Religious Intolerance: The Case of Principals in Multi-faith Schools

Abstract

This article reports on a qualitative study framed in a phenomenological research design and aimed at investigating how school principals describe their mediating role when implementing religion-in-education policy at schools. Data were collected by means of narrative interviews. Stories of twelve school principals pursuing postgraduate studies at the University of Pretoria, all of whom had been in education for at least fifteen years at the time of the study, were collected, transcribed, analyzed and interpreted. Research findings indicate that, irrespective of the laws and policies laid down for them in implementing the policy, these school principals were unable to reconcile the requirements of the constitution with their own traditions and school rules.

Keywords: multi-faith schools, policy implementation, religious intolerance, religious tolerance, teacher training