Equitable education for students with special needs is paramount globally. Current education reform emphasizes accommodating diverse learning needs. While educational digitalization is rapidly advancing, few studies explore its effects on the creativity of students with special needs, particularly the underlying mechanisms. This study aims to address this gap by investigating how and under what conditions educational digitalization influences the creativity of students with special needs. Creativity is multifaceted, encompassing problem-solving, thinking, and learning. It offers significant benefits, including increased motivation and enhanced higher-order thinking skills. Existing research demonstrates the positive impact of various digital educational technologies on students' creativity, but often overlooks the varied responses of students with special needs. This study builds upon information theory, proposing a mediated moderation framework. It posits that educational digitalization enhances creativity through study crafting (adapting study patterns), with creative self-efficacy moderating this relationship. Students with special needs face unique challenges, including economic poverty, physical disabilities, psychological vulnerabilities, learning delays, and social anxiety, all of which may impact their engagement with digital education and affect their creativity. Therefore, understanding the nuanced relationship between digital education, study crafting, creative self-efficacy and the creativity of students with special needs is crucial for promoting educational equity.

The literature review highlights the importance of equitable education for students with special needs and the transformative potential of educational digitalization. Existing research shows a positive correlation between digital technologies and students' creativity, although the responses of students with special needs are often overlooked. Studies have examined the use of specific digital tools such as science fiction films and online problem-solving activities to enhance creativity. However, the mechanisms through which digitalization impacts creativity remain under-researched. One study suggests lifelong learning deposition as a mediating factor. This research aims to bridge this gap by focusing on the mediating role of study crafting and the moderating role of creative self-efficacy in the relationship between digitalization and creativity among students with special needs. Information theory provides the theoretical framework, emphasizing the process of converting raw data into usable knowledge within educational settings.

This study employed a survey methodology using online questionnaires distributed to 211 students with special needs in China. After removing invalid responses, 173 valid questionnaires were analyzed. The sample consisted primarily of 18-24-year-old undergraduate students from "Double First-Class" universities. The questionnaire measured four constructs: educational digitalization (digitization of resources, dynamization of technology, innovation in methodologies), study crafting (increasing study resources, increasing challenging demands, decreasing hindering demands), creative self-efficacy, and students' creativity. Each construct was measured using established scales adapted for the context of students with special needs. The scales used a 5-point Likert scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the validity and reliability of the measures, demonstrating good model fit and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > 0.70 for all constructs). Harman's one-way method was used to assess common method bias, which was found to be insignificant. Data analysis involved regression analysis to test the direct effect of educational digitalization on creativity, mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 4) to assess the mediating role of study crafting, and moderated mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 59) to examine the moderating effect of creative self-efficacy. A bias-corrected percentile bootstrap method was utilized with 5000 iterations for mediation analysis. The study also included a case study using grounded theory to analyze interviews with students with special needs at Harbin Institute of Technology in Weihai, China. The case study provided in-depth qualitative data to support the quantitative findings.

The quantitative analysis revealed the following key findings: 1. **Direct Effect:** Educational digitalization had a significant positive direct effect on the creativity of students with special needs (β = 0.355, p < 0.001). 2. **Mediating Effect:** Study crafting partially mediated the relationship between educational digitalization and creativity (indirect effect = 0.351, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.218, 0.497]). 3. **Moderating Effect (Hypothesis 3 Supported):** Creative self-efficacy significantly moderated the relationship between educational digitalization and creativity (p = 0.005). Higher creative self-efficacy enhanced the positive impact of digitalization on creativity. 4. **Moderating Effect (Hypothesis 4 Rejected):** Creative self-efficacy did not significantly moderate the relationship between educational digitalization and study crafting (p = 0.260). 5. **Moderating Effect (Hypothesis 5 Supported):** Creative self-efficacy significantly moderated the relationship between study crafting and creativity (p = 0.036). Higher creative self-efficacy strengthened the positive impact of study crafting on creativity. The case study provided qualitative evidence supporting the quantitative findings, illustrating how digitalization impacts creativity through changes in study resources, challenging demands, and reduced obstacles to learning. The case study also highlighted the significance of creative self-efficacy, shaped by both students' self-perception and teachers' expectations.

The findings support the proposed mediated moderation model, demonstrating that educational digitalization enhances the creativity of students with special needs both directly and indirectly through study crafting. Creative self-efficacy plays a crucial moderating role, amplifying the positive effects of digitalization and study crafting on creativity. The results align with existing research on job crafting and creative self-efficacy in other contexts, extending these concepts to the domain of education for students with special needs. The significant direct effect of educational digitalization on creativity underscores the importance of providing equitable access to digital resources and technologies for students with special needs. The mediating role of study crafting highlights the necessity of supporting students in actively adapting their study approaches to leverage the benefits of digital learning environments. The moderating role of creative self-efficacy emphasizes the importance of fostering a belief in students' creative abilities and providing opportunities for them to express and develop their creative potential. The study's implications are significant for developing inclusive and effective educational practices for students with special needs.

This study provides valuable insights into the complex relationship between educational digitalization and the creativity of students with special needs. The findings highlight the importance of study crafting and creative self-efficacy as key mediators and moderators. The results support the implementation of digital technologies in education, but also emphasize the need for pedagogical strategies that foster student agency, self-belief, and adaptive learning. Future research could explore these relationships in diverse cultural settings, investigate the effects of specific digital tools on different types of special needs, and examine the impact of digitalization on creativity across various educational subjects.

The study's limitations include the focus on a specific geographical context (China) and the use of self-reported measures. Future studies should replicate this research with more diverse samples to enhance generalizability. The use of objective measures of creativity could also provide additional insights. Furthermore, the study focused on a specific set of digitalization features and did not examine the effect of different types of digital technologies in detail. Future studies should also explore other mediating and moderating factors that may affect this relationship.