INCLUSIVE DIGITAL EDUCATION THROUGH MULTIMODAL LEARNING DESIGN: A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW OF ENGAGEMENT, EQUITY AND AFFECTIVE LEARNING EARNING
Vanessza Kapusi1*, Dalma Lilla Dominek2
1Doctoral Student, Doctoral School of Education, Eszterhazy Károly Catholic University, Eger, Hungary
2Associate Professor, Ludovika University of Public Service, Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies, Department of Social Communication, Budapest, Hungary
∗ Correspondence: kapusi.vanessza@icloud.com
DOI : 10.66538/DH.2026.2.1.
Abstract
Inclusive digital education increasingly requires attention to how digital learning environments organize opportunities for partici-pation, representation, and learner engagement. This conceptual review examines how multimodal learning design can contribute to inclusive digital education by integrating three theoretical domains: digital equity, multimodal meaning-making, and affective engagement. Drawing on research on digital inequality, social-semiotic multimodality, Universal Design for Learning, multimedia learning, and achievement emotions, the article develops an integrative conceptual synthesis centred on the notion of recognized participation. The review argues that inclusive digital education requires learning environments in which learners can interpret task expectations, mobilize diverse semiotic resources, experience agency, and have their multimodal outputs recognized as legitimate evidence of learning. The synthesis identifies three conceptual movements: from digital access to semiotic participation, from multi-modal diversity to pedagogically guided meaning-making, and from engagement as observable activity to affective agency. On this basis, the article proposes four interrelated design conditions for inclusive digital multimodal learning: semiotic accessibility, cogniti-ve coherence, affective agency, and institutional recognition. The review contributes to the literature by reframing multimodality as an equity-oriented design logic that connects learner variability with pedagogical structure, affective support, and academic recogni-tion. Future research should empirically examine how these conditions operate in concrete digital learning environments, particu-larly among learners vulnerable to educational exclusion.
Keywords: digital education, inclusive education, educational equity, multimodal learning; learning design, learner engagement, affective learning