Participation as a pedagogy and democratic value turns out to be a critical element in students’ completion of school. Completed education is a regional development project in which a survey has been conducted in order to identify successful strategies to promote completed education in school. In an analysis, in the context of the survey, with an emphasis on school and participation as a pedagogy and democratic value, several findings are shown. It turns out that the importance of participation manifests itself through an emphasis on the societal and democratic mission of school; school ethos; the value praxis of school; pedagogical approach; and viewing the pupil as capable. It is, in more detail, shown that it is particularly crucial to understand the completion of school as a pedagogical problem; create sustainable institutional structures not bound to one person; and to make sure that students are participants in their own studies.