Bachelor of Secondary Education Department

Reaccredited Level IV by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities

of the Philippines

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT
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COURSE
EDUC 206: Building and Enhancing New
Literacies Across the Curriculum

DEVELOPER AND THEIR

BACKGROUND Ms. Sheila Marie O. David
Faculty, Tarlac State University
College of Teacher Education
smdavid@[Link]

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course introduces the concepts of new
literacies in the 21st century as an evolving social
phenomena and shared cultural practices across
learning areas. The 21st century literacies shall include
(a) globalization and multicultural literacy; (b) social
literacy; (c) media literacy; (d) financial literacy; (e)
cyber literacy/ digital literacy; (f) eco-literacy and (g)
arts and creativity literacy. Field-based interdisciplinary
explorations and other teaching strategies shall be used
in this course.

COURSE OUTLINE Week 1: TSU Vision, Mission, Core Values, and Class
Orientation
Week 2: Introduction to 21st Century Literacies
Week 3-5: Globalization and Cultural and Multicultural
Literacies
Week 6: Social Literacy
Week 7-8: Financial Literacy
Week 9: Midterm Examination
Week 10-12: Media and Cyber or Digital Literacies
Week 13: Ecological Literacy
Week 14-15: Artistic and Creative Literacy
Week 16-17: Critical Literacy
Week 18: Final Examination
CHAPTER #
03
TITLE
SOCIAL LITERACY

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RATIONALE
This is the third chapter of
EDUC 206-Building and Enhancing
New Literacies Across the Curriculum.
It centers on the intricacies of Social
Literacy, a paramount literacy skill
needed by everyone to build a harmonious world. This
chapter is clustered into two key discussions: (a) The
Role of Parents and Teachers in Teaching Social Skills
to Children; and (b) Issues in Teaching Social Literacy.

INSTRUCTION TO THE USERS

This module serves as a guide in understanding
one unit or chapter under EDUC 206. It consists of
the following sections:
(a) introductory guide: to establish common
ground and familiarize you with the course
title, description along with the rationale of this
chapter/module;
(b) pre-test: to gauge your prior knowledge about
the lesson;
(c) learning objectives: to set the expected
outcomes or skills to be learned in this
chapter;
(d) content (with preparatory, developmental and
closure activities): to impart knowledge, skills,
and abilities through this mode prepared by
the instructor;
(e) synthesis/generalization: to outline the focal
points that you need to remember in this
chapter;
(f) evaluation: to check your level of
understanding of the concepts explored in this
chapter;
(g) assignment/agreement: to encourage the
continuity of learning; and
(h) references: to enlist the available resources
used for this chapter and give due credit to the
intellectual properties of the authors.

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 You can re-read the chapter/module anytime.
However, the activities should be answered or
completed based on the schedule and/or
instructions set by the instructor.
The activities are set to be recorded and/or graded
by the instructor.
Should you have questions, difficulties, or
clarifications, feel free to contact the instructor.

PRE-TEST
Let us do a SELF-CHECK!
Filipinos are warm and sociable
people. That being said, Filipinos
have these social skills taught to their
children or the younger generation as
part of the cultural norms in the country.
In a clean sheet of paper, enumerate at least five
(5) social skills of Filipinos and cite distinct situations in
which these social skills are applied. Are these social
skills similar with the social skills of other nationalities?
You may answer this for a maximum of 30 minutes.
Once you are done with the pre-test, you may proceed
to check the learning objectives for this chapter.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this chapter, the student will
be able to:
Explicate the issues and formulate sound opinions
in teaching social literacy;
Explain the role of parents and teachers in
teaching social skills;
Show self-reliance while working independently to
complete this chapter;
Conduct an interview about social skills; and
Prepare a case study.

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CONTENT
If you were a parent at this time,
PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES
what would you teach your children in
terms of social literacy? How would you
teach them?
Answer these questions through concept
mapping. (You create a concept map by writing key
words (sometimes enclosed in shapes such as circles,
boxes, triangles, etc.) and then drawing arrows
between the ideas that are related.) Provide a brief
explanation below your concept map. This activity is
good for 30-45 minutes.

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES

In this chapter, our focus is on the rudiments of Social Literacy. You may review the answers
that you provided for your pre-test and verify their accuracy while reading this section.

SOCIAL LITERACY

Social literacy concerns itself with the development of social skills, knowledge ad positive
human values that enable human beings to act positively and responsibly in range of
complex social settings. It is the knowledge of how to behave and treat other people in a
way that is morally upright, just, and equitable, with a view of promoting positive and
productive relations that are fee from unfair prejudices, hate, and discrimination. These
three descriptions will be explained below.
By morally upright, we refer to thoughts, speech, actions, and motivations that adhere to a
standard of right and wrong. On the other hand, just refers to speech, actions, and
behaviors that are in-line with a fixed standard of justice –a system that promotes and
rewards good and at the same time punishes wrongdoing. Any system of justice, whether
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national, regional, or local, requires a body of rules or laws by which to measure and
administer rewards and punishment. Equitable are the speech, actions, behaviors, and
decisions that treat others fairly, regardless of background or circumstances. Not to be
confused with equality, which connotes a fixed standard of treatment for all people, equity
seeks the good of others, and labors to find means by which everyone gets “what they
need” rather than simply “everyone gets the same thing in the same amount.”
Peers and schools play a formative role on the social skills development of children.
These social skills are often expressed as consisting of three inter-related components:
social perception, social cognition and social performance (Arthur, Davidson, & Stow,
2000). Increasing emphasis has been placed on the last component, particularly in terms
of outcomes. Social skill is defined in literature as ‘the ability to interact with others in a
given social context in specific ways that are socially acceptable or valued and at the
same time personally beneficial, mutually beneficial, or primarily beneficial to others.’
There are several types of social skills that must be mastered for a child to be socially
adept. These range from the ability to initiate, maintain, and end a conversation to reading
social signals to more complex skills such as solving problems and resolving conflict
(Lawson, 2003). The following examples represent some of the fundamental principles of
relating well to others. Children with social skills deficits can be taught these skills directly
by parents, teachers, and/or professionals using the strategies of modeling, role-playing,
rehearsal, and practice.
✓ Greeting – Children develop relationships with
peers by interacting with them. The first step in
a social interaction is greeting someone.
Greeting others is done not only with words like
“Hi!” or “How are you?” but with facial
expressions, tone of voice, and gestures such
as a nod or a wave. The nonverbal part of
greeting someone is just as important as the
words. It is not so much what one says but how
he/she says it that lets people know he/she is
glad to see them.
✓ Initiating Conversation – In order to carry on a conversation, a child must be
able to initiate, maintain and close conversation appropriately. This requires good
listening and attention skills, as well as the ability to take turns and probe for
missing information. Being a good conversationalist requires turn-taking and
reciprocity. Children have to listen as well as talk. If they do not show an interest

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 in what the other person has to say, they probably will not be interested in taking.
Impulsive children often have trouble knowing when to talk and when to listen.
✓ Understanding the Listener – Once a conversation is initiated, it has to be
maintained. In order to do that, it is important to understand the audience one is
talking to. A socially adept child quickly and unconsciously identifies and
categorizes his listener, measures what he/she has planned to say against the
anticipated response of the listener, and then proceeds, alters, or avoids what
she has planned to say. He/She knows that talking to authority figures is not
done in the same way when talking to peers. A misread of the listener often
leads to a misunderstood message and potential social rejection. To converse in
a socially appropriate manner, children must be able to take the perspective or
point of view of the other person, i.e., think the way they think. To do this, a child
must pretend that he/she is the listener and think about what he/she needs to
hear to understand what is being said.
✓ Empathizing – Empathy is more than perspective taking; it means that one is
able to feel what the other person feels. Empathy allows one to really connect
with other people. Other children often think of children who lack empathy as
mean, unkind, or self-centered.
✓ Reading Social Cues – It is very important to read social cues in a conversation.
Cues are the hints ad signals that guide us to the next thing to say or do. Social
cues can be verbal or nonverbal. Verbal cues are the words that the other person
is saying. Tone of voice is an important part of verbal cues. Good detectives pay
very close attention to nonverbal cues.
✓ Previewing or Planning – Conversations also require that one previews or
thinks about what effect the words or actions may have on the listener before she
says or does them. If the impact will be negative, one can adjust what she might
say or do.
✓ Problem-Solving – Problems and conflict are often a part of social interactions.
Someone may not agree, get angry, insult, or become aggressive at something
that one says. How one reacts to these conflicts depends on how good her
problem-solving skills are. Conflicts cannot be avoided and are often necessary
to “clear the air.” Turning a conflict from a “win-lose” situation to a “win-win”
situation is the best way to resolve conflict. This requires negotiation and
compromise, give and take that results in a situation where all parties can live
with and help maintain friendships.

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 ✓ Apologizing – Everyone makes social mistakes
one time or another. A person with good social
skills is confident enough to make a sincere
apology for her error. This is a courageous act
and is the quickest and easiest way to correct a
social blunder. In reality, other people usually
have a higher opinion of someone who
apologizes for making a mistake. Apologizing is
a sign of humble and mature character when one
commits mistakes.

IT’S YOUR TURN! Get a partner (a classmate, a friend, or family member) whom you
can interview. Conduct a recorded interview with that partner about his/her social skills.
The questions may include, but not limited to, the following: Is he/she a listener or a
talker? Which social skill(s) does he/she need to develop or strengthen? What are his/her strong
and weak social skills? After the interview, transcribe it and describe your partner’s social skills.
What did you find out about him/her? Are your social skills similar with that person?

A. THE ROLE OF PARENTS AND TEACHERS IN TEACHING SOCIAL SKILLS TO

CHILDREN
Parents typically play the major role in teaching
children social skills. Parents can directly teach
social skills by modeling, role-playing, and
providing opportunities for their child to rehearse
and practice new skills. They should encourage
and praise the child for successfully using a new
skill.
Professionals typically intervene only when
children are having substantial social difficulty
with peers. These individuals can implement
structured, guided, and effective programs that
often involve group work with peers. Children
must then generalize the skills they learn in the
group to school and other personal social
situations.

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School is the place where children spend the majority of their time with peers. It is,
therefore, a natural and perfect setting for children to learn and practice social skills.
While teachers do not have to teach a class in social skills, they can take advantage
of every opportunity to help children improve their social skills. They should be alert to
teasing and bullying and aware of children that rejected or ignored by their peers.
They should work cooperatively with the children’s parents to prevent humiliation,
embarrassment, and distress that befall these children. Pairing a socially inept child
with a socially adept one, involving children in cooperative instead of competitive
learning exercises, identifying and acknowledging the strengths of all children,
understanding social weaknesses, and creating an environment in which diversity is
accepted and celebrated can greatly enhance all children’s social abilities, sense of
belongingness, and self-esteem, not just in the classroom but in life as well.

B. ISSUES IN TEACHING SOCIAL LITERACY

How children develop their social literacy is intrinsically a contextual matter and is not
something that can be easily traced in a linear or developmental fashion. The
acquisition of social literacy is a complex process that is historically and culturally
conditioned and context-specific. Children learn through social practices, both explicit
and implicit, and become human through social interaction. Nevertheless, it is also
the case that children engage in social activity before they are taught it; in other
words, children are disposed to be social before they learn what sociability is all
about.
There are two distinct ways of answering the question on how children learn to live
socially with each other and with adults. The first view is normative and communal.
From their culture, children learn customs that provide them with a guide to act in
ways that minimize conflict. The second view is pragmatic and individualistic. The
social order of children is created by explicit and implicit agreements entered into by

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self-seeking individuals to avert the worst consequences of their selfish instincts
(Arthur, Davison, & Stow, 2000). In this last view, social order is dependent on
sanctions ad formal agreements. Rules are obeyed because they confer personal
advantage on a child. In the normative view, children are persuaded of the moral
force of acting socially through their voluntary associations with others, both in their
immediate circle, such as the family, and in the wider community, for example,
through membership of a church or club. The child in this normative view will not only
know the correct behavior but will perform the role without any need for regular,
conscious reference to the rules governing it.
Teaching social literacy in schools is not as easy as it appears to be due to subjective
standards of morality and inherent human capacity to judge and make excuses.
1. Subjective Standards of Morality
The natural outcome of postmodern philosophies is that truth and morality
are considered subjective and open to individual interpretation. This can be
seen in the current culture, where actions and behavioral patterns that were
once considered bad have now become acceptable – so much so that many
now consider them to be even good. When the standards of measure
between good and bad changes, this gives us license to change as well and
opens the gates to all kinds of abuse. This, in effect, pulls the rug out from
under any and all attempts at true justice and equitability, since they
themselves rely on a fixed moral standard.

Interestingly, many of those who insist on a subjective moral standard will be

the first to demand for a fixed moral standard when they themselves fall
victim to a subjective morality’s inevitable outcome.

2. Human Nature
While we would all like to believe that people are inherently good,
experience has taught us that the inherent goodness of humanity is, at best,
unreliable: Sometimes it is there, often it is not. We are quick to champion
the cause of moral uprightness, justice, and equity, but balk when our words
and actions come under their scrutiny. In other words, we insist that others
be judged according to a fixed moral standard but invoke a subjective one
when our own behavior is questioned. We demand justice when we perceive
ourselves to be victims of wrongdoing, but we surround ourselves with
excuses when we do wrong. We insist that others treat us equitably, but are
reluctant when treating others with equity costs more than we expected.
Today’s students have grown up with the internet that they have become
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 inseparable from their gadgets. Blake (2017) offers helpful reminders to
young professionals in terms of social skills in the modern age. This situation
underscores the importance of educating students in what could be called
social literacy to ensure their academic and career success.

Situational Awareness in the Workplace

While casual office attire has become the norm in many offices, job interviews typically
require more formal dress and behavior to demonstrate a level of respect. Stories prevail
of young adults showing up to interviews in casual clothing, texting, or using phones
during job interviews or even bringing their parents with them. “Such behavior
demonstrates a lack of situational awareness about what is appropriate to do in different
social circumstances.
While college classrooms or the actual office atmosphere may allow for a more casual
dress code, students need to be taught what is socially acceptable in terms of dress or
behavior for them to stand out above their colleagues. An ability to read social situations
illustrates strength to employers – quickly picking up on a client’s mood or expectations in
various business or cross-cultural situations can be the difference between success and
failure.

Social Intelligence in Technological Communication

Text-speak and technology use have affected many young people’s ability to
communicate. While email has deformalized much of the communication process,
students still need to ensure their writing denotes respect and provides enough context for
professors (or future employers) to readily respond. In addition, text-speak has reduced
students’ ability to communicate using correct grammar.
Through studying particular communication genres and what they demand, students can
learn more about what individual situations demand in terms of the formality of
communication. For example, if a professor signs an email with “Dr. Smith,” this is a fairly
good indication that he expects to be addressed as such and not informally by his first
name.

Social Intelligence in Traditional Communication

While email has taken over as the primary method of communication, traditional modes of
discourse still exist. For example, many employers still expect cover letters in addition to
resumes, and the lack of a thank-you note for a gift is often perceived as more than a
simple social oversight.
An ability to craft these types of documents illustrates an understanding of social
expectations and denotes a level of respect or appreciation. While not related to the
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 traditional educational canon, learning to properly write a cover letter or business letter or
a thank-you card not only teaches students that these documents exist and are often
necessary but also shows them how to craft such documents, saving them time and
energy in the future.

CLOSURE ACTIVITIES
The nature of Social Literacy is
exemplified in this chapter. Additional
information and readings may also be
accessed in the class’ official Dropbox
folder should you be interested in extending your
knowledge about the lesson.
Based on the lesson presented, what are the key
areas to highlight and remember? Explicate your
thoughts by writing a reflection paper about the chapter.
You may use a short bond paper or yellow paper for
this activity. This is good for 1 hour.
SYNTHESIS / GENERALIZATION
 Social literacy concerns itself with the
development of social skills, knowledge, and
positive human values that enable human
beings to act positively ad responsibly in range
of complex social settings.
 Social skills range from the ability to initiate,
maintain, and end a conversation to reading
social signals to more complex skills such as
solving problems and resolving conflict.
 The modern age calls for young professionals
to develop situational awareness and social
intelligence in both technological and
traditional communication to succeed in their
academic and career endeavors.
 Peers and schools play a formative role on the
social skill development of children.

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EVALUATION
A. Get a whole sheet of yellow paper or
short bond paper, and accomplish the
tasks below. Make sure that your answers
are the product of your own understanding and
not lifted nor consulted from outside sources,
as the instructor may run your answers in a
Plagiarism Checker/ Detector software. This is
good for 1 hour. Do not forget to submit your
output to your instructor on the prescribed
schedule.
1. To what age bracket should we teach social
literacy? Why? (10 points)
2. What issues will someone encounter in
teaching and learning social skills? (10 points)
3. Do you think that the teachers can fill the role
of parents in teaching social skills? Why or
why not? (10 points)

B. Prepare a case study in relation to social

literacy. The rubric in checking the case study
shall be provided separately by the instructor.
Feel free to contact the instructor for
clarifications regarding this requirement.
Here are the steps in preparing a case study:
Identify the problem. For example,
globalization of jobs in the Philippines.
Think about the underlying causes of the
problem. Problems can vary from a poor
supply chain structure to an incorrect market
positioning strategy.
Make an outline. This will help identify the
main points when writing a case study.
Examine cause-and-effect relations. Try to
explain why the problem occurred and which
actions led to the reason for this problem.

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 Formulate possible solutions to the
problem. Think about how you would solve
this problem and what actions you would
undertake to eliminate the impact of negative
circumstances.

Here are the parts of a case study:

Introduction – Write an introduction where you
identify the key problem and make a summary
of the thesis statement in 1 or 2 sentences.
Background Information – Include some
relevant facts and issues and conduct
research on the problem.
Alternatives – Describe several alternatives
and explain why some were rejected. Describe
existing constraints and explain why some
alternatives were rejected.
Solution – Provide one realistic solution to the
problem, explain the reasons behind the
proposed solution, support this solution with
justification, include relevant theoretical
concepts in addition to the results of your
research.
Recommendations – Identify specific
strategies to accomplish the proposed
solution, recommend further actions, outline
an implementation plan.
ASSIGNMENT / AGREEMENT
In a clean sheet of paper, list down all
your dreams, aspirations, and goals in your
life. You can also describe or explain them.
REFERENCES
Main Textbook:
Alata, E.J.P. and Ignacio, E.J.T. (2019). Building and
Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum, First
ed. Metro Manila, Philippines: REX Book Store.

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Other References:
Bernardo, A.B.I., Clemente, J.A.R., and Liem,
G.A.D. (2014). Describing the values of Filipino
adolescents: A comparison with pan-cultural
norms. Journal of Tropical Psychology, (4)8.
doi:[Link]
[Link]/10.1017/jtp.2014.2
Dolan, R.E. ed. (1991). Social Values and Organization.
In: Dolan, R.E. ed. (1991). Philippines: A Country
Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.
Retrieved June 28, 2020 from
[Link]
Nadeau, K. (2020). The Philippines. The Marriage and
Family Encyclopedia by Jrank. Retrieved June 28, 2020
from [Link]
1277/[Link]
Parreñas, R. (2008). Gender Ideologies in the
Philippines. In The Force of Domesticity: Filipina
Migrants and Globalization (pp. 22-39). New York;
London: NYU Press. Retrieved June 28, 2020, from
[Link]/stable/j.ctt9qghg8.5
Reyes, J. (2015) Loób and Kapwa: An Introduction to a
Filipino Virtue Ethics. Asian Philosophy, (25)2, 148-
171. DOI: 10.1080/09552367.2015.1043173

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