In this study of an ethnographic nature, we have sought to understand how a theoretical framework based on the concept of difference and introduced in schools and teacher education via studies on school failure has been incorporated into the daily pedagogic practice of teachers in charge of initial grades in primary education. We focused our investigation on a public school located in a large shantytown in Rio de Janeiro. The study included observation of planning sessions and study centers, of lessons given to four different classes by three different teachers, as well as interviews with the teachers, the coordinator and the school´s headmistress. Our starting point was the idea that difference does not demand only planned, conscious action, once it also emerges in unplanned situations frequently generating tension. Another starting point is the concept of intercultural education. To this end, we have chosen to adopt Peter McLaren and his concept of critical multiculturalism as well as Vera Candau´s idea of intercultural teaching practices as major theoretical references. To understand how teachers build up their pedagogical knowledge, we have chosen Maurice Tardif´s notion of teacher knowledge. To analyse teachers´ ways of coping with the unexpected, unplanned-for situations in their lessons, we have chosen Philippe Perrenoud´s notion of professional habitus. From these theoretical perspectives, we have attempted to analyse the school´s pedagogic project presented by the school´s pedagogic team and debated at some staff meetings we had the opportunity to attend; some aspects of the school daily routine we were able to observe and the interviews with key staff. From these analyses, we have concluded that different meanings are attributed to the word difference, some of which are present in the school and are encountered by the teachers in their practice. However, the cultural perspective proposed by McLaren, Candau and other authors was only considered when it was the focus of a study group made up by the teachers. This observation led us to conclude that a lot of effort has yet to be invested into teacher education policies in order to promote the cultural and critical perspectives proposed by this theoretical framework so that it becomes incorporated into teaching practices.