CALL FOR PAPERS | Inclusive Technologies and Artificial Intelligence in Education

Posted on 2026-04-24

Aims and Scope of the Special Issue 

Developing an educational technology application that is inclusive from its conception is not a simple task. Such an initiative requires a multidisciplinary team of professionals who understand education from a broad and integrative perspective. More than merely adapting resources to users’ characteristics, it is essential that these resources are designed from the outset based on principles of adaptability, accessibility and multimodal support.

However, the most recent advances in the field of educational technology have not always effectively addressed digital inclusion. Similarly, initial teacher education curricula at universities still do not systematically incorporate this critical and inclusive view of technology (Sanz-Benito, Lázaro-Cantabrana & Grimalt-Álvaro, 2024). As a result, many university students fail to acquire the knowledge and skills required to fully exercise teaching in a digital world, despite the growing centrality of this issue.

At the same time, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an unavoidable reality. Rapid progress in areas such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Computer Vision (CV) has revolutionised the generation of accessible content. Tools developed by major technology companies—such as Google, Microsoft and Apple—already offer functionalities that enable the automatic creation of alternative content, including visual descriptions, captions, automatic transcription and text-to-speech conversion. Nevertheless, it is essential to recognise that accessibility must be embedded not only in the content produced, but also in the interfaces themselves and in the interaction processes with these tools. Recent studies highlight significant gaps in this dimension (Acosta-Vargas et al., 2024; Khansa & Achraf, 2024; Glazko et al., 2023).

Moreover, rather than reducing inequalities, AI has in some contexts exacerbated pre-existing forms of digital exclusion. As highlighted in the report by Gomez et al. (2024), significant disparities persist in relation to gender, geographical location and type of organisation. Data from the DivinAI project demonstrate the urgency of public policies aimed at compensating for these inequalities. After all, technology is neither neutral nor objective—and it will only contribute to democratic education if it is aligned with the values of citizenship, human rights and the regulatory framework of the European Union.

This thematic issue is part of the commitment assumed by almost all research centres in Educational Sciences in Portugal, including labDERE/CIIE and LE@D/UAb, to develop—through a cooperative approach—a cross-cutting line of research aimed at promoting a critical understanding of the educational and social implications of AI, as well as influencing AI design so that it better serves education. The same applies to scientific outputs derived from research conducted at the University of Extremadura on the use, applicability, relevance and future of AI, particularly in diverse and inclusive educational contexts that enable the achievement of educational equity and social justice.

In light of the above, this thematic issue aims to critically reflect on the following thematic axes:

  • Inclusive technologies, artificial intelligence and education
  • Artificial intelligence and digital inclusion
  • AI in education and assessment processes
  • Accessibility in AI-based educational tools

Contributions in the form of essays, analyses, case studies, literature reviews and empirical research addressing technology from an inclusive and critical perspective within the scope of AI applied to education are welcome. We hope that this thematic issue will serve as a space for dialogue, sharing and knowledge production on the role of digital technologies—especially those supported by AI—in strengthening diversity and educational inclusion.

References

Acosta-Vargas, P., Salvador-Acosta, B., Novillo Villegas, S., Sarantis, D. & Salvador-Ullauri, L. (2024). Generative Artificial Intelligence and Web Accessibility: Towards an Inclusive and Sustainable Future. Emerging Science Journal. 8. 1602-1621. 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-04-021.

Glazko, K. S. Yamagami, M., Desai, A, Mack, K. A., Potluri, V., Xu, X. & Mankoff, J. (2023). An Autoethnographic Case Study of Generative Artificial Intelligence's Utility for Accessibility. In Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 99, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1145/3597638.3614548

Gomez, E., Porcaro, L., Frau Amar, P., Vinagre, J. (2024). Diversity in Artificial Intelligence Conferences. An analysis of indicators for gender, country and institution diversity from 2007 to 2023. Joint Research Centre. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2024, doi:10.2760/796551, JRC137550. https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC137550

Khansa, C. & Achraf, O. (2024). Digital accessibility in the era of artificial intelligence—Bibliometric analysis and systematic review. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, (7). Timothy Arndt (Ed), Cleveland State University, US. DOI=10.3389/frai.2024.1349668

Sanz-Benito, I., Lázaro-Cantabrana, J. L. y Grimalt-Álvaro, C. (2024). La formación de competencias en inclusión digital en los grados de Educación Infantil y Primaria de las universidades españolas: una necesidad aún por cubrir. Educar, 60/2, 321-335.

 

Important Dates

  • Article submission deadline: 31 October 2026
  • Publication: August 2027

 

Submission Guidelines 

In accordance with the policies of the journal Education, Society & Cultures (ES&C), authors may submit manuscripts in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese. Contributions must be original, unpublished and must not be under review or submitted for publication in another journal. Review guidelines can be found at: https://www.up.pt/journals/index.php/esc-ciie/about/submissions

For further information about this special issue, please contact the guest co-editor Angélica Monteiro (armonteiro@fpce.up.pt).

 

About the Guest Editors

Prudencia Gutiérrez-Esteban
Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Sciences at the University of Extremadura. She has been awarded two recognised research periods by the Spanish National Agency for Scientific Research (2016 and 2022). Her research and scientific output are characterised by contributions in the areas of Teacher Education, Educational Technology, Gender and Education, and Innovation in Education, through her participation in a wide range of nationally and European-funded competitive research projects, research contracts, and the publication of scientific articles in nationally and internationally indexed journals and books. In addition, she has coordinated pedagogical innovation projects in Higher Education funded through competitive public calls and has coordinated and taught teacher education courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Manuela Francisco (Polytechnic of Leiria and Universidade Aberta / LE@D)
She holds a PhD in Distance Education and eLearning and a Master’s degree in eLearning Pedagogy. Her research focuses on inclusive eLearning, pedagogy and digital accessibility. She has worked as a Learning Designer and digital accessibility specialist at the Polytechnic of Leiria since 2007 and is a visiting lecturer at Universidade Aberta. She has been involved in several European projects (EduTech, RUN, ADLAB, EU4ALL), as well as national projects and working groups, acting as an expert in eLearning and digital accessibility, with numerous publications in these areas. She is an integrated member of the Distance Education and eLearning Laboratory (LE@D / UID 4372 / FCT) at Universidade Aberta, a collaborating member of the Centre for Studies in Education and Innovation (CI&DEI / UID 5507 / FCT) at the Polytechnic of Leiria, a member of the Accessible Portugal association, and was part of the review team for the Portuguese version of the WCAG 2.0.

Lúcia Amante (Universidade Aberta / LE@D) 
She holds a degree in Psychology and a Master’s and PhD in Educational Sciences. She is a professor at Universidade Aberta, in the Department of Education and Distance Learning (DEED). She is a member of the Distance Education and eLearning Laboratory (LE@D) at Universidade Aberta, where her research focuses on online education pedagogy, particularly on digital assessment of learning. She was a co-author of the Universidade Aberta Virtual Pedagogical Model.

Angélica Monteiro (CIIE, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto)
She holds a PhD in Education and a Master’s degree in Multimedia Education. She is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto. She is an integrated member of the Centre for Research and Intervention in Education (CIIE), where she co-coordinates the Digital Experimentation and Research in Education Laboratory (labDERE). Her research interests include digital inclusion, citizenship, curriculum, assessment and e-learning in Higher Education.