The management of diversity in schools - a balancing act

Abstract

The authors contend that diversity and its counter-pole universality as such cannot be managed in the normal sense of the word. What can be managed though is the balance between these two poles. Over-emphasis of the one to the detriment of the other will in the long run somehow be penalized. A conceptual-theoretical framework is provided in which the delicate ontic balances that have to be maintained is explained (pedagogically managed). The results of three focus group discussions in which the participants express their opinions about these balances and the possibility of managing diversity are reported and interpreted.