Behaviour & Information Technology

Educational Immersion for All: Accessibility and Inclusion in eXtended Reality

Immersive technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), are increasingly being adopted in educational contexts to create engaging, interactive, and experiential learning environments. By enabling students to interact with digital content in three-dimensional, embodied and multisensory spaces, these technologies have the potential to transform traditional educational practices and support new forms of learning that are more active, contextualized, and collaborative. 

Recent research from the educational technology, Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), and eXtended Reality (XR) communities has explored the potential of immersive technologies to enhance learning experiences, highlighting their impact on engagement, motivation, collaboration, and experiential learning (De Back et al., 2023; Jiang et al., 2026). In parallel, accessibility and inclusive design research has emphasized the importance of incorporating accessibility principles into immersive environments to ensure that emerging technologies can support learners with diverse abilities and needs (Zhang et al., 2025; El Shemy et al., 2024; Soltiyeva et al., 2025).

Immersive technologies offer significant opportunities to promote inclusive and accessible education. When carefully designed, XR based learning environments can support a diverse range of learners by providing adaptive interfaces, multimodal content, and personalized learning experiences that accommodate different abilities, learning styles, and needs. 

However, despite their potential, many immersive learning applications are still developed without fully considering accessibility and inclusivity. Issues such as usability barriers, lack of accessible interaction modalities, and limited design guidelines can hinder the effective adoption of these technologies in inclusive educational settings. Ensuring that immersive technologies are designed with accessibility and inclusivity in mind is therefore essential to prevent the creation of new digital divides.

This Special Issue aims to explore how immersive technologies can be designed, implemented, and evaluated to promote equitable, inclusive, and accessible educational experiences. It seeks contributions that investigate the role of immersive technologies in supporting learners with diverse needs, including students with disabilities, neurodivergent learners, and individuals from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. The issue welcomes interdisciplinary research that integrates perspectives from Human–Computer Interaction, educational technology, accessibility research, learning sciences, and inclusive design. 

Authors are invited to submit articles that fall under topics such as, but not limited to:

●       Design and development of accessible and inclusive immersive learning and training environments

●       Inclusive design frameworks and guidelines for immersive educational technologies

●       Immersive technologies supporting students with disabilities (e.g., cognitive, sensory, motor, neurodevelopmental conditions)

●       Adaptive and personalized immersive learning and training experiences

●       Accessibility challenges and solutions in XR educational interfaces

●       Use of immersive technologies to support neurodivergent learners

●       Evaluation methods for accessibility, usability, and user experience in immersive educational systems

●       Immersive technologies for social skills training and behavioral learning

●       AI-driven adaptive systems in immersive learning environments

●       Multimodal and embodied interaction techniques for accessible XR learning

●       Immersive simulations for inclusive education and special education

●       XR technologies for experiential and collaborative learning in inclusive classrooms

●       Ethical, social, and accessibility implications of immersive technologies in education

We are interested in original and unpublished contributions such as research articles, empirical studies, case studies, experiments, and evidence-based methodological analyses will be considered.

 

11.    De Back, T. T., Tinga, A. M., & Louwerse, M. M. (2023). Learning in immersed collaborative virtual environments: design and implementation. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(8), 5364–5382. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.2006238

2.2.   Jiang, Y., Acheson, K., Bell, A., Smith, S. G., Ely, D., & Roberson, G. (2026). Learning by experience: using VR simulation for the intercultural competence development of manufacturing technicians. Human Resource Development International, 29(4), 784–812. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2026.2655460

3.3. Zhang, R., Wang, C., Guo, Y., & Liu, X. (2026). Could augmented reality technology help social skills learning in children with autism spectrum disorder when it’s just a hook? Behaviour & Information Technology, 45(11), 2487–2496. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2025.2584204

44. El Shemy, I., Jaccheri, L., Giannakos, M., & Vulchanova, M. (2024). Augmented reality-enhanced language learning for children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic literature review. Behaviour & Information Technology, 43(16), 4097–4124. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2024.2304607

55. Soltiyeva, A., Oliveira, W., Alimanova, M., Hamari, J., Gulzhan Kansarovna, K., Adilkhan, S., & Urmanov, M. (2025). Understanding experiences and interactions of children with Asperger’s syndrome in Virtual Reality-based learning systems. Interactive Learning Environments, 33(2), 1118–1140. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2024.2364250