Globalization and Cultural and

Multicultural Literacy
Objectives
 At the end of this chapter, you should be able to
develop a clear and practical understanding of the
following:
 Globalization and its implications on both the national
and individual level;
 Cultural and multicultural literacy in the Philippines;
and one’s personal level of cultural and multicultural
literacy.
 GLOBALIZATION

 Globalization is the 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)
 Because our exposure to the concept of globalization has largely been
through an economic lens, it is tempting to limit globalization as something
that concerns economists and businessmen. But globalization and its effects
go beyond import or export and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)
 Globalization as a phenomenon is not new. Nations and cultures have been
interacting and integrating with one another for millennia.
 GLOBALIZATION
 What is different now, however, is the speed at which
globalization is happening, its overall scope, and its effects
of the lives of ordinary people. Not only are we interacting
with, learning from, and integrating knowledge learned from
other cultures and nation at an unprecedented rate, there is
now also a sense that no matter where one lives or how
limited is one’s face to face interaction with members of
another nation or culture and how limited is one’s time
online, globalization and its effects are inescapable.
 The Effects of Globalization

 the effects of globalization are multi- dimensional. As shown earlier,

they range from economic to cultural, on both national and individuals
level.
Meyer (2000) summarizes the effects of globalization as follows:
 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 the early 90’s, it was popularly understood to be a 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 was not a welcome
thought even though it was erroneous.
Economic Dependence/Interdependence

While Philippine society has come to realize that this early perspective
represented a shallow understanding of globalization, the fact of the
matter is 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.
Economic Dependence/Interdependence

This does not mean, however, that there have been no negative effects of
globalization. Kentor (2001) notes that foreign capital dependence increases
income inequality in four ways:
1. It creates a small highly paid class of elites to manage these investments who
create many but usually low-pay jobs;
2. Profits from these investments domestic capital formation
3. Foreign capital penetration tends to concentrate land ownership among the very
rich; and
4. Host countries tend to create political and economic climates favorable to
foreign capital that in turn limit domestic labor’s ability to obtain better wages.
In simple words, “The rich become richer and the poor become poorer.”
Economic Dependence/Interdependence

 Houts (1980) observes that international dependence (another name for

globalization) tends to suppress adult wages, in turn perpetuates the role of
children as economic necessities (familiar saying “ Kapag maraming anak,
maraming katulong sa hanapbuhay”) leading to explosive population growth.
 In a chain reaction of negative effects, this explosive population growth creates a
large sub-sector of society that is insulated from economic development yet
competes for resources with the rest of the population. Coupled with the
economic inequalities in which society is couched, this encourages political
instability, resulting in policies that favor the redistribution of income, which in
turn discourages investments, which then slows economic growth.
 Political and Military Dependence and Interdependence

 A survey conducted in late 2018 found that 3 in 5 Filipinos believe that the United
States would intervene on behalf of the country in case of war (Viray, 2018),
Despite the current very conservative stance of the US on its foreign policies, this
can be taken as evidence of the Philippines’ dependence in both political and
military power of the US in order to maintain its sovereignty as a nation-state in
the Southeast Asia region. Similar things can be said of Russia and the many
communist nations throughout the world.
 The point is that where there are some forms of economic
dependence/interdependence, political dependence/interdependence is not far
behind, as the participating nations strive to protect their investments and interests
in one another.
 Expanded Flow of Expressive and Instrumental Culture

 Expressive culture deals with how a particular culture expresses itself in its
language, music, arts etc. Globalization encourages the monetization of these
cultural artifacts and their import/export among participating cultures; the
increased consumption of which changes the consuming culture.
 Instrumental culture on the other hand refers to “common models of social
order” (Meyer 2000)- 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

 The fact that globalization encourages the movement of people between

nation-states should come as no surprise to us. The Philippine statistics
authority (PSA) estimates that there were 2.3 millions OFWs during the
period of April to September 2017, who were responsible for up to 205.2
billion pesos in remittances.
 Meyer (2000) 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 in
another favorable country.
 Cultural Literacy

 Cultural Literacy is a term coined by Hirch (1983) referring to the

ability to understand the signs and symbols of a given culture and
being able to participate its activities and customs as opposed to
simply being a passive (an outside) observer. The signs and symbols of
a culture include both its formal and informal languages, its idioms and
forms of expression, entertainment, values, customs, roles, traditions
etc., most of which are assumed and unstated. Thus, they are learned
by being part of the culture, rather than by any formal means.
 Cultural Literacy

 Cultural Literacy is culture-specific but it is not limited to

national cultures, contrary to what many people assume. The
culture of one workplace can be very different from another,
just as the culture of a particular school can differ widely
from another school nearby.
Cultural Literacy in the Philippines

 The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is the
government tasked with the documentation, preservation and
dissemination of Philippine culture, both locally and abroad. Part of how
the NCCA is addressing this and related matters is through the
establishment of the Philippine Cultural Education Program (PCEP),
which envisions a nation of culturally literate and empowered Filipinos”
(NCCA, 2015). Designed to make cultural education accessible to all
sectors of Philippine society, the PCEP held national consultative
meetings, conference, workshops, art camps, and festivals on culture-
based teaching and good governance from 2003 to 2007.
 Cultural Literacy in the Philippines

 As a result of Republic Act 10066, PCEP has been designated as

the body , together with the Department of Education (DepEd),
task to “formulate the cultural heritage education programs both
local and overseas Filipinos” that are to be an integral part of
Philippine education in all aspects.
 Cultural education- and thus cultural literacy- in the Philippines
is quite a challenge, given that Philippine culture is a complex
blend of many indigenous and colonial cultures and varies widely
across the region, and the average citizen is almost as ignorant of
other Philippine cultures as foreigners are.
 Cultural Literacy in the Philippines

 De Leon (2011) coins this propensity for Filipinos to look at their culture and
themselves through Western lenses as the Dona Victorina Syndrome, a kind of
inferiority complex wherein anything and everything natively Filipino is
considered as Filipinos themselves as being inferior, backward and worthless
in comparison to their Western counterparts, and therefore a source of
embarrassment and unease.
 Cultural Literacy in the Philippines

 Our low self-esteem borders on self-contempt, the result is doubt in capacity

for achievement, perverse delight in belittling ourselves, lack of respect and
even outright contempt for one another and blind dependence on foreign
goods, concepts, techniques, approaches, and expertise. According to De
Leon, the biggest challenge then is the deconstruction of the negative self-
images and notions of ourselves that we have imbibed over generations
through “ a workable, effective program of education that can make Pilipinos
more responsive and sensitive to Pilipino dignity, needs, values, and cultural
potentials and assets.”
 Challenges for Cultural Literacy in the
Philippines

As Applebee (1987) observes, interesting discussions on cultural literacy give

rise to some very difficult questions which are particularly important to a
multicultural and multilingual nation like Philippines.
 What kinds of knowledge constitute cultural literacy? Is it knowing facts, names,
and dates or is it something more experiential like being familiar with a story or a
particular song?
 If culture is more “caught than taught,” should cultural literacy be one of the goals
of education? If yes, how does one teach it?
 Challenges for Cultural Literacy in the
Philippines

 Whose cultures must we be literate in to be considered “culturally literate”? Who

decides which cultures are included and which ones are excluded and on what
bases?
 Is cultural literacy education simply a means for the dominant culture to express
its dominance over minority cultures?
 How is cultural literacy to be assessed and evaluated? How can we know someone
is “culturally literate?”
 Multicultural Literacy

 As a set of skills and knowledge is difficult to define because of how it changes

depending on the contexts in which it is discussed.
 In America, multicultural literacy has very strong leanings toward knowing or
identifying the poly-ethnic origins of knowledge with the express goal of
fostering equality, diversity, and social justice.
 Multicultural Literacy

 In Europe, multicultural literacy comes more in the form of intercultural

communication competence (ICC), which is defined by Dusi, Messetti and
Steinbach (2014) as a composite of skills, abilities, attitudes, personality patterns
etc, necessary for clear and productive communication with cultures other than
our own.
 We define multicultural literacy here as the knowledge and skills necessary to
ensure that any communication with a culture different from our own is clear
and productive and respectful such as their differences are celebrated and neither
culture is demeaned or treated as inferior.
 Multicultural Literacy

 Examples of manner of being multicultural literate:

 1. Be selfless
 2. Know that good and useful things can (and do) come
from those different from us.
 3. Be willing to compromise.
 4. Accept that there are limits
 Issues in Teaching and Learning Multicultural
Literacy in the Philippines

 Conflicting requirements for peace- the heart of multicultural

literacy is peace among different cultures- that is productive
and non- violent interaction.
 Nationalistic and Regionalistic Pushback- the increasing
demand for multicultural sensitivity, inclusion and diversity
in the recent years has also given rise to resistance from
groups who believe that their identity is being “watered-
down” by the needed compromises.
 The Persistence of the Problem

 On the surface, multicultural literacy might seem to just “good

common sense” and understandably so, no one actively
experience discrimination regarding what they know and what
they cannot do simply on the basis of race, ethnicity, or in the case
of region of origin.
 The Persistence of the Problem

 Boutte (2008) suggests that issues of discrimination in all its

form (racial, religious, tribal, cultural, etc) are really issues of
hatred, which defined an educational setting as “the lack of
compassion and respect for the rights of others” and that hatred
must be fought and its roots because as long as hatred exist in the
human mind, real peace will be impossible (Vreeland, 2001)
THANK YOU 