Conditional participation in mainstream SEND: Documentary analysis of participation sustainability in statutory assessment narratives

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Wheeler, M. (2026). Conditional participation in mainstream SEND: Documentary analysis of participation sustainability in statutory assessment narratives. British Journal of Special Education, Article 1467-8578.70129. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8578.70129

Publication date: 28 Sep 2026 Added to AutiHub: 26 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Marc Wheeler *

Abstract

Abstract Inclusive education policy often infers educational access from observable indicators such as attendance, engagement and behavioural compliance, yet visible participation may not indicate whether engagement is sustainable across contexts or over time. Participation sustainability is defined here as the extent to which engagement can be maintained across settings and over time without disproportionate cognitive, emotional or sensory cost. This study examined whether indicators of participation sustainability could be systematically identified within statutory multi‐professional assessment narratives used to inform provision decisions. A mixed‐methods documentary analysis was conducted on 21 anonymised cases drawn from statutory assessment materials for pupils aged 7–14 in mainstream settings, spanning a range of categories of need. Evidence from Education, Health and Care Plans, professional reports and school documentation was coded using a framework capturing environmental dependence, regulatory cost, contextual variability, transition vulnerability and temporal fragility. Sustainability‐related indicators were consistently identifiable across cases and frequently co‐occurred. Participation was commonly described as environmentally mediated, effortful or context‐dependent, with outward engagement sometimes accompanied by cross‐context variability, regulatory strain or increasing support needs over time. These findings indicate that routine statutory documentation may already contain evidence relevant to interpreting the sustainability of pupils' participation and to informing more nuanced identification and provision planning. Because much of the supporting literature centres on autistic populations, these findings are offered as an exploratory contribution to thinking about participation across SEND profiles, rather than as evidence specific to any single area of need.

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 27 Oct 2026 01:01.

Cited references
23
With a DOI
18
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
5
3 / 23 (13.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 23 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
23 / 23 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
5
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
80
From DOI or external metadata
80
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
34 / 80 (42.5%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 46 / 80 (57.5%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
3 / 80 (3.8%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 3 / 34 (8.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 3 / 76 (3.9%).
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