Research on universal design for learning in Brazil: a decade of advances, tensions, and challenges

Abstract

This article presents an overview of a decade of Brazilian scientific research on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), aiming to understand advances, tensions, and challenges related to the development of inclusive and flexible curricula. This qualitative bibliographic study was conducted through a State of Knowledge review of theses and dissertations published between 2015 and 2024 and retrieved from the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD) and the CAPES Catalog of Theses and Dissertations. The corpus comprises 50 studies, including 43 master’s dissertations and 7 doctoral theses, examined through Content Analysis and Epistemological Analysis. The results reveal the expansion and diversification of UDL research in Brazil and its growing association with curriculum planning, learner variability, anticipation of barriers, flexibility, and accessibility. They also reveal tensions between pedagogical potential and implementation conditions, resource diversification and curriculum transformation, universal planning and specific supports, perceived participation and demonstrated learning, as well as challenges related to institutional sustainability. It is concluded that advancing UDL as a curricular framework depends on intentional planning, teacher education, collaboration, and institutional conditions capable of sustaining inclusive practices beyond isolated experiences.