Cultural diversity in society is reflected in schools but it is seldom taken into account as an influential variable in the personal and social development of students. School culture transmits specific socio-cultural values (those of the dominant group), excluding other cultural features that are not in accordance with it. Certain educational practices maintain, stress, and legitimize social inequalities for some students by not recognizing and valuing their cultural differences. Hence, many students are denied the possibility of achieving the same educational results as their peers from the majority culture. School promotes academic success for students in the dominant group, while presenting many barriers to students from nondominant groups. It is necessary to design strategies to deal with cultural diversity in a proper way, so that education becomes significant for all students, regardless of their background. In the authors' opinion, schools should implement an intercultural approach in order to provide a fair and quality education for all children, as this perspective is the only one that can guarantee a real equality of opportunities in education and the achievement of goals considered desirable in compulsory education. The research presented here explores whether this approach is being implemented, and assesses how cultural diversity is addressed in schools. The authors describe the general framework of the research and focus on some of the findings related to the school climate, teachers' and students' opinions regarding cultural diversity, and parents' expectations towards school. (Contains 2 tables, 3 figures and 8 notes.)