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Worldwide, more than 1.5 billion students had to switch to distance learning in 2020. Education took place at home, where parents attended to their children, and teachers taught their students in digital mode, while minors were physically and socially isolated from their peers. Concerning the situation in Austria, several quantitative studies expose two central challenges: First, the comprehensive lack of digital infrastructure disrupted (digital) distance learning. Second, the Covid‐19 pandemic particularly affected vulnerable students and extended educational inequality. The state of the art emphasizes a lack of qualitative studies demonstrating different perspectives on the educational situation of vulnerable students in general and with SEN in particular during the pandemic. This leads to the following research question: How do professional actors map the situation of inclusive and digital education during the Covid‐19 pandemic in Austria? To research this unprecedented situation, four focus groups with diverse stakeholders (teachers, principals, psychologists, and school board employees) discussed their experiences in the school years 2019–2020 and 2020–2021. Data were analyzed according to the Grounded Theory method of the postmodern approach referred to as “situational analysis.” The study visualizes various parallel discourses and voices within the situation of (digital distance) learning during the Covid‐19 pandemic. The theoretical context of the intersection of inclusive and digital education frames the empirical findings. Central findings relate to missing or discriminatory guidelines and policies, a lack of digital infrastructure, and altered professional‐pedagogical support that minimized or disrupted inclusive education during (digital) distance learning.

Games are increasingly used for educational purposes as they can be interactive in nature, are based on defined rules following a specific logic, have an explicit and carefully elaborated educational intent, and provide individual feedback to players (Martens, Diener, & Malo, 2008; Hainey, Connolly, Stansfield, & Boyle, 2011; Wouters, Oostendorp, Vrugte, van der Cruysse, Jong, & Elen, 2017). The pedagogically valuable potential of (digital) games is particularly clear in their ability to consider the needs, interests and abilities of a target audience, increase the intrinsic learning motivation of gamers and integrate learning, fun and simulation (Wastiau, Kearney, & Van den Berghe, 2009; Hainey et al., 2011). Serious games are currently receiving a great deal of attention in the field of education, not least due to challenges posed by a global pandemic.