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Delighting in diversity

Today's students participate in a vastly different world from that experienced by their parents and many of their teachers. Many students can no longer be considered to belong to a single 'community' in its traditional sense. Through real and virtual worlds, they may belong to multiple and overlapping networks - communities of interest and affiliation, of cultural identity, sexual identity, language background, or geographic location.

All students need to learn how to negotiate and work productively with cultural and linguistic diversity now and into the future. It is important that they not only develop the skills required for new and emerging fields of work, but also to be happy, engaged and effective citizens in a world divided by differences in language, culture, religion and worldview.

As a result, diversity is at the core of every teacher's work - not something to be overcome, but to be valued as a productive resource. Valuing diversity is essential for building social cohesion in a peaceful and productive global community. It is a key element in educating for the future.

Working with diversity to improve educational outcomes for all students is central to the following Education Queensland initiatives:

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