Integrating Performing Arts Like Music Into Education Fosters Inclusive And Equitable Learning

Dr. Sharon Tonner-Saunders, Lecturer at the University of Dundee and a renowned expert in Performing Arts education, visited India as part of the British Council’s GREAT Talks series.

With a focus on leveraging music, drama, and art to connect and engage young people across diverse cultures, Dr. Tonner-Saunders shared her insights on the transformative power of the Performing Arts.Her sessions aimed to foster collaboration and inclusivity, aligning with the British Council’s mission to promote intercultural understanding and innovation in education.

In an exclusive interview with Loudest.in, Dr. Sharon Tonner-Saunders discusses how integrating Performing Arts and music into education enhances learning and fosters inclusivity.

Here are edited excerpts:

Q1.How do you see the Performing Arts contributing to intercultural understanding and fostering inclusivity among young learners across diverse cultural contexts?

The Performing Arts provide a powerful platform for exploring diverse cultural narratives, enabling young learners to develop a deep appreciation for different traditions and perspectives. What makes the Performing Arts particularly unique is their ability to transcend linguistic barriers, as they are often conveyed through non-verbal mediums such as movement, music, and visual expression. This universality fosters empathy and mutual understanding, as young learners engage with stories and experiences from cultures beyond their own.

By creating opportunities for collaborative learning across geographical and temporal boundaries, the Performing Arts help dismantle stereotypes and nurture a sense of global community. The British Council has long championed initiatives that promote intercultural dialogue, and programmes such as GREAT Talks exemplify how the Performing Arts can bring young people together to celebrate diversity while recognising their shared humanity.

Q2.Your project Voices of the World has garnered global recognition. Can you share its key impact on young people’s learning and how it facilitates cross-cultural collaboration?

Voices of the World has had a strong impact on young people’s learning due to broadening their minds through taking the world to their classrooms and their classrooms to the world.  Due to the project being a ‘real’ project, rather than information sourced online or from books, young people’s motivation and engagement to learn about other cultures has reportedly increased due to feeling part of a community where they are a global learner alongside being an individual with a cultural identity.  My project enables cross-cultural collaboration through the use of music and Makaton to enable young people to preserve their linguistic identities and create partnerships with their global peers.

The project’s innovative use of music and Makaton ensures accessibility for diverse learners, enabling them to communicate across linguistic divides. This inclusive approach preserves and celebrates linguistic identities while creating meaningful partnerships between young people across the globe.

Q3.In what ways can integrating music, art, and drama into traditional education systems create equitable platforms for students with diverse learning styles?

Integrating the Performing Arts into traditional education systems has the potential to create truly inclusive and equitable learning environments. The Performing Arts is a medium that engages multiple intelligences to enable children to learn through different styles of learning. It also develops young people’s confidence to become confident to express themselves. Performing Arts also enables young people to develop their social and emotional well-being, which is very important.

Q4.With the evolving role of Performing Arts in education, how can educators overcome challenges and build confidence in embedding these approaches into their curricula?

Start small and start gradually is the starting point.  Educators do not need to be experts in the Performing Arts to integrate these subjects into their curriculum. I would suggest educators first learn about the power of the Performing Arts in education to develop their knowledge of this area. This will hopefully breakdown some misconceptions.  Collaborating with Performing Arts specialists for initial advice and support can help build confidence, but it is crucial for teachers to take ownership of these tools rather than relying solely on external experts. Platforms like Voices of the World offer guidance, resources, and a supportive community to help educators navigate this journey.

Q5.Interdisciplinary learning often bridges different fields and perspectives. How do global partnerships, such as the ones facilitated by the British Council, help in preserving linguistic and cultural identities through Performing Arts?

Global partnerships, like those facilitated by the British Council, through initiatives like the GREAT Talks provide invaluable opportunities for intercultural exchange through the Performing Arts. By bringing young people together on shared platforms, these initiatives allow participants to showcase their cultural heritage—both past and present—while engaging with peers from diverse backgrounds.

Intercultural projects that are shared with a wider audience provide a platform for young people to showcase their cultural heritage from the past and present.  Many intercultural projects help develop English as an additional language, however, my project promotes preserving linguistics of many cultures to make young people aware of the richness of each language and to develop an understanding of multilingualism. Interdisciplinary learning through intercultural projects also provides meaningful learning that is connected rather than each subject area being taught in silo.

Q6.What long-term changes do you envision in educational practices as more institutions begin to embrace Performing Arts as a core element of teaching and learning?

If educators developed an understanding of the power of the Performing Arts, there would possibly be a shift to a more holistic education where they are aware of emotional intelligence and use a multimedia approach to learning. Through the Performing Arts, educators will possibly allow young people to be creative and share their knowledge and understanding through the Arts rather than through traditional mediums.  In a world where many humans may outsource many intellectual and creative activities to Artificial Intelligence, it is important to ensure that young people are provided with opportunities to appreciate the human aspect of learning and creating and that their wonderful cultural heritages are preserved by humans in live performances rather than only become online videos of the past. 

Performing Arts offer a space for young learners to explore their cultural heritages and share their unique voices through live, human-led performances—an irreplaceable experience that cannot be replicated by digital mediums alone. At initiatives like GREAT Talks, I have had the honour to contribute and demonstrate how creativity, collaboration, and cultural preservation can shape the future of education.