Musical education for the deaf collective at the Julio César de Jesús Asencio lyceum of arts, during the 2024-2025 school year

Abstract

The inclusion of deaf individuals in music education in the Dominican Republic represents a pedagogical and social challenge, requiring the overcoming of sensory barriers and the implementation of innovative methodological strategies. Despite the enactment of legal frameworks such as the General Education Law 66-97 and Law 5-13, designed to protect the rights of people with disabilities, music instruction aimed at the deaf population remains an underexplored field in the country, potentially leading to the exclusion of this group. According to Lorenzo (2014), music is a universal form of expression that transcends linguistic and cultural barriers and is not reserved solely for hearing individuals. Through the application of techniques with a qualitative approach, the main challenge of this study is to explore the competencies that teachers possess for implementing music education with deaf students. In this context, it was observed, based on the applied instruments, that the majority of teachers have not had previous experience teaching music to people with hearing disabilities, as their foundational training has not included this type of specialized instruction. Despite these challenges, teachers express an interest in exploring alternative methods and receiving training, suggesting a potential path towards more inclusive pedagogical approaches.