Religious Moderation in Upper Secondary Education: School Leaders’ Perceptions and Its Implications for Educational Practice in South Tapanuli

Abstract

Religious moderation is a stated priority in Indonesian education, yet research on it has concentrated on pupils, classroom instruction and institutional programmes, with less attention to how headteachers translate moderation values into everyday leadership and school practice. This study examines how headteachers interpret religious moderation in delivering education, how the nine moderation values are actualised in school policies and practices, and which values prove most prominent in headteachers' leadership. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted between 15 October 2025 and 20 January 2026 at three state senior secondary schools in South Tapanuli Regency, Indonesia: SMAN 1 Angkola Barat, SMAN 1 Sipirok and SMAN 1 Batang Angkola. Data were gathered through observation, in-depth interviews and documentation involving the three headteachers together with supporting informants from their schools, and were analysed thematically through familiarisation, coding, theme construction and verification, with source and methodological triangulation used to establish credibility. The findings indicate that headteachers understand moderation as respect for differences, balance, fairness, tolerance and deliberative decision-making, and realise it through school policy, learning, religious activities, pupil development, habituation and school culture. All nine values were observed, with tawassuṭ, i‘tidāl, tasāmuḥ, tawāzun and waṭaniyyah wa muwāṭanah the most prominent, while the local wisdom of Dalihan Na Tolu reinforced respect, balance, togetherness and harmony. Religious moderation in these schools thus functions as embedded institutional practice rather than declarative programme, and its continuity rests on leadership consistency, teacher capacity and the cultural resources of the school community.