The document outlines the concepts and frameworks related to multicultural and global literacy, emphasizing the importance of integrating these themes into education to foster cultural awareness, social justice, and global competence among students. It details various strategies for teaching multicultural literacy, including critical thinking, awareness of global issues, and respect for diversity, alongside the necessity for educators to adapt their curricula to reflect the growing diversity in classrooms. Additionally, it discusses the dimensions of global competence and assessment strategies to prepare students for interconnected, diverse societies and to promote active citizenship.

1. MULTICULTURAL AND GLOBAL
LITERACY
Module 5:

2. Learning Outcomes:
• Discuss global and multicultural literacy
• Illustrate the Global Competence Framework
• Explain dimensions of multiculturism
• Elucidate on the assessment strategy for global competence and global
understanding
• Present effective ways on how to integrate global multiculturism in the lesson using
appropriate delivery strategies, instructional materials and assessment tools.
• Draw relevant life lessons and significant values from personal experience in
demonstrating multicultural literacy
• Analyze research abstract on global and multicultural literacy and its implications on
the teaching-learning process
• Draft relevant policy in addressing multiculturism in school

3. 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 towards achieving social justice within communities. Because 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).

4. 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 if the
students in today’s classrooms. Banks (2003) asserted that teaching
students to be advocates of multiculturism 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 multiculturism literacy a 21st century literacy (Banks,
2002).

5. 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 a 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 community (Guo,
2014).
According to the Ontario Ministry of Education (2015), a global citizen
should possess the following characteristics: (1) respect for human
regardless of race, gender, religion pf 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.

6. INTERCONNECTING MULTICULTURAL AND
GLOBAL LITERACY
Every classroom contains students of different races, religions 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 multiculturism information into the classroom curriculum (Guo,
2014)

7. The OECD Global Competence
Framework
(Source: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2018-global-competence.htm)

8. 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 to policymakers, leaders and teachers in
fostering global competence among students worldwide.
Global competence is multidimensional capacity. Therefore, globally competent
individual 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
workforce.

9. 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 to 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, 2017). Schools are also positioned to enhance student’s 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).

10. 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, 1998; Kymlicka,
1995; Sen. 2007). People with diverse cultures are able to live peacefully,
respect differences, find common sultutions, 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).

11. 3. To use date 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 school, political, economic and environmental discussions.

12. DEMINSIONS OF GLOBAL COMPETENCE: IMPLICATIONS TO
EDUCATION

13. DEMINSIONS 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, 2016).
 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 (Box
Mansilla, 2016).

14. FOUR DIMENSIONS OF GLOBAL COMPETENCE

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. Dimension 3: Engage and open, appropriate and interactions across cultures
This dimension describe what globally competent
individuals can do when they interact with people
from different cultures.

18. 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 refer
to individual’s readiness to respond to a given local,
or intercultural issue or situation.

19. THE ASSESSMENT STRATEGY FOR GLOBAL COMPETENCE

20. The assessment strategy for global competence
The PISA 2018 assessment of global competence
contributes development, while considering
challenges and limitations.
Two components:
 A cognitive test exclusively focused on the construct
of “global understanding”.
A set of questionnaire items collecting self-reported
information on students’ awareness.

21. Curriculum for global competence:
 Knowledge
 Skills
 Attitudes
 Values

22. Four knowledge domains:
1. Culture and intercultural relations;
2. Socio-economic development and interdependence;
3. Environmental sustainability; and
4. Global institutions, conflict and human rights.

23. Skills to understand the world and to take action
• Global competence builds on specific cognitive, communication and
socio-emotional skills.
• A school community that desires to nurture global competence should
focus on clear, controllable and realizable learning goals.

24. Knowledge about the world and other cultures
This knowledge helps people to challenge misinformation and stereotypes
about other countries and people.
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 contexts that can
present new demands or challenges.

25. Opennes, 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 attitude can be
fostered explicitly through participatory and learner-centered teaching, as
well as through a curriculum characterized by fair practices and an
accommodating school climate for all students.
Opennes toward people from other cultural backgrounds involves sensitivity
towards curiosity about and willingness to engage with other people and
other perspectives on the world (Bryam, 2008; Council of Europe, 2016a).
Global-mindedness is defined as a worldview, in which one sees him/herself
connected to the community and feels a sense of responsibility for its
members (Hansen, 2010).

26. 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 are 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 prohibitation 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-fullfilment, autonomy
or self-realization; (3) the recognition that protection of group identity and culture
may be essential for that of personal dignity; And (4) creation of necessary
conditions to have the essential needs satisfied

27. 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
globally competent students needs to use to understand fully global or
intercultural issues and situations (OECD, 2018).

28. 1. the capacity to evaluate information, formulate arguments and explain
complex situations and problems by using and gaps in information and
managing conflicting arguments
2. the capacity to analyze multiple perspective and worldviews, positioning
and connecting their own and others’ perspective on the world
3. The capacity to understand differences in 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 course of action and weighing actions on the basis of
consequences.

29. 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;
evaluating information on the basis of its relevance and reliability;
synthesizing 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-casual
explanations of global or intercultural issues (OECD, 2018).

30. Integrating Global and Intercultural
issues in the Curriculum
For global education to translate abstraction into action, there is a need to
integrate global issues and topics into existing subjects (Klein, 2013;
UNESCO, 2014). In the practice, content knowledge related to global
competence is integrate in the curriculum and taught in developmentally
appropriate ways ( Boix Mansilla and Jackson, 2011; UNESCO, 2015).
Therefore, Gaudelli (2006) affirmed that teachers must have clear ideas on
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. Teacher may
also engage in professional learning communities and facilitate peer
learning.

31. 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
perspective 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 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 its relevance to their lives and their immediate environment (Suarez-Orozco and
Todorova, 2008).

32. 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 task suitable for various levels and ages, in
which goal and content are negotiated and learners cam create their own learning
materials that they present and evaluate together. Learners, participating in
cooperative tasks, attentive, honest and empathic (Barret, 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)

33. Service learning is another tool that can helps 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, el al., 2016).
The Story Circle Approach intends to practice key intercultural skills, including
respect, cultural self-awareness and empathy ( Deardorff, n.d). The students in
groups of 5-6, take turns sharing a 3-minutes story from their own experience
based on specific prompts, such as “Tell us about 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, srudents then, share the most
memorable point from each story in a “flash back” activity.

34. Attitudes and values integration toward global competence.
Allocating teaching time to a specific subject that deals with human right
issues and non-discrimination is an important initial step in cultivating values
for global competence.
Values and attributes 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 environments’ influence on developing
students values, would help teachers become more aware of the impact of
their teaching on students (Gay, 2015).