UNICEF describes participation as:
… an ongoing process of children’s expression and active involvement in decision-making at different levels in matters that concern them, requiring information-sharing and dialogue between children/adolescents and adults based on mutual respect, and … [requiring] that full consideration of their views be given, taking into account the child’s age and maturity.
(UNICEF, 2013, p. 7).
Like educational inclusion, participation is often seen as a human rights issue and an essential component of social justice (European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, 2011).
Participation is about the quality of the learning experience from a learner perspective, and therefore it must incorporate the views of the learners themselves. … It relates to school-level process factors which facilitate or hinder a sense of belonging and a sense of autonomy to the learner, as well as a sense of a meaningful participation with peers of the same age. As such, participation mainly refers to processes at the meso (school or classroom) and micro (individual learner) levels.
(Ramberg & Watkins, 2020, p. 90).
(See also ‘Meaningful participation’)