The Shapes of Inclusion: Adolescents’ Voices Between Rights, Capability, and Flourishing

Abstract

This research investigates adolescents’ representations of inclusion and disability in school contexts, in the light of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the ICF framework and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, integrating the capability approach and the flourishing paradigm. Six focus groups (n = 60 students, aged 14–18) were conducted and analysed through Reflexive Thematic Analysis, yielding six thematic nuclei: awareness of rights, accessibility, self-determination, educational figures, transitions, and collective flourishing. Findings show that adolescents recognize rights but struggle to translate them into everyday practices. Educational figures emerge as systemic mediators able to transform fragile backgrounds into participatory spaces. The study proposes a pedagogical model of educational justice based on rights literacy, contextual care, connective capabilities, and inclusive transitions.