Special educational didaktik

A didaktik voice for equitable, just, and tactful teaching in preschool

Bibliographic Data

ID22416650
AuthorsLinda Palla (0000-0003-1549-9900, Malmö University, corresponding author), Ann‐Christine Vallberg Roth (0000-0002-4521-1528, Malmö University)
Year2026
Pages1-17
Publication date2026-04-29
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Special Needs Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0885-6257 • E-ISSN: 1469-591X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08856257.2026.2667396
OpenAlexW7159931236
LanguageEN
References cited35

Special educational didaktik* is a relatively recent and still underexplored concept – a didaktik voice situated at the intersection of special education and general didaktik theory. First introduced in 2020, the concept has since been further developed. Special educational didaktik is defined as the didaktik approach that is applied in a qualified and ethically responsive manner when general didaktik is considered insufficient to ensure children’s right to both support and challenges within preschool teaching. In this regard, special educational didaktik should be understood not as separate from, or fundamentally different to, the general education and didaktik of preschool, but rather as complementing and working in close relation to them. The present article seeks to conceptualise special educational didaktik by delineating it from related concepts, exploring boundary crossings, clarifying its core dimensions, and discussing implications for future research and theory development. *We use the German word ‘didaktik’ (with use of the letter k), which is common in the didaktik tradition in continental Europe and the Nordic countries, and not the English word ‘didactics’.

Educational research · Mainstreaming · Preschool education · Special education · Collaborative Teaching and Inclusion · Early Childhood Education and Development · Educational and Psychological Assessments

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Open DOIOpen Access