11.png)
Email this article UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ MULTICULTURAL ATTITUDES IN NORTH SUMATRA: Insights for Multicultural Education in Indonesia
Abstract
This study examines the multicultural attitudes of university students in North Sumatra, Indonesia, and explores their implications for advancing multicultural education in higher education. Using a phenomenological case study approach, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with fifteen students representing diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. The findings indicate that students consistently demonstrated tolerance, empathy, and appreciation of cultural diversity, but also faced challenges in intercultural communication, particularly due to language differences. These results underscore the urgent need for universities to strengthen multicultural education by addressing linguistic diversity and implementing inclusive pedagogical practices. The novelty of this study lies in its contextual evidence from North Sumatra, which enriches the discourse on multicultural education that has often been dominated by theoretical discussions. Accordingly, this research provides both empirical and practical insights that can inform the development of more inclusive policies and practices in Indonesian higher education.
Keywords: Multicultural attitudes, multicultural education, diversity, tolerance
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ahmad, F., Salman, A., Rahim, S. A., Pantaweh, L., & Ahmad, L., “Interethnic tolerance among multiethnic youth,” Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 23 no. 2 2013): 275–290.
Baker, B. “Power, Leadership, and Culture as Drivers of Project Management,” American Journal of Management, 20 no. 1 (2020), 9–30.
Banks, James A. Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching, 6th ed. (New York: Routledge, 2016), 34–37.
Bernardo, A. B. I., Salanga, M. G. C., Tjipto, S., Hutapea, B., Yeung, S. S., and Khan, A., “Contrasting Lay Theories of Polyculturalism and Multiculturalism,” Cross-Cultural Research, 50 no. 3 (2016): 231–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069397116641895
Bevan, Nadia, “A Method of Phenomenological Interviewing,” Qualitative Health Research 24, no. 1 (2014): 136–144..
Braun, Virginia, and Clarke, Victoria, “Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology,” Qualitative Research in Psychology 3, no. 2 (2006): 79–80, https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Chao, M. M., Kung, F. Y. H., & Yao, D. J., “Understanding the divergent effects of multicultural exposure,” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 47 (2015): 78–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.032
Cheng, Y., “Educated non-elites’ pathways to cosmopolitanism: the case of private degree students in Singapore,” Social & Cultural Geography 19 no. 2 (2018): 151–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2016.1266026
Clarke, Victoria, Braun, Virginia, and Hayfield, Nikki, “Thematic Analysis,” in Handbook of Research Methods in Health and Social Sciences, ed. Pranee Liamputtong (Singapore: Springer, 2019), 843–860.
Creswell, John W., and Poth, Cheryl N., Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, 4th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2018), 77–85.
Daniels, Norman, Just Health: Meeting Health Needs Fairly (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010),
Daniels, T. P., “Urban Space, Belonging, and Inequality in Multi-Ethnic Housing Estates of Melaka, Malaysia,” Identities 17 no. .2–3 (2010): 176–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/10702891003734953
Gay, Geneva. Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice, 3rd ed. (New York: Teachers College Press, 2018), 45–47.
Gurin, P. Nagda, B. R. A., and Zúñiga, X. Dialogue across difference: Practice, theory, and research on intergroup dialogue (New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 2013)
Harris, A., & Han, A., “1Malaysia? Young people and everyday multiculturalism in multiracialized Malaysia,” Ethnic and Racial Studies 43 no. 5 (2020): 816–834. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2019.1580379
Julián J. Leiva and Juan M. Carretero, “University Students’ Attitudes toward Cultural Diversity in Spain,” Journal of Multicultural Education, 13, no. 2 (2019): 123–138.
Koh, S. Y., & Harris, A., “Multicultural reflexivity: university students negotiating ‘pockets’ and ‘strings’ of multiculturalism in Malaysia,” Children’s Geographies 18 no. 6 (2020): 712–725. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2020.1713300
Latif, M., & Hafid, E., “Multicultural attitudes in an Islamic boarding school of South Sulawesi – Indonesia,” Cogent Education 8 no. 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2021.1968736
Levitt, H. M., M. Bamberg, J. W. Creswell, D. M. Frost, R. Josselson, and C. Suárez-Orozco., “Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: The APA publications and communications task force report.,” The American Psychologist 73, no. 1 (2018): 26–46. doi:10.1037/amp0000151.
McConahay, J. B., Hardee, B. B., and Batts, V. “Has racism declined in American? It depends on who is asking and what is asked,” The Journal of Conflict, 25, no. 4 (1981): 563–579.
Mio, J. S., Barker, L., & Rodr´ıguez, M. D. Multicultural psychology: Understanding our diverse communities (Oxford University Press, 2019).
Moustakas, Clark, Phenomenological Research Methods (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1994), 21–23. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412995658
Musa, Adnan, and Yusof, Halimah, “Religious Tolerance and Multicultural Awareness among Malaysian University Students,” Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 28, no. 3 (2020): 2115–2132.
Neuliep, J. W., & McCroskey, J. C. “The development of intercultural and interethnic communication apprehension scales,” Communication Research Reports, 14 (1997): 385–398.
Nieto, Sonia. and Bode, Patty, Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education, 7th ed. (New York: Pearson, 2018), 62–64.
Nowell, Lorelli S., Norris, Jill M., White, Deborah E., and Moules, Nancy J., “Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria,” International Journal of Qualitative Methods 16, no. 1 (2017): 1–13.
Parekh, Bhikhu, Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006).
Piper, L., “The west in crisis: Technology, reason, culture,” Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory 98 (2001): 112–114.
Rahman, S., and Wulandari, “Fostering Multiculturalism in Indonesian Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities,” Journal of Education and Learning, 14, no. 1 (2020): 45–58
Raihani, R., “Education for multicultural citizens in Indonesia: policies and practices,” Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 48 no. 6 (2018): 992–1009. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2017.1399250
Ruth Chao, Christine S. Hong, and Yoonsun Choi, Interpretation of Cultural Differences in Multicultural Settings: Implications for Education and Counseling (New York: Routledge, 2015). Sari, Melinda, and Ardiansyah, R., “Student Interactions and Multicultural Values in North Sumatra Universities,” Indonesian Journal of Education Studies 25, no. 2 (2021): 98–112.
Seidman, Irving, Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences, 4th ed. (New York: Teachers College Press, 2013), 79–83.
Simons, Helen, Case Study Research in Practice (London: SAGE Publications, 2009), 24–26.
Sleeter, Christine E., and Grant, Carl A., Making Choices for Multicultural Education: Five Approaches to Race, Class, and Gender, 7th ed. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2017), 50–52.
Tamam, E., & Krauss, S. E., “Ethnic-related diversity engagement differences in intercultural sensitivity among Malaysian undergraduate students,” International Journal of Adolescence and Youth 22 no. 2 (2017): 137–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2014.881295
Tjipto, S., & Bernardo, A. B. I., “Constraints in the meanings of lay theories of culture in a culturally homogeneous society: A mixed-methods study on multiculturalism and polyculturalism in Wonosobo, Indonesia,” Cogent Psychology 6 no. 1 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2019.1569835
Van Der Zee, Karen, and Van Oudenhoven, Jan Pieter, “Psychometric qualities of the multicultural personality questionnaire: A multidimensional instrument ofmulticultural effectiveness,” European Journal of Personality, 14 (2000): 291–309.
Wetherly, P., Max., F., Robinson, S., & Valli, Y., In Introduction: ‘Islam’, ‘the West’ and ‘Multiculturalism’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
Wise, A., Everyday Multiculturalism: Transversal Crossings and Workin Class Cosmopolitanisms (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30821/jcims.v9i2.25892
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Jl. Williem Iskandar Psr V, Medan Estate, Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, 20371, Telp. (061) 6615683-6622925
Email: jcims@uinsu.ac.id
Journal of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Societies [ISSN 2528-6110 (print) | ISSN 2528-7435 (online)] is published by the UINSU Press, Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Medan.
Journal of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Societies by http://jurnal.uinsu.ac.id/index.php/JCIMS/index is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright �2023 Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Medan. Powered by Public Knowledge Project OJS.