Creating a Faith-Friendly School Culture in Religiously Plural Communities: A Neglected Facet of Diversity

Y

19

School Culture; Communities of Practice; Religious Factors; Student Diversity; Beliefs; Teacher Administrator Relationship; Parent School Relationship; Spiritual Development; Educational Environment; Employment; Inclusion; Cultural Pluralism; Religion; Safety; Work Environment; Educational Policy; Religious Education; Public Education; Laws

1559-4998

School leaders serve religiously diverse communities, engaging with staff and parents from many backgrounds to address the academic and development needs of all children. While educator preparation often includes some instruction in cultural competence, religious diversity gets little attention. The purpose of this conceptual article is to provide guidance for school leaders to create a workplace and school culture hospitable to employees from all religious, spiritual, and non-religious backgrounds. Using Miller and Ewest's (2015) Faith and Work Organizational framework, this article reviews findings from the management literature on workplace spirituality including the sparse empirical literature on religious expression in the school (as a workplace) and from case law on employment-related religious expression in schools. We synthesize the concepts and findings into actionable recommendations for school leaders to guide them towards creating inclusive, religiously plural, faith-safe or faith-friendly workplaces where educators can flourish and thrive. Recommendations include a policy review, adoption of norms of respectful pluralism, and religious literacy training.

As Provided

2023

EJ1367435