plan for, change. Initiative and vision Teams were asked to start the programme with ideas about what they wanted to achieve (their initiative) and what success would look like (their vision). The initiative provided a shape to the process of mainstreaming from which teams developed a plan during the course of the programme. The vision provided teams with an aspirational goal toward which they could develop specific aims and objectives. Multipronged Undertaking a range of actions simultaneously in different functions or departments or at different levels as part of a coordinated plan. Multimethod Using different methods of delivery to achieve specific aims and objectives, for example building an evidence base through a combination of analysis of statistics, staff surveys and focus groups. Advocates and champions Advocates speak, through their own job role, in support of equality and diversity and recommend a mainstreaming approach through evidence based argument. Champions take a leadership role in proactively promoting and defending the case for equality and diversity and a mainstreaming approach across the institution. 3 College mainstreaming initiatives
All participating teams came to the first learning set day having already made progress in the development and planning of their initiative for mainstreaming. Several teams built on previous or current equality and diversity activity as a starting point. However, from the outset all participating teams recognised that mainstreaming equality and diversity would not be achieved during the lifetime of the action learning programme and that it would be a continuous process of change.
3.1 Use of tools
Central objectives of the programme were to support the teams in the implementation of some of the tools detailed in the initial research publication, and to enable colleges to share their experiences of testing different approaches to mainstreaming.
Throughout the learning set days, teams were introduced to a range of tools and strategies for mainstreaming, some as examples for the teams to consider in the context of developing their plans and some as practical interventions as part of the learning set day agenda (see table 1 overleaf).
This provided teams with two specific benefits: developing their thinking about, and planning of, their mainstreaming initiative identifying and implementing the most appropriate tools and strategies to use to deliver, review and develop their mainstreaming initiative
‘The tools were very helpful. [They] help to think beyond what you normally do, help suspend your own perception.’ James Watt College
Developing thinking and confirming approach
All team members had a good awareness of equality and diversity issues and the need for it to be embedded as part of the way in which a college operates, particularly with regard to providing education and services to students. They were committed to the concept of inclusion and mainstreaming and to improving equality and diversity outcomes for all staff and students.
During the course of the action learning programme participants were able to explore these concepts further and develop their thinking about how mainstreaming can take place. This was achieved through open debate, discussion and sharing ideas and experience across the teams at the learning set days and was regarded as an important aspect of the programme.
Teams identified that although they had a good knowledge and understanding, the programme enabled them to develop new perspectives and consolidate their position within their college for moving forward with mainstreaming.
‘The team have reflected on their own development and have found this a truly developmental and satisfying experience.’ Edinburgh’s Telford College ‘[The programme] has ensured that we are moving in the right direction and has given clear leadership and confidence that colleges are meeting and going beyond their duties.’ Kilmarnock College
All teams agreed that if mainstreaming is to be successful, any initiative needs to work to ensure that the culture of the institution embraces – rather than just accepts – equality, diversity and inclusion. This principle informed both the approach to mainstreaming and the actions taken by each team. It helped them to clearly define what successful mainstreaming would look like in their own college and contributed to the development of the teams’ mainstreaming plans.
‘It has led to a reassessment of the levels of buy-in and the recognition that compliance is no longer enough.’ James Watt College
Table 1: Tools to develop thinking and confirm approach to mainstreaming Rich picture An exercise to develop thinking by expressing mainstreaming through the visual depiction of an inclusive institution. Through drawing and sharing their vision of an inclusive college, teams were able to discuss and debate what successful mainstreaming would look like. It underlined the importance of being able to clearly articulate the vision in a meaningful and engaging way. Appreciative inquiry A positive and inspiring tool to stimulate and manage change, providing a framework for researching or evaluating different forms of professional practice through building on what already works well. By discussing a positive experience of a project, this tool enabled teams to think about investigating where good practice exists and demonstrating its impact. Appreciative inquiry can also be used as an analytical tool and an engagement tool. A number of colleges incorporated it within their initiatives for a variety of purposes. Privileged identity exploration A tool that provides an opportunity to explore the way that some positions and perspectives of difference, discrimination and equality issues are often accepted rather than challenged. The discussion of typical defensive responses (eg denial, benevolence, deflection, false envy) to situations of discrimination or inequality enabled teams to consider the impact of power and inequality in society and within their own college. It helped them to identify strategies for dealing with and changing attitudes and behaviours towards minority groups.
‘One of the most helpful parts of the programme was bringing teams together and sharing views of an ‘inclusive college…. This was helpful in highlighting the scale but also the many dynamics and key drivers.’ Stow College Teams were able to develop their thinking to identify that to achieve and demonstrate mainstreaming they needed to improve their current monitoring processes, for example the use of management information, and also not to rely on these as the only means to chart progress. They recognised the need to develop an approach which incorporates qualitative as well as quantitative measurements of the impact of activity and demonstrating a change in attitude and behaviour.
The learning set days themselves acted as an engagement tool to facilitate the progress that teams made during the programme (see table 2).
Table 2: Role of the learning set days as an engagement tool
Involving a range of Teams were made up of staff from different backgrounds and stakeholders different levels, including practitioners and senior managers. All teams included at least one member of college staff with a remit for equality and diversity as part of their job role. The remaining team members would not normally have been involved in the development of equality and diversity work. Creating advocates or The inclusion of staff not previously involved in the development champions and delivery of equality and diversity work in the teams led to the creation of advocates or champions within the core functions. There has been an element of professional development for these staff which has engaged them in promoting equality and diversity as an integral part of their areas of work. Facilitating dialogue The learning set days gave teams the opportunity to: engage in open and honest debate about the nature of mainstreaming equality and diversity challenge their own and their colleagues’ thinking formulate a clear understanding of how to approach mainstreaming in their own institutional context Promoting and sharing By bringing together teams from twelve colleges, participants effective practice were able to exchange ideas and effective practice and learn from each other. It also enabled teams to share common issues and build peer support.
The learning set days provided benefits for both teams and individuals.
‘[The programme] demonstrated how equalities can have improved learner outcomes as well as being used to improve processes and examine how effective they are.’ Borders College
‘It is the expansion of the team … [that] show[s] how the initial development spreads, developing champions and further buy-in … this has increased impact.’ Edinburgh’s Telford College
‘It has allowed me to be part of a wider college team.’ Kilmarnock College Planning the mainstreaming initiative
There was a significant amount of activity already taking place in colleges at the start of the programme, reflecting the awareness of a need to address equality and diversity issues and create change. The planning process therefore provided a focus for bringing together existing or planned activity in a coordinated way and enabled teams to ensure that they had taken account of all aspects of their mainstreaming ‘jigsaw’ – how all the pieces fitted together and how they would demonstrate mainstreaming outcomes.
The mainstreaming initiatives the teams developed were therefore specific to each college’s current context, reflecting their different starting points, their ongoing activity, area of focus and their individual mainstreaming vision.
Several colleges had already started to put their plan together before the start of the programme. Others used existing equality action plans as the basis to move their mainstreaming work forward. However, the planning element contained in the programme was seen to be beneficial across teams. It enabled teams to formulate clear aims and objectives and created ownership among staff across the college.
‘[The planning process] has provided a clear direction to move forward.’ Kilmarnock College
Colleges chose student services or staff development (or both) as their core focus. They identified aims for their activity and in some teams this became the vision for the initiative, for example ‘Putting equality into everyday practice’, which could be used to promote their work and engage others.
As the programme progressed, teams were mindful of the impending restructure of the college sector and that for many colleges a merger or move to regional partnership working would take place. This prompted an iterative approach to planning and informed the strategies teams incorporated into their plans to deliver a methodology which was transferable and which would demonstrate impact in the short term in order to ensure that the initiatives would be sustained and carried forward in the new structure.
The teams identified essential elements for planning a viable and sustainable mainstreaming initiative, including: a strategic vision with clear aims and objectives the development of an evidence base to provide a rationale for change and against which to measure progress appropriate actions using appropriate methodologies strategies to gain support and commitment at all levels to create ownership and responsibility robust monitoring, reviewing and evaluation to identify and demonstrate impact
Analytical tools were used at the learning set days to support teams in the development of their plan and to identify methods of measuring progress, impact and change (see table 3).
Table 3: Tools used for planning and measuring impact and change Logic model This tool gave teams an example of a planning framework that identifies short-, medium- and long-term impacts. It provided teams with ideas for formulating their own plans and enabled them to identify the impact of their initiatives and how this would be shown through evidence, for example, a change in staff attitude or behaviour monitored through a staff survey. Diversity score card This demonstrated the value of identifying both quantitative and qualitative indicators to measure change. It provided a means for evidence building and a framework for measuring progress against specific targets. Stakeholder analysis This analysis framework helped teams to identify stakeholders and their interest in the mainstreaming initiative, whether positive or negative, to ensure that they were able to communicate effectively and overcome potential barriers or resistance by tailoring messages and highlighting benefits. Framework for business case This set out strategic questions formulated for different core planning functions to help to identify a business case rationale for equality, diversity and inclusion. The framework provides self- assessment questions and examples of types of evidence to demonstrate progress which helped the teams to identify how they would measure change.
Implementing the initiative and delivering the plan
As well as using the tools set out above during the learning set days, teams adapted them when implementing their mainstreaming initiatives, incorporating them as delivery mechanisms for their mainstreaming plans. For example, appreciative inquiry was used as a research tool to assess and demonstrate impact. Privileged identity exploration was used in considering the use of language in the development of a competency framework.
Teams also planned to use the engagement tools demonstrated at the learning set days in their own institutions to engage students and staff at all levels, for example: involving a range of stakeholders by expanding the mainstreaming team facilitating dialogue through events and seminars
Colleges took a multimethod, multipronged approach to delivery, ensuring that they did not rely on a single tool or intervention to bring about change. The planning that teams had undertaken at the start of their initiatives ensured that coordinated action provided cumulative impact.
All colleges used tools which enabled them to: build an evidence base and review progress (analytical tools) ensure that staff took ownership of and understood their responsibility for equality and diversity in their own practice (educational and engagement tools) take a strategic approach, linking with established practice and existing activity
Tables 4 and 5 provide an overview of colleges’ initiatives by core function, showing the aims and the range of tools used for delivery. An analysis of these tools implemented by the teams and how they relate to the mainstreaming framework are shown in table 6. More details on the mainstreaming framework and explanations of all tools used can be found in the initial research publications. www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/mainstreaming-equality-at-the- heart-of-he
Table 4: Overview of student services initiatives Colleg Area Aims Tools used e of focus Border Admiss Achieve a fair and inclusive admissions Statistics analysed from management s ions process information College Advance equality of opportunity for Strategic review process underrepresented groups Institutional working group Clearly communicate commitment to Advocates and champions equality, diversity and inclusion in admissions Training programmes and staff development materials Encourage disclosure of equality and diversity information so that services Linking and piggybacking are in place to meet individual needs City of Admiss Attract more applications from Statistics analysed from management Glasgo ions underrepresented groups through a information w range of communication and Institutional working group College stakeholder engagement activities Advocates and champions Develop systems and processes for the analysis and evaluation of equality Training programmes and staff data and action planning across development materials groups with protected characteristics Evaluation surveys and focus groups in respect of all aspects of admissions, progression and attainment Events and campaigns Ensure students and staff are aware of their rights and responsibilities under equality legislation and the barriers and discrimination which might affect groups with protected characteristics Steven Admiss Promote fair and consistent Statistics analysed from management son ions admissions across all faculties for information College students with protected Institutional working group Edinbu characteristics rgh Advocates and champions Produce online training to support staff in the admission of students with Training programmes and staff protected characteristics development materials Stow Admiss Mainstream equality and diversity Strategic review process College ions into admissions through embedding Institutional working group equality and diversity actions into recommendations made by Advocates and champions admissions review group Integrative approach Clydeb Cross- Promote equality and diversity and Institutional working group ank functio the prevention of discrimination as Advocates and champions College n part of everyone’s job and as everyone’s responsibility
Table 5: Overview of student and staff development initiatives Colleg Area Aims Tools used e of focus Anniesl RESPE Raise awareness, understanding of Institutional working group and CT and engagement with equality and Advocates and champions College campai diversity for all staff and students gn Training programmes and staff development materials Events and campaigns Cardon ‘Equ Create ownership of, and engagement Evaluation surveys and focus groups ald ality with, equality and diversity work, and Institutional working group College essenti promote respect for all through the als’ provision of shared development Advocates and champions trainin activities for staff and students Training programmes and staff g development materials progra mme Events and campaigns Edinbu ‘Putti Create a professional dialogue around Statistics analysed from management rgh’s ng equality, linking it to the values of the information Telford equalit college and its importance for quality College y into Evaluation surveys and focus groups everyd Raise profile and awareness of Institutional working group ay equality and diversity and impact on Advocates and champions practic the associated behaviours of staff in e’ line with college values Training programmes and staff development materials Appreciative inquiry as a research tool Business case development James Equalit Move beyond a tick box and Statistics analysed from management Watt y compliance approach to equality and information College compe diversity tencies Institutional working group Take forward a mainstreaming Advocates and champions approach through the development of a competency framework and Training programmes and staff supporting materials and development materials interventions for staff Inclusion toolkit Increase knowledge and Competency framework understanding of what is expected of staff to create engagement and Linking and piggybacking achieve quality improvement
Kilmar Equalit Improve knowledge and Institutional working group nock y and understanding of the college’s current Advocates and champions College diversi position profiles and levels of ty in understanding in respect of equality Training programmes and staff self- and diversity development materials assess ment Improve knowledge and Self-assessment framework understanding of staff in respect of Linking and piggybacking equality and diversity issues Support the development and delivery of equality outcomes South Promo Perpetuate a positive attitude to Strategic review process Lanark ting difference shire positiv Institutional working group College e Engage positively with our staff, Advocates and champions attitud students and the wider community es to Training programmes and staff Provide appropriate training to meet development materials differe the needs of all groups nce Linking and piggybacking West A Ensure college is fair and respectful to Statistics analysed from management Lothia college its entire staff and reflects and values information n for all cultural diversity College where Evaluation surveys and focus groups equalit Ensure that the college’s learning and Institutional working group y is support experience is fair and mainst equitable for all students and reflects Advocates and champions reame cultural diversity Training programmes and staff d and The environment, estate and development materials at the resources are aligned to remove Events and campaigns centre barriers to people using the college, of provide equality or opportunity and comm reflect cultural diversity unicati ons and behavi ours
Table 6: Analysis of tools used Approach and Chosen tools Use type of tool Building an Statistics analysed from To build baseline of evidence, identifying areas of evidence base management information inequality and where action needs to be taken (analytical) Strategic review process To identify where and how equality and diversity needs to be taken into account as part of college wide processes and procedures, for example admissions or staff review Evaluation surveys Information gathered from staff training Focus groups evaluation survey and focus group to identify need for the initiative. Evidence used to identify areas for development Competency framework To identify level of staff competencies in respect of equality and diversity
Multipronged Institutional working group Team members act as a working group and approach Advocates and champions become advocates and champions for equality (engagement, and diversity educational) Training programmes Online and face to face training and supporting Staff development materials materials to raise the profile of equality and diversity, improve understanding and increase engagement with equality and diversity issues among staff and students Inclusion toolkit To support staff development activity and increase engagement Competency framework To enable staff to identify their level of Self-assessment framework knowledge and understanding of equality and diversity issues and responsibilities as they relate to their roles Events and campaigns Programmes of events, conferences and campaigns throughout the academic year to engage all staff and students and increase awareness and understanding of equality and diversity Review and Statistics – see above To measure progress and impact as revision mainstreaming initiatives develop (analytical) Evaluation surveys Information gathered from training staff Focus groups evaluation survey and focus groups to identify progress, impact and areas for development Appreciative inquiry A research method to explore the experiences of specific equality groups in relation to the initiative Integrative approach Weaving equality and diversity considerations into review recommendations to be implemented college wide
Whole college business case Information gathered to demonstrate impact and build a case for continuation and development Holistic Piggybacking Working in tandem with other initiatives to approach achieve equality outcomes, for example college (holistic) wide reviews; Investors in Diversity award Linking Use of established processes to deliver through core activity, for example staff assessment and appraisal
3.2 Models of mainstreaming
The colleges’ mainstreaming initiatives are in the process of being delivered and therefore their full impact has still to be seen. This is a reflection of the longitudinal nature of the process of change involved in mainstreaming.
However, all teams made significant achievements during the nine months of the action learning programme. One of these achievements was the development of a plan that would support the delivery of their mainstreaming initiative, providing them with a framework for action and measuring impact. A further achievement was success in drawing membership for their teams from across the institution and securing support and engagement at the highest level. This provided mechanisms through which to create advocates or champions for their mainstreaming initiatives and so began the process of creating a critical mass for change.
Colleges developed their initiatives around the core functions of staff development and/or student services. In both cases they adopted an approach which reflected the specific context of their college and the stage they were at on their mainstreaming journey. Each approach was therefore unique to the college. There were, however, areas of commonality, particularly in the use of staff development initiatives such as training.
The development and delivery of continuing professional development for staff forms a central theme across all participating colleges, indicating that while it is important to ensure that policies, procedures and systems are appropriate and fit for purpose, it is the knowledge and understanding of staff during interpretation and implementation which is paramount to mainstreaming equality and diversity.
Mainstreaming equality through staff development
In the staff development group the central themes of professional development and increasing knowledge, understanding and capacity were evident in all participating teams’ mainstreaming plans. After review and analysis of need, they all took an approach and delivered strategies and activities which were appropriate to their own context. However, all were designed to create ownership among staff for equality and diversity issues and support ongoing reflective practice.
Cardonald College
Cardonald College approached the task of mainstreaming by setting out to capture the momentum gained from their equality essentials online training programme for staff. They used this as the foundation on which to build a programme for embedding equality and diversity messages across the college. To achieve the breadth of ownership and engagement needed, the team focused on providing staff and students with shared development activities. They also identified the need to collect qualitative data and make more effective use of quantitative data to develop meaningful outcomes and to measure the impact of the work they were doing, linking this to the requirements of the PSED. In this way the legislation became a tool to gain engagement across the college. They took advantage of both ongoing activity and the strategic drivers and priorities already at work within the college. This piggybacking was central to the team’s ability to create dialogue and raise awareness of their work.
The first of the shared development activities was the equality essentials training itself. To ensure full participation the team took the decision to make this training mandatory for staff at all levels. At the time of writing this report, all staff had completed the online training programme and the team were considering how to extend this to students.
Making the training mandatory for all staff played a significant part in achieving the success of the initiative to date. The college found that it stimulated discussion among staff who were not previously conscious of the implications of equality and diversity in their day-to-day activities. The training therefore provided an effective way of communicating the mainstreaming initiative and the importance of equality and diversity across the college and gaining support from staff and students.
The second key action was to obtain feedback on the impact of the training and use this as an evidence base to identify areas for development and further action. This was achieved through evaluation of the training and evidence collected from both staff and student focus groups. The team engaged with the college’s post-16 psychological services unit to deliver this evaluation, which brought a professional independence to the development of an evidence base that was then regarded as credible and robust. This was a significant development as it moved the training from being just an intervention to part of a coordinated and holistic approach to staff development.
The flexible nature of the online training made it manageable and helped to overcome the challenge of staff perception of time constraints. The training could be revisited at any time by the participants and staff were therefore able to complete it at times that suited their own work schedule. Similarly this flexible approach was replicated in planning the focus group sessions which were arranged at convenient times for staff and students with adequate lead in time provided.
Feedback from the evaluation helped to identify the next actions: roll out the equality essentials programme to students through the teaching staff in a way that engages students through their subject areas challenge students to develop a poster campaign with the RESPECT tagline challenge students to produce a short film for inclusion in future training initiatives
By taking an evidence based, iterative approach to the development and delivery of appropriate training and creating an equality and diversity dialogue across the college, the team made the following achievements: continuing engagement of departments and staff across the college, with equality and diversity now included as an agenda item at corporate, mid and senior management team meetings; revision of the college’s self-assessment leading to inclusion of equality related questions within the assessment process building on the development of a data management tool for use by staff in the self-assessment process showing the protected characteristics of students departmentally by giving ownership of data to tutors in each subject area and allowing staff to set equality outcomes specific to the subject/department inclusion of elements of the equality essentials video programme in the curriculum by tutors
The Cardonald College team recognised that the mainstreaming journey was an iterative process; consequently the Equality Essentials online training programme was not sufficient to fully embed equality and diversity on its own. Through their participation in the programme and the sharing of thoughts and ideas across college teams, they were able to develop their own activities further and achieve greater engagement of staff and students, for example recognising the need to identify and engage with key stakeholders.
Where the Cardonald College team were presented with situations over which they had little control or no choice they were able to turn these into opportunities. For example a review from Education Scotland was recognised as an opportunity for maximising mainstreaming and the activities developed in the mainstreaming initiative provided effective evidence to demonstrate mainstreaming to feed into the inspection. This further piggybacking enabled the dissemination of equality and diversity information and actions to staff across and the college. Speaking to other colleges and sharing practice helped develop a business case for the initiative in the face of the impending merger. This has enabled the team to develop an evidence based, sustainable approach to mainstreaming through staff development which is having a broader impact, for example on learning and teaching.
Edinburgh’s Telford College
Edinburgh’s Telford College adopted a whole institution, multimethod approach to their plan. The aim was to identify areas for action and achieve engagement with equality and diversity through dialogue around the links between equality and diversity, the values of the college and the drive for quality improvement. They identified that this holistic approach had the potential to create a critical mass for change and take equality and diversity considerations into the heart of the college.
The focus of Edinburgh’s Telford College’s initiative, ‘Putting equality into everyday practice’, was the development and delivery of a face to face training programme to add to the online training previously delivered in the college. The evaluation of the training carried out by the team showed that participants felt this face to face mode of delivery had more impact on their understanding and engagement.
At the start of the programme the college had embedded equality within their recently established quality improvement unit to focus on areas of staff diversity awareness. Their training team was made up of members of the unit and comprised staff from a range of areas including quality, support and teaching to ensure a blend of skills, knowledge, credibility and relevance. The team therefore became an effective means of engaging staff at all levels through the creation of advocates and champions. Prior to the programme, as a result of stakeholder analysis, the team identified that they also needed to engage with students. They realised that in order to put equality into everyday practice students, as well as staff, needed to engage with the values of the college and develop their awareness and understanding of equality and diversity issues. They could also provide valuable input to the development of the training. This has become a medium to long term goal.
The team was found to be a key factor in the success of the project. Members sharing similar values and commitment ensured the team was focused and determined, facilitating team cohesion in the face of barriers presented by the perceived work and time constraints of other staff. Their shared values allowed the team to demonstrate that the new and existing work commitments were not mutually incompatible and that work to mainstream equality and diversity would bring added value to day-to-day roles.
In order to develop and deliver the most effective training, an equality training team was established. They took an evaluative approach to planning and delivering their initiative and identified the following priorities to build an evidence base which would both show the need for the initiative and provide a means to demonstrate its success and impact: establishing a benchmark undertaking staff evaluation and feedback addressing the issues emerging from around the increasing number of international students and students with disabilities
The training was intended for completion by all staff across the college from teaching staff, managers, to frontline reception, facilities, nursery staff, and full and part-time staff. At the time of writing this report, almost all staff had completed the programme.
To build internal capacity, Edinburgh’s Telford College employed a specialist consultant to work with the mainstreaming team in the development of training and materials which focused on the relevance of equality to all job roles. The consultant also supported the team to develop their own skills to change the behaviour of others. The equality training team went on to deliver the training and despite initial concerns that internal facilitation may lack gravitas, delivery proved effective. The short term involvement of the consultant built capacity and expertise within the college, creating champions and a sustainable resource.
Evaluation of the staff development delivered was undertaken to identify areas for improvement and to assess impact. Evaluation evidence demonstrated the following impact to date: creation of a dialogue about equality and diversity increased knowledge and understanding of policy and procedures inspired a review of materials and practices raised awareness of the need to change and challenge behaviour demonstrated the relevance of college values in contributing to the staff and student experience interest in engaging with the equality training team to deliver further training inclusion of equality and diversity materials in curriculum delivery
The evaluation will be used to support further development of sessions and materials and to set out a business case for continuation.
The workload pressures imposed by the impending college merger and restructure led the team to be innovative and flexible in their delivery. They explored alternative administration for the training sessions to alleviate the burdens of manual booking. The team successfully worked with the college’s IT team and as a result an online booking and tracking system was developed and introduced to enable staff to book places. The system was designed to ensure that a mix of staff attended each session and allowed the team to track remaining non-participants. This has been a positive additional outcome of the mainstreaming initiative, which will provide a sustainable and positive benefit for the college as a whole. The team identified that senior management support and engagement have been crucial in its success. College leadership has been a significant contributor to the success of the programme with the senior management team demonstrating clear commitment to equality, and encouraging a culture of dialogue and empowerment.
The work the team has undertaken to date is already contributing to the delivery of equality outcomes and mainstreaming. The team anticipated that the planned evaluation report will provide an evidence based business case which will support the continued development and implementation of the plan in the face of the organisational restructure (imminent at the time of writing) resulting from the merger.
James Watt College
James Watt College’s approach was designed to address the fact that although staff have demonstrated commitment to the implementation of the PSED it was only being undertaken as an exercise of compliance. In an effort to move from this ‘tick box’ response to one of mainstreaming, James Watt College took a multipronged, multimethod approach to their mainstreaming initiative.
The James Watt College team set out to develop a staff competency framework which was designed to promote self reflection among staff and to analyse and address staff knowledge, understanding and skills in respect of equality and diversity. The development of equality competencies was supported by online resources and an inclusion toolkit.
The competency framework was constructed in part to demonstrate that equality and diversity are a part of the core business and day-to-day activity. The framework complements current diversity awareness raising sessions and online training sessions and was developed to identify gaps and link specific skills behaviours and knowledge to an individual to create development. Based on three levels of competencies – mainstreaming, champions and leading – it demonstrates the application of knowledge as staff evidence which of the competency levels they meet by mapping their own actions and behaviour against the framework. It is anticipated that the framework will form part of the staff appraisal process for facilitating staff development rather than as a measure of performance. By its integration into the core process of staff appraisal, the framework will become a mechanism for mainstreaming, impacting directly on the development of understanding, knowledge and inclusive practice in all areas.
The online resources and the inclusion toolkit complement the college’s existing cultural resources such as the diversity diary. In this way the team have linked with existing activities to provide coherence and have targeted their activity at all levels across the college (multipronged), with delivery taking place through a variety of tools and strategies (multimethod).
‘Where possible we have dovetailed [the initiative] with other initiatives to avoid “initiative fatigue”. ’ James Watt College
In order to ensure sustainability, a significant element of the initiative was to develop a process to measure how change is happening and the impact of that change. Measurement was built into the competency framework as a result of staff demonstrating how they meet each of the competencies. Further evidence will be gathered through online surveys, student profiles and an audit of curriculum materials, all of which will be reviewed and analysed over time to identify trends. The integration of the means to monitor and measure progress and impact within the delivery mechanism itself (ie the framework) has mitigated the need for an additional process to do so. This has ensured that there is no additional demand on staff time. Finding innovative, timesaving solutions to potential barriers demonstrates the flexibility of approach and has resulted in greater support for implementation.
Initially the James Watt College team’s initiative was strategically long-term. However, the external influence of regionalisation meant that they needed to take account of impending mergers. As a result they identified the potential risk to the implementation of the framework that this might not be a priority for the restructured college. However, they turned this risk into an opportunity and approached the deputy principals of the merging colleges to discuss the mainstreaming initiative. It was subsequently agreed that the framework would be piloted at James Watt College with the potential for rolling out across the restructured college.
James Watt College multimethod approach
[explanation of diagram Heading staff development 1 competence framework 1.1 link specific skills, behaviours and knowledge to individual roles 1.2 identify gaps 2 measuring 2.1 student surveys 2.2 audit of curriculum materials 2.3 student profiles 2.4 staff surveys 3 inclusion toolkit 3.1 occupational segregation 3.2 disability 3.3 cultural 3.4 language 4 online resources 4.1 ‘moodle’ 4.2 ‘one size fits all’ 4.3 diversity calendar 4.4 ‘what else?’]
Mainstreaming equality through student services
Four of the colleges in the student services group selected admissions as their area of focus. As a result of the analysis of management information and strategic review, three of these colleges identified staff development as the key aspect of ensuring that equality and diversity become mainstreamed across the admissions function. The fourth college took an innovative approach, carrying out impact assessment at the point of recommendations being developed as part of a review of their admissions function. This ensured that equality and diversity considerations were incorporated prior to decision making and formed part of the implementation of the recommendations.
Stow College
Stow College capitalised on their internal college-wide review of the admissions process. They set out to mainstream equality and diversity into student admissions through embedding equality and diversity considerations into the recommendations of the review. This was done by undertaking an impact assessment of each recommendation and including a ‘mainstreaming equality action’ column in the review delivery plan. Equality and diversity indicators were added to this column.
The team developed a multimethod approach that focused on staff development as well as on policies, procedures and data. They set out three objectives: to develop a framework of actions to embed equality and diversity in review recommendations to produce supporting information, such as examples of good practice to inform decisions and solutions to identify gaps in staff development needs
By agreeing and inputting equality actions as part of the development and implementation of review findings, the approach demonstrated a two-way process that supported a business case for replication of the model in other areas. The collaborative nature of the approach ensured that the mainstreaming initiative prevented duplication of work and enabled real time completion of the impact assessment throughout the process. The team found that these benefits combined with careful avoidance of being seen to divert the focus of the work of others (ie the review) resulted in greater support and engagement at all levels. In addition, senior management recognised that a strategic and collaborative approach was being taken across working groups. There was therefore no duplication of effort and better use of resources.
This joint approach to embed equality and diversity actions into review recommendations which would affect policy, working practices and the delivery of services, demonstrates the value of piggybacking on existing initiatives and proved fundamental to the overall mainstreaming process for the college. It provided an opportunity to incorporate equality and diversity into the institution’s core business activity.
The Stow College team identified that having the right team members in place was vital. They realised that having someone on the team with direct experience of admissions was essential to their success. In rolling out their approach they will transfer this principle to other functional areas, ensuring that the team includes a member with specific expertise.
The team recognised that while other college teams had taken a whole institution approach to mainstreaming, particularly those in the staff development group, theirs was localised. Consequently, the drive and impetus was confined to the mainstreaming team and those involved in the admissions review. However, it provided the opportunity to focus on one area and develop an approach that could be applied in other areas of college activity.
The team were able to draw on the benefits and success of their approach to build a business case to support communication of the initiative internally and, in anticipation of the merger, to other colleges.
Borders College
The Borders College team adopted a multipronged approach to their student admissions initiative, setting out clear objectives for drawing equality and diversity from the margins to be mainstreamed into the core business activity. Their aims were to: develop a fair, transparent and inclusive admissions process communicate the college’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion within the admissions process as widely as possible encourage disclosure of equality, diversity and inclusion information at an early stage so that services are in place to meet individual needs
These aims were supported by a set of eight clear objectives and outcomes which have successfully been delivered since the start of the mainstreaming programme.
The team identified that if they were to secure change the use of the revised admissions procedure needed to be mandatory across the college. Therefore the team needed to establish that the impact of its implementation was a consistent approach that was fairer and more inclusive. They carried out an audit to evaluate application of the procedure to identify whether it was delivering the desired outcomes and impact. The audit revealed the need for staff training to ensure a consistent approach when applying the process at departmental level as well as across the college. The development of appropriate training will form the next stage in the mainstreaming process.
To support staff in developing their understanding of equality and diversity the college website was updated at the start of the mainstreaming programme in November 2011 and the equality, diversity and inclusivity values of the college were highlighted. This proved to be a useful tool in communicating these values to both staff and students. As a result, in December 2011 the college was nominated by the students’ union and received a Scotland’s Colleges bronze equality and diversity award for its clear commitment to, and communication and promotion of, the equality and diversity message. As a result of taking action to develop fair and inclusive admissions the team had achieved a college wide impact for both staff and students.
Since its implementation and following an inspection, the revised admissions process has been cited by Education Scotland as an example of good practice on their website. This has attracted interest from other colleges and the Borders College team have been able to share their practice as part of the mainstreaming programme. The recognition that the work of the team has received from both Scotland’s Colleges and Education Scotland has encouraged other colleges in the sector to consider reviewing their own admissions processes in a similar manner.
The organisational structure of the college played a significant role in successfully communicating the initiative to staff. The sharing of information by the senior management team with faculty heads demonstrated that support, engagement and understanding were established at the highest levels from an early stage. The extent of this engagement was subsequently cascaded down into departments to all staff. This senior management commitment was a key factor in their success.
In the context of regionalisation and budget constraints the team believed that the admissions process was a prerequisite to achieving equality and diversity in the college. The success of the new admissions procedure has had a positive impact on the achievement rate of students at the college. Attracting a more diverse student base has encouraged the development and delivery of courses and curriculum which are appropriate to local need and which are meeting demand.
Through the development of a clear plan at the outset, Borders College have been able to keep their work on track while maintaining the flexibility to develop activity in response to identified need. The work of the Borders College team has therefore had an unanticipated broader impact for the college which can be used to support the case for further work to place equality and diversity in the mainstream.
3.3 Overcoming challenges and obstacles
As demonstrated in the case studies, all teams faced and responded to challenges along the way. As with the progress and achievements made, these have common themes.
Table 7: Challenges to mainstreaming and college responses Challenge Response Mainstreaming equality and Teams used a range of strategies including: diversity not regarded as a linking with college strategic priorities priority The tendency for college highlighting equality legislation and the need for compliance stakeholders to consider that ensuring at least one advocate on each relevant college team this has already happened and it is not an issue development of a business case highlighting equality and diversity as priority areas for action and change Regionalisation Teams took a pragmatic approach, maintaining confidence in Uncertainty about how and commitment to their initiative to ensure that they continued colleges would fit into the new to deliver and have an impact. Some colleges who were aware of regional structure and the lack who they would merge with were able to hold discussions about of clarity about mergers the continuation of mainstreaming initiatives Negative perceptions of Teams used their commitment, their robust plans and evidence workload of impact to demonstrate that this was not the case. Where Some teams found that senior participants’ workloads might increase in the short term, they managers were reluctant to demonstrated that this was transitory and provided medium and release team members to longer term impact and benefit for the college. participate and expected the initiative to create unsustainable additional workloads which could not be balanced with main job roles Lack of time and maintaining Momentum was maintained by scheduling regular meetings and momentum ensuring timely and effective communication both among Busy schedules threatened themselves and with key stakeholders across the college. progress for some teams Teams used the action learning programme as a resource. They drew on peer support and were motivated by demonstrating and sharing success. This community of practice will continue to support teams beyond the life of the programme. Lack of understanding and Understanding has been developed through the use of a range engagement of tools, including online and face to face training. They Engaging with stakeholders, identified ways of engaging through effective planning, working particularly in areas where with different tools and exchanging experiences and ideas with staff do not regard equality colleagues: and diversity as part of their using an evidence base to demonstrate a case for change, job. measure progress and impact and show benefits to core functions and departments using advocates or champions to deliver the message, including team members securing a representative from key function areas on the team Teams recognised that achieving understanding and engagement is a long-term challenge that will take time to accomplish. Institutional working practice Some teams revised or developed new systems and practices to Changes required to overcome particular issues. These brought unanticipated institutional systems beneficial outcomes to several colleges. To overcome pressures of additional workload for the staff responsible for arranging staff development training one team developed a new online booking system which can now be used for other purposes. 4 Key lessons for success
The experience of the twelve teams has demonstrated that progress can be made in a relatively short timeframe where there is commitment and the drive to make it happen.
Progress so far will help to ensure the continuation of the mainstreaming journey after the lifetime of the programme during a period of uncertainty and structural change for many colleges.
A number of the tools that have been identified and employed by the teams in their mainstreaming initiatives were already being planned or implemented as part of a college drive to advance equality and diversity. However, what has made a difference in the context of this programme is a range of factors which enabled the teams to approach their delivery from a different perspective. The factors identified in this section reflect the experience of the participating colleges as key lessons for successful mainstreaming.
4.1 Building the team
Participating institutions consistently identified the need to ensure that the team responsible for driving mainstreaming forward is made up of the right people from the right operational areas and that they are committed to achieving the vision of the initiative.
The overall commitment, enthusiasm and perseverance of team members played a significant role in enabling them to engage with staff at the highest level and ensuring progress and maintaining momentum. This has been the result of the investment of time and resources by members of the team, and the regular meetings and communications that teams have established.
‘We were determined to keep going and prove to those who were more reluctant that both regular work tasks and this new development were desirable, achievable and not mutually incompatible.’ Edinburgh’s Telford College
4.2 Working across all levels
Teams moved away from addressing mainstreaming solely through a set of equality and diversity interventions to an approach that achieves sustainable impact through creating change. This has meant that teams have needed to plan for, and measure change in, behaviour and attitudes, and ensure that ownership and responsibility for achieving mainstreaming is shifted away from specific individuals to all staff and students.
Teams identified that while appropriate systems and processes are important and necessary, it is people who make them work. Mainstreaming therefore needs to take place through work at both institutional and individual level to bring about sustainable cultural change.
‘The minimum should be mainstreaming, not lip service, genuinely respecting others and treating them with dignity.’ James Watt College
This understanding and self-reflection has informed the way in which each team has approached the delivery of its initiative, highlighting the need to take a multipronged, multimethod delivery strategy and ensuring not only that appropriate processes and procedures are in place but that staff are engaged, that there is commitment, support and investment, and that support is given to help staff take responsibility for equality and diversity issues on a day-to-day basis.
4.3 Planning for change
The planning process provided teams with the opportunity to think through initiatives in a systematic way from identifying their vision to charting the mainstreaming journey through monitoring progress and measuring change. The James Watt College team recognised that to be successful and achieve the objectives of the mainstreaming initiative it was ‘…essential to have a clear vision of where you want to be and not allow yourself to be distracted’.
Undertaking open, honest debate and critical self-reflection enabled teams to be clear about their starting point and ultimately what success would look like. This was a crucial aspect of developing the plan. In this way teams have included the use of tools and strategies that will enable them not only to deliver appropriate interventions, for example a staff training programme or an equality event, but also to measure and demonstrate the qualitative and quantitative changes that they are making which they will be able to use in the development of their future work.
While teams were encouraged to identify an ambitious vision for their mainstreaming initiative, developing more specific short-, medium- and long-term aims and objectives were important. Teams realised that demonstrable impact in the short term is needed to maintain momentum, provide motivation for team members and increase engagement, particularly during a time of significant change such as regionalisation. Incorporating ongoing activities and utilising existing equality and diversity strategies and plans as part of the mainstreaming plan meant that teams were not starting from scratch. They built on things that were already familiar in the college, ensuring that there was no duplication of effort and taking a coordinated approach to delivery.
As part of the planning process teams were able to identify how their interventions related to each other and that a multipronged, multimethod approach can create a tipping point at which mainstreaming and cultural change become more visible and have discernible impact. For example, delivering interventions that engage with staff at senior management level at the same time as teaching and support staff can help to raise awareness and create a critical mass of shared understanding which can ultimately lead to a consistent and sustainable change in practice.
4.4 Building an evidence base
An evidence base was regarded as an important aspect of the mainstreaming plan which would: demonstrate the case for change identify where and how change needs to happen provide a baseline and a means to measure progress and impact
Teams recognised the importance of collecting both quantitative evidence (through statistical analysis) and qualitative evidence (through research, surveys and focus groups) to demonstrate the need for change and highlight progress and impact. They identified the need to capture anecdotal evidence about behaviour and changing practice and to link this with monitoring data to demonstrate real impact.
‘Success has happened in the main because we had a sound basis of evidence.’ Edinburgh’s Telford College
In addition, some teams identified that the collection of both qualitative and quantitative evidence provided the basis to build a business case for both the delivery of the initiative and for its continuation and long term sustainability, particularly in the context of regionalisation and merger. Several teams are now using a business case approach, linking the initiative with other core strategies and activities. In this way it becomes a tool to gain further engagement and support across the college, for example James Watt College’s success in gaining agreement to pilot their initiative to build a business case for roll out in the new merged structure.
Teams also recognised that in the long term their empirical approach, using piloting and experiential learning to generate evidence, would provide them with a powerful tool for change which would increase engagement through the demonstration of success and impact.
4.5 Communicating success
Whether through a business case approach, the dissemination of good practice, evaluation or case studies, the communication of success and impact was a mechanism which enabled teams to engage others, particularly in the short term.
The regionalisation restructure of the college sector, ongoing throughout the programme, created an imperative for colleges to achieve short term delivery and impact to ensure the sustainability of their initiative. They needed to demonstrate that not only was the initiative needed but that it was relevant and could make a difference. Edinburgh’s Telford College used this approach to secure the continuation of their initiative in their new merged college – the positive outcome of the evaluation of their training provided the team with a powerful message to communicate success and impact.
Teams identified that the language used to communicate the success of the initiative and the equality and diversity message needed to be tailored to the target audience. Identifying the specific benefits and the ‘what’s in it for me’ factor for each stakeholder drew teams to reshaping the way in which they communicated and promoted the work they were doing. This meant that teams tended to move away from the terminology of equality and diversity, instead framing their work in language that is more meaningful and relevant to the core function and the college, for example ‘creating a professional dialogue about difference’ rather than ‘discussions about equality and diversity’ to frame it as a business case rationale. Teams took the same approach when undertaking activities that might be perceived in a negative way by some groups, for example using the term ‘research’ instead of ‘survey’ where evidence needed to be collected. By taking this approach a broader range of stakeholders were engaged with both the delivery and success of the initiatives.
There was general agreement that the most effective communication to engage others is through champions. It was also identified that the channel of communication or the person delivering the message needs to be considered. Changing the way in which the person delivering the message is perceived is important.
‘…. people no longer only associate me with the equality and diversity aspect of our work and now link it to the Quality Improvement Service.’ Edinburgh’s Telford College Three colleges reported that they were also perceived differently when they worked with other colleges or external organisations. Externally they were regarded as an expert who could bring added value rather than as the equality and diversity practitioner. Therefore working collaboratively across colleges, using advocates and champions as an external as well as internal resource could ultimately support the development of a sector wide cultural shift towards mainstreaming.
4.6 Support and engagement
Securing support and engagement from a range of internal and external stakeholders has been a key element of the success of the colleges’ initiatives. For all teams senior management support and commitment played a significant part in achieving success in their mainstreaming journey. They used a range of methods to do this, including a business case, the demonstration of success and tailoring the way in which work is presented for different audiences.
The development and use of advocates and champions played a central role in achieving high levels of engagement across all colleges. The use of team members as advocates or champions has built the capacity of staff who would not otherwise have been involved in equality and diversity work to promote and recommend the initiative. This has encouraged more staff to become involved. Engagement has been spread by the initial enthusiasm and commitment of the team members and the communication of success. In this way, the mainstreaming message is being disseminated and a critical mass of advocates and champions is being created.
Undertaking a stakeholder analysis enabled teams to identify and prioritise the people they needed to engage with to move the initiative forward. Teams initially focused on stakeholders within their core function. As a result of the analysis they were able to identify that they needed to engage with stakeholders across the college, outside of the core function. These external stakeholders had a role to play in taking the initiative forward, for example, students were identified as a key stakeholder in the development of staff training.
This led teams to recognise the importance of engaging with and involving students in the development of the initiatives both from a student services and staff development perspective. As a result teams began to consider how they could do this effectively, for example the use of appreciative inquiry research to engage students with protected characteristics into the mainstreaming initiative by Edinburgh’s Telford College and Stow College.
4.7 Strategic links and opportunism
Teams were able to identify ways to link mainstreaming equality and diversity with the core activities of their college both strategically and operationally. They found that making connections with and becoming involved in other activities that were already in place was an effective means of making progress more quickly. This piggybacking has enabled them to include mainstreaming equality and diversity as part of an already established agenda and take the opportunity to learn from and influence the way in which it is delivered, for example: the development of equality outcomes to meet PSED requirements working with international students aligning the initiative with work to achieve an Investors in Diversity award embedding impact assessment into the development of review recommendations ‘[We were able to get] buy-in from staff involved in reviewing the admissions process. Rather than measures to address equality and inclusion being an afterthought, this was placed at the centre.’ Stow College
In this way the mainstreaming process is becoming integrated, will increase support and engagement and will deliver and demonstrate a greater impact.
At operational level teams recognised that they could use existing processes to their advantage by weaving an equality and diversity dimension into established and accepted functional mechanisms. For example, the review of admissions services and the implementation of its recommendations. In this way equality and diversity will become an integral part of the processes without creating something new or ‘bolt-on’.
4.8 Flexibility
The teams demonstrated their flexibility and adaptability in dealing with the challenges and obstacles that they encountered and the ability to deal with the changing timescales for delivery.
This was the case for teams in dealing with the regionalisation and restructure of the college sector which was being undertaken through the programme. It was a source of uncertainty but also provided an impetus for action. In order to achieve results and to maintain the momentum of the initiative teams had to be flexible in their approach. They built in strategies to ensure the continuation of their initiative in the case of merger and in some instances, such as at Edinburgh’s Telford College, they resulted in unanticipated outcomes providing long term benefit to the college.
The issues of time poverty and stakeholder expectations were experienced by all teams. The balance between the need to deliver tangible outcomes and workload pressures on a day-to-day basis was a difficult one. They overcame this through innovative approaches to developing solutions to the barriers they faced. They were flexible in their planning and delivery and used review and evaluation in a formative way to develop their ongoing action.
4.9 A forum for developing new approaches
As well as providing tools to move their initiatives forward, a significant benefit of the action learning programme identified by participants was that it acted as an opportunity for them to review their approach and develop new perspectives as teams and as individuals.
‘The structure of the programme ensured a coherent and professional approach to analysing the work we are doing to ensure it meets the objective of mainstreaming equalities within admissions.’ Borders College
Some colleges were able to affirm that they were on the right track through the framework of the learning set days. For others it provided a catalyst for action.
‘We wouldn’t be doing this without the programme and support – it would have been parked.’ James Watt College Participation in the action learning programme afforded team members the time away from their college to develop their thinking and focus clearly on how mainstreaming could take place. Participants were able to benefit from the content of the programme itself, peer support from other teams and the opportunity to share ideas and experiences. They came away from the programme with new ideas for a sustainable approach. 5 Recommendations
5.1 Working towards successful mainstreaming
The following recommendations were developed based on the experiences of the participating institutions in the action learning programme. Take action at both institutional and individual levels, using a multipronged, multimethod approach to delivery to ensure that processes are fit for purpose and that both staff and students understand and take ownership and responsibility for the impacts of their actions. Undertake debate and critical reflection at the start of the planning process to ensure a shared understanding of what the issues are and what needs to be achieved, creating space and dedicating time for the team to develop their thinking in a safe, supportive environment through open and honest dialogue. Approach planning as an iterative process, making changes to the plan as delivery unfolds but without over-committing to action. Approach the mainstreaming process through piloting and reflective learning, taking a flexible approach to dealing with barriers by using different tactics and developing the plan accordingly. Co-ordinate planning and delivery through a strategic, holistic approach using existing activities as a platform, avoiding duplication of effort and maximising the use of resources to achieve greater impact more quickly. Use robust quantitative and qualitative research to build an evidence base, but also use anecdotal evidence to support statistics and make them meaningful. Identify short term impact through ongoing evaluation in order to maintain the momentum of the initiative and the motivation of the team. Ensure you know who your key stakeholders are and understand how they might relate to the mainstreaming agenda. Use advocates or champions to engage widely across the institution at all levels. The language used to communicate your messages needs to be appropriate for each stakeholder to ensure engagement and commitment. Communicate via the most effective channels, using language that is meaningful and relevant. Link the mainstreaming initiative to core strategy and policy to make it part of the agenda across the institution. Include an equality dimension in existing processes and procedures rather than creating new ‘bolt-on’ activities. Piggyback on other initiatives or activities that are already under way to broaden the reach of the mainstreaming initiative and achieve greater impact more quickly.
5.2 Advice from participating teams
At the end of both the HEI and college action learning programme teams were invited to identify three priority recommendations to take into account when embarking on a mainstreaming journey. These are summarised below and in some instances overlap with the recommendations made above. Vision
Have a clear vision of where you want to be. Do not allow yourself to be distracted and plan how you will get there. Keep your vision as simple as possible and communicate the benefits to others in the team and the college.
Pragmatism
In the short to medium term be clear about what you want to achieve and do not over-commit to a range of separate initiatives. Be realistic about timescales for developing ideas, implementing the programme and reviewing the outcomes. Scan ahead to see if there are any likely obstacles that need to be navigated.
Planning and evaluation
Use evidence to set out the college’s current position, identify appropriate actions and timeframe for delivery. Ensure you take account of other internal and external developments and plan and implement an evaluation model from the outset to build the case for future work.
Linking
Ensure that initiatives are effectively interlinked and well communicated to avoid delivering in a vacuum.
Responsibility
Ensure that each team member is aware of their role and that everyone needs to contribute. Team members need to commit time to the initiative and be seen to take action. Messages are better received if delivered by advocates or champions who work within the core functions.
Aim high
Representation at the highest level is important – have a direct reporting line to the institution’s principal and board. The engagement of visible strategic level support can be used to maintain momentum and build capacity. Senior management involvement and action are essential for real progress and change.
Resourcefulness
Tap into the knowledge and expertise of colleagues and other staff across the college. For example, involve academic colleagues to assist with relevant research. Talk to others inside and outside of the organisation, share experiences and learn from them.
Communication and promotion
Consult as widely as possible and include staff at all levels to ensure the widest possible engagement and support. Communicate a business case rationale for mainstreaming equality and diversity, demonstrating why it is important. Find solutions to potential problems to give credibility to proposals and tailor messages to appeal to key stakeholders. Be proactive
Don’t be put off by the scale of the task or the potential barriers you might face – have the courage of your convictions and go for it!