Using their teaching experiences with children identified as having special education needs of linguistically, culturally and socioeconomically diverse families, this paper describes the ambiguities teachers face when understanding the needs of these students. To this extent, the informal conversations and interviews with teachers carried out during the observation of three classrooms are used to analyze the way in which ‘cultural’ and ‘biological’ explanations are intertwined and underpin their narratives. The paper discusses how an intersectional analysis allows to describe the constituent character of needs that are seen as objective –special education, diversity–, and how these variables are mixed and produce new forms to understand the diversity in their classrooms. In conclusion, it is argued that special education may be understood as a system that derives meaning from all axes of difference, which are in turn reaffirmed, and which hides the way in which students’ needs are constructed away from school’s responsibility.

Special needs education, Cultural diversity, Spain, Educational needs.