Reframing Accessibility in Photography Education
As Course Leader of MA Commercial Photography at LCC, the stories captured across the video resources really challenged me to critically examine how representation operates within our discipline and teaching spaces. For example, photography is never neutral – it frames people, places and narratives in ways that determine who is visible, who is centred, and who is cropped out. These framing choices echo dynamics within education, where students may find themselves similarly excluded by systems that fail to acknowledge their access needs or recognise their identities.
Critical Disability Studies (CDS) asks us to go beyond accommodation and to question the underlying norms embedded in both our institutional structures and creative fields. For instance, in Disability and Me, Ade Adepitan reflects on the dual experience of racism and ableism – noting how assumptions about competence and value follow him into every space. His story exposes how design, both physical and social, defaults to able-bodied whiteness. It prompts me to consider: what does an “engaged” or “professional” photography student look like in our own classrooms – and who gets left out of that frame?
In my own teaching, I try to make space for diverse expressions of creativity and participation. This includes allowing students to work in varied formats, prioritising inclusive group critiques, and encouraging reflection on how images construct identity. Independent Study Agreements (ISAs) also play a role here – enabling individual support where needed. But ISAs are often reactive, dependent on disclosure and on staff capacity to implement them meaningfully.
Christine Sun Kim, speaking in Disability and Gender, highlights how her presence is often misread in art spaces – people do not know how to interact with someone who communicates through sign language. Her work questions who is permitted to take up space, to be loud, or to be silent. Like the ISA, our learning environment must shift its focus from compliance to culture.
Disclosure itself is not simple. According to UAL’s 2021/22 EDI report, only 15% of students declared a disability in 2022 – a drop of 3% from the previous year. This does not mean fewer disabled students are enrolled; it likely reflects a lack of confidence that disclosure will lead to meaningful support. As Hu (2024, p. 71) reminds us, emotional responses like shame or hesitation are “inherently relational, intertwined with the social differences and structures prevalent within the UK higher education context.” If inclusion depends on students constantly having to explain or justify their needs, many will opt out.
Chay Brown’s reflections in Being Disabled and Transgender are particularly striking here. He describes how navigating education as a disabled trans man meant being constantly asked to educate others – often without support or understanding. That kind of invisible labour is rarely acknowledged in traditional learning environments, but it is central to how power operates in education. Fernandez et al. (2024, p. 7) caution that most inclusion efforts still focus on a single axis of identity – ignoring how ableism overlaps with class, race or gender.
True inclusion means designing our teaching so students do not need to prove they belong – they simply do. In photography education, this might mean redefining “professionalism,” opening space for different visual languages, or co-creating briefs that challenge normative representations. Accessibility must be part of our pedagogy, not just our paperwork. It should be embedded in how we teach, assess and relate – not simply an afterthought.
References (Harvard Style)
Banerjee, P. (2024) Connecting the dots: a systematic review of explanatory factors linking contextual indicators, institutional culture and degree awarding gaps. Higher Education Evaluation and Development, 18(1), pp. 31–52.
BBC (2020) Disability and Me – Ade Adepitan. [Video] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU
Bourdieu, P. (1986) The forms of capital. In: Richardson, J. (ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood, pp. 241–258.
Fernandez, D., Maiorano, C., Pérez, N., Ramiro, C. and Vitores, A. (2024) Gender and social class inequalities in higher education: intersectional reflections on a workshop experience. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, p. 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1235065
Garland-Thomson, R. (2009) Staring: How we look. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Goodley, D. (2017) Disability Studies: An Interdisciplinary Introduction. 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications.
Hu, M. (2024) International students’ feeling of shame in the higher education: An intersectional analysis of their racialised, gendered and classed experiences in the UK universities. Sociology Study, 14(1), p. 71. https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5526/2024.01.006
ParaPride (2023) Being Disabled and Transgender – Chay Brown Interview. [Video] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc
Shape Arts (2021) Disability and Gender: A Conversation – Christine Sun Kim and others. [Video] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI&t=2s
University of the Arts London (2023) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Summary Report 2021/22. [PDF] Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/equality-and-diversity
6 responses to “Blog Post 1: Disability”
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Hi Rachel,
Thanks for sharing such a powerful and reflective post. I really appreciated how you used your perspective as a Course Leader to unpack the role of representation in both photography and education. The idea that photography is never neutral really resonated, it’s such a strong metaphor for how visibility and exclusion play out in teaching spaces too.
Your reflections on Critical Disability Studies brought so much depth, especially in how you connected Adepitan’s experiences to the assumptions we might unconsciously carry into the classroom. I also liked how you highlighted the limits of reactive approaches like ISAs, and instead made a case for shifting the overall culture. I’ve just come into contact with what an ISA is and how it’s used, so hearing your thoughts on it’s implementation is very interesting.
You thoughts on the provided videos were wonderful, you showed clearly how emotional and invisible labour often goes unrecognised in education, especially for students navigating multiple marginalised identities. The reminder that true inclusion means students shouldn’t have to prove they belong was such a strong takeaway.
This was such a thoughtful and grounded piece, thanks again for sharing your insights in this blog post with us 🙂
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Hi Matt, thank you for your kind words. I’d be interested to know your thoughts on the ISA process as you begin to come into contact with them. I find them useful in terms of supporting our students with later deadlines and specific requirements (such as not asking specific students to speak in class / questioning them if they are late) but find that the recommendations are often over generalised. I’ve found it helps to discuss with the student in person to find out which aspects are actually useful for them. Something that I have considered since embarking on the IP unit is how many students may not actually seek support from our Disability services – in the same way a student may feel uncomfortable disclosing information in a survey. I wonder whether there is a sense of shame or anxiety in seeking this type of support. In other words, I now worry, even though we sign post often to these services, that many of ours students don’t make use of the support.
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Hi Rachel,
The perspective of representation that you address is a really helpful place for me to think from, and one that I’d overlooked. I also appreciate being invited into a discipline-specific approach, and coming to a more practical place departing from lived experience.
I noticed throughout the blog you re-centre student experience for the reader, and your question of “who gets left out of the frame?” brings to mind the parallel question of “perception” which Mei Hu draws attention to in her essay on the experience of Chinese international students in UK Higher Education.
Your attention to ISAs and their limitations resonates with my experience and frustrations around systemic and bureaucratic limitations.
When you mention the imbalances around asking students to justify their needs made me think of Aruna D’Souza’s book, Imperfect Solidarities, where she draws on Edouard Glissant’s thinking to describe a right to opacity as a necessary defence against extractive colonial and hegemonic practices.
The point you end on around belonging resonated too, and made me think about some of the work we’ve done on Design for Art Direction using Nonviolent Communication methods, as well as the work of bell hooks.
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback. I really appreciate the references you’ve shared. I’ll definitely take the time to check out Mei Hu’s essay and Aruna D’Souza’s Imperfect Solidarities – both sound incredibly relevant and thought-provoking in the context of this work.
I also wanted to thank you for bringing up Nonviolent Communication, both in this feedback and in a previous workshop. Your mention really stayed with me, and as a result, I’ve signed up for NVC training with the view to integrating it more intentionally into the design of my intervention. I’m excited about its potential in fostering more inclusive and compassionate student interactions.
Thanks again. I’ve found your reflections and encouragement incredibly helpful.
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Hi Rachel,
Thank you so much, I really enjoyed reading this post. I loved the photography analogy you used; framing and cropping as a way to think about accessibility felt very relevant. It really got me thinking about perspective, and how, without collaboration with diverse positions, issues of accessibility can so easily be unintentionally “cropped out.”
I also appreciated the specific examples you shared from your teaching, like offering materials in different formats and creating space for inclusive discussions. Your point about the role of ISAs and the challenges around disclosure really stood out to me. When support depends on students disclosing their needs, it can end up putting the pressure back on them.
This point reminded me of Sara Ahmed’s idea of diversity work, as the embodied effort individuals make to navigate and transform institutions. When accessibility relies on disclosure, it places the weight of institutional change on those already carrying the burden.
It also made me think of Ahmed’s What’s the Use?, where she explores the concept of queering use, as disrupting normative expectations around utility and function. This feels relevant when thinking about how we might reimagine “professionalism” in the classroom, as something more flexible, responsive, and grounded in care and access.
Ahmed, Sara. (2012). On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life. Duke University Press.
Ahmed, Sara. (2019). What’s the Use? On the Uses of Use. Duke University Press.Thanks again for sharing!
Best,
Ella-
Hi Ella,
I really appreciate you drawing connections to Sara Ahmed’s work, especially the idea of diversity work as embodied effort. Your point about how the burden of disclosure can shift responsibility back onto students is so important, and something I continue to reflect on in my own practice. I’m particularly interested in how we might ease that burden through proactive, inclusive design rather than reactive support.
Thank you too for the references to On Being Included and What’s the Use? The idea of queering use to challenge and expand ideas of professionalism is especially compelling, and I’m keen to explore how that might inform more flexible, care-driven approaches in the classroom.
Thank you for your generous feedback!
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