Renovating early childhood education pedagogy: a case study in Vietnam

Abstract

Since 2003, the Vietnamese government has prioritised curriculum reform efforts and commitment to improving the quality of the national curriculum. The Vietnamese early childhood education renovation has encountered considerable changes and challenges, particularly in the area of pedagogical approaches. Many early childhood teachers continue to favour direct instruction over more appropriate teaching practices for early childhood. This paper reviews the implementation and renovation of the revised curriculum over the past 10 years in Vietnam, and examines the changing realities of early childhood teachers' work to explore ways to implement and sustain changes in pedagogy in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. The paper explores how changing societal expectations and the changing educational philosophies and resultant pedagogy have impacted on the beliefs and practices of early childhood teachers. The teaching profession, as a whole, is facing ongoing change and challenge; not only are ongoing educational reforms redefining teachers' work, but increasing teacher attrition and turnover also creates problems for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Lam Dong province. The paper concludes with suggestions for areas for future research in Vietnam in the field of ECEC.

Digitalization in early childhood education in Vietnam

“…The term, 'kindergarten', was coined by Friedrich Froebel, a German educator. The Kindergarten Movement introduced the concept of children as plants and teachers as the gardeners who take care of them -kinder meaning child and garten meaning garden (Bennett, 2008;Country Meters, 2015;Thao & Boyd, 2014;Hayden, 2013;MOET, 2006;MOET, 2014).…”

“…They run, swing and jump with other children. Playing with clay, sand, water, paint, paper and colours are also common in play-based learning (Thao & Boyd W. A., 2014;Hayden, 2013;MOET 2006;MOET, 2014).…”

“…It's not only the students who benefit with the use of technology though. It also provides early childhood educators with unlimited access to newer, more innovative teaching methods that allow them to facilitate an active learning environment for their young students (Thao & Boyd, 2014;Hayden, 2013;MOET 2006MOET , 2014UNESCO 2004UNESCO , 2006aUNESCO , 2006bUNESCO , 2011UNESCO , 2012UNESCO , 2013Index Mundi, 2015;Kelly, 2000;Lattman, 2014).…”

Early childhood education in Vietnam, history, and development

“…After the reunification of Vietnam in 1975, although Vietnam faced many difficulties, they underlined the growth of kindergarten education as preparing children for the first grade through a teacher-centered method of teaching (Vasavakul, 2000). Hence, ECE was no longer seen as out-of-home socialization but rather as part of lifelong learning (Dang & Boyd, 2014). It took 2 years after the reunification of Vietnam in 1975 to develop ECE in southern Vietnam (Pham et al, 2006;Vasavakul, 2000).…”

Early childhood education and cognitive outcomes in adolescence: a longitudinal study from Vietnam

“…The first nationwide education reforms took place in the early 1980s, and education has subsequently become a significant focus of the government, with Early Childhood Care and Education becoming an official department of the Ministry of Education in 1991. Since the department's creation, and well into the 2000s and 2010s, universal access to ECE has been a key priority and significant improvements have been made (Thao and Boyd 2014).…”