Introduction. In the context of inclusion, the focus is also on social participation, which is composed of social interaction, friendships, peer acceptance and the social self-concept (as proposed by Koster et al., 2009). Studies are already conducted for students with special educational needs (SEN) (e.g. Schwab, 2018). However, the research basis is still very low for students with a migrant background. Therefore, the study `Social Relationships of Students with Special Educational Needs´ (SISI) systematically examines factors influencing the social participation of students with a migrant background in an inclusive school context. As a consequence, the paper examined to what extent does the social participation of students with and without a migrant background differ. Method. The data were collected in the context of the SISI study from 47 4th grade primary school students from North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). In total, 819 students took part in the study, of which 418 were boys, 401 were girls and 148 had a migrant background (76 girls, 72 boys). In order to examine the research question mentioned above, social nominations and social ratings were used. Results. The results show that students with a migrant background have fewer social interactions during the school break compared to their peers without a migrant background. They are nominated less frequently by their peers and are less popular. With regard to the gender of the students, there are indications that boys are more affected by these results than girls. Discussion and Conclusion. It can be seen that the social participation of students needs to be considered also at the level of migrant background. Only thus is it possible to implement inclusion as a whole and to gain deeper insights into student relationships (even with a migrant background). The results are further discussed and relate to current research.

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