Some headmaster perspectives on cultures and beliefs in multicultural schools: a qualitative interview study

This article presents a headmaster perspective on cultures and religious education (RE) and ethics in some multicultural Swedish-medium primary schools in Finland. The aim is to identify characteristic patterns in headmasters’ thoughts on the multicultural school environment. The data were gathered within the VI VILL-community case study in a multicultural community in Finland, and consists of qualitative interviews with all primary school headmasters (N = 7) in that municipality. The qualitative issue-focussed analysis of the interviews brings forth several perspectives on the multicultural school and the challenges related to RE and ethics. Dimensions ranging from knowledge and administration to educational practices, feelings and opportunities for participation are represented in the data and their relevance discussed in relation to interculturality, the two-way dimension of integration and some previous studies related to headmasters’ thoughts on faith-related education.