Educational Pluralism and Tolerance

Authors

  • Elmer John Thiessen Medicine Hat College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/jet.v21i2.52835

Abstract

The issue of intolerance is increasingly being brought to our attention. (See, for example, a recent publication by Jay Newman, Foundations of Religious Tolerance, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982). A task force recently appointed by the Government of Alberta in response to the Keegstra affair was assigned to study the problem of intolerance within our education system and in our society generally. The committee's report gives expression to a very commonly held position, namely, that the key to fostering tolerance in a society is to maintain a strong and uniform public school system, and that the proliferation of private/alternative/separate schools will foster intolerance in our society.

The purpose of this article is to refute this belief by clarifying the concept of "tolerance,'' uncovering some problematic assumptions underlying the opposition to educational pluralism, and considering relevant empirical evidence.

Published

2018-05-16

Issue

Section

Articles