The Education Law of 2005 specifically addresses the need to reform teaching
methods and to change teaching from a system of one-way indoctrination
to one of promoting active and conscious participation, so as to increase
the initiative and creativity of students, enhance students’ self-study and
team-work capacities, and enable students to put acquired knowledge
into practice. The law also recognizes the necessity of ensuring that subject
content is grade-appropriate and of creating a joyful, comfortable and active
learning environment (National Assembly, 2005).
In the country’s ‘Education Development Strategy 2011–2020’ one of the
solutions emphasized was to reform teaching contents and methods, and
exams and education quality assessments, towards developing students’
capacity, while also enabling education to be relevant to each locality and
attaching importance to values education (morality, law and traditional
cultural values), life skills, physical health education and career orientation
(Ministry of Education and Training, 2012, p. 8).
Teaching methods in Viet Nam
Surveys in the 1990s found that the prevailing teaching method used at
schools in Viet Nam was ‘chalk and talk’, described as ‘teacher transmits the
knowledge; students passively receive and memorize’ (Phan and Nguyen,
2011, pp. 412–14). Studies conducted a decade later (Nguyen, 2003; Nguyen,
2006) indicated that the majority of teachers were still using the ‘chalk-and-
talk’ approach. These studies found that active methods that put learners at
the centre and which use problem-solving approaches were under-utilized.
As a consequence, teaching-learning was focused on rote memorization and
students consequently had poor critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
The continued use of teacher-centred pedagogy is believed to be a result
of ineffective reforms in teacher training and a lack of teacher motivation,
as well the importance placed by society on succeeding in examinations.
Furthermore, studies on pedagogical approaches in Viet Nam have
concentrated on theoretical research rather than on empirical research,
making it difficult to apply research results in practice (Phan and Nguyen,
2011, p. 414).
A report by the Ministry of Education and Training on teaching and learning
practices found that positive changes had been observed in secondary
schools during the school year 2008/09 (Ministry of Education, 2009). The
report noted that active pedagogy was encouraged at schools, that most