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Personalization, Individualization, and Differentiation: What Do They Mean and How Do They Differ for Students with Disabilities?


Abstract Researchers have grown increasingly interested in personalization as an approach to enhancing access to technology-enhanced learning experiences for all learners, including students with disabilities (SWDs). Yet, there remains confusion as to implementing personalization for SWDs partially due to conceptual conflations among the terms personalization, individualization, and differentiation. In this study, we employed a document analysis method to understand how the three concepts were referenced in the U.S. federal K-12 education law, the special education law, and the National Educational Technology Plan given their influences on shaping educational initiatives. This analysis revealed that the three concepts shared the foundational idea of meeting the needs of individual learners; however, there exists a vast difference in procedural requirements for implementing personalization versus individualization from the legislative perspective.
Authors Ling Zhang University of WyomingORCID , Richard Allen Carter ORCID , Matthew L. Bernacki ORCID , Jeffrey A. Greene ORCID
Journal Info Taylor & Francis | Exceptionality , pages: 1 - 22
Publication Date 12/30/2024
ISSN 1532-7035
TypeKeyword Image article
Open Access closed Closed Access
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2024.2446219
KeywordsKeyword Image