Abstract:
Since the 1970s the Italian school has chosen the path of integration and inclusion of all male and female students, making difference its cornerstone. The education cannot but feed on diversity in order to be truly effective, in terms of building cultures and citizenship practices. In this direction, this paper intends, through qualitative and quantitative research, to understand how difference is perceived in a sample of primary and middle school students in the city of Rome (372 children). The ATDP scale was administered to the sample, before and after the 'Simone's Adventure' project. The data was enriched with the hermeneutic analysis of the comic strips produced by the classes. The project, promoted by the Italian Judo wrestling karate and martial arts federation (FIJLKAM) aimed to raise children's awareness of diversity and disability through a sports story. The data collected testify that after listening to the story and watching Simone's sporting activity, the perception of diversity evolves positively, reinforcing the idea that difference enriches and inhabits normality.