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The universalisation of Lower Secondary Education (LSE) is an important aim in the ESDP 2001-2010, and in the Education Law of 2005. LSE is also one of the target groups of the National ‘Education for All’ Action plan 2003-2015.

In line with MOET’s main strategies to improve the quality of education, for the period of 2008-2013, VVOB concentrates on capacity building at the level of educational management, teacher training and social participation to education, especially through Active Teaching and Learning (ATL) methodologies.

Objectives

Specific objective (2011-2013)

Departments of Education and Training, Teacher Training Institutes and Mass Organisations of 5 provinces have the capacity to jointly promote and support the use and institutionalization of ATL in LSE in view of improving the quality of education within the framework of the CFS movement

Intermediate Results

  1. DOET supports the use of ATL at provincial, district and school level.
  2. TTI are delivering teachers that can apply ATL (in EE and other subjects including ICT for teaching and learning).
  3. Mass Organizations are promoting/facilitating participation of the community in education with focus on ATL.

Educational Management

For the innovation of educational management, MOET proposes strong decentralisation to increase the autonomy and responsibility of local administration and educational institutions so that they can effectively solve and prevent problem situations. Therefore, a restructuring of central and provincial functions and responsibilities needs to take place, and educational managers at several levels need to be trained in new competencies, such as planning, organisation, human resource management, financial management, etc.

In 2009 VVOB supported NIEM (National Institute for Education Management) to train about 300 school principals on Education Management topics. VVOB encouraged NIEM lecturers to apply Active Teaching and Learning principles when delivering this training.

In 2010 VVOB supported the 300 school principals to visit model schools in other provinces (Quang Ninh and Nghe An). During the study tours, the principals took part to a seminar conducted by NIEM lecturers on “ATL for principals”. The idea was to exchange experiences and get some lessons learned from the previous activities conducted by NIEM and VVOB.

In 2010, the Education Management component did also put the focus on the capacity of the 5 DOETs (Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Nghe An, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai) to support in-service training.

Therefore VVOB trained some lecturers in each province (core groups) to teach different subjects selected by the DOETs:

  • Applying ICT in ATL
  • Innovation in evaluation and measuring
  • ATL for School Principals
  • Applying ATL in Environment Education
  • Soft skills trainings

The core groups did then deliver these trainings to school managers in their provinces with the support of VVOB.

In 2011, VVOB continued with the training of DOET core groups. Trainings on ATL will however not only be delivered by the core groups to school managers, but also to in-service teachers in the five provinces.

Besides, VVOB/DOET will make ATL training materaials and information on educational management more easily available via open resources. Exchange of experiences among educational professionals working on ATL development will be stimulated.

Teacher Training

Teacher training component focuses on the improvement of teaching and learning quality at secondary education in the North and Centre of Vietnam (Thai Nguyen, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai) through an integrated support for Active Teaching and Learning.

Education Environment (EE) and Information Communication and Technology (ICT) are the main tools to promote ATL change process. The approaches and innovative teaching methodologies, the ICT integration and best practices on EE and ICT in the past become gradually the core of teacher training component in a short-term or medium-term.

VVOB programme is in line with the requirement of Ministry of Education and Training on changing from teacher-centered to learner-centered methodology, in which the teachers become process facilitators and students play an active role in learning process. This is also one of the main points of the movement "Child-friendly school, active student" initiated by MOET in 2008.

VVOB supports the teacher training institues (TTIs) in five provinces in adjusting training method, ensuring students gain necessary competencies to become teachers who are able to apply ATL and learner-centered methodology. Also, VVOB supports TTIs in developing ATL materials. ICT and EE are good means to start up this process.

Methodology and Environment

In line with the policy and action plan for the development of Environmental Education (EE) in Vietnam, issued by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2002, VVOB is building capacities with teacher trainers to integrate EE in lessons and extra curricular activities, to develop learning materials and to conduct research. Part of this intervention is to provide specific Environmental Education technical inputs to teacher trainers involved in the different activities related to EE. The use of innovative approaches and teaching methodologies such as Problem Based Learning is at the core of the activities around Environmental Education. The EE activities are seen as a means to advance the use of these methodologies and approaches.

In order to ensure that a maximum of teacher trainers and trainees can benefit from this work, VVOB is also supporting work on innovative teaching which goes beyond EE. A number of methodological modules are being developed and introduced in VVOB’s five teacher training institutes by a core group of methodology and didactics teachers. Gradually the work on innovative approaches and methodologies is also introduced in in-service teacher training.

Integration of ICT

Much is expected from integration of ICT in teaching practice. Educators from around the world highly value the potential of ICT to change teaching and learning in a more constructivist, student-centered fashion. In Vietnam, nowadays ICT is conceptualized as a tool that can effectively support the innovation of teaching, learning and education management, and contribute to improve efficiency and quality of education (MOET, directive 55, 2008). However, a gap is perceived between rhetoric in policy guidelines and practice in higher education in Vietnam. In reality, the use of ICT in teaching practice remains very limited: Vietnamese teacher educators use ICT merely as a tool which makes teaching more easy, as a replacement of traditional, more teacher centered teaching practice (VVOB Baseline study 2008). Critical factors on the teacher level, influencing the uptake of ICT, are access, skills and confidence, as well as values towards ICT and perceptions on student learning. In the Teacher Training Component - ICT, we organize a series of input moments, aimed at these different elements of integrating ICT. Gradually the work on innovative approaches and methodologies is also introduced in in-service teacher training.