Systematic review of technologies to collaborate and co-educate students with special educational needs and supporting their schooling

Abstract: Since 1994, the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) has been a vital part of the educational system (UNESCO, 1994). In the early 2000s, educational systems underwent reforms to accommodate this change, leading to increased communication and collaboration efforts between families and educational partners (Wehmeyer & Patton, 2017). These efforts are supported by the growth of digital technologies (Kefallinou et al., 2020; Zallio & Ohashi, 2022). Various models of family-professional collaboration, such as the "Sunshine Model" (Haines et al., 2017), "Whole School Model" (Lewallen et al., 2015), "Smart Holistic Model" (Hafidh et al., 2019), and polycentric approaches (Ebersold & Detraux, 2013), have been developed to involve the broader educational community.Despite the integration of technologies and the recognized importance of collaboration, limited research has been conducted on the potential of collaborative technologies in the educational context for SEN. However, relevant stakeholders endorse their use.To address this gap, a systematic review of international literature was conducted to identify collaborative technologies for the inclusion of SEN, along with their advantages and limitations. Out of 1360 identified articles, 10 were selected for analysis.These 10 articles focused on 8 different digital technologies that facilitate collaboration between families, education, and healthcare actors. The technologies were developed using various methodologies and aimed at different communication and collaboration objectives. Some technologies focused on communication related to student behavior or school activities, while others emphasized collaboration related to the student's inclusion project.We will present each of these technologies, their development context, as well as their advantages and limitations. We will hightlight their relevance to the different theoretical models applied to family-professional collaboration, and their contributions Finally, we will highlight the contributions of collaborative technologies to promoting SEN inclusion and reducing educational inequalities.

Keywords: collaborative technology, school inclusion, neudodevelopmental disorders

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004060

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