Sarah-Jane is Scholarship and Enterprise Development Manager at Hereford College of Arts (HCA). She currently develops and teaches on cross-course 'open space' programmes at HCA . In the past she has worked for HEFCE-funded projects as a developer, as an educational consultant (FE in HE), and as a Critical Studies Lecturer. She started her career in Learning Support in schools and has worked in FE as a learning support tutor.
What might a ‘critical radical rural’ look like within Higher Education? Investigating the space of the small, specialist arts college within contemporary HE.
Sarah-Jane's doctoral study considers previously 'hidden' spaces within Higher Education. Working in an intersection of critical spatial geography and education, it asks what a 'different' type of higher educational space might look like in an world which is increasingly represented through disembodied practice rather than human interaction and 'things'.
When we think of Higher Education we might think of the large University, with many departments and hundreds of students, represented through large data sets. However, Sarah's research considers how the small, specialist, creative college works within this landscape, situating this within the current political landscape of HE.
This research uses ideas from critical spatial geography (Lefebvre, Soja and Massey) to underpin an enquiry which hopes to find out if the space of the small, specialist college is 'different' in some way, and, if so, what its value might be within the wider landscape of HE.
The research uses theory to inform its methodology, using spatial methods such as walking interviews alongside photovoice and poetic methods.
- Crowson, S. (2019) Wales Journal of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Sharing practice: the specialist creative arts college environment as critical and creative pedagogical space.
- Crowson. S. (2017) ‘Moving beyond Myth: The Blacksmith as Critical Commentator’, Essay, ‘Forge’, Impact prints and Hereford College of Arts, 04-17 Exhibition catalogue. April 1, 2017
- Crowson. S. (2017) ‘Creating less-formal online learning spaces to support engagement and outcomes at L5’, College HE Research and Scholarship Conference’, Birmingham, Conference Proceedings, April 1, 2017
- Crowson. S. (2016) ‘Supporting our practice by developing a ‘research mindset’, InTuition, Issue 25, Autumn 2016, Article, p.17, 4-10-16 InTuition magazine, Education and Training Foundation October 1, 2016
Recent creative writing
- Wales Haiku Journal, Autumn 2019, Available at: https://www.waleshaikujournal.com/
Conference Presentations and Case Study/Thinkpieces
- Crowson, S. (2019) The small arts college as critical radical space, CSPACE Summer Conference 2019, workshop, 10 June 2019
- Crowson, S. and Temple, K. (2018) Design Fiction: alternative futures for edu-tech, online workshop, December 2018
- Crowson. S. (2017) ‘Ferrous2017; Scholarship in Action at Hereford College of Arts, AoC Website, Case Study, 12-17 AoC Scholarship ProjectDecember 1, 2017
- Crowson. S. (2016) ‘Theory, Practice and the scholarship of application’, AoC Website, Thinkpiece, 02-16 AoC Scholarship Project, February 1, 2016
- Crowson. S. (2016) ‘Developing pedagogical practice at HE in FE through the creation of less formal online learning spaces’, AoC Website, Case Study, 01-16 AoC Scholarship Project, January 1, 2016
