Inclusive Music Education for Students with Disabilities: A Mini Review

Abstract

Inclusive music education has gained increasing attention as part of broader efforts to ensure equitable access to education for students with disabilities. However, persistent tensions remain between formal access and meaningful participation in music learning contexts. This mini review adopts a structured narrative review approach to synthesise recent literature on the conceptual, pedagogical, and technological developments shaping inclusive music education. The review identifies three dominant orientations within the field: special education approaches, inclusive mainstream practices, and transformative disability-informed perspectives that challenge ableist assumptions in music pedagogy. In addition, it critically examines the role of policy frameworks, teacher preparedness, and emerging innovations such as Accessible Digital Musical Instruments and Universal Design for Learning. Findings indicate that while inclusive music education holds significant potential in fostering participation, identity formation, and social engagement, its implementation remains uneven due to systemic constraints, limited pedagogical translation, and insufficient teacher preparation. This study argues that inclusive music education should move beyond accommodation toward a reconceptualisation of musical ability, pedagogy, and participation. By synthesising fragmented perspectives into a coherent analytical framework, this review contributes to advancing a more critically informed and practice-oriented discourse in inclusive music education.