WEA's SFA/ECU GPF project case study and resources

A project of the Workers' Educational Association - one of the 2014/15 SFA/ECU good practice fund projects

About the project 

The WEA led a national cross-regional project to develop online learning modules that explore ways of supporting students with intersectional identities. Each module was developed through a co-production process whereby WEA staff and tutors worked with a group of WEA students / adult learners to better understand barriers to participation in learning and inclusive ways of working. The modules also explore what it means to have an intersectional identity and look at where the term intersectionality comes from.

 

The result is the development of 9 distinct modules, each one unique as they reflect the co-production process used, the input from students and the experiences of the tutors and staff involved in the developments. We have also produced an “Introduction to Intersectionality” module to set the scene and provide some context.

 

The learning from the project has emerged from the consultation with students and staff with intersectional identities who are helping to inform our practice. This includes the way we develop community partnerships, the importance of all students having a voice in decision making and rolling out the online training for staff, tutors and volunteers across the WEA.

 

We are already seeing a difference through the establishment of new community partnerships and new courses as a result of the co-production process but anticipate the outcomes and impact will grow as the modules are rolled out more widely across the sector and utilised within a wide range of learning contexts and organisations.

The modules

The following e-learning modules exist on the WEA's Moodle^definition virtual learning environment called WEAVE.  Anyone accessing the modules from this Equalities Toolkit website must log into WEAVE as a Guest.  For help, you can read the short step by step guide available from the attachments list at the bottom of this page (there are 2 formats, docx and pdf) 

When ready to try one or more of our online learning modules, which are suitable for viewing on mobile devices as well as computers, read the introductory text in the first column of the table below, then click the corresponding link for the module in the second column:

Introduction to Intersectionality This module introduces the origins of the term "intersectionality" and provides links to find out more about its creator.	Introduction to Intersectionality
Working with students with dementia This module introduces the causes and symptoms of dementia and provides case studies from WEA tutors.	Working with students with dementia
Older men and mental health difficulties This module highlights the experiences of WEA students, specifically older men experiencing mental health difficulties.	Older men experiencing mental health difficulties
Racedefinition, religion and LGBT This module considers the issues that arise when some of the equality protected characteristics overlap / intersect.	Race, religion and LGBT
LGBT and mental health This module considers the issues that arise when some of the equality protected characteristics overlap.	LBGT and mental health
Women and disability This module considers how being a woman and being disabled can result in multiple levels of disadvantage.	Women and disability
Disabilitydefinition and race This module explores issues experienced by disabled students from the BAME community when accessing ACLdefinition.	Disability and race
Young women, childbirth and maternity This module explores, through case studies, activities and research, stigmas in being a young mum in deprived areas.	Young women, childbirth and maternity
Asylum seekers, nationality and gender This module aims to help you understand the context and support needs of female Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the UK.	Asylum seekers, nationality and gender
Black women and class This module explores race, gender and class, white privilege and the relevance of class in education.	Black women and class

Project Contact

Mel Lenehan: [email protected]

Attachment	Size
Guide_AccessWEAVEAsGuest_03Nov15.pdf	143.63 KB
Guide_AccessWEAVEAsGuest_03Nov15.docx	31.03 KB