According to the Salamanca Declaration (UNESCO, 1994) the participation of all students in everyday school life has an important role. The focus of inclusive education is rather on students with special educational needs (SEN). However, the heterogeneity dimensions, as mentioned in the UNESCO Declaration, also include attributes such as the migrant background, gender as well as the socio-economic status. These students’ characteristics require a careful consideration. It is particularly important to take into account all these aspects, especially in the light of the continued mixing of cultural and linguistic conditions in the most diverse countries. For example, the proportion of the population with a migrant background in Austria (23%, Statistik Austria…), Finland (7%, Statistics Finland, 2017), Germany (23 %, Destatis, 2019) and Switzerland (37%, Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, 2017) cannot be neglected. For full inclusion of all students in a class, not only special inclusion but also ensuring social participation is important. Social participation is focused on different aspects like friendships, interactions between peers, being socially accepted by the peers and feeling a high level of social inclusion (as proposed by Koster et al., 2009). Previous studies already indicated that students who are part of a minority group (e.g. having SEN) are at a high risk of being socially excluded (e.g. Schwab, 2018). While there is plenty of research according to the target group of students with SEN, the social participation of students from other minority groups (e.g. students with migrant background, students with low socio-economic status (SES)) are less often focused in research. Therefore, the present symposium aims to examine the social participation of students from different minority groups.

The first presentation focuses on students with SEN. The authors discuss in more detail the position of students with SEN in the classroom and in their social networks in general. For this purpose, the data of 112 students from USA, Cyprus and Switzerland were analyzed and evaluated using the technique of network analyses. It turned out that many students with SEN were on the periphery of the different networks and less often in the center.

In contrast, the second contribution investigates the participation of children with a migrant background in the school context. 819 students of the fourth grade from German inclusive classes were asked about their relationships within the classes. Results show that students with a migrant background are less popular than their peers without a migrant background, are nominated less often and show significantly fewer social interactions during breaks.

The third presentation gives a general overview of the students’ participation taking into account different diversity categories (e.g. SEN, migrant background, gender and a low (SES)). Data from 512 eighth graders from Austria were evaluated using peer nominations and peer status. The outcomes indicate that students with SEN, a migrant background or SES received less positive nominations and more negative nominations than their peers without the aforementioned attributes.

In the fourth contribution the classroom behavior climate is examined in more detail, taking into account linguistic and cultural diversity of students. The presenters will examine whether and how the heterogeneity in the classroom is related to the classroom behavior climate (CBC) and the social well-being. For this purpose, they analysed the data of all students and teachers of the second to sixth grade from 69 Finish primary schools. For the analyses, the ratings of the students were summarized in relation to the CBC and social well-being at classroom level.

Finally, the most important results of all four contributions will be summarized and compared by the discussant. He will critically discuss the significance for research and practice.

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