Organising inclusive vocational participation in Indonesian vocational high schools: special support teachers’ assessment, pedagogical adaptation and collaboration

This study examines how special support teachers organise inclusive vocational participation in Indonesian vocational high schools. Drawing on vocational education and inclusive education scholarship, it distinguishes formal school access from meaningful participation in practical, work-related and transition-oriented learning. Using a qualitative design, the study involved 25 special support teachers from inclusive vocational high schools in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and policy document analysis, and analysed thematically through an inductive-deductive process. The findings show that inclusive vocational participation remains uneven. Assessment helped identify learner needs but was not consistently institutionalised as shared school knowledge. Pedagogical adaptation enabled entry into practical tasks, tool use and competence demonstration, but often relied on individual initiative. Collaboration was necessary yet fragile. The study argues that inclusive vocational participation is an organised outcome produced through coordinated assessment, adaptation and collaboration.