Potentials of Multicultural Education In Communal Conflict Areas

Published: 05-09-2021 This study focuses on understanding communal conflicts in Indonesia, which are triggered by stereotyping. Indonesians have undergone communal conflicts, especially in the late 1990s. The conflicts were mainly religious and ethnic, suggesting serious tensions in stereotyping between religious and ethnic groups. In this case, the paper seeks to underline the importance of multicultural education in the school context. Education is considered having a strategic role in building positive circumstances among people. Multicultural education is expected to minimize the possibility of building negative stereotyping of one person against another, which could cause conflict. This qualitative study incorporates a literature review of multicultural education and communal conflicts in the Indonesian context.


Introduction
Indonesia is in the shadow of religious and ethnic conflicts. The rising case of conflicts in society could trigger another conflict similar to those in the late 1990s. The Law has warned the shadow of this conflict on Social Conflict Management. In Article 5 of Law Number 7 the Year 2012, Handling of Social Conflicts states that conflicts can originate from issues relating to political, economic, and socio-cultural issues, inter-religious and ethnic conflict, village, city, and boundary disputes provinces, natural resource disputes between communities and among communities and businesses, and the unequal distribution of natural resources among the people 1 .
In the late 1990s, Indonesians experienced unforgettable communal conflicts because they included violence and nonviolence involving various __________ 1 "Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 7 Tahun 2012  Tentang Penanganan Konflik Sosial," n.d. religious and ethnic groups 2 . In 1995 and 1996, riots broke out in Situbondo, Tasikmalaya and other areas of Java 3 . These conflicts claimed many lives and damaged personal properties. In May 1998, riots were followed by racial violence against Chinese ethnic, especially in the capital city of Jakarta. The riots were mainly because of religious and ethnic motives, which suggested serious tensions stemming from stereotyping between religious and ethnic groups.
Anti-Chinese stereotyping and sentiment became the motive for the riots 4  factor that triggers conflict according to these authors is stereotyping.
Stereotyping arises from how a person or group of people from a particular ethnicity categorizes people from another race. This stereotyping is something that comes from the perspective of the group itself and will also be influenced by the norms that exist in the group, and may also be influenced by the knowledge, theories, and ideologies spread by a group 7 . So when we discuss how stereotyping situations and conditions. Next, they become different from one another, including their stereotyping of a group. That is because the experience of a person and group of people is formed by the social circumstances and conditions that surround them. As a tabula rasa, an analogy from John Locke, that the mind (human) at birth is a "blank paper" with no rules for processing data, data added and the rules for processing are formed only by the experience of the sensory devices 10 .
Multicultural education is expected to minimize the construction possibility of negative stereotyping in one person against another and cause conflict.
Thus, education has a strategic role in building positive stereotyping for one person against another. Therefore, multicultural education is relevant to building multicultural awareness, which influences someone's stereotyping of others.
As others in existing situations, and other individuals may be involved; thus, he identifies himself in the case, responds implicitly, and regulates his explicit reaction in his way 15 .
Stereotyping is one factor causing communal conflicts in Indonesia. As happened in the late 1990s, in this context, the self-categorization theory can be understood. Based on this theory, a personal and cultural experience that is a dimension of one's personality is related to classifying someone into a group. Stereotyping reflects a relationship between personality traits or characters and their division into social categories 16 .
All categorization is based on an interaction between stimuli data and knowledge, added to the motives, goals, and needs of people who perceive (perceiver) 17 . differences in comparisons between groups. At the same time, the normative fit is related to the background of one's knowledge and theories to be adjusted with the data. So the role of data is an essential thing in the content formation, in which the contents reflect the actual comparison and contextual aspects of the stimulation reality.
However, the perceiver's role is also very significant because of categorization, and the search for similarities and differences are guided by a person's needs, motives, and goals.
When someone compares differences between groups, this should make sense in the relationship of knowledge and theory used in stereotyping so that the comparative and normative fit runs in interaction to determine the content of the stereotype.
Relating to communal conflicts of religious and ethnic background in Indonesia, such as riots in the late 1990s in Situbondo, Tasik Malaya, Jakarta, North Maluku, and West Kalimantan, were triggered by stereotyping. In stereotyping that triggers conflict, there is a categorization process that involves close fit and normative fit. Based on this, there are themes and labeling that include the close fit and normative fit categories. Themes and labels in the comparative fit category are a theme of needs that have different labels: goals that have a disparaging and joking label, as well as motives that have the label of utilization, honor, and profit. As for normative fit, a background theme has a personality label: the knowledge that has an interaction label, and a social context that has an educational, social environment label. It can be illustrated in a chart, as follows:  category, and if the prototype defines itself (for example, an in-group prototype and not a prototype from an outgroup), then someone is likely to internalize the prototype so that the prototype acts as a basis for self-perception, judgment social, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior 23 .
Certain religious or ethnic groups then generalize the experience of interacting with other religious or ethnic groups as a basis for their self-perception, social judgment, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior towards other religious or ethnic groups, and vice versa. However, in this context, they not only find group differences and stereotypical content based on their own experiences, but they also learn differences from outside themselves and from various social sources. In

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Nadwa: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam stereotyping of a group. Social circumstances form the experience of a person and group of people and conditions that surround them, as a tabula rasa, an analogy from John Locke, that the mind (human) at birth is a "blank paper" with no rules for processing data, data added and the rules for processing are formed only by the experience of the sensory devices 28 . The social environment of education in this context provides important experiences for a person and his character, including how he perceives others, has stereotypes 29 .
In shaping stereotypes of religion or society in the social education environment, there are at least four theories: First bottom-up, this level is also called information-rich, which considers that people produce stereotypes of information and facts about a group or it can be assumed that the distinction between groups is clearly seen because of the availability of much information so that it becomes the basis of forming stereotypes, without making or using assumptions about group differentiation. Therefore, it can be said that this is the most apparent reason for the formation of the stereotype and perhaps the most commonly understood to present this process.

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When these stereotypes afflict members of their groups, selfenhancement applies (when a person prefers positive social identities rather than negative ones), and judgments emerge as evaluation. This is under the principle of social identity theory that when someone sees something that is the same or equal, the group will see their groups positively in a different arena. In a stereotype formed bottom-up, information and data are obtained through the process of learning or experiencing, when people are introduced to some information, when it is used as a basis for stereotypes that are made, certainly based on the groups' interests. This is under the principles of close fit and meta-contrast, which are then elaborated in selfcategorization theory which assumes that the better and clearer the group differences, the more they will be used as the basis of the formation of the stereotype. Second, a bit of "bottom-up," which is stereotypes formed through a bottom-up," does not require much information for a stereotype. Little information and, although not clear, can be the basis for stereotype formation. It should be noted in this context, the contents of the stereotypes are most likely informed by what one knows, such as from one's group and evaluative ly likely to be distinguished from attributes in other comparisons from outside the group. Third, a bit of "topdown" that there is sufficient information to construct or suspect a person or group. It means, even though there are very little information and knowledge, a person can produce stereotypes based on these pieces to differentiate others (such as from which region they come from or their family background). Fourth, neither up nor down; in this context, stereotypes are produced with no clear or tangible data or information about what distinguishes a person or other ethnic group from a person or group 30 .
As explained earlier, the categorization process is central to stereotyping and emphasizes the fit role in this process 31 . From the overall description based on the information that the authors got from the informants about the process of forming stereotypes, then the description in this context shows how the fit concept is highly considered in the individual. This can be seen from the extent to which comparative fit is needed for The third is a prejudice reduction. As well known, these social prejudices have been consciously or unconsciously established since childhood. Therefore, in the social environment of children's education, it is important to consider in association with fellow stereotypes that manifest in the form of positive or negative prejudices. In intensive inter-group relationships, bad prejudices can be eliminated and close cooperation and mutual respect can be fostered. Ceremonies commemorating heroes, regardless of religion and skin color, instill positive attitudes towards certain religious and ethnic groups. These values are included in the curriculum without changing the structure of the curriculum itself. Finally, the knowledge possessed by students is then transformed into actions, for example in commemorating the holidays of each ethnic group in the school social environment or community; The fourth is the pedagogy of equality between people (equity pedagogy). In this context, students in schools are given the understanding that unfair attitudes in society cause marginalized ethnic groups. Therefore, a pedagogy that pays attention to groups of poor people who do not get the same opportunities compared to groups of children from the middle class or upper class is needed. Likewise, according to Banks, there is a link between children's intelligence and social life. The development of their intelligence usually hampers children from poor communities. Therefore, it needs to pay closer attention to the students' socioeconomic improvement, mostly from forgotten ethnic groups; The fifth is empowering school culture. Those four approaches from Banks all lead to empowering school culture.
If multicultural education approaches are implemented, then naturally a strong school culture will be born in dealing with social problems in society. Schools to the students' social identity needs in Indonesia 39 .
Tilaar also believes that Banks's ideas about multicultural education should be adjusted to Indonesia's conditions and needs. According to Tilaar, in designing and actualizing multicultural education models in Indonesia, it is necessary to refer to the following principles: the first is "right to culture" and local cultural identity. Multicultural education in Indonesia must be directed towards the realization of civil society amidst the strength of global culture; the second is Indonesian culture. Indonesian culture is a weltanschauung, which means it must be followed by every human being and every Indonesian microcultural identity. As a weltanschauung, it is a new value system. As a new value system, it requires a realization process through a process in national education. Therefore, in a strengthening trend in religious or ethnic identity, it is necessary to emphasize the new value system that we will realize: the Indonesianvalue system; the third is a normative multicultural education. The goal of normative multicultural education is to realize Indonesian culture owned by a nation-state, but not to make the concept of normative multicultural education a compulsion by eliminating the diversity of local cultures; the fourth is multicultural education as a social reconstruction. One problem arising from the development of regionalism, ethnic identity, the right to culture of individuals, and an ethnic Indonesian nation led to disharmony in the pluralist nation life.
Therefore very relevant in producing students who later live in a heterogeneous society, are respectful of differences, and living in harmony 41 .

Conclusion
In the late 1990s, Indonesians experienced unforgettable communal conflicts. Communal conflicts refer to violence and nonviolence involving various religious and ethnic groups. In 1995 and 1996, riots broke out in Situbondo, Tasikmalaya, and other areas of Java. This conflict claimed many lives and damaged personal properties. The riots were mainly because of religious and ethnic motives, which suggested severe tensions stemming from stereotyping between religious and ethnic groups. In May 1998, riots were followed by racial violence against Chinese ethnic, especially in the capital city of Jakarta.
Communal conflicts motivated by the stereotyping of religion and ethnicity also occurred outside Java, such as in North Maluku and West Kalimantan in 1997 and 1999, while the latest conflict was equally massive. The communal conflicts that occurred in Kalimantan involved the masses against the riots, tried to cause heavy casualties, among in terms of casualties, a variety of damaged houses and public facilities, and aiding refugees.
Apart from being related to kinship, primordial problems, economic problems, and social mobility, another factor that triggers conflicts, according to the authors, is stereotyping. Stereotyping arises from how a person or group of people from a specific ethnicity categorizes a person or group of people from another ethnicity. This stereotyping comes from the group's perspective and influenced by the norms that exist in the group and may also be influenced by the knowledge, theories, and ideologies. This stereotyping is formed from observations, hopes, and knowledge about a group. Someone receives social information in the form of categories, in which the category is obtained through a fit process that can include close fit and normative fit. A prototype describes the contents of the category, and if the prototype defines itself (for example, an in-group prototype, and not the outgroup prototype) then someone is likely to internalize the prototype so that the prototype acts as a basis for self-perception, social judgment, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. This stereotyping of religion and ethnicity is also formed from the educational experience that someone gets from the social environment. This means, when someone biologically looks the same as someone, they grow and develop with different sociocultural situations and conditions. They become different from one another, including their stereotyping of a group. That is because the social circumstances form the experience of a person and group of people and conditions that surround them, as a tabula rasa, an analogy from John Locke, that