Republic of the Philippines

NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE

Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo
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).

Globalization as a phenomenon is not new. Nations and cultures have been interacting
and integrating with one another for millennia. Consider how ancient Greek culture was so
widespread across the Mediterranean that even the Egyptians could speak their language, and
how Rome was so inspired by Greek culture that they adopted it wholesale. Consider how so
much of the Chinese, Arab, and Indian cultures have become part of our own; these interactions
and subsequent integrations did not happen recently, but even during centuries before there was
even a political entity known as the Philippines.

What is different now, however, is the speed at which globalization is happening, its
overall scope, and its effects on the lives of ordinary people. Not only are we interacting with,
learning from, and integrating knowledge gleaned from other cultures and nations at an
unprecedented rate, there is now also a sense that no matter where one lives or how limited is
one’s 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 one’s time is spent online,
globalization and its effects are inescapable. Even remote villages will be exposed to the latest
KPOP hit, if they have access to a radio. If they produce rice, they will also feel the effects of
more affordable rice imports from Thailand and Vietnam. If they have access to a terosene stove,
they will feel the effects of the fluctuations in oil prices originating from Arab nations. All these
things take place without having to know anyone from or anything about Korea, Thailand,
Vietnam, or the Middle East.

The Effects of Globalization

The effects of globalization are multi-dimensional. As shown earlier, they range for
economic to cultural, on both national and individual levels.
Meyer (2000) summarizes the effects of globalization as follows:
 Economic, political, and military dependence and interdependence between nations;
 Expanded flow of individual people among society;
 Interdependence of expressive culture among nations; and
 Expanded flow of instrumental culture around the world.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo

Economic Dependence / Interdependence

When the term globalization entered the Philippine public mindset in the early 90s, it was
popularly understood to be a mainly economic phenomenon, and negative one at that. The idea
that foreign-owned business 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.

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. The
phenomenon of a taxi driver owning multiple smartphones to browse social media while stuck in
traffic because of the rise of the number of vehicles on our roads is testament to this fact.

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 are repatriated, rather than invested
in the host country, therefore inhibiting 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 favourable to foreign capital that in turn limit
domestic labor’s ability to obtain better wages. In simple words, “ the rich become a richer, and
the poor become poorer.”
Hout (1980) observes that international dependence (another word for globalization)
tends to suppress adult wages, which in turn perpetuates the role of children as economic
necessities (the familiar saying “ kapag maraming anak, maraming katulong sa hanap buhay”),
leading to explosive population Coupled with the economic inequalities in which this society is
couched, this encourages political instability, resulting in policies that favor the redistribution of
income, which in turn discourages investment, which then slow economic growth.

Political and Military Dependence / Interdependence

A survey conducted in late 2018 found that three in five 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 on both the 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, as the term suggests, deals with how a particular culture expresses
itself in its language, music, arts, and the like. Globalization encourages the monetization of
these cultural artifacts and their import/export among participating cultures: the increased
consumption of which changes the consuming culture. Case in point, KPOP music and culture
was a relatively niche occupation ten years ago, with very few people aware of its existence, let
alone actual fans. Today it is practically ubiquitous in Philippine society, alongside the
consumption of all things Korean, from skin-care products to instant noodles.

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. A simple example of this is the Philippine educational system: Closely
patterned after the American educational system, education leaders in the country closely follow
the educational trends in America and select European countries, perceiving them to be the
global leaders in the field. While this has served us to an arguably satisfactory degree thus far, it
is interesting to observe that the problems and difficulties in American education eventually
show-up in Philippine education, albeit five to ten years removed.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo

Expanded Flow of People among societies

The fact that globalization encourages the movement of people between nations-states
should come as no surprise to us. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimates that there
were 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) during the period of April to September 2017.
Who were responsible for up to 205.2 billion pesos in remittances (Philippine Statistics Authority,
2018).

Meyer (2000) observes three reasons for this: socio-economic migration, political
expulsion, and travel/tourism.

Socio-economic migration explains the Philippines’ OFW phenomenon. Filipinos travel

abroad to find better economic opportunities for themselves and their families for lack of said
opportunities here.

Political expulsion, on the other hand, has more to do with trying to escape the political
climate of a particular country, thereby forcing an individual to seek asylum (and ultimately,
resettlement) in another more favourable country.

Travel for the sake of leisure (i.e., tourism) is a strong indicator of economic
development as more and more Filipinos are able to finance short-term travels abroad. Fuelled by
curiosity that is fed by social media and enabled by globalization.

Cultural Literacy
Cultural Literacy is a term coined by Hirsch (1983), referring to the ability to understand
the signs and symbols of a given culture and being able to participate in its activities and
customs as opposed to simply being a passive (and 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 and the like- most of which are assumed and
unstated. Thus, they are learned by being part of the culture, rather than by any formal means.

Of course, by its very definition, cultural literacy is culture-specific, but it is not

limited to national cultures, contrary to what many people assume. The culture of one work place
can be very different from another, just as the culture of a particular school can differ widely
from another school nearby.

There are far too many cultures for any one person to be literate in all of them. As more
and more Filipinos travel-both domestically and abroad – as the result of globalization and the
increased opportunities it brings, the need to develop new cultural literacies comes to the fore.

Cultural Literacy in the Philippines

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is the government body 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, conferences,
workshops, art camps, and festivals on culture-based teaching and good governance from 2003
to 2007. As a result of Republic Act 10066 (2010), PCEP has been designated as the body,
together with the Department of Education (DepEd), tasked to “formulate the cultural heritage
education programs both for local overseas Filipinos” that are to be an integral part of Philippine
education in all its 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
widely across regions, and the average citizen is almost as ignorant of the Philippine cultures as
foreigners are. To point out, consider the question, “What Makes something or someone
‘Filipino’?”

The average reader will be hard-pressed to pin down a definite answer. De Leon (2011)
argues that this is in part due to a colonial mindset among Filipino artists that inhibits the full
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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo

development and realization of Filipino artistic creativity – a kind of artistic and cultural creativity
that is fully Filipino.

De Leon (2011) coins this propensity for Filipinos to look at their culture and themselves
through Western lenses as the Doña Victorina Syndrome, a kind of inferiority complex wherein
anything and everything negatively Filipino is considered by the Filipinos themselves as being
inferior, backward, and worthless in comparison to their Western counterparts, and therefore a
source of embarrassment and unease. As De Leon puts it, our low self-esteem borders on self-
contempt, the results of which are doubt in the Filipino 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 (2011). The
biggest challenge then, according to him, 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 Filipinos more responsive and sensitive to Filipino dignity,
needs, values, and cultural potentials and assets.”

For De Leon, it is excellence in the arts – via an expression that is truly Filipino – that can
form the core of national unity. Of course, this remains to be seen.

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 the 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?
 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 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”?
As of the writing of this book, no definitive answers to these questions exist in the literature.

Multicultural Literacy
As cultures begin to mix and change as a result of globalization, conflicts inevitably arise
over identity, values, and worldviews. This situation consequently needs for a literacy that
enables us to quickly and easily identify and resolve such conflicts, preferably before they even
begin. This has come to be understood as multicultural literacy.
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. For example, multicultural literacy
as defined in American literature is different from how it is deployed it is deployed in a more
European context.
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, productive, and respectful such
that their differences are celebrated and neither culture is demeaned or treated as inferior.
It is important to realize that under this definition, a “different culture” is not just limited
to “someone from another country,” but could also include someone whose gender, economic
background, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or even sense of fashion is different from our
own.
The skills and knowledge required for one to be multi-culturally literate are not mere
language skills, since it is assumed that some medium of communication already exists between
two cultures. Rather, true multicultural literacy consists of perspectives, attitudes, and beliefs
about other cultures that affect the manner in which we communicate and the motives behind
our communication. Here are some examples:

1. Be selfless- an attitude of selflessness – one that is less concerned with how I feel and
more concerned with how I am making others feel – is crucial to multicultural literacy, as
so much of the offense and conflict associated with the meeting of different cultures is
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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo
the result of a “me first” attitude: / should be accommodated, you should be the one to
adjust

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo

to me, I should feel comfortable with you before I make efforts to make you feel
comfortable, etc. Such selflessness is not instinctive to people, and is especially difficult
when one feels insecure of oneself and identity.
2. Know that good and useful things can (and do) come from those different
from us- hand-in-hand with a dismissive attitude toward another culture is the idea that
nothing good can come from them. Furthermore, there is a tendency to ignore or
outright dismiss evidence to the contrary. Simply acknowledging that good ideas and
products have come from cultures we might not like goes a long way in preparing our
minds to perceive them as being equally valuable.
3. Be willing to compromise – Any significant interaction with someone from different
culture is governed by the principle of “He/she wants something, and I want something.”
In other words, cultures do not interact out of pure magnanimity. If both of you are
willing to give the other what they want, well and good. But what happens when one or
both are unwilling to give what the other wants? There must be a compromise: a
reciprocal adjustment of demands and expectations to accommodate what the other
party is willing to give.
4. Accept that there are limits- At some point however, one or both cultures will be
unwilling/unable to adjust their wants for the sake of the other any further. Beyond this
point, the productivity of the interaction drops and one must either change the purpose
of the interaction walk away, accepting that what you want cannot be had from that
particular source. Attempting to force the other party to adjust (when you refuse to do
the same) only results in misunderstanding, hurt, and conflict. The sooner we accept
this, the sooner we can set realistic expectations of one another.

Issues in Teaching and Learning Multicultural Literacy in the Philippines

A number of important issues stand in the way of Philippine educators attempting to
learn multicultural literacy for themselves and teach it in turn to others, which are different from
what can be found in western literature, particularly those of the United states.

Conflicting Requirements for Peace

When all is said and done, the hearth of multicultural literacy is peace among different
cultures – that is, productive and non-violent interaction. It is easy to assume that all cultures
value peace to the same degree and are therefore willing to make the same compromises In
order to attain it, but this is not necessarily true. Because some culture resolve peace violently or
when they get what they want even if it is not the right method. One of the hindrance of this
peace is the pride of everybody.

Take for example the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, which is really a conflict over territory:
Both sides desire peace, but they do not desire it enough to be willing to compromise. In a very
real sense, both sides would rather live in perpetual conflict with one another rather than give-up
their claim to the land which each side believes is rightfully theirs.

On a more personal, immediate front, I am reminded of an activity a fellow teacher

conducted in her class where she asked her students to write down how they defined “peace.”
One student revealingly wrote: “Peace is when I get what I want.” (WAAY NADARA)

Nationalistic and Regionalistic Pushback

The increasing demand for multicultural sensitivity, inclusion, and divert 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.

WATERED DOWN- ACT OF BEING WEAKER

In the ensuing online firestorm, one particular individual commented on how

such regional pride is out of step with modernity, particularly with our need to be united as a
country. Now this sentiment is consistent with the multicultural literacy of being able to put aside
differences for the sake of a common goal, but notice how for the Ilokanos, national unity (as far
as language is concerned) is not worth the cost of giving-up their ability to determine the
orthography of their language for themselves.
ORTHOGRAPHY orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language,
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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo
including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and
punctuation.

We see here that while multicultural inclusiveness is by and large a good thing, it comes at a cost. Part of the
Identity of the host culture becomes diluted and lost – the inevitable result of the compromises necessary for
it to have some form of multicultural understanding. In effect, pushing for multicultural inclusion might very
well be asking some cultures to decide which has more value: Inclusion or Identity?

We must be aware that these questions are easier to answer for the culture that wants
to be accommodated (because it will cost them nothing), rather than the one that must do the
accommodating.

The Persistence of the Problem

PERSISTENCE REFERS TO THE ABILITY TO CONTINUE DOING EVEN THOUGH IT IS DIFFICULT

OR OPPOSED BY OTHER PEOPLE.

On the surface, multicultural literacy might seem to just be a matter of “good common
sense,” and understandably so, no one actively desires to experience discrimination regarding
what they know and what they can and cannot do simply on the basis of race, ethnicity, or in the
case of the Philippines, region of origin. It therefore makes perfect sense to collectively refrain
from such behaviour under the assumption that “if you don’t do it to me, I won’t do it to you.”
And yet, to our horror and shame, the practice persists. Worse, we sometimes find ourselves
participating in and justifying such discriminatory behaviour-if only online and not in real life (as if
anything written or posted online is not, in fact, in real life).

Therefore, the primary issue that educators face in teaching multicultural literacy to their
students and learning it for themselves is, “why does this problem persist? Or to put it in another
way, “Despite all out advances in science, technology, and culture, why is this still a problem
today?”

Bouttle (2008) suggests that issues of discrimination in all its forms (racial, religious,
tribal, cultural, etc.) are really issues of hatred, which she defines in an educational setting as
“the lack of compassion and lack of respect for the rights of others,” and that such hatred must
be fought and its roots must be attacked, because for as long as hatred exists in the human
mind, real peace will be impossible (Vreeland, 2001).

If this is true, then it leads to some interesting question: for one, what is the root of this
hatred? Boutte (2008) suggests that, at least in an educational context, such hate is often
unintentional, but is usually the result of a lack of education. Now if a lack of education is to
blame, then a lack of education in what, exactly? Is it awareness of the existence of those
different from us? Is it awareness that those different from us are worthy of respect?

The former is unlikely: Thanks to the Internet; we are very much aware of the existence
of people and cultures that are fundamentally different from us, yet this has done nothing to
mitigate the hatred that Boutte speaks of. The latter question is more promising, but presumes
that something exists in all individuals – regardless of color, language, religion, education, social
status, etc. – that is worthy of respect. If this is true, what is this something? How do you teach
it?

A majority of research on multicultural literacy stems from the West, specifically the
United States, and focuses on teaching teachers to be more multicultural in their pedagogies.

 Learn about other cultures. Banks (1991a) posits that the first step to teaching
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.
 Familiarize yourself with how discrimination and prejudice appear in your own culture.
Boutte (2008) and Banks (1991b) agree that teachers must be able to identify and
confront patterns of discriminations and prejudice on 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 of your mouth in response?
Do they express genuine acceptance, or do they betray some long-held preconceptions
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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo
about people from the region?
 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 of belief that you can just say you possess when taking to your class, but the kind
that determines your behaviour when you think no one is watching.

 Model more, tell more. Young students, by nature, will have difficulty in exercising
emphaty 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.

Simply put, if you do not truly believe that those who are different have value equal to your own, it will
show, and your students will detect it. It will be seen in the words you use, in the expression on your
face, in the change of you behaviour when you think no one can see, etc. the converse is also true: if you do
believe others have value equal to your own, no matter their social class, educational background, skin color,
or regional accent, it will show; and what is shown is that students will learn.

 Globalization is the process of interaction and integration between people, business
entities, governments, and cultures from other nations, driver by international trade and
investment and supported by information technology.
 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
is not limited to, languages, traditions, values, beliefs, forms of entertainment, and
worldviews.
 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 multi-culturally literature are:
1. Selflessness;
2. Knowledge that good and useful things can (and do) come from those different
from us;
3. Willingness to compromise;
4. Acceptance that there are limits; and
5. Idea that we cannot be friends with everyone. (WAAY NADARA)
 The issues in teaching and learning multicultural literacy in the Philippines are the
nationalistic/regionalistic pushback, the persistence of the problem, and the question of
value.

WHY SHOULD I TREAT PEOPLE OF ANOTHER CULTURE WITH RESPECT?

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 Republic of the Philippines
NORTHERN ILOILO POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Batad Campus
Batad, Iloilo