Implementation of the policy on religious equity in public schools in the East London Education District : towards a framework for religious diversity

The study sought to establish the implementation of the policy on religious equity in public schools in the East London Education district in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Underpinned by Van Meter and Van Horn (2015) with implementation and conceptual theory and also a theory on opportunity to learn and school performance by Van Der Grift and Houtveen(2006), the study was located in the pragmatist research paradigm and followed a mixed methods approach and concurrent triangulation design. The research sampling technique was random for high school learners in selected schools and purposeful for principals, heads of departments, teachers and provincial education officials. Three methods were employed to collect data from selected public schools and from the provincial office namely; semi-structured interviews, individual interviews and observation. Quantitative data were analysed statistically and presented in the form of descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed using the thematic content analysis technique. Major findings of the study are that teachers and principals understood the concept religious equity and had a fair understanding of the policy on religious equity. Schools were predominantly Christian-oriented in terms of religious practices and there were no recorded cases of religious conflict. Learners of minority religions were not compelled to attend Christian religious functions in schools and were allowed to attend their own religious functions outside school. This was established from the fact that participants cited freedom of religion as being exercised in schools. However, it was further established that there was no strategic monitoring and support for teachers in the implementation of religious equity. There were also no deliberate measures and strategies for the implementation of religious equity suggesting challenges and inconsistencies in the implementation of the policy. While there were notable challenges in the implementation of the policy, due to resistance of stakeholders to change, schools had great opportunities which could be utilized to enhance the implementation of the policy on religious equity. The study concludes by noting that, while key policy implementers had an understanding of religious equity, the situation on the ground revealed challenges and inconsistencies in the implementation of the policy which resulted in a Christian-dominated school environment at the expense of minority religions The study recommends, among other things, that that religious equity be adhered to as enshrined in the Constitution of South Africa of 1996 and the South African Schools Act of 1996. The teaching and learning environment should include Religion Education as per prescription by National Policy on Religion Education of 2003, that monitoring and support of teachers be done, and that community involvement with policy development be considered crucial as well as moral education teaching in schools. A framework for enhancing implementation of the policy on religious equity is also proposed