Creating Multicultural Citizens

Creating Multicultural Citizens Despite the largest-scale decentralisation of education since 1999, which broadly led to the marketisation of education, it is not clear how school education responds to the multicultural realities of Indonesian society and ethnoreligious confl icts. Creating Multicultural Citizens presents a comprehensive evaluation of contemporary education in the largest democratic Muslim country in the world, focusing on the ways in which education prepares citizens for a multicultural society. It thoroughly examines the state-religion-community roles in the fi eld of education in developing the Indonesian people. Using a qualitative ethnographic methodology, the author presents six case studies of different schools, including religious, nonreligious, state, and private schools, in two different provinces in Indonesia. It particularly explores: • evolving but contested theories of multiculturalism and multicultural education; • education changes and reforms in post-Suharto Indonesia; • government policies for multicultural education and school curriculum; • school leadership for education for diversity; • roles of religious education in schools in nurturing multicultural beliefs, val- ues, and attitudes; • extracurricular activities and tolerance; • students’ perspectives of multiculturalism and the ideal society; • the promising development of a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in estab- lishing multicultural education. It is the fi rst book to explore how education in Indonesia helps contribute to the creation of tolerant and multicultural citizens and is essential reading for anyone involved in Indonesian education and international higher education. Dr Raihani is a senior lecturer of education studies at Sultan Syarif Kasim State Islamic University (UIN Suska), Riau, Indonesia, and an Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. Routledge Critical Studies in Asian Education Series Editors: S. Gopinathan and Wing On Lee Primary School English-Language Education in Asia From policy to practice Edited by Bernard Spolsky and Young-in Moon A Critical Ethnography of ‘ Westerners ’ Teaching English in China Shanghaied in Shanghai Phiona Stanley Controversial History Education in Asian Contexts Edited by Mark Baildon, Loh Kah Seng, Ivy Maria Lim, Gül Inanç and Junaidah Jaffar Internationalization of Higher Education in East Asia Trends of student mobility and impact on education governance Edited by Ka-Ho Mok and Kar Ming Yu Creating Multicultural Citizens A portrayal of contemporary Indonesian education Raihani Muslim Education in the 21st Century Asian perspectives Edited by Sa’eda Buang and Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew Creating Multicultural Citizens A portrayal of contemporary Indonesian education Raihani First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Raihani The right of Raihani to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-415-84414-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-85171-6 (ebk) Typeset in Galliard by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of figures vi List of tables vii Preface viii Acknowledgements x Foreword xi 1 Introduction 1 2 Multiculturalism and education 18 3 Reforms in Indonesian education 39 4 Policies for multicultural education 62 5 School leadership and policies 85 6 Teaching religion: Policy and implementation 109 7 Extracurricular activities and religious tolerance 134 8 “Imagined society”: Students’ ideas of the ideal society 153 9 School and social justice 173 10 Is multicultural education in Pesantren possible? 193 11 Conclusions 214 References 229 Index 251 Figures 1.1 Map of Indonesia 4 8.1 An excerpt of student writing: Positive perceptions of cultural diversity 159 Tables 1.1 Number of survey respondents 9 3.1 Number of schools in Indonesia, 2009–2010 44 3.2 Completion rate in general schools and madrasah 47 3.3 Division of curriculum development authorities 51 4.1 The structure of senior secondary curriculum 71 8.1 Making friends with other backgrounds 160 8.2 Opinions of interreligious marriage 161 Preface This book is one of the outcomes of a research project funded by an Austra- lia Research Council Discovery Project in the years 2009–2011. This is a team project, and the team consists of Professor Lyn Parker from the University of Western Australia, Dr Chang-Yau Hoon from Singapore Management University, and myself. In this project, I was a postdoctoral fellow – a position which allowed me to conduct research and write this book independently. This book investigates how education has been used to help create multicultural citizens in Indonesia after the resignation of President Suharto in 1998 and the concomitant reform, bringing democracy and decentralisation. After the reform, confl icts triggered by ethnocentrism and religious fanaticism resulted in hundreds of casualties and thousands of displaced persons. Political and bureaucratic decentralisation since 1999 entailed bureaucratic and cultural problems, and local cultural identities and sentiments were played up by local political actors, undermining the principles of both democracy and meritocracy. In some ways, Indonesia seemed to have become an intolerant Muslim country. Although there are several ways to deal with the increasing potential for confl ict, I believe that education is one that needs serious attention from government, researchers, and the community at large, particularly if we want a long-term solu- tion to such problems. Therefore, this book presents a comprehensive evaluation of contemporary education in the largest democratic Muslim country in the world, focusing on the ways in which education prepares citizens for a multicultural society. The topics covered in this book include policies that support the development and implementation of multicultural education, school curricula and programmes, school leadership and management, school structures and cultures, and school-community relations. I examine state-community relations in the fi eld of education and their role in developing students to become good Indonesian citizens. I also look critically into the role of religious education in the promotion of tolerance and multiculturalism. Using an ethnographic methodology, I present six case studies of different schools, including religious, nonreligious, state, and private schools, in two different provinces in Indonesia – Yogyakarta and Central Preface ix Kalimantan. This is the fi rst book that has evaluated how education in Indonesia contributes to the creation of tolerant and multicultural citizens. Raihani Senior Lecturer of Education Studies at Sultan Syarif Kasim State Islamic University (UIN Suska), Riau, Indonesia Adjunct Research Fellow at School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Australia May 2013 Acknowledgements My sincere gratitude and thanks go to Professor Lyn Parker, who has played a pivotal role in making the writing of this book possible. During my postdoctoral fellowship, I had been indebted to her great mentorship in which she relentlessly provided support and advice for me to step through such an enlightening, but sometimes lonely and boring, process. During the writing of this book, I did not feel confi dent enough about each of the chapters until she read and gave me constructive comments and feedback. Also, I felt honoured that she has provided the supportive and insightful foreword to this book. Other individuals who deserve my thanks include Dr Chang-Yau (CY) Hoon and Ms Rosalind Hewett. As a team member of the project, CY is a prolifi c scholar who has contributed signifi cantly to the development of the team through research, publications, and regular team meetings and discussions. He provided invaluable advice regarding this book and constructively commented on drafts of some of my writings. Ros helped me in editing the draft of this book and often came up with critical comments for me to develop the book further. She has been meticulous in her work. There are many other people that I cannot mention here one by one, who have played signifi cant parts in my professional and personal life during the postdoctoral fellowship. Among them are Ms Miho Masel, an administrative offi cer of Asian studies, the University of Western Australia, who had been always helpful and friendly; also Hariyadi, Susi Handayani, Emma, and other colleagues and friends with whom I could share thoughts and feelings about anything. I hope that our friendship will last forever. Especially to my wife, Tuti Haryati, and my daughter, Shafa Rizkiya, who are the source of inspiration and motivation,

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