Post war immigration to Australia has changed the ethnic composition of schools. Variations in minority groups' success in schools has been of concern to educationalists both here in Victoria and in Britain and the USA. In Victoria there is increasing emphasis on the need to cater for individual differences through a service delivery model that promotes access and success for all students. The first part of this study examines definitions of ethnicity and changes in attitude that have led to a more multicultural approach to education. It also examines definitions of learning disabilities in order to understand how difficult it is to determine whether a minority student's difficulties are due to a learning disability and/ or the presence of cultural and language differences. The second part of the study examines the teacher's perspective of both assessing the needs of the minority students who are experiencing difficulties and catering for those needs through the learning environment of the classroom.