WHY ARE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES INVISIBLE IN HIGHER EDUCATION? RETHINKING PSEUDO-INCLUSION AND EMERGING AI-RELATED INEQUALITIES

Abstract

Although inclusion has become a widely accepted policy goal in higher education and the number of students with disabilities in universities has increased considerably, these students continue to face structural barriers both in accessing higher education and in achieving full academic participation within it. This indicates that students with disabilities may remain invisible in higher education not only numerically, but also at institutional and pedagogical levels. This presentation examines this invisibility not as an individual limitation, but as a structurally produced outcome of inaccessible educational environments, unequal resource distribution, low expectations, and limited institutional responsiveness. Drawing on the social model of disability, cumulative disadvantage theory, Bourdieu's concept of capital, and the notion of pseudo-inclusion, the presentation argues that students with disabilities may be formally present in higher education while still being excluded from full academic participation. In this sense, inclusion may often remain nominal when accessible materials, assistive technologies, individualized support, assessment accommodations, and inclusive pedagogical practices are not meaningfully provided. The presentation also discusses the potential of artificial intelligence to both transform and complicate this landscape. AI-supported tools, such as automated transcription, adaptive learning platforms, generative AI-based tutoring systems, and accessibility technologies, may enhance educational participation. However, when these systems are designed around normative assumptions about body, language, cognition, speed, voice, literacy, and user behavior, they may reproduce existing inequalities in algorithmic form. The central argument of the presentation is that artificial intelligence should not be evaluated merely as an innovative educational tool, but also in terms of the extent to which it expands the real agency, accessibility, and participation of students with disabilities. The presentation concludes by emphasizing the need for disability-sensitive, accessibility-oriented, and socially responsible approaches to artificial intelligence in higher education.