Category Archives: My Project

“Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome”

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In the course of my research into imposter syndrome, I came across this article by the Harvard Business Review. The article by Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey aims to persuade its readers that what we now call imposter syndrome doesn’t actually exist.

They write about how when this idea was first written about in 1978, it was referred to as ‘imposter phenomenon’ by Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes, the psychologists who conducted a study of high powered professional women and discovered this issue. The authors of this article go on to point out that this study left out a lot of women such as women of colour, and people of various income levels, genders and professional backgrounds. Further in the article they point out that white men who feel some level of not belonging in their workplace soon find a role model and overcome these feelings, through their work being validated. However the same can’t be said for women, and at most professional development conferences aimed at women, there is 9/10 times a talk on overcoming imposter syndrome.

The word syndrome, in the opinion of the authors, takes us back to when women were diagnosed with hysteria in the 19th Century. It is pointed out that women are said to ‘suffer’ with imposter syndrome, rather than just experiencing it.

“Even if women demonstrate strength, ambition and resilience, our daily battles with microaggressions, especially expectations and assumptions formed by stereotypes and racism often push us down. Imposter syndrome as a concept fails to capture this dynamic and puts the onus on women to deal with the effects.” I think this quote is interesting because it goes back to what they were saying about workshops given to women about overcoming imposter syndrome, instead of talking to the institutions that are causing women to feel this way. However, I think this is a problematic stance to take – in my opinion it’s not an all or nothing situation. You can’t expect companies to change overnight and take away the things that are causing women to experience imposter syndrome, and you can’t expect women to just learn how to deal with these feelings. This is something I was struggling with in my own research project and reading this article has made me very happy that I changed my question and my viewpoint.

“In truth, we don’t belong because we were never supposed to belong. Our presence in most of these spaces is a result of decades of grassroots activism and begrudgingly developed legislation. Academic institutions and corporations are still mired in the cultural inertia of the good ol’ boys’ club and white supremacy. Biased practices across institutions routinely stymie the ability of individuals from underrepresented groups to truly thrive.” After reading this paragraph, I had to take a minute to think it over and form my opinion. This sounds dramatic, but I was honestly taken aback. I can’t speak for people of colour and I don’t want to. But this paragraph seems to imply, to me, that imposter syndrome is somewhat caused by white supremacy.

Overall I think this article was very interesting to read. But I disagree with a lot of what is written. A lot of the time it is women telling other women that they have imposter syndrome ; some women have made a career from doing this, talking at conferences and writing books. This article comes across as quite biased, in my opinion, and saying that imposter syndrome “is especially prevalent in biased, toxic cultures that value individualism and overwork” is unfair. I would say that this article is full of attribution bias and isn’t a particularly balanced article to read.

“Empowered”

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After changing my question and adding ’empowered’ into it, I decided to do some research into what being empowered means.

This screenshot from Cambridge Dictionary online gives two definitions and uses. I find it interesting that the example sentence for the first meaning talks about girls being empowered. Why not just people in general? Does this imply that it’s only women who need to work on feeling empowered?

I decided that this warranted some further research in the hopes of answering my questions but also gaining further insight into how empowerment is viewed.

The main part of the word is ‘power’ – Liz Kelly (1992) observed “I suspect it is ‘power to’ that the term empowerment refers to, and it is achieved by increasing one’s ability to resist and challenge power over”. Using this meaning, my question would essentially mean ‘how can female working class students have (or find?) the power to overcome their feelings of imposter syndrome in an arts education environment?’

According to an article written in 1995 by Jo Rowlands, there are three types of empowerment:

Personal : where empowerment is about developing a sense of self and individual confidence and capacity, and undoing the effects of internalised oppression.

Close relationships : where empowerment is about developing the ability to negotiate and influence the nature of the relationship and decisions made within it.

Collective : where individuals work together to achieve a more extensive impact than each could have alone. This includes involvement in political structures, but might also cover collective action based on cooperation rather than competition. Collective action may be locally focused for example, at village or neighbourhood level or institutional, such as national networks or the United Nations.

For my project I am talking about maybe the first and third types of empowerment more particularly. Unless students consider themselves to be in a relationship of sorts with their university, which doesn’t seem likely.

From searching for articles about empowerment in journals, I have observed that a lot of them are focused towards empowering women in the workplace or in society in general. These articles have been dated as far back as the 1990s so the topic of empowerment clearly isn’t just a current issue.

Rowlands, J. (1995). Empowerment examined. Development in Practice, 5(2), pp.101–107. doi:10.1080/0961452951000157074.

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Tutorial 24/10 and a new question

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I went into today’s tutorial knowing that my question had to change. I didn’t know how but I knew it had to happen.

So how did I go from ‘how can arts universities better support female students from working class backgrounds?’ to ‘How can female working class students be empowered to overcome their imposter syndrome in an arts education environment?’

We started our tutorial with me asking if I should flip my original question around, so that female working class students came first. We then discussed if the responsibility to solve the problem I’ve identified is solely resting on the shoulders of arts university. Which it isn’t. There needs to be a compromise with students and universities meeting each other halfway. I used the term empowered when talking about asking for support and David said that was an important term and that I should include it in my new question.

David asked me what loneliness, feeling out of place and alone are symptoms of. Eventually I got the answer right – imposter syndrome. So that got added into the question. My research project is essentially the same, I’ve just pivoted somewhat and I’m very happy I did so. I think that my previous question was expecting too much from arts universities and that was unfair. It’s unethical for universities to target a specific group of students and single them out for what could be perceived as extra support and whilst I had discovered that from my research, I think I didn’t take it on board quickly enough. I also think that it’s unfair to expect support to rain down on people who aren’t asking for it.

I think that my question is moving beyond the predictable now – my original question almost felt comfortable. Well maybe not comfortable, but it felt safe. Imposter syndrome is something that I have felt (a lot) but I don’t know a lot about it when it comes to theory or other people’s experiences.

Action points:

  • Ask about imposter syndrome in my interviews going forwards. Find out how it manifests in different students and how it makes them feel. ✔️
  • Research theories around imposter syndrome – does everyone think it exists? Are there people who argue that it isn’t a thing? ✔️
  • Read Steven D. Brookfield book – Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher ✔️
  • Get blog up to date and email links to David
  • Write report draft and send it to David by 5pm on Thursday ✔️
  • Create another video from my interviews and hopefully have an in person event to show it

Interview Transcript

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Below is a transcript of an interview I did with a student at Falmouth University. This interview was recorded with consent and transcribed by myself.

FR – Thank you for meeting with me today. I wanted to talk to you about your experiences at university. I believe you studied at both an arts specialised school and a non specific university?

RP – Yes, that’s right. I did my BA at art school and then left to go elsewhere for my MA.

FR – Was there a specific reason you made that decision?

RP – Yes and no. I honestly hated art school. I suppose I wanted a change of scenery with less pressure.

FR – Did you hate art school because of the teaching side of it or was there something else?

RP – I didn’t fit in there. I mean, I tried. But I couldn’t afford to socialise as much as I wanted and no one seemed to understand that. I came across as introverted and shy, I think and I struggled to make friends with my class mates. I was so scared of failing or being taken off the course because I didn’t come from the same background as others did.

FR – I’m sorry, that sounds like a tough experience for you. Did you ever talk to the university about how you were feeling?

RP – No I couldn’t. I was scared that they would tell me to leave if I was struggling so badly. I know that there was counselling they offered but I never took advantage of that. I didn’t want to admit that, I don’t know, I was seconding guessing everything? I love art, I really do. But being at art school felt like I was living in a pressure cooker and the lid could blow off any minute. Wow that sounded very dramatic *laughs*

FR – I understand what you mean. I think there’s an illusion of art school being glamorous and such fun. But there’s also a feeling of being like a fish out of water. At least from my perspective. Would you agree with that?

RP – Yes absolutely. I don’t know if that feeling is exclusive to students who come from poor backgrounds obviously but it’s a tough place to be if you are surrounded by people in paint covered designer clothes and you’re wearing Oxfam from head to toe.

FR – Talking about being a fish out of water, would you say that you struggled from imposter syndrome?

RP – I don’t know. I think that’s a term that is batted around a lot nowadays and has maybe lost its original meaning. But I do know that I felt like an imposter and as though I was a placeholder for the student who was meant to be there instead.

FR – So going back to your academic journey, once you’d left art school. Did you have similar feelings once you were at a generic university?

RP – I knew you’d ask me that. And honestly, I didn’t. I saw a lot more students that sounded like me and were also working two jobs to pay their tuition. And honestly, people were a lot more open about their lives and where they came from.

FR – That’s interesting. I wonder why that is. Do you have any thoughts?

RP – I have a theory.

FR – Would you be willing to share it with me?

RP – Absolutely. Art school is high pressure, as I mentioned earlier. There’s an expectation that you’ll do your degree and form amazing connections that will set up a career once you’re done. But a normal university? There are so many varied courses, and it mirrors society more. You’re not trapped in a building full of artistic temperaments.

FR – I’ve never thought about how a non – specialised university mirrors society. That’s really interesting! Thank you so much for your time today.

RP – You’re welcome. Good luck with your project.

This interview was very interesting to me. The thing that I found the most interesting was that this student studied at an arts institution and then made the decision to do their MA at a non arts based university.
After conducting this interview I endeavoured to find out if there was a way I could find out how many students study at an art school and then leave that environment to carry on their education, studying a creative subject in a ‘normal’ university. However, I couldn’t find any figures around this – maybe I was searching for the wrong thing or in the wrong places. But the more likely answer is that data around this isn’t collected or is unavailable to view if it is. There is data around retention rates of students, however it doesn’t tell you where the leaving students go so I didn’t find this helpful.

Another thing that struck me about this conversation is that this student was reluctant to say that they experience imposter syndrome but would say they feel like an imposter. I also found it interesting how this feeling went away once they were studying outside of an arts education environment.

Uni Connect

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When I was last at my volunteering job, I got into conversation with a lady who works in the EDI department at Demontfort University in Leicester. I was telling her about my research and she suggested that I look at a scheme called Uni Connect that the other university in Leicester is part of.

There are currently 29 universities taking part in this scheme, spread all over England. None of the universities taking part specialise in the arts which I find interesting. Historically there has been a big push directing young people from underrepresented groups to STEM subjects and I have been unable to find any evidence of something similar for the arts. I am curious as to why there are no arts based universities on this list as diversity within the arts is something that is very topical.

I find it very interesting that there is targeted outreach as part of this scheme, as I have been told by multiple people that universities can’t target a specific group of people because it’s unethical. I suppose the difference is the context?

As you can see from this image, the funding amounts fluctuates. However the funding is dependent on how many learners are in each area so this difference in amounts of funding makes sense. I think it is important to note that in the majority of areas, the amount of funding being accessed has decreased in the last 2 years. Perhaps this is a knock on effect from Covid.

https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/promoting-equal-opportunities/uni-connect/

IG Research

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I was mindlessly scrolling on Instagram and found myself flicking through the @ualmemes story where they had asked for the top three things people had learnt at UAL. Obviously all the submissions were anonymous but I found these two answers interesting in the context of my project.

It made me curious as to whether these two respondents would say the same things if they were asked this question face to face. There is an element of comfort in anonymity online, and according to a paper written by Kimberly M. Christopherson, “Individuals can use their anonymity to almost become a different person without fear of being identified and negatively evaluated by those they know. This factor may lead to an extreme sense of freedom for the individual and allow him or her to engage in behaviors typically disapproved of by others without fear of the consequences that may ensue as a result.”

Christopherson, K.M. (2007). The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet social interactions: ‘On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog’. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(6), pp.3038–3056. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2006.09.001.

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The Cost of Living Crisis

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I sent an email to a member of staff that Richard had pointed me in the direction of, and they suggested I look into how the cost of living crisis is going to affect working class students. I have to admit, I had not considered this as something that was relevant to my project, but after more research, I think that it is.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-11099735/Uni-students-deferring-places-cost-living-crisis-one-seven-fear-homeless.html

This article talks about a study conducted by Nationwide Building Society. The main bullet points of the article are:

  • 2/3 of students are struggling to afford their rent or have fallen behind in paying it
  • 22% of students know someone who has become homeless over the last year due to financial difficulties
  • 3/4 of students have had to borrow money from friends or family to afford rent and essentials like food
  • 4/10 students are reliant on their overdrafts
  • Whilst 4/5 A-Level students are applying to go to university, 15% of these are considering deferring their place because of the cost of living
  • Over 90% of A-Level students said that the cost of living crisis has affected how they feel about attending university this year
  • The cost of living has risen 9% this year and students are afraid it will rise even further
  • 3/5 students are worried about how they will afford their accommodation and 50% are worried about how they will afford nights out

This article is very confusing to me. I don’t know if it just the way that I digest statistics, but having them in a multitude of formats hurts my brain – I’d rather they were all fractions, or all percentages. However, that isn’t the important takeaway here. I think that these numbers are worrying – there was no information about the demographics of the participants in this study. But if we assume that there is a range of backgrounds amongst the participants, it is not only working class students who are worried about how the cost of living crisis is going to change things. And if someone who comes from what is considered to be a ‘comfortable’ background is concerned about money, then working class students must be very concerned.

This is just one study though so I think it’s important to look for corroboration or rebuttals against this.

Unite Students have an episode of their podcast Accommodation Matters about this particular issue. I found the whole thing interesting but this quote especially stuck out to me

Not only does this make the case for female students needing more money than their male counterparts, it talks about how they are suffering a lot more when it comes to mental health, sleep and even relationships. I have sent an email to the PR mentioned at the bottom of the survey they reference, to see if I can get a copy of the full survey.

https://www.unitegroup.com/articles/rising-cost-of-living-increases-pressure-on-parents-with-children-at-university-unite-students

https://www.unitegroup.com/articles/cost-of-living-crisis-students

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-11099735/Uni-students-deferring-places-cost-living-crisis-one-seven-fear-homeless.html

Further Feedback from Intervention

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As we approach a new semester, I have asked for further feedback from my intervention in the form of statements about participating and any suggestions my stakeholders have for moving forwards with my project.

“Taking part in this activity, I thought I wouldn’t gain anything from it and that it was pointless. But I was so wrong. I learnt that how I feel about being working class isn’t unique to just me. I learnt that I am not as alone as I feel when I’m at university and I’ve kept in contact with the other girls who attended this online event. Felicity made us feel comfortable and I could tell that she could relate to the terms that we were all sharing.” Jess

“I had never thought about what the word ‘working class’ meant to me before. I’ve always refered to myself as working class but had never thought about what it meant to me. Taking part in this gave me the opportunity to really think about it, and I came to realise that there’s not just one definition for it. I learnt a lot from taking part and I’m intrigued by where your project is going to go next.” Mary

“I don’t know how you would take this forwards but I do know that it was nice to meet other students who feel the same way I do. I wish that UAL knew how I feel and what it is like being poor and out of place here.” L

“I think it would be useful for you to research if you can the demographics of the working class students here. Eg how many of them are disabled, have multiple jobs, have children and see if there is a common denominator. Maybe even their gender identity or sexuality? I’m not sure if that would be too invasive. But I think it could be interesting and might redirect your research.” S

From this feedback, I think I have an idea of what direction I need to take my secondary research in order to inform further interventions. Especially the last quote, where she suggested things that I could research.

Something I Missed

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During my presentation feedback on Wednesday, Richard informed that there is a whole group of people working on the same thing as my project in Student Services.

I’d not come across this through all my googling and the time I spent on the UAL website. And I think this illustrates just why my project is important.

If I, a researcher, couldn’t find any information about support for working class students, then what hope is there for students who are looking for this support? I plan to connect with these staff in student services and hopefully gain some insight into what they are working on, and what problems they have identified.

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Update 20th September

I emailed the person that Richard had pointed me in the direction of in the feedback after my Unit Two presentation, and whilst she is no longer working in this area, we had a very profitable email conversation. *I didn’t ask for consent to use her email address or name so I have blurred them out for now*

From this email conversation, I can see that there is still a lot of work I need to do in terms of researching the cost of living crisis and its impact on working class students, as well as positive discrimination and decolonisation work at UAL. Whilst she was unable to help with my project directly, I feel as though she has helped to redirect and focus my research going forwards.

Another Conversation

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This quote is one I used in my first intervention, and came from a casual conversation I had with a student at UAL. I spoke to her further about it, and she told me that she has often joined dating apps for the purpose of finding someone to buy her dinner when she is struggling. It makes her feel guilty for using people that way but she can’t ask her family for financial help. She told me that her family would help but then they would have to go without something.

Later in the conversation we spoke about how hard it is to look around at UAL and see students in designer clothes covered in paint when she could only dream of owning something so expensive. I asked her if she was jealous, and she said yes. But also she wished that people would be less oblivious to the fact that not everyone can afford such luxurious items.

After reflecting on this conversation, I think that this could be a common misconception about students who come from less fortunate backgrounds. Yes, they might be jealous about not having money to buy fancy items with but that is not the sole factor in feeling inferior to their fellow students. This could echo back to the article I read about uncomfortable interactions with fellow students.(https://felicityyvette.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/07/21/uncomfortable-interactions/)