IMPLEMENTASI PENDIDIKAN POLITIK BAGI MAHASISWA FISIP UNIVERSITAS MUHAMMADIYAH BENGKULU GUNA MEMBANGUN BUDAYA DEMOKRATIS

Abstract

This research is grounded in the importance of political education in shaping students' political
awareness as young people who hold a strategic role in democratic life. Students are required
not only to understand political concepts theoretically, but also to be able to apply democratic
values in social and organizational life on campus. This research aims to examine how
political education is implemented among students of FISIP Universitas Muhammadiyah
Bengkulu, and to identify the challenges faced in building a democratic culture within the
student community. The research employs a qualitative approach with a descriptive method,
with data collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. The
informants consist of FISIP students who are active in academic activities, student
organizations (ORMAWA), and Muhammadiyah's internal youth organization (IMM). The
results show that the implementation of political education at FISIP UMB takes place through
two main pathways: academic and non-academic. Through the academic pathway, political
education is delivered through coursework, scholarly discussions, and seminars that connect
political theory with current socio-political conditions. Through the non-academic pathway,
political education is realized through student organization activities such as BEM (the
Student Executive Board) and DPM (the Student Representative Council), as well as cadredevelopment activities in IMM, which provide direct experience in democratic practice, such
as deliberation, decision-making, and the expression of aspirations. When analyzed using
Peter L. Berger's theory of social construction, the process by which students' democratic
culture is formed occurs through three stages: externalization, objectivation, and
internalization. Externalization is seen when democratic values are introduced through
academic and organizational activities. Objectivation occurs when these values become habits
and norms in students' lives on campus. Internalization, in turn, occurs when students absorb
these democratic values into their self-awareness, thereby forming attitudes that are critical,
participatory, and responsible. However, this research also identified several challenges in the
implementation of political education, including a continued lack of interactive discussion in
coursework, organizational dynamics sometimes influenced by personal ego, and uneven
internalization of democratic values among students. Based on these findings, it can be
concluded that political education at FISIP UMB plays an important role in building students'
democratic culture. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen more participatory learning
methods, as well as to develop discussion spaces and organizations capable of encouraging
students to be more active, critical, and responsible in democratic life.