Hanoi (VNA)♑ - Experts and educational managers believe that the current system of single-subject teachers teaching an integrated subject in the new general education programme should only be a temporary situation.

Integrated subjects need new teachers

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), single-subject teachers at schools can be tasked with teaching integrated subjects when the new general education programme is applied. However, this is just a temporary solution. In the future, it is necessary to have new teachers who can fully meet requirements of integrated subjects. Assoc. Prof. Dr Nguyen Xuan Thanh, director of the MoET’s Secondary Education Department, explained that in the new general education programme, the integrated history - geography subject is divided into two topics: history and geography, while the natural science subject has four different science topics. Therefore, each teacher will teach topics relevant to their professional qualification based on their assignment and in close coordination with other teachers. Professor Nguyen Minh Thuyet, chief editor of the General Education Programme in 2018, said that during the drafting process of that programme in 2014, the Ministry of Education and Training sent delegations to developed countries, such as the US and the UK, to learn from their experience in this area. Surveys show that these countries also applied integrated teaching in the form of single-subject teachers teaching each part of an integrated subject, he said. However, heads of schools nationwide said that single-subject teachers taking a role in teaching integrated subjects is only a temporary solution. They stressed the need to train qualified teachers to be able to teach integrated subjects. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, deputy head of the Education and Training Division of Ha Dong district, Hanoi, emphasised the need to have a separate team of teachers teaching integrated subjects to ensure a systematic approach. Lai Truong Giang, deputy head of the Education and Training Division of Kim Bang district, Ha Nam province, shared Huong’s view, saying that in the future, it will be necessary to train teachers with the required knowledge and skills to teach integrated subjects. The Ministry of Education and Training unveiled a new general education curriculum in December 2018, which aims to reduce pressure on students and allow them to choose subjects they enjoy. The new curriculum, which focuses on students’ activities to develop their competence, is divided into two phases. The first phase of basic education is from grade 1 to grade 9 and the second phase of vocational orientation is from grade 10 to grade 12. Students at the primary school level are required to take lessons in Vietnamese, maths, a foreign language, lifestyle and ethics, nature and society, history and geography, science, computer science and technology, physical education and arts. Computer science and technology is a new subject at this level. At the secondary school level, compulsory subjects include literature, maths, a foreign language, civic education, natural science, history and geography, technology, physical education, arts and computer science. High school students are required to study literature, maths, a foreign language, physical education and self-defence. Students will select optional subjects from social science, natural science, technology and arts. An ethnic minority language is an optional subject at all levels. The new programme looks to ensure basic and compulsory content for students nationwide while granting autonomy to localities and schools to manage educational plans based on the conditions of each locality and educational facility. Students are encouraged to explore lessons by themselves to improve their competence and apply the knowledge and skills in practice. The teacher’s role has been switched from inactively delivering knowledge to guiding students’ exploration of lessons. Teachers can also plan their schedule and select suitable teaching methods that are relevant to the programme, student ability and other specific conditions./.