Diversity in the classroom

In schools around the developed world, student populations are becoming much more diverse. The single word ‘diversity’ encompasses the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. Diversity in the classroom exists because students come from varied backgrounds and cultures, have different life experiences, and possess different innate and acquired characteristics. Henson and Eller (1999) suggest that these differences among students have the potential both to enrich and to limit a student’s capacity to learn within the school environment.