Students with special educational needs in the music classroom. Experience and teacher training in inclusive education

Abstract

The incorporation of students with special educational needs in the music classroom is an important challenge for specialist teachers. This research focuses on the perspective of music specialists in all their aspects: general education, conservatory, state schools and university. This work’s objectives are to establish what experience and training in inclusive education teachers have, to quantify the skills their students acquire and to establish teachers’ perception of their training needs in this regard. The sample comprises a total of 94 specialist music teachers from the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). It is a mixed study with selective and cross-sectional design. The data collection used an ad hoc questionnaire submitted to expert assessment. The questionnaire has three sections: one on socio-demographic aspects; another on skills acquired in the music classroom, which uses a Likert-type scale; and a final qualitative one that investigates practices, attitudes and improvements in teacher training. This work concludes that there is an evident need for training to provide better attention to students with special educational needs, who are increasingly present in music classrooms. Participants agree on the need for ongoing training to incorporate up-to-date and effective resources.