Innovation for comprehensive education: Recognizing reality, aiming for the future

The 2018 general education program, in addition to the achieved results, still has many difficulties and limitations that need to be objectively recognized and promptly innovated to move towards comprehensive education for the future generations of the country.

There needs to be flexibility in adjusting the common set of textbooks to achieve the goal of comprehensiveness. In the photo: Students of Continuing Education Center No. 2 during a class. Photo: THU HA

Positive change

The city's 2018 general education program is consistent with the goals and guiding viewpoints of educational innovation according to Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW on comprehensive fundamental innovation of education and training, meeting the requirements of industrialization and modernization, contributing to the transformation of an education system that focuses on knowledge transfer to an education system that comprehensively develops both qualities and abilities; harmonizes morality, intelligence, physique, and aesthetics and best promotes the potential of each student.

The city's educational institutions have focused on innovation in all aspects, such as school management and administration, in the direction of promoting the school's initiative and flexibility and the autonomy and creativity of professional groups and teachers in implementing the new program... At the same time, building modules to implement the 2018 general education program for each subject and each level of education flexibly and appropriately.

Most teachers in the city are trained and upgraded to ensure compliance with the roadmap of Decree No. 71/2020/ND-CP dated June 30, 2020 of the Government on the roadmap for improving the training standards of preschool, primary and secondary school teachers.

The selected textbooks ensure the criteria set by the city, aiming to develop students' qualities and abilities, while equipping them with general knowledge, self-development, skills, foreign languages... associated with effective assessment and testing.

The newly selected textbooks have scientific and aesthetic content, creating excitement for students to learn and teachers to creatively apply student-centered teaching methods and forms; the amount of knowledge imparted is appropriate and closely linked to life activities.

The content of the lessons and topics ensures continuity, language and expression appropriate to the local culture, history and geography. The textbooks are written in an open manner, with a structure and content that allows subject groups and teachers to add specific content and activities that are appropriate and close to local reality.

Since then, the quality of teaching and learning has been significantly improved step by step. The rate of students of the right age to complete junior high school and high school is high. The rate of students graduating from junior high school each year is over 99.5%; and the rate of high school graduates is over 98.41%.

Experiential education, life skills and career guidance are given regular attention, physical education and school sports activities have achieved many encouraging results, 100% of schools in the city meet the standards of universalizing lower secondary education level 2, nearly 60% of schools meet level 3; the passing rate and admission rate to universities and colleges is high compared to the national average; key education has achieved many outstanding results, many students won high prizes in national and regional competitions and the International Math Olympiad...

Limited recognition

However, the organization of the proposal for selection of textbooks for many sets of books at general education institutions in the city in recent years still faces many difficulties and obstacles. For example, due to the late announcement of the list of books many times, teachers do not have much time to read and study books, especially in English (9 approved books).

Building a unified set of textbooks will create fairness for students with a standard curriculum and knowledge foundation. Photo: TRAN TRUC

Some subjects do not have full hard copies of books, so teachers have to read and research e-books, which is difficult and time-consuming, and not very effective. Some subjects have not had their textbooks approved at the same time, so it is difficult to research, compare, and evaluate the textbooks. Music and Fine Arts are new subjects, with few teachers, so it is not convenient to connect and invite teachers with professional qualifications from secondary schools in the same area to read, research, and evaluate textbook proposals for these two subjects...

The organization of teaching and learning of experiential and career guidance activities still has many shortcomings in the assignment of teaching staff and teachers, and the implementation of local educational content does not ensure progress and time according to plan.

In addition, for secondary school level, teachers are only trained to teach single subjects, so the arrangement of teaching Natural Sciences, History and Geography according to the 2018 general education reform program faces many difficulties. In addition, the recruitment of teachers to teach Music, Fine Arts and Information Technology at educational institutions faces many obstacles due to the lack of teachers to recruit, which does not ensure the improvement of comprehensive education quality for students.

The problem of the suitability of textbook prices for many sets of books compared to the income conditions, living standards of the people and the socialization of textbooks has not had a standard answer, especially for the low-income people, unskilled workers, unemployed, families with many children, people in mountainous areas, remote areas, ethnic minority areas... The standard reference system to evaluate the cost savings in circulating shared books through generations, the awareness of respecting knowledge in preserving the annual book sets of students... has not been properly raised.

Change towards total quality

Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW 2025 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development has set out 8 groups of tasks and solutions. These include reviewing and evaluating the implementation of the General Education Program; ensuring the provision of a unified set of textbooks nationwide, striving to provide free textbooks to all students by 2030. It can be said that this is a very correct and humane policy, meeting the expectations of many parents.

Teachers have a harder time as most of their time must be spent improving their skills and expertise to confidently stand in class. Photo: H.D

The development of a unified set of textbooks will facilitate schools and teachers in organizing teaching and learning, exams and quality assessment. Thereby creating fairness for students with a standard curriculum and knowledge foundation, saving schools time and money... for establishing a textbook selection council.

At the same time, teachers and parents have more convenience in finding documents, supporting their children's learning, reducing financial pressure for families with children studying at different grades or transferring schools. Books can be used for many years, passed down through generations, forming a sense of respect for knowledge and saving for children.

The results from the implementation of the new general education curriculum and textbooks in recent times have helped the education sector of Da Nang city gain many lessons in organizing teaching and learning, developing the comprehensive qualities and abilities of students. The effective implementation of the model of "one curriculum, many textbooks" will also be the foundation for schools and teachers in organizing and building lessons based on a unified set of textbooks in the coming time.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/doi-moi-vi-nen-giao-duc-toan-dien-nhan-dien-thuc-tai-huong-den-tuong-lai-3309408.html