Students’ practice and identity work at UAL: Year 2 student experiences, Year 2 report of a 4-year longitudinal study for the University of the Arts London

When students are absorbed in their work, they: experiment, develop idiosyncratic processes, become fluent about their practice, often collaborate with others within and outside their course, and are conscious of their own long-term personal development.

But a range of factors can inhibit, interrupt or propel this absorption and its creative potential. These factors are explored: they lie within the university, college and course structures (including relationships with staff), and with the resources that students are able to draw upon from family and social networks.