Tamsin Fisher

My research has adopted a pedagogical approach to investigating how self-care practices are learned and implemented into everyday life to improve and/or maintain well-being in young people. Working in collaboration with Keele Students’ Union and the Keele SU Students’ Activities Coordinator we are aiming to put self-care practices, specifically creative activities, into practice and develop weekly workshops that are accessible and free for all students and staff to participate. In the next 6 months I will begin to work with a number of community organisations outside of a university environment to implement accessible craft workshops.

The so-called “Crafternoons” introduce various crafts to staff and students, including bi-weekly crochet afternoons and other (mostly, but not exclusively fabric) crafts on alternate afternoons. The Crafternoons take place in the Student’s Union on a Friday afternoon, and all materials and teaching are completely free. Through various grants we have been able to secure, we are able to allow participants to take equipment home with them to try the activity for themselves before making an investment. I must note though, the materials are all very affordable, even for students! Some materials and equipment have been donated, others have been provided through a couple of funding streams, including the CIG. This collaboration has reached more than 50 students, and we’ve had almost 10 members of staff join the Crafternoons so far!

I have embedded myself within the Crafternoons, taking part, learning new skills myself, and beginning to teach my new skills to new comers each week whilst making detailed field notes of the workshops. Through conversations with participants and observations of the workshops, I am able to better understand how young people are learning new skills and using activities for their well-being. The next steps will involve speaking with those who have participated and digging deeper into finding out their motivations behind learning new skills and how they are able to implement self-care into their everyday lives with a positive impact on their well-being.