Ethical Action Plan (500-750 words)*
This document is a chance for you to begin shaping your project while thinking through its ethical considerations, implications, and responsibilities. We know this might feel early in your action research journey, but this short plan is here to help pin down your ideas and work-in-progress.
Use whatever writing format that suits you – lists, bullet points, statements or paragraphs – and follow the suggested links stated alongside some of the questions for guidance.
A good starting point is the BERA Guidelines for Educational Research, fifth edition (2024) alongside the‘Ethics Files and Resources’ on Moodle.
When you’re ready, email your draft to your allocated tutor 48 hours in advance of you first group tutorialin the week commencing 6 October 2025, so it can help guide the focus of discussions and support your project development.
Name: Jo Glover
Tutor: Carys Kennedy
Date: 22 October
| What is the working title of your project?[CK1] “Can students explain or embed accessibility into their design work after completing the Live brief – A campaign based on the Design and Disability Exhibition at the V&A” Design an accessible multi platform campaign inspired by the Design for Disability V&A exhibition https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/design-and-disability?srsltid=AfmBOoq4SaqtbmEIJDLEzkMCittRDHZFgz5zmCKzaZZijTUWQYq4U_aB |
| What sources will you read or reference? [CK2] Share 5 to 10. I’m using a Live brief as a Pedagogical tool to enable students to embed accessibility into their work going forward. I will draw on practitioner research and qualitative methods literature, including Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2018) for small-scale educational enquiry, Creswell and Poth (2018) for qualitative design, and Moon (2004) to frame reflective practice as method. In relation to pedagogy, Orr and Shreeve (2018) position live briefs as a signature pedagogy in art and design, foregrounding situated learning, professional identity and social justice.V&A Design and Disability Exhibition At the end of the V&A exhibition was a wealth of inclusive magazines, creative magazines like the ‘Stammar’ designed typographic zine, more traditional books, an exciting illustrated game, and many more useful references. I was drawn to the game and some of my students are creating a workshop to hold in this space based on our discussions on how to engage the public in this area and to analyse the learnings from the exhibition.https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/design-and-disability?srsltid=AfmBOoq4SaqtbmEIJDLEzkMCittRDHZFgz5zmCKzaZZijTUWQYq4U_aBWellcome collection Zines Forever DIY Publishing and Disability Justice (physical bed and Zine examples – Photos to share in brief intruducing the spectrum wheel concept as a vial representation of neurodivergence in the arts) https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/zines-forever-diy-publishing-and-disability-justice1880 That https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/1880-thatFinger Talk https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/finger-talk-installationBeing Human https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/being-human interview / brief with KWICA Zines Joshua Commissioned photos in the campaign Getty images / accessible image bank V500 recommendations not using stereotypical imagery – GDPR for model release form RA https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/kerry-james-marshall LO1 Social justice, disability, and student experience (Knowledge)Supports critical analysis of disability as a social justice issue affecting access, representation, and participation in learning environments—mirroring student experience in design education.Analysing how disability and inclusion impact learning and participation in design educationBarnes, C. and Mercer, G. (2010) Exploring Disability. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Polity Press.Garland-Thomson, R. (2011) ‘Misfits: A feminist materialist disability concept’, Hypatia, 26(3), pp. 591–609.Oliver, M. (1990) The Politics of Disablement. London: Macmillan.Shakespeare, T. (2014) Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.Victoria and Albert Museum (2025) Design and Disability. Exhibition, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/design-and-disability (Accessed: 17 December 2025).Sandell, R., Dodd, J. and Garland-Thomson, R. (2010) Re-presenting Disability: Activism and Agency in the Museum. London: Routledge. LO2 Research design and enquiry (Enquiry)These sources justify a practice-based, ethical, and inclusive research design, such as evaluating how inclusive design principles influence student engagement.Developing a feasible, small-scale practitioner research project on inclusive design (Live brief campaign) inspired by the exhibitionCohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2018) Research Methods in Education. 8th edn. London: Routledge.Bell, J. and Waters, S. (2018) Doing Your Research Project. 7th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.Kember, D. and Gow, L. (1992) ‘Action research as a form of staff development in higher education’, Higher Education, 23(3), pp. 297–310.Costanza-Chock, S. (2020) Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. LO3 Methods, instruments, and ethical practice (Process)Supports the design, implementation, and review of methods such as reflective journals, student feedback tools, or small focus groups, with ethical awareness.Designing and reviewing methods appropriate to your context e.g. My survey and Live briefCreswell, J.W. and Poth, C.N. (2018) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. 4th edn. London: Sage.Moon, J.A. (2004) A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning. London: RoutledgeFalmer.Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006) ‘Using thematic analysis in psychology’, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), pp. 77–101.British Educational Research Association (BERA) (2018) Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research. Available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk (Accessed: 17 December 2025). LO4 Synthesis, evaluation, and communication (Communication)4. These texts support critical synthesis, evaluation of outcomes, and clear communication of findings in a context-sensitive academic voice.Presenting findings and critically evaluating impact in contexBrookfield, S. (2017) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. 2nd edn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 4th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.Candlin, F. (2010) Art, Museums and Touch. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Gazi, A. (2014) ‘Museums and disability: A matter of access?’, Museums & Social Issues, 9(2), pp. 129–143.Victoria and Albert Museum (2025) Design and Disability: Exhibition interpretation and learning resources. London: V&A. |
| What action(s) are you planning to take, and are they realistic in the time you have (Sept-Dec)?[CK3] As a researcher I’m aiming to create a Live brief and also a Microsoft forms questionnaire to share with students to collect and analyse the data and present back as a bar chart and evidence via the student’s design campaign work what their learning outcomes are. I’ll present this back in my 10 min presentation and film. Embedding accessible design into their design process from the outset (eg legible fonts, colour checking for UX, print and UI, subtitles on video, colour blind safe, large print label book or braille for exhibition captions both the Louis Vuitton museum and Wellcome Collection in London do this well) measure from last years videos vs this years? Or from their round 1 concept vs Artwork whether the accessibility has been incorporated throughout the campaign design BRIEF To design a storytelling campaign to raise awareness of V&A exhibition Design and Disability across all platforms, print (Digital 4 sheets and 48 sheets, London Underground mock ups) social FB, Insta Tik Tok, X, satellite exhibition response. Select 3 of the formats, or create a family workshop plan Timescale aligns well:TimelineThursday 06 Nov Share design conceptThursday 13 Nov Share design developmentThursday 20 Nov Share design detailThursday 27 Nov Share design Mockups and artworkThursday 04 Dec Share design Final pitch *Dates TBCThursday 11 Dec Feedback addressed |
| Who will be involved, and in what way? (e.g. colleagues, students, local community…). Note, if any of your participants will be under the age years of 18yrs, please seek further advice from your tutor. A group of 10-15 DPS students will visit the exhibition and create a campaign, exhibition, or workshop inspired by this. They’ll be asked a questionnaire on accessibility before and after the project. I can repeat this a number of times with different groups if needed. |
| What are the health & safety concerns, and how will you prepare for them? o https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/42587/health-and-safety-hubo https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/sites/explore/SitePage/45761/health-and-safety-policies-and-standards Key health and safety considerations include travel to and from the V&A, crowd management within gallery spaces, fatigue or sensory overload, and access needs.Preparation will include a pre-visit briefing, clear meeting points, risk assessment, accessible route planning, and encouraging students to self-identify support needs in advance. Staff contact details and institutional procedures will be shared prior to the visit. Keeping the students anonymous for the questionnaire (have shared consent form)Gathering data Recording the focus groupDoing the visitor journey to the museum exhibitionConsidering disability [CK4] |
| How will you manage and protect any physical and / or digital data you collect, including the data of people involved?[CK5] o https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-fifth-edition-2024-online#consento https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-fifth-edition-2024-online#privacy-data-storage The data will be used as the basis for academic analysis and quantative research by me and my PG Cert tutors only. If they choose to take part, they will be free to withdraw their participation at any point. They will not be obliged to give any reason for deciding not to take part. Analysis from the questionnaire and focus group – including quotations from the students – will contribute to an academic dissertation. Their words may also be used in academic reports, papers or conference presentations and my PG Cert blog. These may appear online. |
| How will you take ethics into account in your project for participants and / or yourself? o https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-fifth-edition-2024-online#responsibilities-participantso https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-fifth-edition-2024-online#responsibilities-sponsorso https://www.bera.ac.uk/publication/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-fifth-edition-2024-online#responsibilities-wellbeingo See Emotionally Demanding Research PDF on Moodle The methodology will be qualitative: taking a responsive evaluation approach. This will consist of a questionnaire and the V&A Design for disability Live project DPS group brief. Responses will be analysed before and after the course programme using Microsoft forms and the date from this will be presented as a bar chart and student work evidencing their knowledge of accessibility. Recording the tutorials and Live brief workshops with the V&A and sharing the consent form first to make sure they do give consent Photography and image consent for the campaign itself IP if they’ve illustrated it and sharing it with a client risk of copyright and payment issues if it’s alive brief and the student work gets used *AI Used for SPAG and Citations |
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