diff --git a/lib/behat/classes/behat_session_trait.php b/lib/behat/classes/behat_session_trait.php
index 830b7b46454..9374443c0e7 100644
--- a/lib/behat/classes/behat_session_trait.php
+++ b/lib/behat/classes/behat_session_trait.php
@@ -1744,4 +1744,19 @@ EOF;
 
         return $result ?: null;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Prepare an xpath for insertion into Selenium JavaScript.
+     *
+     * @param string $xpath
+     * @return string
+     */
+    protected function prepare_xpath_for_javascript(string $xpath): string {
+        $newlines = [
+            "\r\n",
+            "\r",
+            "\n",
+        ];
+        return str_replace($newlines, ' ', $xpath);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/lib/tests/behat/behat_accessibility.php b/lib/tests/behat/behat_accessibility.php
index 4f53755cb76..42e241b49cb 100644
--- a/lib/tests/behat/behat_accessibility.php
+++ b/lib/tests/behat/behat_accessibility.php
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@
 // You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 // along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
-use Behat\Mink\Exception\{DriverException, ExpectationException};
+use Behat\Mink\Exception\DriverException;
+use Behat\Mink\Exception\ExpectationException;
+use Behat\Mink\Element\NodeElement;
 
 // NOTE: no MOODLE_INTERNAL test here, this file may be required by behat before including /config.php.
 
@@ -29,7 +31,6 @@ require_once(__DIR__ . '/../../behat/behat_base.php');
  * @license    http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
  */
 class behat_accessibility extends behat_base {
-
     /**
      * Run the axe-core accessibility tests.
      *
@@ -52,6 +53,37 @@ class behat_accessibility extends behat_base {
         );
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Run the axe-core accessibility tests for a page region.
+     *
+     * There are standard tags to ensure WCAG 2.1 A, WCAG 2.1 AA, and Section 508 compliance.
+     * It is also possible to specify any desired optional tags.
+     *
+     * See {@link https://github.com/dequelabs/axe-core/blob/v4.10.0/doc/rule-descriptions.md} for the list of available tags
+     *
+     * @Then the :element :selector should meet accessibility standards
+     * @Then the :element :selector should meet accessibility standards with :extratags extra tests
+     * @Then the :element :selector should meet :standardtags accessibility standards
+     * @param  string $element The element to run the tests on
+     * @param  string $selector The selector to use to find the element
+     * @param  string $standardtags Comma-separated list of standard tags to run
+     * @param  string $extratags Comma-separated list of tags to run in addition to the standard tags
+     */
+    public function run_axe_validation_for_tags_within_element(
+        string $element,
+        string $selector,
+        string $standardtags = '',
+        string $extratags = '',
+    ): void {
+        $node = $this->get_selected_node($selector, $element);
+        $this->run_axe_for_tags(
+            // Turn the comma-separated string into an array of trimmed values, filtering out empty values.
+            array_filter(array_map('trim', explode(',', $standardtags))),
+            array_filter(array_map('trim', explode(',', $extratags))),
+            $node,
+        );
+    }
+
     /**
      * Run the Axe tests.
      *
@@ -60,8 +92,13 @@ class behat_accessibility extends behat_base {
      *
      * @param   array $standardtags The list of standard tags to run
      * @param   array $extratags The list of tags, in addition to the standard tags, to run
+     * @param null|NodeElement $containerelement The element to run the tests on
      */
-    protected function run_axe_for_tags(array $standardtags = [], array $extratags = []): void {
+    protected function run_axe_for_tags(
+        array $standardtags = [],
+        array $extratags = [],
+        ?NodeElement $containerelement = null,
+    ): void {
         if (!behat_config_manager::get_behat_run_config_value('axe')) {
             return;
         }
@@ -76,13 +113,33 @@ class behat_accessibility extends behat_base {
 
         $axeurl = (new \moodle_url('/lib/behat/axe/axe.min.js'))->out(false);
         $axeconfig = $this->get_axe_config_for_tags($standardtags, $extratags);
+        $xpath = '';
+        if ($containerelement) {
+            $xpath = $this->prepare_xpath_for_javascript($containerelement->getXpath());
+        }
         $runaxe = <<<EOF
 (axeurl => {
     const runTests = () => {
         const axeTag = document.querySelector('script[data-purpose="axe"]');
         axeTag.dataset.results = null;
 
-        axe.run({$axeconfig})
+        const getRun = () => {
+            const xpath = "{$xpath}";
+            if (xpath.length) {
+                const targetElements = [];
+                const results = document.evaluate(xpath, document, null, XPathResult.ANY_TYPE, null);
+                let targetElement = results.iterateNext();
+                while (targetElement) {
+                    targetElements.push(targetElement);
+                    targetElement = results.iterateNext();
+                }
+                return axe.run(targetElements, {$axeconfig});
+            }
+
+            return axe.run({$axeconfig});
+        };
+
+        getRun()
         .then(results => {
             axeTag.dataset.results = JSON.stringify({
                 violations: results.violations,
diff --git a/lib/tests/behat/behat_general.php b/lib/tests/behat/behat_general.php
index f7e5e929d3d..303b01daa30 100644
--- a/lib/tests/behat/behat_general.php
+++ b/lib/tests/behat/behat_general.php
@@ -997,13 +997,12 @@ class behat_general extends behat_base {
         [$preselector, $prelocator] = $this->transform_selector($preselectortype, $preelement);
         [$postselector, $postlocator] = $this->transform_selector($postselectortype, $postelement);
 
-        $newlines = [
-            "\r\n",
-            "\r",
-            "\n",
-        ];
-        $prexpath = str_replace($newlines, ' ', $this->find($preselector, $prelocator, false, $containernode)->getXpath());
-        $postxpath = str_replace($newlines, ' ', $this->find($postselector, $postlocator, false, $containernode)->getXpath());
+        $prexpath = $this->prepare_xpath_for_javascript(
+            $this->find($preselector, $prelocator, false, $containernode)->getXpath()
+        );
+        $postxpath = $this->prepare_xpath_for_javascript(
+            $this->find($postselector, $postlocator, false, $containernode)->getXpath()
+        );
 
         if ($this->running_javascript()) {
             // The xpath to do this was running really slowly on certain Chrome versions so we are using