Promoting Social Inclusion in Vocational Training Students with Disabilities: An Experience of Museum Education

The present contribution aims to illustrate the results of a pilot experience conducted at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia with the participation of CFP Simonetta Tosi in Rome, a vocational training centre addressed to people with disabilities. The educational path, realized within the pilot experience, aims to promote well-being, analytical skills, and the use of digital technologies in museum education contexts, and it is addressed to adult users with problems of social inclusion. The achievement of the aims of the pilot experience is pursued using inclusive and innovative learning methodologies: Object-based Learning (OBL) and Digital Storytelling (DST). OBL is increasingly adopted in both formal and informal education contexts, especially in terms of well-being and transverse skills promotion. The focus on the museum object facilitates the involvement of users and supports communication, analysis, and argumentation skills. DST allows people to express, understand, and articulate everyday experiences in a creative way. Through DST, museum users can connect with the territory in which they have situated, identifying different types of stories and telling them through digital devices. Moreover, DST is not simply a vehicle for increasing digital literacy, but also a learning methodology aimed at overcoming social barriers and increasing understanding between generations, ethnicities, and displaced groups. The results of the pilot experience underline a good level of well-being at the end of the learning activities, an improvement of sense of community and digital and basic skills promotion within participants.