ACTIVE LEARNING METHODOLOGIES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF CHALLENGES, POTENTIALITIES, AND ETHICAL-POLITICAL PATHWAYS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The dissemination of active learning methodologies has been presented as a pragmatic response to the demand for engagement, authorship, and meaningful learning. However, their adoption in Special Education contexts reveals significant tensions: practices that promise participation may produce new forms of exclusion when they operate under implicit assumptions of self-directed autonomy, meritocracy, and the normalization of performance. In this context, this study develops a critical literature review of a theoretical-argumentative nature, grounded in national and international theoretical frameworks and in Brazilian regulations and global inclusion agendas, mobilizing the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (LBI), the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education (LDB), the National Education Plan (PNE), the National Common Core Curriculum (BNCC), teacher education guidelines of the National Common Base for Initial Teacher Education for Basic Education (BNC-Formação), and documents from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is argued that the potential of active learning methodologies depends on qualified teacher mediation, inclusive pedagogical design, accessible formative assessment, supports provided by Specialized Educational Services (AEE), and institutional conditions of accessibility. The ethical-political dimension of innovation is also discussed from the perspective of social justice, digital equity, and governance. The results indicate pathways for ethical, critical, and up-to-date teacher education: the centrality of the teacher as a mediator and guarantor of rights; inclusive planning guided by barriers and supports; critical digital literacy and accessibility; formative assessment and assessment justice; and collaborative and intersectoral work.