Inclusive Education in the Context of Digitalization: Universal Design for Learning, Co-Teaching and Educational Adaptations as Factors of Student Well-Being

Abstract

The article substantiates an integrated approach to inclusive education in the context of digitalization, in which Universal Design for Learning (UDL), co-teaching, educational accommodations and modifications, digital accessibility, and interdisciplinary psychological and pedagogical support are treated as interconnected mechanisms for ensuring student participation, academic achievement, and well-being. The relevance of the study is determined by the contradiction between the rapid diffusion of digital technologies in schools and the uneven readiness of educational environments, digital resources, and professional teams to respond to learner variability, including the needs of students with special educational needs. The purpose of the article is to theoretically substantiate and structure a model of an inclusive educational process that combines proactive barrier removal through UDL, collaborative planning and co-teaching, individually appropriate accommodations and modifications, and criteria of digital accessibility and student well-being. The methodological framework integrates the social model of disability with competence-based, systems, activity-based, and learner-centred approaches. Analytical-synthetic, comparative, and conceptual modelling methods were applied. An integrative analysis of recent international and Ukrainian research, CAST UDL Guidelines 3.0, and the current Ukrainian regulatory framework was conducted. The study proposes a six-component model of inclusive education in a digital environment: (1) proactive universal design; (2) accessible digital content and technologies; (3) co-teaching and distributed professional responsibility; (4) a continuum of accommodations and modifications; (5) interdisciplinary support and participation monitoring; and (6) student well-being as a criterion of inclusion quality. The analysis demonstrates that digitalization acquires inclusive potential only when technology does not replace pedagogical design but supports multiple means of engagement, representation, action, and expression. Co-teaching is interpreted not as the physical presence of two adults in the classroom but as shared responsibility for planning, instruction, assessment, and reflection. Accommodations are positioned as individualized responses that should complement, rather than substitute for, proactive universal design, while modifications require explicit decisions concerning expected learning outcomes. The practical value of the proposed model lies in its applicability to lesson planning, support-team meetings, audits of digital learning materials, selection of accommodations, and evaluation of inclusive environments using indicators of access, participation, belonging, autonomy, emotional safety, and learning outcomes.