Teaching–learning resources and supports in the music classroom: Key aspects for the inclusion of visually impaired students

Abstract

Currently, there still exist barriers that prevent a satisfactory connection between music education and the visually impaired population. This is due to the teachers’ lack of preparation and their general ignorance of the functioning of the Braille music system, the materials, specialist support, and other tools needed for the inclusion of this type of students in the classroom. In order to familiarize the educational community with the resources and specialist support involved in inclusive music teaching, we conducted and analysed semi-structured interviews with the following persons: (1) the music specialists at the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles Resource Centre (Spanish National Organization of the Blind); (2) a music teacher who had two visually impaired students in her classes; and (3) a blind student who studied music and had specialized in piano performance. The contributions made by this article consist of the categorization of the different teaching–learning resources involved in inclusion, information on how specialist support can be provided to facilitate these resources, and the relationships between resources and specialist support taking into account the point of view of teacher as the main figure responsible for inclusion in the music classroom.