Creating a Meaningful Music Curriculum for Students With Disabilities

Abstract

When teaching students with disabilities, it is important for music teachers to consider the functionality of the skills taught and learned beyond the music classroom. In special education, a curriculum centered on the life-long skills important for students to be independent in their communities is called a “functional curriculum.” Before considering how to adapt a traditional curriculum for students with disabilities, music teachers can used the ideas based in functional curriculum to develop a functional music curriculum, ensuring that both students with and without disabilities are learning the skills to engage in life-long music experiences.