Special education and provision for specific educational needs: pedagogical approaches and current challenges

Abstract

Special education and the provision for specific educational needs have become a strategic component of contemporary education systems, as they safeguard the right to a high-quality, equitable and accessible education for all learners. This field has undergone a substantial transformation, moving away from segregation-based approaches towards inclusive perspectives that regard diversity as an inherent condition of the educational process and promote participation, learning and holistic development within increasingly heterogeneous school contexts. Within this framework, special education is understood as a cross-cutting approach that integrates educational policies, flexible pedagogical practices and systematic teacher training processes, while also facing challenges related to the timely identification of specific educational needs, the availability of resources, and the alignment between inclusive principles and their enactment in everyday pedagogical practice. The study is conducted through a systematic review with a qualitative orientation, focused on the organised analysis of academic publications and specialised documents published between 2016 and 2026, in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, thereby ensuring methodological rigour, transparency and coherence. The analysis highlights that addressing specific educational needs constitutes a dynamic and continually evolving process, requiring sustained transformations in pedagogical practices, school cultures and organisational frameworks in order to respond appropriately to educational diversity.