Generative AI Implications for Special Education: Learning, Teaching, and Professional Development

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly transforming educational practice, creating new possibilities for teaching, learning, assessment, and professional development. While interest in GenAI within education continues to grow, much of the existing research has focused on mainstream learning environments, leaving important questions about its role in special and inclusive education largely unexplored. For learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), GenAI has the potential to support accessibility, personalization, communication, and engagement, but it also raises concerns related to equity, ethics, safeguarding, and the evolving role of educators. As schools and institutions increasingly adopt AI-powered tools, there is a growing need to understand how these technologies can be implemented in ways that are both pedagogically effective and responsive to the diverse needs of learners. Examining the opportunities and challenges of GenAI in special and inclusive education is therefore essential for ensuring that technological innovation supports meaningful, equitable, and inclusive educational outcomes. Generative AI Implications for Special Education: Learning, Teaching, and Professional Development critically examines the role of GenAI in special education and inclusive learning environments, offering theoretically grounded, empirical, and practice-oriented perspectives. Bridging research, policy, and educational practice, this book offers coherent and responsible approaches to GenAI use in special and inclusive education systems. Covering topics such as differentiated assessment tools, real-time differentiation of instructional materials, and rights-based architectures, this book is a fundamental academic resource for graduate and doctoral students, special education teachers, inclusive education practitioners, learning support specialists, school leaders, education agencies, educational technology developers, policymakers, and more.

Assimina Tsibidaki is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the Department of Primary Education at the University of the Aegean (Greece). She specializes in the psychopedagogical aspects of special and inclusive education. Her research interests include learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), family support, home-school collaboration, social support networks, disability and technology, and representations of disability in children’s literature and cinema. She holds academic degrees from the Universities of Crete, the University of Manchester, and the University of the Aegean, and collaborates with international research institutions, such as UCL’s Sleep Education and Research Laboratory. Her academic output includes authored books, edited volumes, and numerous national and international journal articles, as well as regular participation in scientific conferences. She also serves on several scientific and editorial committees. In addition to her academic role, she serves as Academic Lead of the Psychological and Counselling Support Center (Rhodes branch) of the University of the Aegean, Coordinator of the Center for Teaching and Learning Support (KEDIMA) of the University of the Aegean, and Chair of the Academic Coordination Committee of KEDIMA. Her work in these roles focuses on academic well-being, student support, and the enhancement of teaching and learning practices in higher education.

Apostolos Kostas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean, Greece. He teaches various undergraduate and postgraduate courses on “Digital Environments for Learning and Teaching”. Since May 2018, he serves as Director of the Center for Lifelong Learning, University of the Aegean, while since 2020 he served as Tutor at the Hellenic Open University in the thematic “Open and Distance Education”. He has participated in many national and EU-funded programs, and his research interests include e-Learning, Online Distance Education/Training, ΑΙ in Education, Lifelong Learning and Teacher Professional Development.

Charalampos Politis holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of London and an MSc in Advanced Computing from Imperial College London, with a specialization in Logic and Artificial Intelligence. After completing his academic training, he worked as a software engineer before transitioning into product management in healthcare advertising and later in medical communications. For the past 13 years, he has led digital product teams focused on the design and development of digital products and platforms for healthcare professionals and patients. His professional interests focus on the application of AI to optimize medical education, with particular emphasis on personalized and adaptive learning, intelligent simulators, and data-driven insights that enhance engagement, efficiency, and educational outcomes.

Michail Terezakis is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Computer Engineering and Informatics at the University of Patras, Greece. He holds an Integrated Master’s degree in Computer Engineering and Informatics from the same department. He works as a Lead Software Engineer at Yodiwo S.A. in Patras and contributes to the design and administration of the department’s IT infrastructure through its Computer Center. His research and professional interests include large-scale data architectures, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, software engineering, and robotics. He has co-authored several peer-reviewed conference papers focusing on inclusive STEAM interventions, serious games, and digital platforms for young adults with intellectual disabilities. In addition, he co-manages the University of Patras Robotics Club, with a focus on the development of small autonomous robots.