This paper presents a research intitled “Cutural diversity and schooling achievement of the students in compulsory education. What is happening in the schools”; that has been undertaken in 23 Spanish primary and secondary schools during the period 2003/2007. The study has been possible thanks to the financial support of the Ministry of Educacion and the UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia). The authors are members of the INTER Group (www.uned.es/grupointer) . The main assumption of the research has been to consider that compulsory education should guarantee equal opportunities to all the students, even if they have different cultural backgrounds. This should be a priority in societies defending democratic ideals based on the social justice. The evidence reported by previous research shows that schools (in Spain) do not meet those requirements in an appropriate way. The objective has been to contribute to the school efficacy by studying the relations between cultural diversity of the students and school achievement in the compulsory education level. We wonder what is happening in the schools concerning cultural diversity of the students; and wether what is happening is what we expect or not since an intercultural approach. We wonder wether what happens in the schools concerning cultural diversity help us to understand the students´achievement. We are interested on explore wether thos explanations allow us to improve students´achievement and to foster the equial opportunities for all the students.

To answer those questions has required to adopt an eclectic methodology perspective and, specifically, to observe, register, describe, analyze, compare, understand, the information collected inside the schools, both centers and classrooms. To understand the complex relationship between cultural diversity and academic achievement of the students has implied to revise the concept of cultural diversity itself and to revise the evidence accumulated by the previous research. Observation scales, questionnaires and interviews elaborated "ad hoc" have been the main tools applied in gathering the data.

The paper will discuss the objectives, theoretical assumptions, methodology and the main conclusions of the research in relation with the questions proposed. Specifically, the presentation will focus on exemplifying what are the practices developped by the teachers in the schools atending students´cultural diversity; what are the opinions of teachers and families about what is happening in the schools; and how this knowledge help us to foster students´achievement improvement. One of the products of the research is the DVD “Kaleidoschool”, which will be used in the presentation. The video is conceived as a tool to reflect on and revisit a series of preconceived ideas about what is happening in the schools, including routines that remain unchanged, and to think about alternative starategis that could be used when dealing with diversity.