Educational Organizations, Diversity, and Digital Technologies: Examining Inclusion and Exclusion

Hammer, Svenja

Educational organizations play a key role in shaping participation, equality, and opportunity in society. Through their structures, policies, and practices, they can challenge and reproduce social in/equalities. Processes of inclusion and exclusion influence how categories such as dis/ability, gender, ethnicity, and age are understood and experienced, and how they intersect.

These educational experiences are increasingly shaped by digital technologies. While they can enhance accessibility, participation, and inclusion, they may also reproduce or intensify existing inequalities.

This stream explores how organizational practices affect individuals and groups who are often positioned in disadvantaged social categories. Educational institutions contribute to inequalities in educational outcomes, participation, representation, and access to opportunities. Exclusion from education can limit social participation and future life chances, reinforcing broader patterns of inequity.

The stream examines how inclusion and exclusion are produced and sustained within educational organizations and how these processes affect diverse stakeholders. We welcome contributions that investigate barriers to participation, mechanisms of exclusion, and strategies for creating more equitable and inclusive educational environments.

The stream welcomes contributions addressing questions such as:

Who is affected by exclusionary practices in educational organizations, including early childhood education and care settings, schools, colleges, universities, and other educational programs?
In what ways do exclusionary practices impact students, educators, families, and other educational stakeholders?
How are exclusionary practices enacted, maintained, and reproduced within educational organizations?
What strategies, policies, and interventions can be developed to challenge exclusionary practices?
How can digital technologies be leveraged to promote inclusion, accessibility, and equitable participation in education and training?