Utilising video recordings and interview data, this paper analyses two case studies of ethnically diverse settings in Finland and Australia. Both the urban Finnish and regional Australian locations have experienced shifts from ethnically homogeneous to increasingly heterogeneous student populations with consequent social and academic implications for educational practitioners. The paper examines how specific educational practices can enable the development of multiple subject locations for students which foster positive ethnic identity construction. The discussion utilises Kemmis and Grootenboer’s (2008) conceptualisation of practices as bundles of sayings, doings and relatings as the key lens through which to explore how teachers and students’ practices orient to issues of ethnic identity construction within the two school settings. We analyse how shifts in practices can open up enabling spaces for multiple subject locations, which also foster student agency. Thus we explore and describe what can enable inclusive practices, conceptualised as praxis, that is, conscious and value-based action (Kemmis & Smith, 2008).