4
sustaInaBlE FashIon : a handBooK For Educators
IntroductIon
Fashion education around the world uses different
terminology to describe teaching staff and the institutions
where courses are taught. The length and types of courses
and qualifications also vary and not all countries offer the
same subjects within fashion education. These variations
have meant that it is impossible to use consistent language
throughout this fashion educators’ manual. To compensate,
this article compiled by experts in each country, is intended
to distinguish the different terminology and clarify the
systems.
a. What is the common term used by educational
institutions in your country for teaching professionals
(e.g. lecturer, tutor, teacher, educator, etc.)? Please state
at which level of education these terms are commonly
used.In the United Kingdom (UK), teacher is used in schools and
lecturer and tutor are both terms commonly used in Further
Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE). Educator is
usually only used in abstract or theoretical texts.
In the United States, individuals in charge of instruction
at colleges and universities are generally referred to as
instructors or professors, depending on their educational
achievements and/or relationship with the institution.
Instructors are assigned to teach certain classes and their
primary role is teaching. Instructors may or may not have
education beyond the undergraduate/baccalaureate degree
level, but increasingly they do hold a master’s degree
at minimum. They may be hired to teach one class or a
number of classes. Professors teach but typically have
additional responsibilities, including research or other
forms of scholarship where new knowledge is created
and disseminated, as well as services that contribute to
governing their unit or university. Professors almost always
hold a terminal degree, which for the apparel/fashion field
is a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. Some may hold
a terminal degree from another field (e.g. some apparel
design faculty hold the Master of Fine Arts degree, some
professors may hold a Doctor of Education (EdD) degree.
In Dutch HBO (Hoger Beroeps Onderwijs) schools, which
teach at the polytechnic level, the term lecturer is used for
teaching professionals.In Austria, the terms lecturers and teachers are used at
school level. Professors, lecturers, visiting professors at
university level (baccalaureate).In Polish vocational schools and technical schools, the term
teacher is used. In universities and colleges it’s lecturer and
tutor (but not often). The distinction between universities,
colleges and other schools offering higher education is a bit
more complicated in Poland, but for all of them we usually
say lecturer. Educator is not used very much. It relates
mostly to teacher trainers (people who train teachers).b. What terms are used to describe the educational
institutions that offer fashion related courses (e.g.
university, college, etc.)?In the UK, there are no rules to this nomenclature: fashion
related courses can exist at both further education and
higher education levels. Most institutions at HE level are
called universities, but there are some art and design
specific centres that are called Specialist Arts Institutions.
Some of these Specialist Arts Institutions are HEI’s (higher
education institutions), e.g. Arts Institute Bournemouth; and
some are FEIs (FE institutions), e.g. Cleveland College of
Art and Design, Leeds College of Art and Design. Most FE
institutions are called colleges. [Editor’s note: Some further
educational institutions offer higher education.]In the United States, many fashion related degrees are
obtained through universities, which prioritize both
research and teaching, and offer degrees in a broad range
of disciplines and at varied levels (e.g. bachelor’s (BA),
master’s (MA), and doctorate). Universities are comprised
of colleges that focus on a narrower range of disciplines.
For example, the University of Delaware is comprised
of seven colleges (e.g. College of Arts and Sciences,
Lerner College of Business). A college that is not part
of a university generally focuses on a narrower range of