According to the United Nations (2017), 258 million people live in a country other than their country of origin (Landau, & Achiume, 2017; UN, 2017). In recent decades, Spain, like Germany, France, England and Italy, has seen an increase in immigration (Terrón-Caro et al., 2015). This has been reflected in public schools, which have a high evolution of foreign pupils in primary education. So much so that up to 45 different nationalities can be observed in the Spanish education system (Ministry of Education, 2019). In some schools, learning spaces have been created where intercultural relations are fostered (Jiménez, 2012; F. Jiménez, 2014), but in others, problems related to coexistence have arisen (Mondaca & Sánchez, 2018), such as inequality, absenteeism, school failure, rejection, exclusion, xenophobia and discrimination (García et al., 2012; Matencio et al., 2013). 

Other problems that arise in schools due to inadequate management of diversity are inequalities between children, prejudices and social stereotypes and, sometimes, the rejection of some students by their peers (Cárdenas-Rodríguez & Terrón-Caro, 2011; Glock et al., 2018; González & Romero, 2011; Labajos et al., 2012; Luz et al., 2018; Matencio et al., 2013). All this is caused by a counterproductive education that does not fit the context of the pupil and cultural prejudices, which are the result of symbolic violence (Bourdieu, 2000; 2002) and which have repercussions on the expectations that are held for these children (Intxausti et al., 2014). 

To mitigate and/or resolve this serious problem, different studies highlight the need for effective inclusive intercultural education (Hajisoteriou & Angelides, 2016; Hayes, 2013; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Pollack, 2013; Reid & Major, 2017), where convivial spaces committed to respect and tolerance for diversity, equal opportunities, integration and cultural enrichment are promoted (Banks & Banks, 2001; Byram, 2014; Leeman & Wardekker, 2013; Pollack, 2013; Veugelers & Leeman, 2018).

So far in Spanish schools, teaching models and practices have been progressively evolving to cater more carefully for the diversity of classrooms and children's characteristics (Ballesta et al., 2013); but the desired results have not been achieved, as the aforementioned problems persist (Escalante et al., 2014, Jiménez, 2014). One of the failures of these models may be the fact that families have been excluded. Thus, few contextualised coexistence plans involve the entire educational community in their actions (García et al., 2012; Geonechea, 2015; Sincer et al., 2019), especially parents (Luz et al. 2018; Mondaca & Sánchez, 2018). In this sense, a holistic intercultural education model that responds to the reality of schools is crucial in Spanish education (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Merma-Molina et al., 2019; Pollack, 2013; Reid & Major, 2017).

The general objective of this study is to analyse teachers' and families' perceptions of cultural diversity and its influence on school coexistence. Also, the following specific objectives are set out:

 - To understand the effect of diversity on education.

- To identify the main concerns of teachers and families about the intercultural environment in schools.

- To determine whether there are stereotypes and prejudices toward cultural diversity.

- To distinguish whether there are different perceptions among members of the educational community (family-teachers).

- To identify the main difficulties faced by foreign pupils in educational institutions.

- To find out the guidelines for action and methodological strategies used by teachers to intervene in classrooms with cultural diversity.

Four research questions have been posed which include both perceptions, namely: 

- How is cultural diversity dealt with in the classroom and the school?

- What effect does cultural diversity have on the classroom climate/school climate?

- How are teachers at school trained and informed to deal with cultural diversity?

- How are teachers and parents thinking about cultural diversity in the classroom?

Method To find out the attitudes and perceptions of parents and teachers in schools regarding the phenomenon of cultural diversity, the qualitative approach was used (Guerrero, 2016). This methodology is the most recommended for exploring personal and social facts and experiences (Martínez, 2006). A total of 51 people participated in the study (n=51); 29 teachers (67%; n=29) and 22 parents (43%; n=22). Of the total sample, 78% are female (n=40) and 22% are male (n=11). The sample is made up of parents and teachers in the final years of Primary Education (5th and 6th grades). Regarding socio-cultural characteristics, most of the teachers belong to a medium-high socio-cultural context and 95% of parents belong to a medium-low socio-cultural context. Both groups are located in urban environments in the province of Alicante (Spain). Instruments and variables For data collection, two questionnaires were used, designed ad-hoc for this study: one for teachers and one for parents. Both were validated through expert triangulation. Both had the same questions except for the second questionnaire, which also included teachers' attitudes towards cultural diversity. Each questionnaire was composed of eleven topics and took an estimated 25 to 30 minutes to complete. 1. Managing diversity in the teaching profession. 2. Influence of foreign students on coexistence in the classroom. 3. Influence of culture on coexistence. 4. Understanding about cultures in the classroom. 5. Training of teachers to work in diverse classrooms and areas for improvement. 6. Provision of in-service training courses on cultural diversity for teachers. 7. Influence of cultural diversity on peer relations. 8. Problems of foreign students in the classroom. 9. Stereotypes and prejudices towards other cultures. 10. Influence of pupils' culture on expectations of school achievement and failure. 11. Aspects to be improved to achieve an egalitarian culture in education. The two forms were sent to participants online via the Google Forms platform. The use of virtual communication allowed for greater collaboration from family members by providing a comfortable, safe and trusting environment in the context of the pandemic. Once the data had been collected, the responses were organised to identify categories from the discourses obtained and thus relate the main themes directly linked to the research questions through an inductive process. The structural coding of the categories was then carried out and the inferential codes were subsequently validated; the three experts were involved in this process. For data processing, the qualitative analysis programme AQUAD 7 (Huber & Gürtler, 2013) was used.

- Foreign pupils face the following difficulties: language, the adaptation process, rejection, stereotypes, the pace of classes and inadequate educational programmes. - Families believe that the school does not allow an egalitarian culture to be achieved and that this is due to poor teacher training. - Teachers highlight the need for greater knowledge of promoting content and practices that favour inclusion and education free of prejudice, attention to needs with adequate resources and demand the participation of families in the centre. - Teachers consider that the offer of continuous training courses on intercultural education is insufficient. This is because the educational administration prioritises other issues related to language skills and new technologies. - Both teachers and parents emphasise that diversity is beneficial because it fosters intercultural relations, values and the education of students, but opinions have also been found that diversity is negative and therefore generates rejection or discrimination. - Parents and teachers believe that there are stereotypes and prejudices towards other cultures in the school. These prejudices are derogatory about the children's origins, encourage conflict and are acquired in the family environment. These can vary depending on the culture, with children from the African continent being particularly targeted as victims of these prejudices. - Teachers underlined the influence of culture on expectations, as most of them admitted that culture often influences the process of adaptation and school performance. In sum, despite the perceptions that indicate that schools in Spain use the intercultural education model, promoting cooperative work among pupils, encouraging group dynamics and adapted reinforcement plans, they still have weaknesses that need to be resolved. These are the improvement of teachers' intercultural professionalism with a reflective stance (Leeman & van Koeven, 2019), the elimination of race-related stereotypes, and family education.

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