TAMARA ZAPPATERRA (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor of “Teaching and Special Education” at Department of Educational and Psychological Studies of University of Florence, where she is Dean's Delegate for students with disabilities, President of Master Degree Course “School leadership and Clinical Pedagogy” and Member of the Doctorate Board in “Quality of Education”.

She is Member of Center for Study and Research for Disability Issues (CESPD) of University of Florence.

From 2003 she is teaching “Special education” in Master Degree Course for Primary Teachers, in Master Degree Course “School leadership and Clinical Pedagogy” and in Postgraduate Course of Specialization for special-needs teachers, University of Florence.

Her scientific activity is directed in disabilities educational studies: evolution of handicap conceptualisation, Disability Culture, School inclusion of pupils with disabilities in mainstream classroom, Learning Disorders, Support Teacher Training, Inclusive Teacher Training. Play and disability. Since 2014 and currently she coordinates at University of Florence the Graduate Course promoted by the Ministry of Education "Teaching and psychoeducational methodologies for pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder" addressed to in-service teachers and educators.Since 2016 and currently she is member of the Scientific Committee for the methodological-educational research and innovation in the field of inclusion in the school of FIA - Italian Foundation for Autism, non-profit organization, a foundation sponsored by the Ministry of Education; Board Member of Italian Society of Special Education (SIPES).

She is Scientific Committee Member of Representative Board (on behalf of Italy) of European Agency for Development in Special needs Education (UE), (Decree of the Minister of Education n.18, 13/11/2012); member of the Scientific Committee of Minister of Education about Master Degree Courses on Teaching and Education in disability and special needs field (2011). She wrote, as a Member of Scientific Commitee of Minister of Education, the Decree n. 5669 (12.07. 2011, Minister of Education), implementing the Law 170/2010 about Learning Disabilities at school.Since 2015 and currently, as a Principal Investigator of educational area (of CESPD Unifi), has an interdisciplinary project for innovation of university teaching, aimed at finding methods and technological tools for students with Dyslexia. Since 2015 and currently she takes part in the European Project (Cost Action www.cost.eu/TD1309) “Play for Children with Disabilities (LUDI)”. In 2010-2013 she took part in the Research Project "Ambient and training environments. The school inclusion of students with disabilities" (in partnership with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Florence and the CESPD - Center for Study and Research for Disability Issues, University of Florence – Regione Toscana): role in the project: Principal Investigator of Educational Area. In 2013 she did a Research Stage about Learning Disabilities and Teaching in Special Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Boston (USA).In 2011 she did a Research Stage about Training of Teachers in Special Education, CEFES (Centre d'Etude et de formation pour l'education spécialisée), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles (Belgium). In 2010-2012 she took part in the Research Project of Minister of Education "From the ICF model design for inclusion”, with the research group of Special Education at the University of Florence.