In the context of inclusive education for all great attention has been recently paid to teacher education, as a pivotal element for the development of inclusive schools (Watkins & Agency Staff, 2012). It has been found, though, that most research focuses on teachers’ knowledge of inclusive practices (Kefallinou & Agency Staff, 2015), while fundamental components for the work of teachers, such as attitudes towards inclusion or soft skills, are less subject to experimental interventions (Murdaca, Oliva, & Costa, 2018; Sharma & Jacobs, 2016).

This interdisciplinary study combines the stated needs of teacher training towards inclusion with the transformative potential attributed by performative studies (Boyce-Tillman, 2009;) to the act of making music together. This potential is linked first to the concept of liminal space, defined as a safe space resulting from a suspension of roles, relationships and responsibilities of everyday life, that offers people the opportunity to experience new identities and modalities of interaction (Turner & Schechner, 1988). Then, it is sustained by the conceptualization and techniques of experiential learning, which considers artistic experiences as a precious formative opportunity, especially if paired with reflection, that is able to release its educational potential (Moon, 2012).

To make the performative experience fit the needs of teacher education, the context of the inclusive symphonic orchestra, as proposed by the Esagramma Method, was chosen for this study (Sbattella, 2006, 2013). This choice was due first to the inherently inclusive context that the orchestra can offer: each instrument has a different voice and a different way of experiencing work, but all the ways are valuable and necessary for the success of the common work. Then, playing in the orchestra is a relational act: listening and waiting is fundamental, parts must dialogue, voices interact with different tones and dynamics. Finally, the orchestral work has practices that are coherent with inclusive education: due to instrumental differences it is necessary to work differently with everyone, materials are different, the organization of work is commensurate with the needs of each musician, because each part is important for the success of the group. The second reason for choosing this approach was the specialization of the Esagramma Method in the involvement of non-experts in orchestral sessions, that is crucial for the present project. This latter capability brings the Esagramma Method even closer to inclusive education, for its re-orchestration of scores, its personalized attention to the instrumental competence of each student, and its mode of “structured improvisation” are particularly coherent with the principles of inclusive education for all (Cottini, 2017; Ianes, 2006)

Based on these assumptions, the purpose of this study is to describe in its complexity the experience, the process and the results of an experiential and reflective training proposed to a group of secondary all-subjects teachers based on the joining in an inclusive orchestra.

Stated that the research question is to describe the experience of this training in its complexity, the project is following a single case study design (Yin, 2018). The case is constituted by a group of 7 teachers, who work together in the first-grade secondary school “Via Graf” in Milan and have volunteered for the project. They teach Literature, Music, Art, Physical Education, and one of them is a Support Teacher. They are being involved in 9 lessons structured like this: 45 minutes of orchestra rehearsal (that is made possible with the strategies and materials of the Esagramma Method also if they do not have previous musical competence) and 75 minutes of reflective learning focused on reflexivity itself, observation of the session and of students, collaboration, inclusive strategies, differentiation of the material, leadership styles. These themes are being first observed and commented regarding the orchestral experience, of which they are fundamental features, then deepened and exercised in their role for education. A mixed method data collection is being held, using: - pre-post semi-structured interviews to the participants - pre-post structured interviews to their students - pre-post direct qualitative observation of actions implemented in class, analyzed through (Florian, 2014) conceptual framework - pre-post quantitative questionnaires about attitudes towards inclusion (Kielblock, 2018, in the Italian translation published in Vergani & Kielblock, 2021), and about soft skills (Cinque, 2017) - analysis of the course materials - analysis of the qualitative observations made by the équipe during the lessons - a final focus group with the participants developed by an external researcher. The use of different sources of data and of various instruments (both qualitative and quantitative) will help to give a multifaceted and rich picture of this training. The choice of the topics covered by the quantitative questionnaire was based on the potential attributed to the act of making music together by the musicological literature (Boyce-Tillman, 2009 for what concerns attitudes, while Kim, Reifgerst, & Rizzonelli, 2019; Rabinowitch, 2017 for soft skills). The qualitative interviews and the focus group were included to describe the experience from the point of view of the participants. The direct observation of the classwork and the structured interviews with the students were added then to triangulate the sources of description.

Based on the collected data, a comprehensive and complex description of the experience of the training will be possible, from the point of view of the participants, their students, and the researcher. Thus, this research will help clarify the potential interest of training teachers in the liminal context of an inclusive orchestra. It will also help focusing future research in the field of art-based experiential teacher education. Then, for what concerns the expected results of the training, based on the literature it might be expected in the participants an increasing of positive attitudes towards inclusion linked to a growth of self-efficacy and self-esteem; a greater intentionality in the development of inclusive strategies in the classrooms; a sharpening of observative and reflective competences; newly based collaborative strategies. The study will end in June 2021, so the results will be presented directly to the conference.

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