Multicultural Education in Indonesia’s “Merdeka” Curriculum

Authors

  • Raihani Raihani Faculty of Education and Teacher Training Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Sultan Syarif Kasim, Riau Jl. H. R. Soebrantas Km.15, Panam – 28292 Pekanbaru, Indonesia
  • Gulnur Issabekova M.Kh. Dulaty Taraz Regional University, Tole Bi St 40, Taraz 081100, Kazakhstan
  • Tri Maulana Inovasi Untuk Anak Sekolah Indonesia (INOVASI) Jakarta, Summitmas 2, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman 61-62, Senayan Jakarta Selatan 12190, Indonesia
  • Gulnar Abdrakhman M.Kh. Dulaty, Taraz Regional University, Tole Bi St 40, Taraz 081100, Kazakhstan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2025.2.413.432

Keywords:

multicultural education, Merdeka Curriculum, Indonesia, religious education, tolerance

Abstract

Aim. Using James A. Banks’ (2003) four approaches, this study is aimed at exploring how multicultural education content is integrated in Indonesia’s “Merdeka” (Emancipated) Curriculum, officially launched in 2022 as a new school curriculum. This examines how the Indonesian government consistently develops multicultural education in the curriculum as a continuous response to the increasing diversity of its society.

Methods. This study employs a qualitative content analysis method, selecting the Learning Outcomes document and Textbooks of Pancasila Education and Religious Education subjects as samples. It selects information from the published documents based on several keywords and strategies.

Results. The new curriculum variably contains multicultural education. Pancasila and Catholic education use the social action approach to challenge students to think of actions that may be employed to solve diversity-related social problems, while other subject curricula remain focused on developing multicultural qualities in students or using the transformation approach. There is no indication that the curriculum uses the contributions and additive approaches.

Conclusion. Banks’s (2003) approaches to the integration of multicultural content in curriculum can be traced in the new Merdeka Curriculum in a various degree in every subject being studied in this research. The curriculum needs further improvements to incorporate a more critical approach towards the social reality of diversity and provides firm guidelines for students to learn and take social actions. This study, however, is limited to see multicultural education in several related subjects, not as a whole-school educational process on which future studies should be focused.

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Author Biographies

  • Raihani Raihani, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Sultan Syarif Kasim, Riau Jl. H. R. Soebrantas Km.15, Panam – 28292 Pekanbaru, Indonesia

    Professor of Islamic Education Studies at Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Indonesia. After completing his master's and doctorate at The University of Melbourne in 2006 – both under the Australian government scholarships, he has actively conducted research on issues of education particularly its relations with the construction of inclusive and multicultural society. He has won various research grants and received several reputable fellowships abroad including ARC Discovery Research Fellowship, Endeavour Research Fellowship, Endeavour Executive Fellowship, and Fulbright Visiting Scholar Fellowship. Prof. Raihani has published numerous works in journals and books including a sole-authored book “Creating Multicultural Citizens: A Portrayal of Contemporary Indonesian Education” published in 2014. Besides his academic endeavours, he has also served as a qualitative research adviser or specialist for several education projects at major development agencies since 2008.  

  • Gulnur Issabekova, M.Kh. Dulaty Taraz Regional University, Tole Bi St 40, Taraz 081100, Kazakhstan

    Dr. Gulnur Issabekova has more than ten years of experience as a manager, consultant, and technical expert in the field of education, results-based management, and interdepartmental cooperation. She holds a doctorate in Humanities, and her research focuses on collaborative learning and the success factors of transformative learning for sustainable development. She is the scientific director of several research projects: the CLIL project in the context of continuing education in the Republic of Kazakhstan: information and communication approach, the project on the introduction of CLIL technology through the subject in the school system in the context of the implementation of the trilingualism policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the project "Multicultural educational space in the Republic of Kazakhstan: history, theory, fundamentals of design".

  • Tri Maulana, Inovasi Untuk Anak Sekolah Indonesia (INOVASI) Jakarta, Summitmas 2, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman 61-62, Senayan Jakarta Selatan 12190, Indonesia

    Tri Maulana has worked in the development sector for more than 20 years and have been involved in various development projects from different donors in Indonesia. His educational background is in the field of Environmental Engineering from ITS Surabaya, and Master of Information System from BINUS University Jakarta, but he has adapted his technical skills and knowledge to a variety of sectors such as basic infrastructure, water and sanitation, green jobs, basic education, and TVET. Besides his work in development sectors, he has been also actively involved in educational research particularly in teacher professional development, school leadership, and education management since 2017. One of his research projects that recently published is “School Resilience in Indonesia, 2023”, a collaborative research project with Ministry of Education, Cultural, Research, and Technology, as part of his work for Innovation for Indonesia’s School Children Program (Australia Indonesia Partnership).

  • Gulnar Abdrakhman, M.Kh. Dulaty, Taraz Regional University, Tole Bi St 40, Taraz 081100, Kazakhstan

    Professor of the Department of “Russian Language and Literature” at M.Kh.Dulaty Taraz Regional University". She worked as the Head of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of Taraz State Pedagogical Institute, as Dean of the Faculty of Foundation Academic Training, Accreditation and Quality Management System of Taraz State Pedagogical Institute. Gulnara Abdrakhman is the holder of the title "The best University Teacher 2020" and a member of the Kazakh Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature.

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Published

2025-06-27

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2025): Journal of Education Culture and Society

Section

EXPERIENCE

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Copyright (c) 2025 Raihani Raihani, Gulnur Issabekova, Tri Maulana, Gulnar Abdrakhman

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How to Cite

Raihani, R. ., Issabekova, G., Maulana, T., & Abdrakhman, G. (2025). Multicultural Education in Indonesia’s “Merdeka” Curriculum. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 16(1), 413-432. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2025.2.413.432