This article examines the state of world music education in secondary schools in Manchester, analysing school curricula and exam specifications alongside interviews conducted with teachers. World music occupies a significant position in music education at Key Stage 3, but its scope becomes progressively limited at higher levels. While teachers recognise the benefits of world music education for promoting cultural understanding and social inclusion, they struggle to maintain it throughout their programmes because of barriers related to examinations, teaching materials and school resources. This creates a dysfunctional learning trajectory that discourages students from studying music, particularly disadvantaging those from weaker socio-economic backgrounds. Nevertheless, teachers’ perspectives, often overshadowed by government policy, evidence strong aspirations to implement multicultural music education in practice.

本文探讨了曼彻斯特中学的世界音乐教育状况，分析了学校课程和考试规范以及对教师的采访。世界音乐在第三阶段的音乐教育中占有重要地位，但其范围在更高层次上逐渐受到限制。虽然教师认识到世界音乐教育对于促进文化理解和社会包容的好处，但由于考试、教材和学校资源方面的障碍，他们很难在整个课程中保持这种教育。这造成了一种功能失调的学习轨迹，阻碍了学生学习音乐，特别是对那些社会经济背景较弱的学生不利。然而，教师的观点常常被政府政策所掩盖，但却证明了在实践中实施多元文化音乐教育的强烈愿望。