Investigating the application of safety regulations in schools: A case study of two secondary schools in Alfred Nzo West District

Shortly after the inception of the new South African democracy in 1994, a series of national policies were introduced to overhaul the educational landscape in the country. Joubert (2007) highlighted the optimism placed in the potential of educational policies to reshape the system and drive social change. In 2000, the Safe Schools Project was initiated in South Africa with the goal of establishing secure, well-disciplined learning environments that uphold innocence and prioritize human dignity. This study explores the implementation of school safety policy in two secondary schools in Alfred Nzo West, with a particular focus on the challenges and successes encountered in the process. It employs constructivism paradigm and follows a qualitative research approach. Data was collected through observation/field notes and semi-structured interviews with school principals, school governing bodies and grade 12 learners. The research further uses the theory of change because it provides a framework for understanding and illustrating how a project, policy, strategy, or program, implemented leads to the intended outcome. The finding reveals that school safety policies are implemented in schools through application of rules aligning with the policies and making use of posters and printout that explains the policy to learners, parents and all staff members.