Zum Partizipationsermöglichungsdilemma, begrenzter Partizipation und der Forderung einer Reflexiven Demokratiepädagogik

The institution of school is discussed in educational science discourse and in educational policy guidelines as a central place for the teaching and implementation of democracy and inclusion. This comes with the mandate to enable participation for all students. Teachers are called upon to implement this in their school practice. The class council seems particularly suitable for this purpose from a normative perspective. While studies on the impact and design of participation and the class council exist, the context of inclusion remains unexplored. This study addresses this gap. Using an approach guided by Grounded Theory and incorporating multiple data sources (observations, interviews, group discussions), it investigates how teachers shape participation in the class council within inclusive settings. The results show that teachers navigate a tension between enabling and limiting participation, facing a dilemma of enabling participation that they try to address through various strategies. However, they encounter moments of friction and encounter boundaries, which sometimes lead to exclusionary moments from the students’ side. This highlights the necessity of a Reflexive Democratic Education.