Strengthening the Multicultural Perspective of Islamic Boarding School Teachers in Fostering a Moderate Attitude

Abstract

The limited integration of multicultural educational values into teaching practices at Islamic boarding schools has resulted in the suboptimal development of moderate attitudes within the educational process, which generally remains one-sided and lacks an emphasis on reflective and participatory approaches. This Community Service Programme aims to enhance the multicultural awareness of religious teachers in order to foster moderate attitudes. The activities were conducted using a workshop-based approach combined with reflective mentoring over a two-day period. A total of 17 ustadz participated in this programme. The methods employed included interactive lectures, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), case studies, learning simulations, and pedagogical reflection. The evaluation was conducted using a pre-test and post-test design, participatory observation, and participant reflection sheets to measure changes in knowledge, pedagogical skills, and moderate attitudinal tendencies in teaching practice. The results showed an average increase in scores from 62.4 to 84.7, representing a 35.7% rise. Furthermore, 72% of participants were able to develop multicultural value-based teaching strategies during the simulation. Observational findings revealed a trend towards the strengthening of moderate attitudes, characterised by increased awareness of the values of tolerance, openness, and respect for differences within the educational process. The implications of this activity highlight the need for sustained reinforcement through the integration of training, mentoring, and institutional supervision to ensure that multicultural values are consistently internalised within the pesantren educational ecosystem