This paper is a contribution based on the research project “Democracy, Participation and Inclusive Education in Schools” (EDU2012-39556-C02-02) a three-year long investigation started in 2013. The research tries to contribute to developing new ways in the quality of democracy and participation in schools to improve inclusion and social cohesion. The main focus is not only the exploration of the relationship between democracy and participation but also how inclusion and equity in schools are promoted.

In the current European context, a society may be considered fully democratic when it ensures the dialogue, the critical analysis, the ability to intervene and the participation of all people, and also those who have recently arrived through processes migration.

Michael W. Apple and James A. Beane (1997) raised the issue of some conditions which democracy depends on. The problem is to define the fundamentals of "democratic way of life." We emphasized seven of them: 1) The free flow of ideas that will enable information; 2) The belief in the individual and collective capacity of people to create opportunities to solve problems.; 3) The use of critical thinking and analysis; 4) Concern for the welfare of others and "the common good"; 5) Concern for the dignity and rights of individuals and minorities; 6) An understanding that democracy is not just an "ideal" to be achieved but a set of values to live and to guide the life of the community, and 7) The organization of social institutions to promote and expand the democratic way of life.

 We want to outline the idea of Dewey (1916) about the conditions for learning to explore what a democratic life means and how it is possible to practice, so that people achieve and maintain a democratic way of life. In addition, it is important to consider other contributions such as Apple (2000), Kincheloe (2008), McLaren (2006) or Whitty, Power and Halpin (1998) Walzer (1995) inter alia.

Moreover, we want to explore the term inclusion following the view of Ainscow and Booth (2000) as the process that aims to increase student participation and reduce exclusion culture in the curriculum and in communities.

From this perspective, this research aims to analyse and understand participatory and democratic success in early childhood centres and primary and secondary schools in order to provide guidance to assist in the improvement of inclusive school cultures, policies, and educational practice schools.

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