Features

Music education's workforce diversity problem

Head of Ealing Music Service and equity, diversity and inclusion lead for Music Mark, Yogesh Dattani outlines some of the causes behind the lack of diversity among the workforce and shares his thoughts on how they may be addressed.
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Music education in the UK has a diversity problem. A problem that is so widespread and deeply ingrained that the vast majority of teachers don't look like many of their pupils, and the very term ‘music’ is almost synonymous with one particular genre. While there is much to do to redress this imbalance – there are some positive trends and steps currently being undertaken – this article touches on three of the causes of this lack of representation and shares some thoughts on how I am currently engaged in addressing these in Ealing.

The many benefits of a diverse workforce are now well known; of which, first and foremost, is that it is good for understanding the needs, desires and aspirations of the children and young people that we are entrusted to support and nurture.

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