Co-designing a jewellery curriculum

Two researchers from the creative arts have come together in a conversational encounter to explore the educational legacy of Ann O’Donnell (1933-2019). O’Donnell was a jewellery designer, maker, entrepreneur and educator working in Leeds, UK during the late 1950s until 1993. During the time of O’Donnell’s employment in an art college, its archivists and librarians did not collect many papers, curricula or resources made by women educators, who often had part-time roles. This resulted in their contributions to the education field remaining invisible. In order to preserve O’Donnell’s legacy, conversations between the two researchers captured the pedagogic knowledge created by her experience and practice in creating a jewellery curriculum with her students. As O’Donnell was working at a significant time for the development of vocational qualifications in the UK (1970s-1990s) the conversation revealed O’Donnell’s pragmatism in interweaving a liberal and vocational education for the benefit of her students.