Fashion Futures and “Legs 11”: how a Reflective Pod is supporting the personal and professional development of students on part time programmes at the LondonCollege of Fashion

Alison James, Head of Learning & Teaching, LondonCollege of Fashion, University of the Arts

LCF originated in 1906 as a trade school for couturiers and skilled workers and has since changed significantly (as part of The University of the Arts, London) with 50 courses offering fashion, beauty, business and science subjects at all levels of study.  Its industry links remain strong, however, and the concept of professional development is inherent in curriculum delivery, even if modes of this have also changed.  Students no longer learn purely in workshops, but through simulated industry projects, client briefs, competitions, preparing collections, mounting exhibitions and catwalk shows and having their work critiqued by industry professionals.  Furthermore, there has been a quantum shift in the kind of professional being ‘produced’, the needs and desires of employers and whether/how these should match up.

This paper will have two main strands; the first will look at part time programmes at LCF, where students working full time in the fashion industry during the week study at evenings and weekends to obtain their degrees.  Students undertaking these degrees do so to amplify their existing knowledge and practice, from technical and market expertise to greater cultural and theoretical understanding of where, why and how they do what they do.  However, while new to HE, they are not, predominantly, ‘novices’ at life. They have qualities such as determination and maturity which help them develop incisive and focused thinking for different situations; they find new ones through relating their academic study to professional practice.  Already used to prioritising, making decisions and evaluating actions, they reflect on choices and experiences through articulations of Personal and Professional Development (PPD, incorporating PDP) which is embedded in every undergraduate unit at LCF. PPD embraces the ‘lifewide’ view, allowing for multiple modes of expression and supporting self-and emotional – awareness. Their developmental narratives are videoed in our Reflective Pod and build up into a visual archive of their personal growth.

In evaluating how using the Pod has enriched student understanding of their personal and professional journey I will lead into the second strand of the paper. This summarises current pedagogic research which has generated a conceptual emotional framework which maps onto their Pod narratives and highlights how emotional factors impact on an individual’s learning trajectory. We will consider how the use of such Pods, narratives and frameworks can help students clarify awareness of factors within themselves – and externally – which have inhibiting or positive effects on their personal and professional lives.

Key words: Reflection,  Personal and Professional Development, Emotions, Pod

Presentation