Including minorities in education: from access to the perspective of participation in decision-making processes. Reflections and challenges

The inclusion of minorities in educational contexts requires further reflection on how to manage the processes that determine policies, investments, and best practices. The participation of minorities at all levels of the decision-making processes is crucial to achieving effective inclusion, in order to emancipate them from the reductive view of integration or mere access. In the present-day scenario, it is important and necessary to focus on who holds a key power role in transforming and changing the outcomes of participation in decision making processes: policy-makers and decision-makers. They are the ones who have the power to decide at various levels. The aim of this paper is to reflect on some key aspects that can pave the way to the participation of minorities in decision-making processes. In the first part of the paper, the concept of participation and its applications in decision-making processes will be discussed to outline rigorous theoretical frameworks. In the second part, the focus will shift onto how scientific research can support policy-makers and decision-makers in meeting the challenge of building participatory decision-making processes.