Abstract
M.Ed. (Education)
Tolerance is one of the most important values that needs to be nurtured in South
Africa’s contemporary multicultural and diverse society. Schools are at the epicentre
of teaching tolerance. Schools established by the Hizmet Movement (Hizmet means
‘service’ in Turkish) and inspired by the teachings of Fethullah Gülen – a Turkish
Islamic scholar and educational activist – are internationally acclaimed for their
propagation of tolerance, peace, dialogue and social cohesion.
School leadership has a significant role to play in tolerance education by providing a
vision, leading by example and through active participation. For this reason, it is crucial
for principals to understand the notion of tolerance. The aim of this research, therefore,
was to explore the role of Hizmet school principals in fostering tolerance in South
African Hizmet Schools. I tried to reach this aim by investigating the following: the
perception of tolerance of Hizmet school principals, the challenges principals face in
tolerance education, practices of principals in tolerance education, and the leadership
styles of principals in tolerance education.
A qualitative research approach was employed. The eight Hizmet Movement affiliated
schools in South Africa, known as Star Colleges, were selected to participate in the
study. Focus group interviews and semi-structured individual interviews were
conducted with the principals of the eight schools. Policies and minutes of meetings
and other documents are analysed. Qualitative content analysis procedures were
used to analyse the data.
The findings of this study reveal that the Hizmet school principals’ perceptions of
tolerance are shaped by the thoughts, teachings and practices of Fethullah Gülen.
These perceptions can be summarised in two complementary sentences. First, they
view tolerance as the essence of loving creation, based on the notion that everything
comes from the Creator. The second is based on the principle of having a place for
everyone in one’s heart. The most important challenges for principals in promoting
tolerance are from teachers, students, parents and the media at different levels.
Principals adopt a ‘lead by example’ approach to promote tolerance. The most
effective practices of principals in tolerance education are home visits and a structured
value system at the school. Principals adopt different leadership styles. Servant...