A cross-cultural comparison of music education experiences and ambitions in two Spanish and English primary schools

This paper reports on a small-scale comparative study of music education provision in two Spanish and English primary schools. The study used questionnaires, interviews and observations to investigate the musical experiences of the children in the two schools, their ambitions for their musical futures, and the classroom practices and policy contexts that shaped these encounters with musical learning. Through thematic analysis and comparison of the data from the two schools, we examine music in children’s lives, music in the classroom, and musical ambitions and values, and consider how well the music curriculum serves the children in each setting. Our research shows the value of cross-cultural comparisons for raising fundamental questions about the purpose and provision of musical education, with wider implications for teachers and learners in these two countries and beyond.