Refugee education in camps such as Kakuma and Dadaab in Kenya faces persistent challenges of overcrowding, limited infrastructure, stigmatization, and inadequate teacher preparedness, leaving children, particularly those with disabilities, marginalized and excluded from meaningful learning opportunities. While global frameworks such as UNHCR’s Education Strategy 2030 and UNESCO’s ICT in Education agenda emphasize inclusion, current research offers limited insight into how AI-powered assistive technologies (AI-AT) can be systematically embedded within refugee education systems. Existing studies often focus on general ICT access rather than the structural, pedagogical and policy conditions necessary for sustainable adoption and few center the lived experiences of refugee learners and educators. This project addresses that gap by investigating the role of AI-AT in fostering inclusive pedagogy and differentiated learner engagement in humanitarian contexts. 

The study is guided by three research questions: (1) What infrastructural limitations in refugee camp schools restrict the adoption of AI-AT? (2) What are the opinions of policymakers and teachers regarding the use of AI-AT in enhancing pedagogy and promoting inclusivity? (3) Under what conditions do AI-powered assistive technologies enhance differentiated learners’ engagement in refugee camp education contexts? Empirical evidence demonstrates that tools such as screen readers, speech-to-text software, predictive text, and adaptive learning platforms can reduce barriers, personalize learning and foster inclusive practices when aligned with context-sensitive strategies. Systematic reviews confirm their potential to improve accessibility and learner participation, while refugee education research highlights the importance of adaptive scaffolding for learners facing trauma, interrupted schooling and linguistic diversity. However, effectiveness depends on integration into coherent pedagogical and policy frameworks that account for infrastructural constraints, teacher preparedness and sociocultural attitudes toward disability and technology. 

Methodologically, the project adopts a mixed-methods design. Qualitative data will be gathered through interviews and focus groups with refugee teachers, learners, and policymakers to capture lived experiences and perceptions of AI-AT. Quantitative data will be collected through surveys and pilot evaluations of AI-AT tools in selected camp schools, focusing on learner engagement and differentiated instruction outcomes. This participatory approach ensures that research questions are co-revised with stakeholders, avoiding exclusionary framing and enhancing relevance to refugee learners’ realities. 

Although the study is in progress, anticipated findings include identification of infrastructural barriers such as unreliable connectivity, limited devices, and fragmented policy environments; insights into teacher and policymaker attitudes toward AI-AT adoption; and evidence of AI-AT’s effectiveness in supporting differentiated engagement among learners with disabilities, language challenges, and psychosocial needs. These findings are expected to demonstrate that sustainable integration of AI-AT requires not only technological provision but also institutional readiness, teacher professional development, and culturally responsive policy frameworks. 

The project contributes to both theory and practice by extending scholarship on inclusive education into humanitarian contexts, situating AI-AT within refugee pedagogical and policy frameworks and generating actionable strategies for low-resource deployment. It advances global agendas on equity, social cohesion, and empowerment by aligning with UNHCR’s Education Strategy 2030 and UNESCO’s ICT in Education priorities. More broadly, the research underscores that inclusive refugee education requires structural reform and pedagogical innovation, with AI-AT serving as catalysts for equity when embedded within supportive systems. By centering stakeholder perspectives and addressing infrastructural realities, this study offers a pathway toward sustainable, context-sensitive adoption of AI-powered assistive technologies in refugee camp education.