Papers and resource materials for the global meeting on

TEACHING FOR TOLERANCE, RESPECT AND RECOGNITION IN RELATION WITH RELIGION OR BELIEF

 

Oslo, 2-5 September 2004 - The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief

 

INDONESIAN CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

 

By Zakiyuddin Baidhawy (Center for Cultural Studies and Social Change, Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia)

 

 

A.  Obstacles and challenges of teaching tolerance, respect, and recognition in Indonesia:

 

  1. Indonesia’s history of continuously horizontal (communal) and vertical conflicts (separatist movements in Aceh and Papua) tends to produce and establish interreligious, interethnic and intercultural prejudices and stereotypes.
  2. After the so-called SARA (“tribe, religions, race, and intergroups relations”) policy conducted repressively during the New Order regime was abolished, increased  freedom in the era of transition led also to the emergence of radical movements based on religious fanaticism, ethnical chauvinism, and cultural arrogances.
  3. The single interpretation of the ideology of Pancasila and the hegemony of the government in enforcing through the state apparatus (military, police, and intelligence) and the ideological apparatus such as educational institutions (e.g. curriculum of civic education and religious education) is another obstacle to overcome.

 

B.  Opportunities and Strategies to foster teaching tolerance, respect, and recognition in the new era of reformed Indonesia:

1.  There is a new consciousness of Indonesian people that the ideology Pancasila – as the common platform of nation-state – needs reinterpretation and rejuvenation.

  1. The introduction of  a new curriculum (Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi, “Competency Based Curriculum”) in 2004 opens chances to develop a process-oriented way of teaching multicultural attitudes and behavior such as tolerance, mutual-respect, mutual understanding, and recognition of religious, ethnic, and cultural diversities and differences. Two special subjects are important for the development of these attitudes and behavior are Civic Education and Religious Education. There are at least two opportunities that should be utilized, those are:

 

a.   Teaching-learning methods in the new curriculum emphasize active, creative, effective, and joyful processes (in Indonesia it is called PAKEM: Pembelajaran Aktif, Kreatif, Efektif, dan Menyenangkan). In this way, the teacher assesses the basic competency of his students, helps to develop other competencies and/or increases its capacity of existing competencies. PAKEM has been conducted through the implementation of School Based Management since 1999 in collaboration between UNESCO-UNICEF and the Department of National Education Affairs. The implementation of PAKEM is conducted in the Working Club of Teachers (KKG: Kelompok Kerja Guru) and the Working Club of Head of Schools. The former helps teachers in composing and developing teaching-learning subject matters and methods.   

b.   Stressing the process, not output, aspect of evaluation on process, as reflected in the model of portfolio evaluation. The implementation of portfolio evaluation emphasizes the process of student’s development. In this way, a teacher can monitor learning achievement. In order to reach the purpose of teaching tolerance, respect and recognition, portfolio evaluation can be used to know the process and output of learning attitudes, behavior, skills to live together; to adapt the targets and purposes of the curriculum that deals with the attitudes, behavior and skill mentioned above; and to constitute and to evaluate aspects of those attitudes, behaviour and skills in every level of evaluation.

 

3.      Local content approach to the curriculum: a teacher can deliver and internalize multicultural attitudes and customize behaviors of tolerance, respect and recognition in a deeper and vaster understanding and practice when education is in line with local needs and local contexts.

4.      The Act of the National Education System (no. 20/2003) allows diversity in the educational institutions by considering different cultural background of students and teachers and their environment. This Act also gives hope in reducing and eradicating prejudices amongst religious followers. It is now compulsory for every school to provide a religion teacher for the faith in question when there are at least 10 students from a certain religious belief. Before this Act, religion based educational institutions did not give opportunity for students from a different religion to study their religion in the school.