Strategies and practices for fostering tolerance and tolerance education in schools: Case of Hizmet Schools principals in South Africa

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Wednesday IV)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Leadership and decision making in improving school quality

Proposal

Ayhan Cetin M.Ed. candidate Department of Educational Leadership and Management, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg
Juliet Perumal Prof. Educational of Educational Leadership and Management, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg


ABSTRACT

This study explored the strategies and practices of Hizmet School principals in South Africa to foster tolerance and tolerance education.
Tolerance is one of the most important values that needs to be nurtured in South Africa's contemporary multicultural and diverse society. Fostering the value of tolerance is imperative particularly in post-apartheid education system to deliver more effective citizens to community who are the positive contributor of social cohesion and mutual understanding. The Schools established by the Hizmet Movement (“Service” in Turkish), inspired by the teachings of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar, philosopher and educational activist; is globally renowned for its messages of tolerance, peace, dialogue and social cohesion, are known the bastion of promoting and practising tolerance in different parts of the world as well as in South Africa.
School leadership has a critical role in tolerance education by providing the necessary vision, being exemplary leaders and active participants in this process. The leadership role of a principal in a Hizmet School is no different. It would be worth examining what strategies these principal adopt and adapt to promote values - value of tolerance. Findings of this research could guide school leaders who want to establish a specifically tolerant school environment and wider tolerant community.
Qualitative research was employed for this study and conducted at the schools run by Hizmet Movement in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, South Africa. In this qualitative inquiry, focused group interviews, in-depth individual interviews are used to generate data. Three identified groups of stakeholder (principals, teachers and graduates) were involved in interviews to elicit their experiences and observations about the way principals promote tolerance. The data was analysed thematically through content analyses.
Findings of this research reveal that according to participants, one of the most effective way of promoting tolerance is by creating a physical and educational space for students to practice tolerance. Teachers are seen the key role players to success in fostering tolerance. Creating a tolerant school community depends on the teachers’ efforts and their motivation. Hence keeping teachers’ enthusiasm high in promoting and practising tolerance is one the most important strategies of principals. Principals encourage teachers to take intolerant attitudes of students as an important opportunity for practising tolerance. The family and the home are the most important environment to cultivate the value of tolerance. Moreover, the interviews with the participants revealed that home visits conducted by the teachers and principals are a unique practice of fostering tolerance which motivate and encourage not only principals but also teachers, students and parents. Systematic home visits create an apposite environment to practise tolerance by all stakeholders of the school. Another common strategy implemented by all principals is a structured system of the promotion of values as an extra curriculum activity. The participants called it a ‘value of the week’ or ‘value system’. The concept of allocating time and space for talking about values is very well accepted by the students, teachers and parents.
These findings provide researchers, educational practitioners and academics with a unique opportunity to further study the outcomes of this research, for further research, to investigate the role of the whole school in promoting tolerance, and its impact on the broader society. Another opportunity for further research could focus on the role of Hizmet Schools in promoting tolerance in high-conflict centered areas and polarized regions of the world, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans, South East Asia and Central Asia, etc. It is hoped that learning about the strategies of Hizmet Schools principals in their tolerance education practices would help educational practitioners in promoting and enhancing the true, acceptable and practical meaning of tolerance.

Authors

• AYHAN CETIN, University of Johannesburg

• Juliet Christine Perumal, University of Johannesburg