Multicultural Education and Religious Moderation in Junior High School

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the implementation of multicultural education in school policies and practices, examine the meaning of religious moderation by teachers and students, and uncover the dynamics of students' social interaction in the context of ethnic and religious diversity in Pontianak Cooperative Junior High School. This study uses a qualitative approach with a case study design. Data were collected through moderated participant observations, semi-structured interviews with principals, teachers, and students, and documentation studies. Data analysis was carried out using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldana, which included data condensation, data presentation, and conclusions drawn. The results of the study show that multicultural education at Pontianak Cooperative Junior High School is still taking place informally and has not been institutionalized in explicit school policies. Teachers tend to interpret religious moderation normatively-textually, while students interpret it relationally and based on their daily experiences. Further, an ambivalence was found between social integration in formal school activities and the tendency to group students based on ethnicity or religion in informal student activities. The study was limited to one study location and a one-semester observation period, so the findings could not be generalized statistically. However, the results of this study offer important implications for developing inclusive school policies, strengthening experiential learning, and designing extracurricular programs that encourage cross-identity interactions. The uniqueness of this research lies in the integration of multicultural education and the study of religious moderation in the local context of West Kalimantan, with a focus on the construction of meaning and dynamics of social interaction in a multiethnic and multireligious school environment.