Inclusive education aims to reduce barriers and create possibilities for the participation of all learners so that they can achieve optimal academic and social outcomes (Slee, 2018). Participation is pivotal for inclusive education (Maxwell, Granlund & Augustine, 2018), so collecting meaningful data on learner participation is necessary to improve inclusive education policy implementation. According to UNESCO, ‘A well-functioning education system requires policies that focus on the participation and achievement of all learners’ (2017, p. 21). 

However, it is important to consider that there is no internationally accepted definition of participation (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2010). The term participation, like inclusion itself, is an ambiguous concept. This means it is often easier to recognise when a learner is not participating or not included than to recognise when a learner is participating and included. Many studies have addressed the various interconnected aspects of learner participation and found that different definitions of participation exist (Maxwell, Alves & Granlund, 2012; Lakkala, Beaton & Kokko, 2024; Simeonsson, Carlson, Huntington, McMillen & Brent, 2001) and that the concept of participation ‘lacks clarity’ (Imms et al., 2016, p. 29). 

A first step towards improving policy implementation in the area of participation and inclusive education is to clarify the concept of participation (European Agency, 2011). A second step requires addressing the question of what data is needed to provide educational environments and policy-makers with meaningful information on learner participation in inclusive settings. 

Both quantitative and qualitative data can shed light on the issue of participation. However, qualitative data offers a more profound understanding of participation than quantitative data. Qualitative data can provide policy-makers with a theory of social action based on the experiences and perspectives of those who are likely to be impacted by a policy decision (Walker, 2005). By combining quantitative and qualitative data, a deeper understanding of the pertinent participation issues requiring attention can be achieved, which can inform policy-makers’ decisions. 

Collecting and using meaningful qualitative data with the goal of improving inclusive education policy implementation and raising the quality of education for all learners is the focus of the Learner Participation in Inclusive Education (LPIE) project by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (the Agency). The LPIE project’s focus was defined in accordance with the needs and priorities of its six participating European countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal and United Kingdom (Scotland). In collaboration with stakeholders from these countries, the Agency team is focusing on the question of what data is needed to provide policy-makers with meaningful information on learner participation in inclusive settings. 

LPIE’s guiding questions are: 

1. How does the literature define participation? 

2. Which dimensions of participation can be identified in the literature? 

3. How can qualitative data on learner participation be collected, analysed and used to improve inclusive education policy development and implementation? 

This paper will respond to the three guiding questions and will discuss the outcomes of the LPIE project. 

A literature review was conducted during the first stage of the project and its findings were used to prepare a background paper on learner participation. The background paper addressed the first two guiding questions. Furthermore, it served as a basis for addressing methodological and theoretical principles of qualitative data collection in policy research elaborating on the third question. 

In the LPIE project, a participatory approach for data collection was suggested. This collaborative approach ensures that the people affected by the research have a say in how it is conducted and how the findings are used (Duea, Zimmerman, Vaughn, Dias & Harris, 2022). 

The method used to respond to the first two guiding questions was based on a literature search conducted between July and September 2024. It focused on identifying publications from the period 2012 to 2024. However, exceptions were made where older studies were considered significant. It focused mainly on articles from scientific journals, but also considered books, reports, policy documents and publications from international organisations. Publications on the topic by the Agency were also considered. The literature search used search phrases such as ‘learners’ participation in inclusive education’, ‘definition of learners’ participation’ and ‘dimensions of learners’ participation’. Google, Google Scholar and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases and search engines were used in this research. The applied selection criteria referred to: - Studies that provide a theoretical definition of participation - Studies that try to operationalise or contribute towards the operationalisation of participation. Three studies meeting the first selection criterion and four studies meeting the second criterion were included. Further steps To respond to the third question, the second stage of the project will apply participatory research methods as ways of collecting data. Focus group discussions (Flick, 2014) with teachers/educators and learners from the different countries involved in the LPIE project will be conducted in February and March 2025. The focus group discussions with teachers will explore their understanding, strategies and methods for collecting data on learner participation, and potential improvements to foster participation, with a particular focus on learners vulnerable to exclusion. The focus groups with learners will examine their personal experiences of participation in the classroom/school. The results of all focus groups will be analysed using a qualitative approach (ibid.). This qualitative analysis will make it possible to capture the complexity and nuance of learner participation, providing a more holistic understanding of the factors that affect it and how it might be improved in diverse educational contexts. The findings will be further discussed and elaborated upon in a dialogue with the policy-makers from the participating countries.

The LPIE project’s main objective is to propose a methodology for collecting, analysing and using meaningful qualitative data on learner participation with the goal of improving inclusive education policy implementation. In responding to the first two questions, based on the research findings from the literature, a participation model was created, which will be presented in the presentation during the conference. This participation model breaks the concept of participation down into its component parts, making it easier to operationalise and define the different components of participation. This allowed the researchers to decide, together with the policy-makers from the participating countries, which aspects of participation to prioritise and take up in the planned focus groups, e.g. socio-emotional participation. Based on the focus group discussions and further dialogue with policy-makers and stakeholders, guidance will be developed between March and August 2025. It will suggest methods and approaches on how to collect, analyse and use qualitative data on learners’ socio-emotional participation in inclusive education. Policy-makers, local authorities and schools can use this guidance to identify and address gaps in learner participation and to increase participation possibilities for all learners. The guidance and the subsequent discussions on implementing it in the different countries will be presented during the conference. A piloting of the guidance will provide relevant insights on what works and what does not work in different country contexts. This will lead to a final round of discussion and adaptation of the guidance and potential additional outputs.

Duea, S. R., Zimmerman, E. B., Vaughn, L. M., Dias, S. and Harris, J., 2022. ‘A Guide to Selecting Participatory Research Methods Based on Project and Partnership Goals’ Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 3 (1). doi.org/10.35844/001c.32605 (Last accessed January 2025) European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, 2011. Participation in Inclusive Education – A Framework for Developing Indicators. Odense, Denmark. www.european-agency.org/resources/publications/participation-inclusive-education-framework-developing-indicators (Last accessed January 2025) Flick, U, 2014. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. 5th Edition. London: SAGE Publications Imms, C., Adair, B., Keen, D., Ullenhag, A., Rosenbaum, P. and Granlund, M., 2016. ‘“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 Lakkala, S., Beaton, M. C. and Kokko, K., 2024. ‘A conceptual analysis of inclusive education in terms of participation and agency’ Support for Learning, 39 (3), 125–136 Maxwell, G., Alves, I. and Granlund, M., 2012. ‘Participation and environmental aspects in education and the ICF and the ICF-CY: Findings from a systematic literature review’ Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 15 (1), 63–78 Maxwell, G.R., Granlund, M. and Augustine, L., 2018. ‘Inclusion Through Participation: Understanding Participation in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health as a Methodological Research Tool for Investigating Inclusion’ Frontiers in Education, 3 (41), 1–16 Simeonsson, R. J., Carlson, D., Huntington, G. S., McMillen, J. S. and Brent, J. L., 2001. ‘Students with disabilities: a national survey of participation in school activities’ Disability and Rehabilitation, 23 (2), 49–63 Slee, R., 2018. Defining the scope of inclusive education: think piece prepared for the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report, Inclusion and education. unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265773 (Last accessed September 2024) Walker, M., 2005. ‘Amartya Sen’s capability approach and education’ Educational Action Research, 13 (1), 103–110. doi.org/10.1080/09650790500200279 (Last accessed January 2025) UNESCO, 2017. A Guide for Ensuring Inclusion and Equity in Education. Paris: UNESCO. unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000248254 (Last accessed January 2025) UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2010. Measuring Educational Participation: Analysis of Data Quality and Methodology Based on Ten Studies. Montreal: UNESCO Institute for Statistics