Public Administration and Multicultural Education: Strengthening Students’ Multicultural Literacy through Social Studies Learning

Abstract

This study examines the potential of the book "Everything about My Homeland" by Shelomi Angeli (Erlangga for Kids, 2019) as a companion media in strengthening multicultural literacy in social studies subjects at the junior high school level. The background of the study departs from the reality that Indonesia, with 1,340 ethnic groups and 1,211 regional languages ​​​​(BPS, 2010), faces the challenge of diversity education that has not been adequately resolved by official textbooks. The approach used is descriptive qualitative with a literature study method, where the analysis is carried out based on the Miles and Huberman model (in Moleong, 2017) which includes data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The analysis shows that this book contains seven categories of cultural content, namely traditional clothing, traditional houses, traditional culinary, traditional arts, tourist attractions, flora and fauna, as well as unique facts spread across all 34 provinces, resulting in more than 238 cultural topics in 256 pages. Research findings indicate substantial alignment between the textbook's content and the elements of Phase D Social Studies Learning Outcomes in the Independent Curriculum, particularly the Global Diversity dimension within the Pancasila Student Profile. However, the empirical effectiveness of this textbook's use has not been experimentally tested, requiring policy support and teacher training to ensure its benefits are felt equally.