Beyond visible participation: a longitudinal mixed-methods study of participation sustainability in inclusive provision

Inclusive education is often evaluated through visible indicators such as attendance, attainment, behaviour and apparent engagement. For pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), these indicators may not show whether participation is secure, transferable or achieved without disproportionate cost. This 12-month practice-based longitudinal mixed-methods study examined the use of the Sustainability Model of Educational Participation within educational formulation, provision planning and review. The Participation Sustainability Questionnaire (PSQ) was used as a structured professional judgement tool with an initial purposive cohort of 60 pupils drawn from six schools across three local authorities; 59 had complete baseline and follow-up data. Wilcoxon signed-rank analysis showed significantly lower participation-fragility scores at follow-up, W = 325.00, z = -4.11, p < .001, r = .54. Scores decreased for 41 pupils, increased for 17 and were unchanged for one. Explanatory analysis of six contrasting cases indicated that change was associated with reducing hidden effort, protecting enabling conditions and increasing temporal durability. Supported participation may indicate that effective access conditions are operating rather than that support is no longer required. Participation sustainability offers a framework for identifying, formulating and reviewing participation that is present but potentially fragile.