PROMOTING MUSIC LEARNING IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY: THE PERSPECTIVE OF MUSIC PROFESSIONALS

To promote access, participation, and success for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) in the Arts Education Programmes of Music (AEPM), we started an action research project in 2018. To this end, we have already carried out: initial awareness training for music education teachers; the characterisation of the child with CP that gave rise to the study; and three integrative literature reviews to find out the state of the art in this area. As a result of this work, there was a need to highlight the needs of professionals working with children with disabilities (hearing, visual, motor, intellectual, and communication) to improve their practices. To this end, interview scripts were drawn up and validated by professionals specialising in technology, music education, school inclusion, and health. Based on these scripts, we interviewed 14 music professionals who had already been working with children with disabilities in their classes between January 2021 and January 2022. These interviewees authorised the audio recording and processing of their interviews through informed consent. The interviews were transcribed and validated by the respective interviewees. The content was analysed using webQDA software. The results show that teachers are unaware of current methodologies and strategies for working with children with CP in the AEPM, as these children do not attend this type of education. In addition, teachers have little knowledge of their specific needs, and neither the knowledge nor the Assistive Technologies to facilitate these children's communication and participation in the AEPM. Finally, the results demonstrate the need to promote teacher training in this area and implement changes in educational policies to transform Artistic Music Education, and more specifically the AEPM, into an education for all.