Special Education and Inclusive Practices in the AFAM System: the Opera VR Educational Project in Italian Music Conservatories

Authors

  • Giuseppe Sellari University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome (Italy)
  • Alessandra Montali Conservatory of Music G. Puccini, La Spezia (Italy)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7346/sird-1S2025-p30

Keywords:

innovative teaching, inclusion, virtual reality, music history, opera

Abstract

The paper offers a reflection on the perspectives of special pedagogy and the evolution of inclusive models within the Higher Education System for Art, Music and Dance (AFAM) in Italy. Starting from an analysis of the theoretical foundations of educational inclusion and the transformative role of special pedagogy, the authors explore how the intersection of the arts, immersive technologies, and pedagogy can create new accessible and meaningful learning environments. Within this framework, the project Opera VR – Virtual Learning and Research Hub, developed as part of the PNRR MTNT initiative, is presented as an immersive and modular environment designed to foster active learning, personalized pathways, and interdisciplinary integration. The project involves a network of Music Conservatories and Fine Arts Academies and is structured around specific learning paths for university students and schoolchildren. Through blended methodologies and inclusive strategies, Opera VR aims to promote artistic, cognitive, and metacognitive skills, in a perspective of empowerment of diversity and transformation of the AFAM educational system. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for an evidence-based approach to fully harness the potential of immersive technologies in support of equitable and personalized education.

Author Biography

Alessandra Montali, Conservatory of Music G. Puccini, La Spezia (Italy)

Alessandra Montali Degree in Literature and PhD in Musicology (University of Bologna), Diploma in Piano.
Professor of Music History at the Giacomo Puccini Conservatory in La Spezia, Italy. Affiliated
professor at Florida Atlantic University (USA). Member of the Doctoral College in History, Criticism, and Conservation of Cultural Heritage at the University of Padua, she is also a member of the National Doctoral College in Artistic Research on Musical Heritage (DIN), where she also serves as coordinator of the TIM Curriculum - Immersive Technologies Applied to Music.

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Published

2025-12-18

How to Cite

Sellari, G., & Montali, A. (2025). Special Education and Inclusive Practices in the AFAM System: the Opera VR Educational Project in Italian Music Conservatories. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, 030–039. https://doi.org/10.7346/sird-1S2025-p30

Issue

Numero speciale

Section

Studies

Categories

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Copyright (c) 2025 Giuseppe Sellari, Alessandra Montali

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