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With the arrival of various assistive technologies (ATs) such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality and others, we can enhance support in a classroom with special educational needs students. The role of teachers in the new era will be switched to finding ways to develop the full potential of all students, rather than traditionally classified dull tasks, e.g. filling out forms, physical observation of children's behaviour etc. This chapter focuses on elaborating how AT can help to improve the efficiency of special education in the future, and how schools should restructure to accommodate this disruptive change to ease teaching in a classroom with a diverging group of students.

The world is changing rapidly and unexpectedly. COVID-19 is a warning sign that future generations need to be prepared for the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world where more complex situations remain to be seen. Students from all walks of life should have equal access to quality education that can equip them with skills to cope with new challenges. Although the inclusion of students with special needs in Thailand has allowed them to have academic and social interaction with non-special needs students in higher education institutions, little is known regarding how COVID-19 has impacted them and how they have navigated online learning. What are the learning challenges that college students with special needs face? Digital learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic can be an even more significant challenge for students with special needs. However, some of them may feel online learning is a lifeline and a nice learning accommodation. Is it possible that they may want to continue to stay in remote accommodations, even if face-to-face classes resume? Would any of the practices return to normal and be fruitful for the VUCA world? Using data collected through in-depth interviews, this chapter identifies learning challenges confronting special-needs college students through the lens of a right-based approach and how inclusive digital learning can turn these challenges into opportunities and help these students flourish in a VUCA future. This chapter begins with a brief historical background of inclusive education policy in Thailand's higher education institutions. The chapter then, using a case study of KU, Thailand, identifies and discusses existing challenges and problems currently facing special needs learners and analyses how universities can help them to deal with and overcome such challenges. Finally, the chapter discusses the opportunities and challenges of how inclusive digital learning can play a pivotal role in elevating the learning experience and outcomes of Thai college students with special needs in the VUCA World.

With the increasing number of refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand, the unfamiliar living and educational environments are barriers and challenges for immigrant children in inclusive schools. This is because schools are not well equipped to respond to the challenges faced by these children and their parents. At the same time, on the students' side, their parents are grappling with unfamiliar educational and social systems, as well as a language barrier. Although inclusion has been defined by the international declaration, The Salamanca Statement on Special Needs Education, 1994, to ensure access to quality education for all children, national inclusion policies are still only slowly incorporating children from different linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. This study is based on VUCA circumstances and aims to find out what the perceptions of teachers and marginalised students are about the future of inclusive education. A case study was used as an approach to obtaining information in a primary school in a province in the Northeastern region of Thailand with a high density of immigrant workers. Results of the study indicate that changes must be made by policymakers, stakeholders, schools and teachers if classrooms with marginalised students can be truly inclusive.

Inclusion has gained incremental attention in Lebanon especially since it has been associated with quality education, being the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) as declared by the United Nations. Efforts have been made by public and private institutions to ensure that learners with disabilities get inclusive education, and progress has been noted despite several challenges further aggravated by the pandemic and the financial crises. This chapter presents a close examination at the condition of inclusion in Lebanon as it thoroughly studies all elements of inclusion with the assessment of challenges alongside the discussion of feasible solutions.

Many students drop out of primary school, and those who finish are less prepared to live independently because of limited education outcomes and little academic preparation to help them succeed in life in Lesotho. The adjunct of COVID-19 added to these challenges but also showed possibilities for future inclusion in Lesotho. This chapter refers to the Kingdom of Lesotho Voluntary National Review on implementing the 2030 Agenda Report to discuss progress made on inclusive education in Lesotho. The chapter also explores barriers to inclusion, disparities affecting inclusion and equity, and future considerations to address challenges and enhance inclusion practices.

Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), based on the principle of leaving no one behind, ensures that equitable and quality education, as well as inclusion, are available to all, promoting opportunities for those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable including persons with disabilities (PWDs). The Indonesian government has demonstrated a commitment to the rights of PWDs in education. In this chapter, the history, the present, and the future of inclusive education will be presented following the master plan for the development of inclusive education. Strategies including accessibility, reasonable accommodation, and collaboration will be discussed as well as the challenges in implementing inclusive education.

Students with special needs in Indonesia can access education in either a special school or an inclusive school. In both systems, there are still many obstacles to ensuring the quality education for students. During the current pandemic crisis, these obstacles are getting worse. Some dramatic changes have been applied to national policies and daily learning practices at schools. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the current situation of special and inclusive education in Indonesia. The study will be focussed on the ideology about special and inclusive education development, the strength and weaknesses of inclusive and special education programmes, and the strategies or models with which the Indonesian educational system will proceed in a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world.

The birth of a non-racial and democratic South Africa in 1994 created great anticipation that society and education operating under the Apartheid government would be transformed. Education policies and education guidelines based on the South African Constitution now acknowledge the rights of all students from diverse backgrounds and abilities to access quality regular education. Against the background of Goal 4 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, this chapter analyses initial and more recent policies and implementation guidelines to develop an equitable inclusive education system to identify barriers to inclusive education and possible levers for change.

When it comes to special education, teachers are the cornerstone of children's development. A special education teacher (SET) who possesses correct perceptions to teach students with special education needs (SENs) in inclusive education and ability to maintain balance that works best for children with physical and emotional disabilities are expected to thrive. This requires several skills that are entirely different from traditional teaching, often depicted as ‘chalk and talk’ – keeping control and making decisions about what is the right thing to do for students. This trait is just an illustration of many myopic characteristics that will no longer work well for both SENs and regular students. An effective SET in the twenty-first century must be able to adapt and respond rapidly to the changing society and is more likely to be open to learning. These character qualities are typical among millennials and Generation Z or Alpha, who are more prone to be digital native, that will future-proof them in the upcoming era of ubiquitous technology. As such, new generation SETs are significant precursor to create a new special education system that responds well to the challenges encountered by the pervasive future ahead.