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Republic of the Philippines

SORSOGON STATE COLLEGE
Magallanes Campus
Education Department
Magallanes, Sorsogon

I. Module Title: GLOBALIZATION AND MULTICULTURAL LITERACY

II. Overview/Introduction

Module 1 is all about global and multicultural literacy. This introductory module identifies the
positive and negative impacts of globalization especially on education including the roles of the teachers
and learners on global literacy. Further, this module describes the important roles of the teacher in
multicultural education and literacy among learners.

III. Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Differentiate global literacy and multicultural literacy.

2. State the specific roles of the teachers on promoting global and multilingual literacy.
3. Reflect on how to become a global and multilingual teacher in the classroom.

IV. Learning Experiences and Self-Assessment Activities (SAA)

What is Globalization?

Globalization means the speedup of movements and exchanges (of human beings, goods, and
services, capital, technologies or cultural practices) all over the planet. One of the effects of globalization
is that it promotes and increases interactions between different regions and populations around the
globe.

According to WHO, globalization can be defined as ” the increased interconnectedness and

interdependence of peoples and countries. It is generally understood to include two inter-related
elements: the opening of international borders to increasingly fast flows of goods, services, finance,
people and ideas; and the changes in institutions and policies at national and international levels that
facilitate or promote such flows.”

According to the Committee for Development Policy (a subsidiary body of the United Nations),
from an economic point of view, globalization can be defined as:
“(…) the increasing interdependence of world economies as a result of the growing scale of cross-border
trade of commodities and services, the flow of international capital and the wide and rapid spread of
technologies. It reflects the continuing expansion and mutual integration of market frontiers (…) and the
rapid growing significance of information in all types of productive activities and marketization are the
two major driving forces for economic globalization.”

In geography, globalization is defined as the set of processes (economic, social, cultural,

technological, institutional) that contribute to the relationship between societies and individuals around
the world. It is a progressive process by which exchanges and flows between different parts of the world
are intensified.
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Because of trade developments and financial exchanges, we often think of globalization as an

economic and financial phenomenon. Nonetheless, it includes a much wider field than just flowing of
goods, services or capital. Often referred to as the globalization concept map, some examples of
globalization are:

➢ Economic globalization: is the development of trade systems within transnational actors such as
corporations or NGOs;
➢ Financial globalization: can be linked with the rise of a global financial system with international
financial exchanges and monetary exchanges. Stock markets, for instance, are a great example of
the financially connected global world since when one stock market has a decline, it affects other
markets negatively as well as the economy as a whole.
➢ Cultural globalization: refers to the interpenetration of cultures which, as a consequence, means
nations adopt principles, beliefs, and costumes of other nations, losing their unique culture to a
unique, globalized supra-culture;
➢ Political globalization: the development and growing influence of international organizations such
as the UN or WHO means governmental action takes place at an international level. There are
other bodies operating a global level such as NGOs like Doctors without borders or Oxfam;
➢ Sociological globalization: information moves almost in real-time, together with the
interconnection and interdependence of events and their consequences. People move all the time
too, mixing and integrating different societies;
➢ Technological globalization: the phenomenon by which millions of people are interconnected
thanks to the power of the digital world via platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype or
Youtube.
➢ Geographic globalization: is the new organization and hierarchy of different regions of the world
that is constantly changing. Moreover, with transportation and flying made so easy and
affordable, apart from a few countries with demanding visas, it is possible to travel the world
without barely any restrictions;
➢ Ecological globalization: accounts for the idea of considering planet Earth as a single global entity
– a common good all societies should protect since the weather affects everyone and we are all
protected by the same atmosphere. To this regard, it is often said that the poorest countries that
have been polluting the least will suffer the most from climate change.

The Benefits of Globalization

Globalization has benefits that cover many different areas. It reciprocally developed economies
all over the world and increased cultural exchanges. It also allowed financial exchanges between
companies, changing the paradigm of work. Many people are nowadays citizens of the world. The origin
of goods became secondary and geographic distance is no longer a barrier for many services to happen.

The most visible impacts of globalization are definitely the ones affecting the economic
world. Globalization has led to a sharp increase in trade and economic exchanges, but also to a
multiplication of financial exchanges. In the 1970s world economies opened up and the development of
free trade policies accelerated the globalization phenomenon. Between 1950 and 2010, world exports
increased 33-fold. This significantly contributed to increasing the interactions between different regions
of the world. This acceleration of economic exchanges has led to strong global economic growth. It
fostered as well a rapid global industrial development that allowed the rapid development of many of the
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technologies and commodities we have available nowadays. Knowledge became easily shared and
international cooperation among the brightest minds speeded things up. According to some analysts,
globalization has also contributed to improving global economic conditions, creating much economic
wealth (thas was, nevertheless, unequally distributed – more information ahead).

At the same time, finance also became globalized. From the 1980s, driven by neo-liberal policies,
the world of finance gradually opened. Many states, particularly the US under Ronald Reagan and the UK
under Margaret Thatcher introduced the famous “3D Policy”: Disintermediation, Decommissioning,
Deregulation. The idea was to simplify finance regulations, eliminate mediators and break down the
barriers between the world’s financial centers. And the goal was to make it easier to exchange capital
between the world’s financial players. This financial globalization has contributed to the rise of a global
financial market in which contracts and capital exchanges have multiplied.

Together with economic and financial globalization, there has obviously also been cultural
globalization. Indeed, the multiplication of economic and financial exchanges has been followed by an
increase in human exchanges such as migration, expatriation or traveling. These human exchanges have
contributed to the development of cultural exchanges. This means that different customs and habits
shared among local communities have been shared among communities that (used to) have different
procedures and even different beliefs. Good examples of cultural globalization are, for instance, the
trading of commodities such as coffee or avocados. Coffee is said to be originally from Ethiopia and
consumed in the Arabid region. Nonetheless, due to commercial trades after the 11th century, it is
nowadays known as a globally consumed commodity. Avocados, for instance, grown mostly under the
tropical temperatures of Mexico, the Dominican Republic or Peru. They started by being produced in small
quantities to supply the local populations but today guacamole or avocado toasts are common in meals
all over the world. At the same time, books, movies, and music are now instantaneously available all
around the world thanks to the development of the digital world and the power of the internet. These are
perhaps the greatest contributors to the speed at which cultural exchanges and globalization are
happening. There are also other examples of globalization regarding traditions like Black Friday in the US,
the Brazilian Carnival or the Indian Holi Festival. They all were originally created following their countries’
local traditions and beliefs but as the world got to know them, they are now common traditions in other
countries too.

The Negative Effects of Globalization

Globalization is a complex phenomenon. As such, it has a considerable influence on several areas

of contemporary societies. Let’s take a look at some of the main negative effects globalization has had so
far.

Apart from all the benefits globalization has had on allowing cultural exchanges it also
homogenized the world’s cultures. That’s why specific cultural characteristics from some countries are
disappearing. From languages to traditions or even specific industries. That’s why according to UNESCO,
the mix between the benefits of globalization and the protection of local culture’s uniqueness requires a
careful approach.

Despite its benefits, the economic growth driven by globalization has not been done without
awakening criticism. The consequences of globalization are far from homogeneous: income inequalities,
disproportional wealth and trades that benefit parties differently. In the end, one of the criticisms is that
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some actors (countries, companies, individuals) benefit more from the phenomena of globalization, while
others are sometimes perceived as the “losers” of globalization. As a matter of fact, a recent report from
Oxfam says that 82% of the world’s generated wealth goes to 1% of the population.

Many critics have also pointed out that globalization has negative effects on the
environment. Thus, the massive development of transport that has been the basis of globalization is also
responsible for serious environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emissions, global warming or air
pollution. At the same time, global economic growth and industrial productivity are both the driving force
and the major consequences of globalization. They also have big environmental consequences as they
contribute to the depletion of natural resources, deforestation and the destruction of ecosystems and
loss of biodiversity. The worldwide distribution of goods is also creating a big garbage problem, especially
on what concerns plastic pollution.

Global Education
Global education has been best described by two definitions:
UNESCO defines global education as a goal to become aware of educational conditions or lack of
it, developing countries worldwide and aim to educate all peoples to certain world standards.
Another definition is that global education is a curriculum that is international in scope which
prepares today’s youth around the world to function in one world environment under teachers who are
intellectually, professionally and humanistically prepared.
The United Nations entered into an agreement to pursue six (6) goals to achieve some standards
of education in place by 2015 worldwide. To achieve global education, the UN sets the following goals:
1. Expend early childhood care education;
2. Provide free and compulsory primary education for all;
3. Promote learning and life skills for young and adult;
4. Increase adult literacy by 50%;
5. Achieve gender parity by 2005, gender equality by 2015; and
6. Improve quality of education
In 2000, the Philippines committed itself to the above EFA 2015 Goals at the World Education
Forum in Dakar.
James Becker (1982) defined global education as an effort to help individual learners to see the
world as a single and global system and to see themselves as a participant in that system. It is a school
curriculum that has a worldwide standard of teaching and learning. This curriculum prepares learners in
an international marketplace with a world view of international understanding. In his article “Goals of
global education.” Becker emphasized that global education incorporates into the curriculum and
educational experiences of each student a knowledge and empathy of cultures of the nation and the
world. Likewise, students are encouraged to see the world as a whole, learn various cultures to make
them relate and function effectively within various cultural groups.
Thus, to meet the various global challenges of the future, the 21 st century Learning Goals have
been established as bases of various curricula worldwide. These learning goals include:
• 21st century content: emerging content areas such as global awareness: financial, economic,
business and entrepreneurial literacy; civic literacy; health and awareness.
• Learning and thinking skills; critical thinking and problem solving skills, communication, creativity
and innovation, collaboration, contextual learning, information and media literacy.
• ICT literacy: using technology in the context of learning so students know how to learn.
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• Life skills: leadership, ethics, accountability, personal responsibility, self-direction, others.

• 21st century assessments: authentic assessments that measure the areas of learning.
Global education is all about diversity, understanding the differences and teaching the different
cultural groups in order to achieve the goals of global education as presented by the United Nations. It is
educating all peoples in the world from the remote and rugged rural villages in developing countries, to
the slum areas of urbanized countries, to the highly influential and economically stable societies of the
world. Global education addresses the need of the smallest schools to the largest classrooms in the world.
It responds to borderless education that defies distance and geographical location.
Thus, global education provides equal opportunity and access to knowledge and learning tools
which are the basic rights of every child in the global community.

Global Teacher
Looking back at the concept, how do we define now a global teacher? Is this teacher who teaches
abroad? Is this person teaching anywhere in the world, and is able to teach the 21 st century learning goals?
These are some of the fundamental questions which should be answered in order to understand, who a
GLOBAL TEACHER is.
A global teacher is a competent teacher who is armed with enough skills, appropriate attitude
and universal values to teach students with both time tested as well as modern technologies in education
in any place in the world. He or she is someone who thinks and acts both locally and globally with
worldwide perspectives, right in the communities where he or she is situated.
More specifically, a global Filipino teacher should have the following qualities and characteristics
in addition to knowledge, skills and values:
• Understands how this world is interconnected;
• Recognizes that the world has rich variety of ways of life;
• Has a vision of the future sees what the future would be for himself/herself and the students;
• Must be creative and innovative;
• Must understand, respect and be tolerant of the diversity of cultures;
• Must believe and take action for education that will sustain the future;
• Must be able to facilitate digitally-mediated learning;
• Must have depth of knowledge; and must possess good communication skills (for Filipino teachers
to be multi-lingual).
• Must possess the competencies of a professional teacher as embodied in the National
Competency-Based Standards for Teachers (NCBTS)

Global Literacy

Global literacy aims to address issues of globalization, racism, diversity and social justice (Guo,
2014). It requires awareness and action, consistent with a broad understanding of humanity, the planet,
and the impact of human decision on both. Global Literacy also aims to empower students with knowledge
and take action to make a positive impact in the world and their local community (Guo, 2014).

According to the Ontario Ministry of Education (2015) A global citizen should display most or all
of the following characteristics:

❖ Respect for humans no matter their race, gender, religion or political perspectives.
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❖ Respect for diversity and various perspectives.

❖ Promoting sustainable patterns of living, consumption, and production.
❖ Appreciate the natural world and demonstrate respectful towards the rights of all living things.

Global literacy promotes and encourages:

• inquiry, reasoning and problem solving

• collaboration
• communication and an understanding of world languages and cultures
• an understanding of globalized systems and political realities
• responsible global citizenship
• respect for diversity
• an understanding of the skills and technologies that are necessary for life in the 21st century
• the ability for students to become advocates for themselves and their city/state/country

What Is Multicultural Education?

Multicultural education values different student cultures and prepares students to thrive in a
diverse world. At its core, multicultural education fosters equality, justice, and equity, and it establishes
the reality of philosophical ideals in classroom environments. Multicultural education is what schools
implement to establish equitable educational opportunities for all their students. It is also an ongoing
process of helping students succeed in their academic and personal lives.

Teachers, administrators, and school leaders play an important role in ensuring the incorporation
of multicultural education by selecting and managing policies, curricula, and teaching styles. The practice
relies on educators who value the histories and experiences of diverse groups of students. Schools and
teachers can approach multicultural education in a variety of ways, supporting students as they develop
positive perspectives of their own cultures as well as the cultures of their peers. By incorporating culturally
responsive pedagogy in curricula and teaching practices, teachers can create an inclusive classroom that
values all students.

Four Ways Educators Can Implement Multicultural Education in the Classroom

There are many ways educators can promote social justice and equity in schools, from working to
hire a more diverse teacher workforce to mindfully selecting assigned readings that reflect broad cultural
diversity. Additionally, teachers promoting equal learning opportunities for students of all races,
ethnicities, and backgrounds can implement multicultural education in the classroom in the following
ways:

• Be Aware of Biases

For educators to understand what multicultural education is and implement it in their classrooms,
they need to be aware of potential biases. While teachers may be open minded and want to deliver
equitable instruction, they may have underlying biases they may not be aware of. Further, teachers should
understand they may be working with students from many backgrounds who may have biases against one
another for cultural, racial, ethnic, or religious reasons. To cultivate safe and productive learning
environments, teachers should be aware of any bias and work toward dissipating it. Teachers can also
challenge the status quo by inspiring students to address social and school-based inequities that create
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unequal experiences for marginalized people. Students can be taught to recognize inequities in their
classroom and community and use the classroom to discuss real problems their students identify.

• Value Life Experiences

It’s important for educators to value their students’ experiences. Students bring unique
perspectives to the classroom and can share their own stories or those of family members. Allowing
students to share these experiences with their classmates can accomplish at least two goals: providing
validation for the students who share similar experiences and introducing students to new perspectives.
Teachers can also incorporate the history, values, and cultural knowledge of students’ home communities
in the classroom instruction. This transformative practice validates students’ identities and communicates
the importance of learning about others’ experiences.

• Understand Student Learning Styles

Teachers can promote equitable learning by being aware of their students’ various learning styles,
which can be influenced by their backgrounds and upbringing. Some students may be visual learners,
others tactile learners or auditory learners. To embody what multicultural education is, teachers can vary
their methods of instruction to reach all of their students. Teachers should design lessons that allow
students to express their thoughts and experiences in their own voices. Teachers can encourage students
to learn from one another’s experiences and ask questions that promote understanding.

• Assign Multicultural Projects

Teachers can emphasize the importance of different cultural backgrounds represented in their
classrooms through lessons and assignments. They can highlight different cultures in their curricula
embedding the study of diverse cultures and peoples in their core academic content. All students can
engage with this authentic reading, writing, and problem-solving experiences. Students can write about
their family histories or interview family members. They can work with each other to learn about new
cultures.

• Benefits of Implementing Multicultural Education

Teachers who ask themselves “What is multicultural education?” can develop curricula around
their students’ cultural backgrounds. Students in multicultural educational environments can learn how
to value all cultures, bonding with peers over what makes them similar as well as what makes them
unique. If students learn from a young age to be comfortable with differences, they are less likely to
develop biases toward people of a different race or ethnicity. Ideally, they may become inclusive adults,
free from racial or ethnic biases.

Implementing multicultural education benefits not only individual students but also society as a whole.
Multicultural education has long-term benefits for students because those who learn to appreciate and
value the cultural diversity of their peers will ideally grow up to be adults who likewise promote equality
and justice.

Multicultural Literacy

Multicultural Literacy consists of the skills and ability to identify the creators of knowledge and
their interests (Banks, 1996), to uncover the assumptions of knowledge, to view knowledge from diverse
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ethnic and cultural perspective, and to use knowledge to guided action that will create a humane and just
world (Boutte, 2008).

Multicultural Literacy then, brings attention to diversity, equity and social justice to foster cultural
awareness by addressing difficult issues like discrimination and oppression towards other ethnicities
(Boutte, 2008). According to Boutte (2008) education for multicultural literacy should help students to
develop the 21st century skills and attitudes that are needed to become active citizens who will work
towards achieving social justice within our communities. Because of the growing racial, language and
ethnic diversity in our country, Multicultural Literacy needs to be transformed in substantial ways to
prepare students to function effectively in the 21st Century (Boutte, 2008).

By making small changes within the classrooms, it can create big changes globally (Boutte, 2008).
As diversity grows, there is a need for the emergence of multicultural education that is more
representative of the students in today’s classrooms. By teaching students to be advocates for
multiculturalism, we are also sending a message of empathy and tolerance in schools as a need to develop
deeper understanding of others and appreciation of different cultures (Banks, 2003). With this being said,
in order for students to develop these attitudes and skills, it requires basic knowledge prior to teaching
students how to question assumptions about cultural knowledge and how to critique and critically think
about these important cultural issues, which is what essentially makes Multicultural Literacy a
21st Century Literacy (Banks, 2003).

How are Multicultural and Global Literacy Interconnected?

Every classroom contains students of different race, religion, and cultural groups. Students
embrace diverse behaviors, cultural values, patterns of practice, and communication. Yet they all share
one commonality: their educational opportunity (Guo, 2014).

Teachers should teach their students that other cultures exist and that these deserve to be
acknowledged and respected. Integrating a variety of cultural context into lessons and activities, teaches
students to view the world from many angles, creates a respect for diversity and enables students to learn
exciting information. As classrooms become increasingly more diverse, it is important for educators to
acknowledge an address diversity issues and to integrate multiculturalism information into the classroom
curriculum (Guo, 2014).

Test Your Understanding

Activity: Think-Pair-Share

1. Using Venn Diagram, compare the following pair of terms.

a. Global literacy/education and multicultural literacy/education
b. Global Teacher and Multicultural Teacher
c. Global Learner and Multicultural Learner
2. Then, share your answers with a partner. Ask your classmate to read and comment on your
responses.
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V. Summary/Key Points

• Global literacy is an understanding of how the world is organized and interconnected. It brings
awareness of the possibilities and constraints facing the world's people. Students who are globally
literate are able to think critically about the world and the role that they play in it.
• Multicultural literacy refers to the skills involved when uncovering bias in regards to culture, as
well as the ability to take different perspectives to gain a more humane perspective. Students
need to be able to take the perspectives of different cultures to allow themselves to grow
into responsible citizens, who consider other people's opinions.

VI. SAA Answer Sheet

Multicultural Literacy Global Teacher Multicultural Teacher

Global Literacy

Global Learner Multicultural Learner

What my partner said about my responses:

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Name of Partner: __________________________________

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VII. End of Module Assessment (EMA)

✓ Test Your Mastery

Answer the following questions briefly. (5 points each)
1. What do you think are the challenges brought by the globalization to education?
2. Which statement is always true, “All global teachers are multicultural.” or “All multicultural
are global.”? Why?

VIII. SAA Answer Key

Answers may vary and based on your own understanding and analysis.

IX. Looking Ahead

✓ Synapse Strengtheners
Self-Reflect:
1. Is it necessary for Filipino teachers to be globally and multiculturally literate? Why?
2. In what particular subject/lesson the concepts of globalization and multicultural literacy be
integrated? Explain how.

X. Self and Module Evaluation

1. Overall, how satisfied were you with the learning module?
o Very satisfied
o Satisfied
o Somewhat satisfied
o Dissatisfied
o Very dissatisfied

2. Was the module easy to follow?

o Very easy
o Somewhat easy
o Somewhat difficult
o Very difficult
3. How long did it take you to complete the module? __________
4. The length of the module was:
o Too short
o Too long
o Just right
5. Did the learning module allow you to expand your knowledge of the topic?
o Yes
o Somewhat
o No
6. Was the module well structured, clear and easy to understand?
o Yes
o Somewhat
o No
7. Did the module fulfill its objectives?
o Yes
o Somewhat
o No
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8. What did you like most about this module?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

9. In what way(s) could this module be improved?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Do you have any other comments, suggestions, or feedback that will help us make improvements to future
learning modules?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

XI. References

https://21stcenturyliteracy214.wordpress.com/test-2/
https://youmatter.world/en/definition/definitions-globalization-definition-benefits-effects-
examples/
https://www.jamestown.k12.nd.us/about/global-literacy
https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/multicultural-education
Bilbao, Purita P. et.al. (2012). The Teaching Profession. Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing Inc.