Even though there are ample laws that protect learners and other role-players from exclusion, marginalisation and discrimination in schools, litigation and research have shown that education departments, school governing bodies (SGBs), managers, teachers and even learners struggle to create and sustain inclusive educational spaces.

Diversity and Difference in South African Schools aims to contribute to the field of Education Law by providing practical guidance on how to facilitate diversity and difference in schools. This work integrates law, policy and case law to provide a comprehensive legislative go-to source for guidance on how to deal with diversity in schools to achieve social integration and equal education for all. It explores how applications of law against the background of the constitutional values of dignity, equality and freedom determine the role school leaders, governors and teachers could play as agents of change.

This book can be used in teacher education, professional development and educational institutions to help those involved in governing or managing schools and teaching to understand the phenomena of diversity and difference and how they should or could be approached. It provides legal guidelines for teachers and schools to promote inclusivity and respect for diversity, difference and human rights.

Written by a diverse combination of authors from Education Law as well as other disciplines, this work brings together different perspectives on diversity and difference from various fields. In addition, it tackles diversity from a perspective of gender, sexuality, culture, religion, ethnicity, language, social class and ability.