Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines ‘accessibility’ as follows:

To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas (United Nations, 2006, p. 9).

Accessibility is a right to be ensured in all areas. These include education and the right to appropriate education and active citizenship through access to a flexible curriculum through personalised learning approaches.

Within the i-access project, ‘accessible information’ is understood as information provided in formats which allow every learner to access its content ‘on an equal basis with others’ (United Nations, 2006, p. 9). 

Alternative / augmentative communication (ACC) refers to extra ways of helping people who find it hard to communicate by speech or writing to communicate more easily. This can include signing and gesture (unaided systems) or books and special computers (aided systems) (International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, cited by UNESCO IITE/European Agency, 2011, p. 101).

Equipment, devices, apparatuses, services, systems, processes and environmental modifications used by people with disabilities to overcome social, infrastructural and other barriers to learning independence, safe and easy participation in learning activities, and full participation in society (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

‘Enabling technologies’ is another term for ‘assistive technologies’. However, these focus more on creating opportunity than overcoming a deficit.

Design for all is a ‘design approach to products and services, aiming to make them usable for as many people as possible’ (UNESCO IITE/European Agency, 2011, p. 101).

Design for all ‘is used to describe a design philosophy targeting the use of products, services and systems by as many people as possible without the need for adaptation’. Design for all is design for human diversity, social inclusion and equality (European Institute for Design and Disability, 2004).

‘(as in digital content, digital devices, digital resources, digital technology) – essentially, another word for computers and computer technology. (Computers store and process information by converting it all to single-figure numbers – digits.)’ (UNESCO and Microsoft, 2011, p. 90).

Digital divide refers to ‘the gap between those who can benefit from digital technology and those who cannot’ (Digital Divide Institute, 2015, cited in UNESCO IITE/European Agency, 2011, p. 101).

The digital divide in formal schooling is not simply an equipment differential that can be overcome with further selective investments in hardware, software, and networking. Instead it derives from both within school and within home differences that extend to learning standards as well as support. Student self-learning ability, and in particular, student ability for independent learning, is an additional factor. National policies that attempt to close the digital divide for schooling must attend to all of these contributing factors to be successful (Venezky, 2000, p. 76).

Digital Literacy is a broad term used to describe three interrelated dimensions of literate practice:

1. the operational dimension includes the skills and competences that enable individuals to read and write in diverse digital media (including making meaning with and from diverse modes such as spoken and written language, static and moving images, sounds, screen design etc.);
2. the cultural dimension refers to developing a repertoire of digital literacy practices in specific social and cultural contexts (such as constructing and/or maintaining effective social, educational and/or professional relationships online);
3. the critical dimension recognises that meaning-making resources are selective and operate as a means of social control (e.g. knowing what Facebook is up to when it reminds you that your profile is not complete). Becoming critically literate with digital media therefore includes not simply participating competently in digital literacy practices but also developing the ability to transform them actively and creatively.

It is transversal to many activities and is ‘a complex and socio-culturally sensitive issue’ (Lemos and Nascimbeni, 2016, p. 1).

‘Technology in which data is given numerical value. Computer-based tools and products’ (UNESCO IITE/European Agency, 2011, p. 101).

… refers to the ease of use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet, by people with disability. Web sites need to be developed so that disabled users can access the information. For example:

• for people who are blind, web sites need to be able to be interpreted by programmes which read text aloud and describe any visual images;
• for people who have low vision, web pages need adjustable sized fonts and sharply contrasting colours; and
• for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, audio content should be accompanied by text versions of the dialogue. Sign language video can also help make audio content more accessible.

Internationally, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, prepared by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provide standards for web accessibility (World Health Organization, 2013).

E-inclusion refers to the situation where everyone in society can participate in the information society.

This requires affordable access to technologies, the accessibility and usability of ICT tools and services, and the ability and skills of all individuals to use these tools (‘E-inclusion’ in Eurostat, no date a).

E-learning, or electronic learning, also referred to as web-based or online learning:

… encompasses a broad range of knowledge transferred through digital technologies, sometimes as a complement to traditional education channels. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools is especially powerful for reaching individuals with no access to traditional education and training, either because they live in remote areas or because of their socioeconomic situation or special needs (‘E-learning’ in Eurostat, no date a).

E-skills or electronic skills include those needed to make use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as well as those required to apply and develop them.

The term *“e-Skills” is defined as covering three main Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) categories:

1. ICT practitioner skills are the capabilities required for researching, developing, designing, strategic planning, managing, producing, consulting, marketing, selling, integrating, installing, administering, maintaining, supporting and servicing ICT systems.
2. ICT user skills are the capabilities required for the effective application of ICT systems and devices by the individual. ICT users apply systems as tools in support of their own work. User skills cover the use of common software tools and of specialised tools supporting business functions within industry. At the general level, they cover “digital literacy”.
3. e-Business skills correspond to the capabilities needed to exploit opportunities provided by ICT, notably the internet; to ensure more efficient and effective performance of different types of organisations; to explore possibilities for new ways of conducting business/administrative and organisational processes; and/or to establish new businesses (‘E-skills’ in Eurostat, no date a).

Equal opportunities mean the ‘same chances to take part in activities, access services, etc. with no barriers to education and equal life prospects for individuals’ (UNESCO IITE/European Agency, 2011, p. 102). Equal access to learning, achievement and citizenship opportunities allows learners to have similar achievements to their peers. This is particularly made possible through inclusive education (Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017).

‘Ensuring that there is a concern with fairness, such that the education of all learners is seen as being of equal importance’ (UNESCO, 2017, p. 7).

The OECD, in the publication No More Failures: Ten Steps to Equity in Education (2007), highlighted two dimensions of equity in education – fairness, ‘which implies ensuring that personal and social circumstances […] should not be an obstacle to achieving educational potential’, and inclusion, which implies ‘ensuring a basic minimum standard of education for all’. Fair and inclusive education is one of the most powerful levers available to make society more equitable.

According to the Council of the European Union:

… equality and equity are not identical and […] education systems must move away from the traditional ‘one-size-fits all’ mentality. Equal opportunities for all are crucial, but not sufficient: there is a need to pursue ‘equity’ in the aims, content, teaching methods and forms of learning being provided for by education and training systems to achieve a high quality education for all (2017, p. 4).

Inclusion is both a principle and a process: ‘Inclusion and equity in and through education is the cornerstone of a transformative education agenda […] No education target should be considered met unless met by all’ (World Education Forum, 2015, p. 2).

It can be seen as: ‘A process consisting of actions and practices that embrace diversity and build a sense of belonging, rooted in the belief that every person has value and potential and should be respected’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

The term was often associated with disability, but now extends to wider groups as ‘a response to increasingly complex and diverse societies. It treats diversity as an asset which helps prepare individuals for life and active citizenship in increasingly complex, demanding, multi-cultural and integrated societies’ (Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017, p. 7).

‘An education that promotes mutual respect and value for all persons and builds educational environments in which the approach to learning, the institutional culture and the curriculum reflect the value of diversity’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 420).

The Agency views inclusive education as ‘a systemic approach to providing high quality education in mainstream schools that effectively meets the academic and social learning needs of all the learners from the school’s local community’ (European Agency, 2015, p. 2).

Inclusive education supposes a real change at both policy and practice levels regarding education. Learners are placed at the centre of a system that needs to be able to recognise, accept and respond to learner diversity. Inclusive education aims to respond to the principles of efficiency, equality and equity, where diversity is perceived as an asset. Learners also need to be prepared to engage in society, to access meaningful citizenship and to acknowledge the values of human rights, freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination (Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017, p. 6).

‘Facts or details about somebody/something’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

The ICT4IAL Guidelines focus on the aim of sharing messages to inform and build knowledge in a learning environment. Within the ICT4IAL Guidelines, the different types of information considered are text, image, audio and video (European Agency, 2015c).

[W]ithin the i-access project the term ‘information’ is extended to information in any given format – print or electronic, audio or visual – and is also extended to communication and interaction to cover, for example, the possibility of contacting an organisation to get relevant information. The project focus is on information relevant for lifelong learning. However, the recommendations of the i-access project will be equally valuable for any form of information provision (European Agency, 2012a, p. 48).

ICT ‘covers all technical means used to handle information and aid communication. This includes both computer and network hardware, as well as their software’ (‘Information and communication technology (ICT)’ in Eurostat, no date a).

Information society is ‘a society in which the creation, distribution and treatment of information have become the most significant economic and cultural activities’ (United Nations University, 2016, p. 8). The information society is ‘considered as a necessary previous step to build Knowledge Societies’ (ibid., p. 9).

Lifelong learning encompasses all learning activities undertaken throughout life with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences, within personal, civic, social or employment-related perspectives. The intention or aim to learn is the critical point that distinguishes these activities from non-learning activities, such as cultural or sporting activities (‘Lifelong learning’ in Eurostat, no date a).

Lifelong learning must cover learning from the pre-school age to that of post-retirement, including the entire spectrum of formal, non-formal and informal learning. … the principles in this context should be: the individual as the subject of learning, highlighting the importance of an authentic equality of opportunities, and quality in learning (Council of the European Union, 2002).

The acronym NEET refers to young people who are neither in employment nor in education and training. The NEET population has its own definitional variations, as official policies switch between counting certain age groups (Furlong, 2006). According to Eurostat (no date b), the term includes young people aged 20–34, who meet two conditions:

• they are not employed — in other words, they are unemployed or economically inactive;
• they are not receiving any (formal or non-formal) education or training.

OECD data (2021) indicates that young people who are NEET are ‘at risk of becoming socially excluded – individuals with income below the poverty-line and lacking the skills to improve their economic situation’.

Social Exclusion … broadly describes how group(s) of people are excluded from the normal activities of their society, in multiple ways. It is multidimensional, with multiple deprivations reinforcing each other. Lack of power is at the root of every type of exclusion and there is a process of exclusion and agency involved. It concerns groups rather than individuals, and is relative: dependent on a given society’s norms (UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab, 2017).

Providing people with relevant skills, competences and knowledge drives innovation and growth and promotes personal fulfilment and well-being. It is the best means of preventing individuals from becoming unemployed, thus reducing the risk of poverty and social exclusion (Council of the European Union, 2016).

A process which ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live. Social inclusion also ensures that vulnerable groups and persons have greater participation in decision making which affects their lives and access to their fundamental rights (European Union, 2019, p. 9).

In every country, some groups confront barriers that prevent them from fully participating in political, economic, and social life. These groups may be excluded not only through legal systems, land, and labor markets, but also discriminatory or stigmatizing attitudes, beliefs, or perceptions. Disadvantage is often based on social identity, which may be across dimensions of gender, age, location, occupation, race, ethnicity, religion, citizenship status, disability, and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), among other factors. This kind of social exclusion robs individuals of dignity, security, and the opportunity to lead a better life. Unless the root causes of structural exclusion and discrimination are addressed, it will be challenging to support sustainable inclusive growth and rapid poverty reduction (World Bank, no date).

SEN is a construct that countries usually define within their legislation. These definitions are then used to identify, assess and make provision for learners with different needs – including recognised disabilities – in different ways (Watkins, Ebersold and Lénárt, 2014). Special or ‘additional’ needs should not be seen as the result of ‘in-child’ factors, but rather ‘a discrepancy between what a system of schooling ordinarily provides and what the child needs to support their learning’ (Rouse, 2008, p. 6, cited by Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017, p. 22).

(See also ‘Official decision / statement of special educational needs (SEN)’)

The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) defines special needs education as:

Education designed to facilitate learning by individuals who, for a wide variety of reasons, require additional support and adaptive pedagogical methods in order to participate and meet learning objectives in an education programme. Reasons may include (but are not limited to) disadvantages in physical, behavioural, intellectual, emotional and social capacities. Education programmes in special needs education may follow a similar curriculum as that offered in the parallel regular education system, but they take individual needs into account by providing specific resources (e.g. specially-trained personnel, equipment or space) and, if appropriate, modified educational content or learning objectives. These programmes can be offered to individual students within already-existing education programmes or as a separate class in the same or separate educational institutions (UNESCO/UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012, p. 83).

Technology is ‘often used as another word for ICT, although strictly speaking “technology” can mean almost any type of tool or applied knowledge. For example, pencil and paper, slates, blackboards and whiteboards are all types of writing technology’ (UNESCO and Microsoft, 2011, p. 92).

‘Design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all to the greatest extent possible, with no need for adaptation or specialised design’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 420).

The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University conceived and developed the seven principles of Universal Design: equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and size and space for approach and use. It is copyrighted material (The Center for Universal Design, 1997).

Web 2.0 refers to:

… web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centred design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site gives its users the free choice to interact or collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (consumers) are limited to the passive viewing of content that was created for them. Examples of Web 2.0 include social-networking sites, blogs, wikis, video-sharing sites, hosted services, web applications … (Wikipedia, 2010).

The term ‘Web 2.0’ can be traced back to Tom O’Reilly and the O’Reilly Media Conference in 2004.

W3C is:

… an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. Led by Web inventor and Director Tim Berners-Lee and CEO Jeffrey Jaffe, W3C’s mission is to lead the Web to its full potential (World Wide Web Consortium, 2015).