Creative Learning and Development Fellowship Councillors - How We Can Help

For the RSA education is a crucial area of work, with one of our three main areas of research (Creative Learning and Development) focused on this topic. We are in a unique position to provide balanced and independent research outputs along with practical projects to develop education at all levels.

Education is hugely important to me personally and professionally so I’m delighted to have been appointed as one of the two new members of the Fellowship Council whose roles are dedicated to supporting the Creative Learning and Development (CLD) team (along with Alex Bell FRSA).

In the RSA’s recent membership survey a huge amount of Fellows expressed an interest in the RSA’s education work. I’m not surprised by this; education is something we all have first person experience of and whether that experience was positive, negative or ‘complicated’, it means that in general, most of us have an opinion on what ‘good’ education might look like.

Right now in the UK there are issues at all levels within the system - complex PISA results just published, impassioned debates on primary assessment, Further Education providers facing funding cuts and concerns about the Teaching Excellence Framework and the impact of Brexit on Higher Education to name but a few - and it seems the ideological gaps are widening in education, just as they are in politics.

As a thematic Fellowship Councillor it’s my role to engage and support fellows who wish to develop projects, networks or activities linked to our CLD work, and to represent the Fellowship in advising the RSA staff team and the Trustees on issues linked to this theme, so with this in mind, I’d like to encourage Fellows to contact me with ideas, views or queries linked to CLD and the RSA’s work in connection with it.

Whilst local representatives will also be able to support Fellows within their area, the more focused role of the thematic councillors is to help connect fellows and projects linked to each change aim, wherever they are in the world.

If you’re already a Fellow and need advice on setting up projects, connecting with other Fellows and linking in to the RSA’s wider work, please do get in touch with me via My RSA. If you’re not yet a Fellow and you share the RSA’s values and aims, please do consider applying to become a Fellow. You can find out more about this here.

For more on the Fellowship Council, how it works and how we can help, please see also this recent blog by Rod Hyde, Chair of the Fellowship Council.