Alicia Vignali and Anna Moya share their Change Makers experience.
At the time of our research for the Change Makers project on classroom participation, a case of classroom hostility highlighted the importance of our research topic. During a workshop on how to conduct successful interviews, a female student, who had raised her hand to answer a question was brutally cut off by another student. The student exclaimed that the woman’s answer was redundant and asked the workshop leader to move on as we would otherwise not have the time to cover the planned workshop content. The interaction quickly escalated, while the woman defended her right to share her experience, the student who had hijacked the woman’s participation aggressively shouted: “Why should we listen to this master’s student in Anthropology!?”. Our focus group respondents shared several similar instances, which we briefly outline later in this blog. Thankfully, occurrences of this magnitude remain rare, although they confirm the need for qualitative investigation on classroom participation—specifically interrogating the gendered and racialised dimensions at play.
What is Change Makers?
Change Makers is a project led by the LSE Eden Centre, which encourages student-led group research on a topic of education at LSE. Students can come up with their own research topic like we did, or alternatively apply to investigate staff-proposed research ideas. Selected projects then receive funding to conduct 100 hours of independent research, with 15 hours of supervision and the chance to present and publish the findings in the LSE Change Makers gallery. If your research involves human participants, the Eden Centre also provides you with incentives to attract involvement, such as food and drinks for your interviewees or £10-£15 vouchers. Our guidance was very thorough from both the Eden Centre and our allocated supervisor. They organised workshops, provided individual feedback on our drafts, advice on how to think about the audience of our research, and helped us set out a realistic timeline for the completion of our project.
Are you thinking of applying?
The main lesson learned from our Change Makers experience is that 100 hours is a challenging timeframe to undertake ‘groundbreaking’ research, which is why you should be realistic in your choice of methodology, depth and breadth of research, and ambition for your contributions. The application process is competitive, and requires a thought-out research proposal, staff endorsement from a relevant stakeholder, and personal motivation. Feasibility of the project, research alignment, and academic and societal relevance are key points on which your research will be assessed. Make sure to attend the Change Makers information event, maybe even reach out to professors to help you find research ideas or communicate a coherent research proposal. Lastly, choose your team partner(s) wisely, as when deadlines approach, and pressure rises, you want reliable and communicative team-players to support you in finalising the research.
For anyone interested in gaining research experience and contributing to the betterment of students educational experiences, we highly recommend getting involved!
The highlights of our Change Makers research experience
An aspect we greatly appreciated of the programme was the opportunity to engage with a stakeholder, in our case, a professor from the Department of Government. This included several consultations, which culminated in a concrete list of agreed actions. In our case, our research findings were shared in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee meeting in order to think about ways to incorporate our study’s educational recommendations. With Change Makers, a structure is in place to ensure the research is shared effectively, with the aim of shaping educational policy.
Moreover, alongside producing a report detailing our findings and recommendations, we had the opportunity to present our work at a final presentation event followed by a Q&A session. It was a pleasure to hear others share their research on diverse and engaging topics, such as AI, and sexual education on campus, and to receive valuable feedback on our own project. For anyone interested in gaining research experience and contributing to the betterment of students educational experiences, we highly recommend getting involved!
Findings and recommendations of our research
The key takeaway from our research is that race and gender are significant factors in shaping classroom participation dynamics. A recurring theme in the focus groups is the perception that male students tend to speak more and for longer than their peers, with gendered disparities in confidence emerging as a central explanation for this dynamic. There is also a common perception that men often dominate discussions without being mindful of involving others or creating space for different voices. Racialised students also note lower levels of participation and express occasional feelings of discomfort in the classroom. Concerns about accents and language fluency play a significant role in shaping this experience. Many also expressed feeling self-conscious in predominantly white environments, which was particularly evident during certain discussions where they felt an added pressure to speak on behalf of their entire culture or country. An important direction for future research is the intersectional dimension, where racialised women are subject to the overlapping described dynamic. However, we were unable to explore this in depth due to the exploratory nature of our research and the small sample size.
Based on our findings, we developed a set of recommendations primarily directed at teaching staff, three of which we share here:
- When entering the classroom, it is important to observe dynamics by asking questions like, ‘Who speaks most, sets the tone, and leads?’—a crucial step in recognising the influence of gender and race.
- Give students some time to formulate their thoughts, allowing those who are non-native English speakers or less confident to feel more prepared.
- Establish an inclusive and welcoming tone from the first teaching setting, as this sets the foundation for active participation throughout the semester.
If you’re interested in finding out more, you can read our findings and list of recommendations in full in the final report.
Visit the LSE Change Makers website to find out more about the programme.
