Julia Barela
Julia is a PhD student at the University of Southampton, where she is an Innovation and Social Impact Scholar. She is researching the intersections between social class, music, and education, using English secondary schools as a case study. The outcomes will include both the dissertation and a set of recommendations for the UK government on making music education more equitable and accessible. Her study examines student attitudes towards music, classroom content, challenges faced by secondary music teachers, and the teaching methods they choose to employ. She is in the process of visiting up to eight different secondary schools, split evenly between the state and independent sectors. You can watch Julia present her research here.
Julia teaches on various modules at the university, including the music department's Music Education and Social Justice module. She holds a long-term ambition to abolish tuition fees in England, and her other interests include research surrounding immigrant experiences, feminism and capitalism. Julia is always happy to talk; you contact her on j.e.barela@soton.ac.uk or via her website, https://juliabarelaphd.wordpress.com/