Teachers’ digital text competencies in inclusive education: a scoping review

Digital technology has become an integral part of education, influencing how people read, write, and learn, as well as shaping efforts to create inclusive education for all students. There is a growing need to understand how teachers address the diverse needs and abilities of students in digitally mediated classrooms, and what teacher competencies this work demands. This scoping review synthesizes research on general education teachers’ practices and competencies related to the use of digital tools in text activities within inclusive education. Fourteen empirical studies published between 2008 and 2024 were identified across four databases and analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. The findings indicate that digital tools have the potential to enhance variation in texts, foster student engagement, improve task structure, and support individualization in inclusive settings. To realize this potential, teachers require digital text competencies encompassing the ability to vary textual modalities, scaffold both teaching content and the use of digital tools and undertake additional planning and preparation necessary for digital tool integration.