ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews some of the controversies in the North American and European contexts. The results of several empirical studies that contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics at stake. The chapter gives an overview of the distinct origins of ethno cultural diversity within Western school systems, as well as of the educational consequences of various markers defining specific groups. The importance of common institutions, the role of immigrant languages in the curriculum, as well as the legitimacy of cultural and religious diversity in school programmes and practices will then be addressed. National minorities often enjoy constitutional rights or international protection to control educational choices offered, although the extent to which this is implemented at the ground level often raises tension and mobilization. From a theoretical point of view, in the constructivist perspective that currently dominates the sociology of ethnic relations the nature of these markers should not matter greatly.
