Globalization and Cultural
and Multicultural Literacy
Lesson 2
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to
develop clear and practical understanding of the following:
 Globalization and its implications on both national and
individual level;
 Cultural and multicultural literacy in the Philippines; and
 Ones’ personal level of cultural and multicultural literacy.
Globalization is a process of interaction
and integration between people, business
entities, governments, and cultures from
other nations, driven by international trade
and investment and supported by
information technology (Levin Institute,
2017)
Globalization as a phenomenon is not new.
Nations and culture have been interacting
with one another for millennia.
The Effects of Globalization
 Economic, political, and military dependence and
interdependence between nations;
 Expanded flow of individual people among societies;
 Interdependence of expressive culture among nations;
and
 Expanded flow of instrumental culture around the world
Economic Dependence/Interdependence
 When the term globalization entered the Philippine
public mindset in early 90’s it is understood to be mainly
economic phenomenon and a negative one at that.
 The idea that foreign-owned businesses could come into
the country and freely “set-up shop” thereby choking-out
local industries.
 The fact that globalization has brought economic
development to our society as a whole by attracting
Foreign
Direct
Investment
(FDI),
new
technologies, employment opportunities, and
money have come into the country
 It creates a small, highly paid class elites to manage
these investment, who create many but usually lowpay jobs
 Profits from this investments are repatriated rather
than invested in the host country, therefore
inhibiting domestic capital formation;
 Foreign capital penetration tends to concentrate
land ownership among the very rich; and
 Host countries tends to create political and
economic climates favorable to foreign capital that
in turn limit domestic labor’s ability to obtain better
wages, the rich become richer and the poor
become poorer.
 Hout
(1980) observes that international
dependence tends to suppress adult wages, which
on turn perpetuates the role of children as
economic necessities leading to explosive
population growth (“kapag maraming anak
maraming katulong sa hanapbuhay”)
 As a negative effects, this explosive population
growth creates a large sub-sector of society.
 This encourages political instability, resulting in
policies that favor the redistribution of income,
which discourages investment, and will slow
economic growth.
Political and Military
Dependence/Interdependence
 A survey conducted in late 2018 found out that three in five
Filipinos believe that the United States would intervene on behalf
of the country in case of war.
 The point is that where there are some forms of economic
dependence/interdependence
political
dependence/interdependence is not far behind, as a participating
nations strive to protect their investments and interest in one
another.
Expanded Flow of Expressive and
Instrumental Culture
 Expressive culture deals with how a particular culture expresses
itself in language, music, arts and the like.
 Instrumental culture on the other hand refers to common models
of social order- that is models or ways of thinking about and
enacting national identity, nation state policies both domestic and
foreign, socio-economic development, human rights, education
and social progress.
Expanded Flow of People among Societies
 Meyer observes three reasons for this : socio-economic migration,
political expulsion, and travel/tourism.
 Socio-economic migration explains the Philippines’ OFW
phenomenon.
 Political expulsion has more to do with trying to escape the
political climate of a particular country, thereby forcing an
individual to seek asylum (resettlement) in another more favorable
country.
Cultural Literacy
 Cultural
literacy is the knowledge and
understanding of the life of a culture to the point
where one can fluently participate in the activities
of the said culture. This includes, but not limited
to, its languages, traditions, values, beliefs, forms of
entertainment, and worldviews.
Multicultural Literacy
 Multicultural literacy is the knowledge and skills
necessary to ensure that any communication with a
culture different from our own is clear, productive,
and respectful such that their differences are
celebrated and neither culture is demeaned or
treated as inferior.
Skills and knowledge required to be multiculturally literate:
 Selflessness;
 Knowledge that good and useful things can (and do)
come from those different from us;
 Willingness to compromise;
 Acceptance that there are limits; and
Issues in Teaching and Learning Multicultural
Literacy in the Philippines
 Conflicting Requirement for Peace;
 Nationalistic and Regionalistic Pushback;
 The Persistence of the Problem;
 The Question of Value
ENHANCE
Teaching teachers to be more multicultural in their pedagogies
• Learn about other cultures. Bank (1991) posits that the 1st
step to teach multiculturalism is knowing about cultures that
are not your own. It follows that if you, the teacher know only
your own culture, then you will be unable to teach your
students to appreciate a culture that is different from your
own.
ENHANCE
Teaching teachers to be more multicultural in their pedagogies
• Familiarize yourself with how discrimination and prejudice
appear in your own culture. Teachers must be able to identify
and confront patterns of discrimination and prejudice in their own
lives before they can teach their students to do the same. For
example, when someone you just met says he or she is from
Mindanao, what words immediately come out to your mouth in
response? Do they express genuine acceptance, or do they betray
some long-held preconceptions about people from other region?
ENHANCE
Teaching teachers to be more multicultural in their pedagogies
• As you are, so will you behave. Key to genuine multicultural
literacy is core values- that is, what you, the teacher, really
believe about people who are different from you; not the kind
belief that you can just say you possess when talking to your
class, but the kind that determines your behavior when you
think no-one is watching.
ENHANCE
Teaching teachers to be more multicultural in their pedagogies
• Model more, tell more. Young students, by nature, will have
difficulty in exercising empathy toward those who are different
from them. The ability is there, but it will naturally lack
practice. It is therefore not enough that teachers tell them to
be more compassionate- you, the teacher, must model for
them what empathy and compassion for others look like on a
day-to-day basis
Question to Fonder
 What is your attitude toward people who have a
different culture from yours? Do you celebrate how
they are different from you? Or do you look down on
them?
Question to Fonder
 Consider Regional discrimination in the PH: if a
woman speaks Bisaya in Manila, she is often assumed to
be maid or yaya; if a man speaks Tagalog with a heavy,
provincial accent, he is often assumed to be a laborer,
driver or involved in some form of manual or service
labor. What are your own discriminatory practices?
Cultures Around the World
https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=hTxKv5n5M2Y
Thank You!