MODULE 5:

MULTICULTURAL AND GLOBAL LITERACY

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Discuss global and multicultural literacy.
2. Illustrate the Global Competence Framework.
3. Explain the dimensions of multiculturalism.
4. Elucidate on the assessment strategy for global confidence and global
understanding.
5. Present effective ways on how to integrate global multiculturalism in the lesson
using appropriate delivery strategies, instructional materials, and assessment
tools.
6. Draw relevant life lessons and significant values from personal
experience in demonstrating multicultural literacy.
7. Analyze research abstract on global and multicultural literacy and its
implications on the teaching-learning process
8. Draft relevant policy in addressing multiculturalism in school.

INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION
Numbered Heads Together: This is a strategy wherein each student is assigned a
number in his/her group. Members of the group agree on an answer while the
teacher randomly calls for a number and the one who has that number will answer
the question on behalf of the group.
Procedure:
1. Group the class into 4 or 5 (depending on the class size).
2. Each member is assigned a number.
3. The teacher will ask a question and call a number.
4. Each member in the group, that holds the number being
called, will stand to present the group's collaborative answer.
5. The teacher will give feedback.
Questions:
1. What do you understand by cultural diversity?
2. What is your stand on global cultural conflict? How does it impact on social,
economic and political aspects of a country and its interrelations with other
nations?
CONCEPT EXPLORATION
As schools cater to diverse students in class, be it in terms of gender,
color, race, nationality, religious affiliations, cultural, beliefs, ethnic groups, social-
economic status, etc., teachers need to understand the concept of multicultural
literacy to come up with appropriate approaches in class.

Multicultural Literacy
Multicultural literacy consists of the skills and ability to identify the
creators of knowledge and their interests (Banks, 1996) to reveal the
assumptions of knowledge, to view knowledge from diverse ethnic and
cultural perspective, and to use knowledge to guide 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).
Accordingly, 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 toward achieving social justice within
communities. Because of the growing racial, language and ethnic diversity in the
country, multicultural literacy needs to be transformed in substantial ways
to prepare students to function effectively in the 21st Century (Boutte).
Boutte (2008) reiterated that making small changes within the
classrooms can create big changes globally. As diversity grows, there is a need
for the emergence of multicultural education that is more representative
of the students in today's classrooms. Banks (2003) asserted that teaching
students to be advocates of multiculturalism is also a matter of sending a message
of empathy and tolerance in schools to develop a deeper understanding of others
and appreciation of different cultures. Developing these attitudes and skills
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).

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. It 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 possess the following characteristics: (1) respect for humans
regardless of race, gender, religion or political perspectives; (2) respect for diversity
and various perspectives; (3) promote sustainable patterns of living, consumption,
and production; and (4) appreciate the natural world and demonstrate
respect on the rights of all living things.
Interconnecting multicultural and global literacy. Every classroom
contains students of different races, religious and cultural groups. Guo (2014)
averred that students embrace diverse behaviors, cultural values, patterns of
practice, and communication, yet they all share one commonality, which is their
educational opportunity.
Therefore, 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 respect for diversity and enables
students to learn exciting information. As classrooms become increasingly more
diverse, it is important for educators to analyze and address diversity issues and
integrate multiculturalism information into the classroom curriculum (Guo,
2014).

The OECD Global Competence Framework

(Source: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/innovation/global-competence/ )

The framework depicts the four dimensions of global competence

encompassing the development of knowledge, values, attitude and skills that flow
along parameters of attaining such competency.

Global Competence
 The desire to participate in interconnected, complex and diverse
societies has become a pressing need. Recognizing the roles of schools in preparing
the youth to participate in the world, the OECD's Program for
International Student Assessment (PISA) developed a framework to explain, foster
and assess students' global competence. This design serves as a tool for
policymakers, leaders and teachers in fostering global competence among students
worldwide.
Global competence is a multidimensional capacity. Therefore, globally
competent individuals can analyze and rationalize local, global and
intercultural issues, understand and appreciate different perspectives and
worldviews, interact successfully and respectfully with others, and take
responsible action toward sustainability and collective well-being (OECD
publication).
Global competence refers to skills, values and behaviors that prepare young
people to thrive in a diverse, interconnected and rapidly changing world.
It is the ability to become engaged citizens and collaborative problem solvers who
are ready for the workplace.
Promoting global competence in schools. Schools play a crucial role
in helping young people to develop global competence. They can provide
opportunities to critically examine global developments that are significant
to both the world and to their own lives. They can teach students how critically,
effectively and responsibly use digital information and social media platforms.
Schools can encourage intercultural sensitivity and respect by allowing
students to engage in experiences that foster an appreciation for diverse
peoples, languages and cultures (Bennett, 1993; Sinicrope, Norris and
Watanabe, 2007). Schools are also positioned to enhance students' ability to
understand their place in the community and the world and improve such ability to
make judgements and take action (Hanvey, 1975 in PISA, 2018).

The Need for Global Competence

The following are the reasons why global competence is necessary.
1. To live harmoniously in multicultural communities. Education for global
competence can promote cultural awareness and purposeful interactions
in increasingly diverse societies (Brubacker and Latin, 1999; Kymlicka,
1995; Sen, 2007). People with diverse cultures are able to live peacefully,
respect differences, find common solutions, resolve conflicts and learn to live
together as global citizens (Delors, et al., 1996; UNESCO, 2014b). Thus, education
can teach students the need to address cultural biases and stereotypes.
2. To thrive in a changing labor market. Education for global
competence can boost employability through effective communication and
appropriate behavior within diverse teams using technology in accessing and
connecting to the world (British Council, 2013).
3. To use media platforms effectively and responsibly. Radical
transformations in digital technologies have shaped young people's outlook on the
world, their interaction with others and their perception of themselves. Online
networks, social media and interactive technologies give rise to new concepts of
learning, wherein young people exercise to take their freedom on what and how
they learn (Zuckerman, 2014).
4. To support the sustainable development goals. Education for global
competence can help form new generations who care about global issues and
engage in social, political, economic and environmental discussions.

Dimension of Global Competence: Implications to Education

Education for global competence is founded on the ideas of different models
of global education, such as intercultural education, global citizenship education
and education for democratic citizenship (UNESCO, 2014a; Council of Europe,
2016a).
Despite differences in focus and scope, these models share a common goal of
promoting students' understanding of the world and empower them to express
their views and participate in the society. PISA proposes a new
perspective on the definition and assessment of global competence that will help
policy makers and school leaders create learning resources and curricula that
integrate global competence as a multifaceted cognitive, socio-emotional
and civic learning goal (Boix Mansilla, 2016).
This definition outlines four dimensions of global competence that
people need to apply in their everyday life just like students from different cultural
backgrounds are working together on school projects.

Dimension 1: Examine issues of local, global and cultural significance.

This dimension refers to globally competent people's practices of
effectively utilizing knowledge about the world and critical reasoning in
forming their own opinion about a global issue. People, who acquire a mature level
of development in this dimension, use higher-order thinking skills, such as
selecting and weighing appropriate evidence to support arguments about global
developments. Most likely, globally competent students can draw on and combine
the disciplinary knowledge and thinking styles learned in schools to ask
questions, analyze date and propositions, explain phenomena, and develop a
position concerning a local, global or cultural issue. Hence, globally competent
people effectively use and create both traditional and digital media (Boix
Mansilla and Jackson, 2011).

Dimension 2: Understand and appreciate the perspectives and world views of

others.
This dimension highlights that globally competent people are willing and
capable of considering other people's perspectives and behaviors from multiple
viewpoints to examine their own assumptions. This in turn, implies a profound
respect for and interest in others with their concept of reality and emotions.
Individuals with this competence also consider and appreciate the connections that
enable them to bridge in differences and create common ground. They retain
their cultural identity while becoming aware of the cultural values and
beliefs of people around them (Fennes and Hapgood, 1997).

Dimension 3: Engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions across

cultures
This dimension describes what globally competent individuals can do when
they interact with people from different cultures. They understand the cultural
norms, interactive styles and degrees of formality of intercultural contexts,
and they can flexibly adapt their behavior and communication manner
through respectful dialog even with marginalized groups. Therefore, it emphasizes
Individuals capacity to interact with others across differences in ways that are
open, appropriate and effective (Barrett, et. al., 2014).

Dimension 4: Take action for collective well-being and sustainable

development
This dimension focuses on young people's role as active and
responsible members of society and refers to individual's readiness to
respond to a given local, global or intercultural issue or situation. It
recognizes that young people have multiple realms of influence ranging from
personal and local to digital and global. Globally competent people create
opportunities to get engaged to improve living conditions in their
communities and build a just, peaceful, inclusive and an environmentally
sustainable world.

The assessment strategy for global competence

The PISA 2018 assessment of global competence contributes
development, while considering challenges and limitations. It has two
components: 1) cognitive test exclusively focused on the construct of “global
understanding”; and 2) a set of questionnaire items collecting self-reported
information and students' awareness on global issues and cultures,
skills (both cognitive and social) and attributes, as well as information
from schools and teachers on activities that promote global competence (OECD,
2018).

Curriculum for global competence: Knowledge, skills, attitudes and values

Schools can provide opportunities for students to explore complex
global issues that encounter through media and their own experiences. The
curriculum should focus on four knowledge domains: (1) culture and
intercultural relations; (2) social-economic development and
interdependence; (3) environmental sustainability; and (4) global institutions,
conflicts and human rights. Teaching these four domains should stress on
differences in perspectives, questioning concepts, and arguments. Students can
acquire knowledge in this domain by reflecting on their own cultural
identity and that of their peers by analyzing common stereotypes toward
people and their community or analyzing related cases of cultural conflict.
Acquiring knowledge in this aspect is important and developing values, such as
peace, respect, non-discrimination, equality, fairness, acceptance, justice, non-
violence and tolerance (OECD, 2018).

Skills to understand the world and take action

Global Competence builds on specific cognitive, communication and
social-emotional skills. Effective education for global competence gives
students the opportunity to mobilize and use their knowledge, attitudes, skills and
values together while sharing ideas on global issues in and outside of school or
interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds.
A school community that desires to nurture global competence should focus
on clear, controllable and realizable learning goals. This means engaging
all educators to reflect on teaching topics that are globally significant,
the types of skills that foster deeper understanding of the world and facilitate
respectful interactions in multicultural contexts, and facilitate respectful
interactions in multicultural contexts, and attitudes and values that drive
autonomous learning and inspire responsible action (OECD, 2018).

Knowledge about the world and other cultures

Global competence is supported by the knowledge of global issues that affect
lives locally and around the globe, as well as intercultural knowledge, or knowledge
about the similarities, differences and relations among cultures. This knowledge
helps people to challenge misinformation and stereotypes about other
countries and people and thus, results in intolerance and oversimplified
representations of the world.
This can be done through the following strategies (OECD, 2018)
Perspective-taking refers to the cognitive and social skills of
understanding how other people think and feel.
Adaptability refers to the ability to adapt systems thinking and
behaviors to the prevailing cultural environment, or to situations and context that
can prevent new demands or challenges.

Openness, respect for diversity and global-mindedness

Globally competent behavior requires an attitude of openness towards people
from other cultural backgrounds, an attitude of respect for cultural differences
and an attitude of global-mindedness. Such attributes can be fostered
explicitly through participatory and learner-center teaching, as well as through
curriculum characterized by fair practices and an accommodating school climate
for all students.
Openness toward people from other cultural backgrounds involves
sensitivity towards curiosity about and willingness to engage with other people in
other perspectives on the world (Byram, 2008; Council of Europe 2016)
Respect consists of a positive regard for it someone based on
judgment of intrinsic worth. It assumes the dignity of all human beings and their
inalienable right to choose their own affiliations, beliefs, opinions or
practices (Council of Europe 2016a).
Global-mindedness is defined as a worldview, in which one sees
him/herself connected to the community and feels his sense of responsibility for its
members (Hansen, 2010).

Valuing human dignity and diversity

Valuing human dignity and valuing cultural diversity contribute to global
competence because they constitute critical filters through which individuals
process information about other cultures and decide how to engage with
others and the world. Hence, people, who cultivate these values, become more
aware of themselves and their surroundings, and strongly motivated to
fight against exclusion, ignorance, violence, oppression and war.
Clapham (2006) introduced the four aspects of valuing equality of core rights
and dignity. To wit: (1) the prohibition of all types of inhuman
treatment, humiliation or degradation by one person over another; (2) the
assurance of the possibility for individual choice and the conditions for each
individual's self-fulfillment, autonomy or self-realization; (3) the recognition that
protection of group identity and culture may be essential for that of personal
dignity; and (4) the creation of necessary conditions to have the essential needs
satisfied.

Global understanding
Understanding is the ability to use knowledge to find meaning and
connection between different pieces of information and perspectives.
The framework distinguishes four interrelated cognitive processes that
probability competent students need to use to understand fully global
or intercultural issues and situations (OECD, 2018).
1. The capacity to evaluate information, formulate arguments and explain
complex situations and problems by using and connecting evidence
identifying biases and gaps in information and managing conflicting
arguments.
2. The capacity to analyze multiple perspectives and worldviews, positioning
and connecting their own and others' perspectives on the world.
 3. The capacity to understand differences and communication, recognizing
the importance of socially appropriate communication and adapting it to the
demands of diverse cultural contexts.
4. The capacity to evaluate actions and consequences by identifying
and comparing different courses of action and weighing actions on the basis of
consequences.
Thus, globally competent students should be able to perform a wide variety
of tasks utilizing different cognitive processes, such as: reasoning with evidence
about an issue or situation of local, global and intercultural
significance; searching effectively for useful sources of formation; evaluating
information to describe the main ideas in an argumentative text or the salient
passages of a conversation; and combining their background knowledge, new
information and critical reasoning to build multi-causal explanations of global or
intercultural issues (OECD, 2018).

Integrating Global and Intercultural Issues in the Curriculum

For global education to translate abstraction into action, there is
need to integrate global issues and topics into existing subjects (Klein, 2013
UNESCO, 2014). In practice, content knowledge related to global competence is
integrated in the curriculum and taught in specific courses. Therefore,
students can understand those issues across ages, starting in early childhood
when presenting them in developmentally appropriate ways (Boix Mansilla and
Jackson, 2011; UNESCO, 2015).
Therefore, Gaudelli (2006) affirmed that teachers must have clear
ideas and global and intercultural issues that students may reflect on. They also
need to collaboratively research topics and carefully design the
curriculum while giving students multiple opportunities to learn those issues.
Teachers may also engage in professional learning communities and facilitate peer
learning.
More so, teaching about minority cultures in different subject areas
entails accurate content information about ethnically and racially diverse
groups and experiences. Curricula should promote the integration of
knowledge of other people, places and perspectives in the classroom
throughout the year (UNESCO, 2014a), rather than using a “tourist
approach”, or giving students a superficial glimpse of life in different
countries now and then.
Textbooks and other instructional materials can also distort
cultural and ethnic differences (Gay, 2015). Teachers and their students
should critically examine textbooks and other teaching resources and supplement
information when necessary.
Connecting global and intercultural topics to the reality, contexts and needs
of the learning group is an effective methodological approach to make them
relevant to adolescents (North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, 2012).
People learn better and become more engaged when they get connected
with the content and when they see it's relevance to their lives and their immediate
environment (Suárez-Orozco and Todorova, 2008).
Pedagogies for promoting global competence. Various student-
centered pedagogies can help students develop critical thinking along
global issues, respectful communication, conflict management skills, perspective
taking and adaptability.
Group-based cooperative project work can improve reasoning and
collaborative skills. It involves topic- or theme-based tasks suitable for
various levels and ages, in which goals and content are negotiated
and learners can create their own learning materials that they present
and evaluate together. Learners, participating in cooperative tasks, soon would
realize that to be efficient, they need to be respectful, attentive, honest, and
empathic (Barrett et al., 2014).
Class discussion is an interactive approach that encourages
proactive listening and responding to ideas expressed by peers. By
exchanging views in the classroom, students learn that there is no single
right answer to a problem, understand the reasons why others hold different views
and reflect on the origins of their own beliefs (Ritchhart, et al., 2011).
Service learning is another tool that can help students develop
multiple global skills through real-world experience. This requires learners to
participate in organized activities that are based on what has been learned in the
classroom and that benefit their communities. After the activities,
learners reflect critically on their service experience to gain further
understanding of course content, and enhance their sense of role in society with
regard to civic, social, economic and political issues (Bringle and
Clayton, 2012). Through service learning, students not only “serve to learn,” which
is applied learning, but also “learn to serve” (Bringle, et. al., 2016).
The Story Circle Approach intends students to practice key
intellectual skills, including respect, cultural self-awareness and empathy
(Deardorff, n.d.). The students, in groups of 5-6, take turns sharing a 3-minute
story from their own experience based on specific prompts, such as “Tell us about
your first experience when you encountered someone who was different
from you in some ways,”. After all students in the group have shared their personal
stories, students then, share the most memorable point from each story in a “flash
back” activity.
Other types of intercultural engagements involve simulations,
interviews, role plays and online games.
Attitudes and values integration toward global competence.
Allocating teaching time to a specific subject that deals with human rights issues
and non-discrimination is an important initial step in cultivating values for
global competence.
Values and attitudes are partly communicated through the formal
curriculum and also through ways, in which teachers and students interact, how
discipline is encouraged and the types of opinions and behavior that are validated
in the classroom. Therefore, recognizing the school and classroom environments'
influence on developing students' values would help teachers become more aware
of the impact of their teaching on students (Gay, 2015).
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What are multicultural and global literacies?
2. Explain the Global Competence Framework.
3. What are the dimensions of multiculturalism? Explain each.
4. How can global competence and global understanding be assessed in the
classroom?
5. How can you integrate multicultural and global literacies in the lesson using
appropriate delivery strategies, assessment tools and instructional materials?

Life and Various Integrations

Share a personal experience in demonstrating global and multicultural literacies.
What life lessons and values have you realized and learned?

RESEARCH ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATION

Direction: Analyze the following research abstract and cite an implication on
teaching-learning. You may download the full paper of this research on the website
given below.

Improving student engagement and acceptance using multicultural texts

Rouse (2018)

The purpose of this research is to investigate how students in a third-grade

classroom engage in multicultural texts when reading about cultures other than
their own. Furthermore, it will investigate how the use of multicultural texts will
impact their understanding and acceptance of diverse cultures. Throughout the
six-week study, students read and engaged in discussions after reading two
multicultural texts. They participated in activities expressing their thoughts and
beliefs related to the content read in class. The strategies used for this qualitative
research study were questionnaires, observations, accountable talk discussions,
artifact analysis, and interviews. Finally, after discussing and analyzing the texts,
students were able to identify possible solutions to help people become more aware
and accepting of diverse cultures.
(Source: https://rdw.rowan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3501&context=etd )

Analysis: How can the use of multicultural texts impact students on understanding
and acceptance of diverse cultures?
Implication: How can this study contribute to the school’s practice of
multiculturalism?

SYNTHESIS AND LEARNING REFLECTION

Multicultural literacy depicts diversity, equity and social justice to foster cultural
awareness on discrimination and oppression toward other ethnicities.

Global literacy aims to address issues of globalization, racism, diversity and social
justice.

Global competence refers to the skills, values and behaviors that prepare young
people to thrive in a more diverse, interconnected world, engaged
citizens and collaborative problem solvers who are ready for the workforce.

Globally competent individuals can examine local, global and intercultural

issues, understand and appreciate different perspectives and worldviews,
interact successfully and respectfully with others, and take responsible
action toward sustainability and collective well-being.

The Global Competence Framework is designed as a tool for policymakers,

leaders and teachers in nurturing global competence among young people
worldwide with four salient dimension.

In order to attain respect for diversity in the classroom, teachers

should integrate global multiculturalism in the lesson by citing relevant issues to
be addressed.
 GROUP MEMBERS
Raboy, Lord Jerome
Raciles, Jude Marcel S.
Ramboanga, Mark Gil