Informed by the bioecological model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006), early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions are an important space for the development of children where they learn, play and acquire knowledge together with other children. This applies to children from diverse backgrounds and with diverse abilities and needs, including children with disabilities. With the ratification of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), many countries committed themselves to the implementation of an inclusive education system. One goal of inclusion is the equal participation of children with disabilities and it is assumed that inclusion in ECEC provides opportunities and benefits for children with and without disabilities (Odom et al., 2011). However, previous studies have shown that in schools as well as in ECEC institutions children with disabilities participate less in different activities and in interactions when compared to their peers without disabilities (Eriksson et al., 2007; Kuutti et al., 2021). What makes it difficult to compare these results is that the definitions of the term participation vary across studies, despite attempts to standardise it (Imms et al., 2015; Koster et al., 2009). The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) defines participation as “involvement in a life situation” (WHO, 2001, S. 10). In addition to that, Imms et al. (2015; 2017) developed the framework “family of participation-related constructs” (fPRC) and describe participation as a construct with two components: attendance and involvement. First studies have applied this framework (e.g. Åström & Almqvist, 2022), but there is still no clear answer to the question how participation can be operationalised in the context of ECEC. Moreover, methodological challenges remain when assessing participation and different understandings have led to various measures (Adair et al., 2018; Coster & Khetani, 2008).

The goal of the present work is to analyse how the participation of children with disabilities is defined and operationalised in the context of inclusive ECEC.

A systematic search of peer-reviewed articles will be conducted using search terms that refer to participation, to the setting of ECEC and to the target group of this systematic review, children with disabilities between 3 and 6 years of age. Four databases that include articles from educational and psychological research were chosen for the search of eligible studies: ERIC, Education Source (through EBSCO), PsycINFO (through EBSCO) and Web of Science. Due to the publication of the ICF and its significant contribution to the understanding of participation, the search is limited to articles published since 2001. Only empirical studies (quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods) will be included in the review. After the removal of duplicates, the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be applied to all search results from the four databases using EPPI-Reviewer. Afterwards, important information from the eligible studies will be gathered using a standardised data extraction form. All disagreements during the screening and extraction process will be discussed by two researchers until consensus is reached. The quality of the eligible articles will be assessed using the “Quality assessment with diverse studies” (QuADS; Harrison et al., 2021). A narrative synthesis of the findings is conducted for answering the research question, in addition to an overview of the eligible studies.

A first insight into relevant studies revealed that a variety of measures is used for assessing participation in ECEC institutions. In many cases the participation of children was measured via assessing their attendance, i.e. the frequency and diversity of activities they attended. Another focus was on their involvement in certain tasks or interactions, often operationalised as engagement. Other differences refer to the source of information, e.g. whether participation was assessed using observations or ratings by the parents of the children. To ensure equal opportunities for children from diverse backgrounds with and without disabilities, informed insights via high-quality studies are needed as a foundation for practice and policy. Deepening our understanding of how studies from the last two decades have operationalised the complex construct of participation in ECEC will help to analyse the current state of knowledge and inform future studies.

Adair, B., Ullenhag, A., Rosenbaum, P., Granlund, M., Keen, D., & Imms, C. (2018). Measures used to quantify participation in childhood disability and their alignment with the family of participation-related constructs: a systematic review. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 60(11), 1101-1116. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.13959 Åström, F., & Almqvist, L. (2022). Patterns of observed child participation and proximity to a small group including teachers in Swedish preschool free play. Frontiers in Education, 7(2022), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.982837 Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology (6. ed., Vol. 1). John Wiley & Sons Inc. Coster, W., & Khetani, M. A. (2008). Measuring participation of children with disabilities: Issues and challenges. Disability and Rehabilitation, 30(8), 639-648. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638280701400375 Eriksson, L., Welander, J., & Granlund, M. (2007). Participation in everyday school activities for children with and without disabilities. Journal of Developmental and Physical Psychology, 19(5), 485-502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-007-9065-5 Harrison, R., Jones, B., Gardner, P., & Lawton, R. (2021). Quality assessment with diverse studies (QuADS): an appraisal tool for methodological and reporting quality in systematic reviews of mixed- or multi-method studies. BMC Health Services Research, 21(144), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06122-y Imms, C., Adair, B., Keen, D., Ullenhag, A., Rosenbaum, P., & Granlund, M. (2015). 'Participation': a systematic review of language, definitions, and constructs used in intervention research with children with disabilities. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 58(1), 29-38. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.12932 Imms, C., Granlund, M., Wilson, P. H., Steenbergen, B., Rosenbaum, P. L., & Gordon, A. M. (2017). Participation, both a means and an end: a conceptual analysis of processes and outcomes in childhood disability. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 59(1), 16-25. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.13237 Koster, M., Nakken, H., Pijl, S. J., & van Houten, E. (2009). Being part of the peer group: a literature study focusing on the social dimension of inclusion in education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13(2), 117-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110701284680 Kuutti, T., Sajaniemi, N., Björn, P. M., Heiskanen, N., & Reunamo, J. (2021). Participation, involvement and peer relationships in children with special education needs in early childhood education. European Journal of Special Needs Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2021.192021 Odom, S. L., Buysse, V., & Soukakou, E. (2011). Inclusion for young children with disabilities: a quarter century of research perspectives. Journal of Early Intervention, 33(4), 344-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815111430094 World Health Organization (WHO) (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).