INTRODUCTION

Multicultural Education is an idea which has reached its time. Carrying the legacy

of the 1960's and 1970's, a period of profound social change when the people of the

United States were forced to reexamine their cultural heritage, multicultural education

has emerged in the 1990's to address the educational needs of a society that continues to

struggle with the realization that it is not monocultural, but is an amalgamation of many

cultures.1

Multicultural education is a field of study and an emerging discipline whose

major aim is to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial,

social- class, and cultural groups. Its goal is to help all students to acquire the knowledge,

skills, and attitudes needed to function well in a democratic society. It helps students to

interact and communicate with people from other groups. It facilitates the learners to

understand and appreciate cultural similarities and differences from other races.2

The Philippines is a nation of different races, cultures, traditions, and religion. Of

its one thousand one hundred seven islands, people within speak different dialects. There

are those who speak Tagalog, Ilocano, Ibanag, Ilonggo, Chavacano, but, all are called

Filipinos. Indeed, there is diversity in the Philippines in terms of its race, ethnicity, social

– class, and cultural groups.

Philippine education comprises students from different races. In an average

classroom with fifty students, several of which came from the Tagalog region, the

Ilocano region, and some from the Visayas and Mindanao regions. In this kind of class,

1 http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/hanley.htm2 www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/presrvce/pe3lk1.htm

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fusion of different races takes place. The rich diversity of today's society is clearly

evident in many classrooms today.

With the diverse group of students, each one is given the opportunity to examine

their differences and similarities with other students, in terms of their culture and

traditions. They are able to understand the beliefs and customs in other provinces. And,

they are able to socialize with learners from varied races.

Thus, multiculturalism exists within the Philippine education system. The union

of diverse groups of learners in schools is evident of multiculturalism. It makes them to

be socially active members of the society. It helps them gain greater understanding of

their self by viewing themselves from the perspectives of other cultures.

Multicultural education is a progressive approach for transforming education that

holistically critiques and addresses current shortcomings, failings, and discriminatory

practices in education. It is grounded in ideals of social justice, education equity, and a

dedication to facilitating educational experiences in which all students reach their full

potential as learners and as socially aware and active beings, locally, nationally, and

globally. Multicultural education acknowledges that schools are essential to laying the

foundation for the transformation of society and the elimination of oppression and

injustice.3 It is said to value cultural pluralism. It affirms that major education institutions

should strive to preserve and enhance cultural pluralism.

One of its aims is not just to impart interesting facts, but also to equip students to

the challenges and concepts from established disciplines. It highlights injustice of all

3 http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/initial.html

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kinds - racial, gender, class, linguistic, ethnic, national, and environmental - in order to

make explanations and propose solutions.4

Multicultural education is said to attempt to uncover "the histories and

experiences of people who have been left out of the curriculum," The purpose of which is

"to accommodate and respect the varied cultural origins of our diverse population"

(Eaton, 1997).

BODY

The population of the Philippines has been multicultural. The culture of the

Philippines reflects the complexity of the history of the Philippines through the blending

of the culture of diverse indigenous civilizations with characteristics introduced via

foreign influences. The Philippines is a mixed society, both singular and plural in form.

Singular as one nation, but it is plural in that it is fragmented geographically and

culturally. The nation is divided between Christians, Muslims, and other religio-ethno-

linguistic groups; between urban and rural people; between upland and lowland people;

and between the rich and the poor.5 Think of all the people from Luzon, Visayas and

Mindanao, and from different nations such as China, Europe, America who make up the

population of our country.

RACISM

The Philippines has various ethnic groups that identify themselves based on

several factors such as ancestry, language, or religion. In Mindanao, there are several

ethnic groups of similar ancestry, but whose religion is Islam, and whose culture is not as

4 http://www.socialstudies.com/c/@.3LoXXbbb5oFQ/Pages/multiculturalism.html5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_Philippines

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“Westernized” on the surface as that of the Christian Filipinos. There are also various

tribal groups throughout the Philippine archipelago who are generally neither Muslim nor

Christian, and are least influenced by Islamic or western cultures. The Philippines is one

of the most diverse countries in terms of ethnicity.6

However, though multiculturalism exists within the educational system, we

cannot deny the fact that discrimination and racism still survives in our society. Often do

we see people criticizing individuals especially from the minority/ indigenous groups.

Still, the minorities are being classified as of lesser value than those who grew in the

cities. The minority, such as the Aetas in Zambales, the indigenous Lumad, and the

Bangsamoro Muslims are often deprived of their basic human rights, especially the right

to education.

With the experiences of our fellow Filipinos, most minorities are being left

behind. They are seen as lower class citizens. When they enter schools, most of them are

being bullied and mocked by the majority of the students; some of them have to put up

with names being shouted at them. The indigenous people are also mocked when their

beliefs and traditions do not conform with the majority, for they are regarded as those

with a social or cultural identity distinct from the dominant or mainstream society. For

example, the Igorot food “etag”, which foreigners call Igorot ham, is seen as disgusting

by the people from the cities. And when they go to the cities, they are being looked upon

as if they have some kind of disease. Most of the time, they are being oppressed by the

people in power. When applying for a job, they are given the last priority. Employment

opportunities are limited to them even if they are qualified for higher positions. They are

seen as merely laborers in the society.

6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_of_the_Philippines

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These experiences manifest the continuing non- enjoyment of the minorities of

their basic rights such as education and development. According to Mucha-Shim Q.

Arquiza (2004), “while Philippine constitution believes as a matter of principle that

education is a fundamental right, government’s lucklustre performance to fulfill its

obligations proves the opposite”. The minorities remain deprived and are socially

marginalized. Their contributions are not recognized. Thus, their humanity is being

degraded. This discriminatory attitude is perpetuated by the state’s insistence on a

mainstreaming model which succeeds only in assimilating the minorities in a majority

dominated culture.

SOCIAL STATUS

The gap between rich and poor in the Philippines is widening, with the richest 10

percent of families raking in more than a third of the country’s total income. Education

has also become a part of the institutional mechanism that divides the rich and the poor.

The rich tend to discriminate the less fortunate. Like the minority, they too, experienced

being bullied in schools. Otherwise, they end up being the so called “assistants” of the

high profiled students.

Discrimination also follows when only the rich few are capable of enrolling and

studying in well known exclusive schools. They are the only ones who could afford to

pay the high tuition fees of these schools, and enjoy a better quality of education. And,

studying in exclusive, high profile schools and universities includes the enjoyment of

popularity within the society.

However, the less fortunate students end up studying in schools where facilities

are inadequate, and resource materials are limited. They usually sit in a class of fifty to

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sixty students per classroom. Most of these students work at various establishments to

sustain there education.

Inequality between the rich and the poor divides the population. The poor cannot

enjoy what the rich people are enjoying. The underprivileged cannot benefit from

studying in well known universities. And, when they mingle with well- off students, they

end up being unnoticed. According to Godofredo Roperos, “It seems the disparity in the

social and economic condition between our rich and poor is glaring. The gap in the lives

of our many poor and the very few rich is inequitably widening, instead of narrowing…

efforts to bridge the gap between the affluent few and the needy are withering under the

heat of the economic elite’s political pressure”.

STEREOTYPES

Stereotype is a way of representing and judging other people. Stereotypes can

revolve around a certain characteristic of the group of persons to which they are assigned.

The persons of that group may even be reduced to being known and understood through a

lens based on the stereotype that results from this, rather than being viewed as

individuals. Stereotypes may refuse to recognize a distinction between an individual and

the group to which he or she belongs. Stereotypes may represent people entirely in terms

of narrow assumptions about their biology, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, or

any other number of categories.7

A stereotype tends to judge a person by the way he looks not for who he is.

Sociologist Charles E. Hurst of the College of Wooster states that, “One reason for

stereotypes is the lack of personal, concrete familiarity that individuals have with persons

in other racial or ethnic groups. Lack of familiarity encourages the lumping together of

7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotyping

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unknown individuals”.8 Individuals have been different from one another. Persons have

gravitated to groups of other persons like themselves. People create and develop

categories of qualities by which to classify the groups, some based it on ancestry.

Gender stereotyping also exists in schools. Mostly, the society has different

expectations from males and females. The society usually imposes what is expected of

men and women in the social structure. In the early years, the teachers instructed the male

students to do manly tasks such as carpentry and gardening. While the female students

were instructed to do cooking or home making activities. The men are perceived to be

tough, combative and rulers of the home. The women are expected to be caregivers,

nurturers and homemakers. "The usual stereotypical images are that boys are better at

technical subjects and girls are better at languages. Boys are naughty, girls are quiet.

Boys have better reasoning, while girls follow their emotions and intuition. There is no

doubt we experience those qualities in real life but the question is whether they are

natural or conditioned by upbringing…”.9

8 Hurst, Charles E. Social Inequality: Forms, Causes, and Consequences. 6. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc, 20079 http://www.radio.cz/en/article/90714

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CONCLUSION

Meeting and interacting with people from other cultures is an exciting experience.

The differences between cultures can be fascinating and can sometimes cause problems

because of the particular cultural meaning of words, gestures, or actions. Oftentimes,

people do not understand each other because of diversity in their beliefs, cultures and

traditions.

With the help of a multicultural education, barriers in diversities can be lessened.

It is defined to increase the educational equity for all students. The Multicultural

Education approach promotes the transformation of the educational

process to reflect the ideals of democracy in a pluralistic society. It is

a response to the changing demographics of the society. Culture is

what we learn and create to make sense of the world. The

discontinuity between the cultures of poor and ethnic minority

students and the culture of schooling affects academic

underachievement and failure (Nielson, 1991; Nieto, 1997). Moreover,

caught in the ambivalence of success and failure in schools that

transmit a culture of domination the learning of children of color and

poor children is further hindered by the factors of invisibility,

alienation, and resistance. In view of an increasingly multicultural

society and student population, multicultural educators reflect the

need to address the systemic, curricular, and pedagogical

impediments to the learning of traditionally marginalized students.

Multicultural educators also recognize that an increasingly

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multicultural nation and a shrinking and contentious planet at the

edge of the twenty-first century demands a people who are critical

thinkers and able to deal with the complexities of multicultural

differences.10

In our country, the government is challenged to encourage

diverse and alternative learning systems to flourish by removing

obstacles to the recognition of the indigenous groups. The state, while

promoting multiculturalism, should also encourage inter- cultural

exchange and dialogue among peoples and make education for peace

as flagship mechanisms of its post- conflict humanitarian programs.

Indeed, the government must take upon itself to continue to mobilize

resources to basic education, and in the promotion and support of the

minorities’ learning systems.

Educators, through classroom materials, can portray these

diverse groups realistically and from a variety of perspectives. For

example, teachers can have students celebrate ethnic diversity

through festivals. Studying each culture also helps students in

understanding their differences with other people. With these,

students are taught about commonalties of all people through

understanding their social and cultural differences but not their

differences in institutional and economic power. In a democratic,

multicultural society like the Philippines, all children must be 10 The Scope of Multicultural Education.mht

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educated about the multiple strands of the past that have created the

webs of the present. Whatever our ethnicity is, we all need to study

and appreciate each culture similarities and differences, for we are all

Filipinos. The school curriculum needs to reflect our full history,

including the contributions and experiences of people of color and

women. Thereby, all students can see themselves in history and

students of all races can develop a greater respect and appreciation

for each other.

To promote multicultural education, educators should be able to

develop teaching and learning based on democratic values that foster

cultural pluralism. They should be able to develop curriculum that is

built on understanding ethnic groups. Furthermore, educators must

be committed in achieving educational equity. A just and humane

treatment to all students should be maintained to combat oppressive

practices against the minority. Educators, activists, and others must

take a more active role in reexamining all educational practices and

how they affect the learning of all students.

Teachers applying a transformative approach weave a range of

cultural perspectives throughout the curriculum. For example, by

reading different versions of the Cinderella fairy tale, students can

compare the moral, ethical dilemmas, story structure and standards of

beauty in the said story. This empowers the children to think critically

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about events and issues. It is necessary for teachers to model positive

attitudes and interactions with all children -- particularly those who

might be alienated from the rest of the students. Then the need to

create opportunities for students to interact peacefully among

themselves is important through cooperative learning. Cooperative

learning has been proven successful in reducing prejudice among

students. Apparently the focus on a common goal helps override

emphasis on individual differences. Positive interaction matters.

Teaching strategies should encourage success for all students,

regardless of race, class, ethnicity, or gender. Knowledge of learning

styles can help.

Educators have the responsibility to engage in a continual and

critical process to examine how prejudices and assumptions inform

teaching and affect educational experiences of students. Teachers

need to understand the people and its surroundings to be able to have

a sense of his own perceptions in relation to life experiences. Thus,

teachers will be effective in relating to the students the similarities

and differences between races.

Schools must be active participants in ending oppression of all

types, first by ending oppression within their own walls, then by

producing socially and critically active and aware students. As

educators, we must recognize that children have preconceived notions

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about other children. These notions are based on their race,

neighborhood, ethnicity, and gender. If we are truly committed to the

philosophy of multicultural education, this is an area we must

consistently address.11

Parents too, should be involved in making links within the

community. They should embrace the community with warmth,

understanding and curiosity. Everyone should have a nurturing

support for others. Everyone should be contributing members of society both within

their rich cultural boundaries and beyond them.

As Banks (1993) points out, "multicultural education is designed to help unify a

deeply divided nation rather than to divide a highly cohesive one." Multicultural

education may bring problems to the surface, giving the appearance of creating conflict.

But if a school's entire staff and faculty are committed to working through that conflict,

then unity based on new, more equitable relationships can be achieved.

Multicultural education encompasses all aspects of school life. The values of

multicultural education must be modeled throughout the school environment.

Multicultural education strives for equity regardless of race, gender, culture, or national

origin. Students' lives are shaped by both school and society. So, in order to be

successful, multicultural education encompasses both the effort to create more equitable

schools and the involvement of teachers and students in the creation of a more equitable

society. As educator, Bill Bigelow (1993) states, "[students] are given the opportunity to

11 http://www.highlightsteachers.com/archives/highlights_in_the_classroom/multicultural_education_an_overview.html

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flex their utopian imaginations, and further, the opportunity to try to make their dreams

real."

Essentially, multicultural education is about social change

through education. It requires deep and critical thinking, imagination,

and commitment to another tomorrow, inclusive of the wealth of all of

our stories and peoples. It is another aspect of the continuous human

journey toward justice and pushes us toward the fulfillment of the

promises of democracy.

Multiculturalism ensures that all citizens can keep their

identities, can take pride in their ancestry and have a sense of

belonging. Acceptance gives citizens a feeling of security and self-

confidence, making them more open to, and accepting of, diverse

cultures.12 Thus the underlying goal of multicultural education is to

affect social change.

12 http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/multi/what-multi_e.cfm

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Banks, J. (1993). "Multicultural education: Development, dimensions, and challenges.

Phi Delta Kappan.

http://www.highlightsteachers.com/archives/highlights_in_the_classroom/

multicultural_education_an_overview.html

http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/hanley.htm

www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/presrvce/pe3lk1.htm

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/initial.html

http://www.socialstudies.com/c/@.3LoXXbbb5oFQ/Pages/multiculturalism.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_of_the_Philippines

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotyping

Hurst, Charles E. Social Inequality: Forms, Causes, and Consequences. 6. Boston:

Pearson Education, Inc, 2007

http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/multi/what-multi_e.cfm

PHILIPPINE MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

In the Subject

Philosophy of Education

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Submitted To:

Mr. Daniel Espiritu

Submitted By:

Jennifer D. Roxas

Date Submitted:

March 15, 2008

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