Schoolbooks and inclusive teaching. An Action Research conducted in Italy

The UN Agenda 2030 urges States to implement equitable and inclusive education. Inclusive learning is based on adapting times, spaces, strategies and materials. Among the latter elements, the school manual is a primary tool for sharing knowledge and encouraging moments of participation and interdependent cooperation between students. Furthermore, this teaching aid is configured as a cornerstone of home study moments. It constitutes a solid basis for learning content and personal reinterpretation of what has been learned. The problem of accessibility of the school manual is broad, and it concerns many students. The Italian Dyslexia Association, in partnership with the Italian Publishers Association, also implements, based on a specific request from the parents of the students, adjustments to the school book to make it compatible with the compensatory tools certified in the Personalized Educational Project in Italy called PDP. The phenomenon becomes wider by considering the needs of pupils with autism spectrum disorder, some of whom have good reading skills but do not understand the text if there is no adequate iconographic equipment to clarify the abstraction of the language. Moreover, some students of foreign origin also experience difficulties understanding texts due to a linguistic disadvantage not appropriately supported by visual aids and glosses. Furthermore, the same need emerges in the support of students with hearing disabilities who require accurate subtitling, unambiguous images and transcriptions of audio tracks. In light of these training needs, it is necessary to understand if there are different levels of inclusiveness between the various editorial products and, in addition, what tools could guide teachers in selecting the most suitable and accessible textbooks.