Education is not just something schools 'shoulder'

For decades, education has always affirmed the important role of coordination between family, school and society. However, in the new development context, this "education triangle" relationship has not yet operated in a substantial way.

Resolution No. 71 of the Politburo identified institutionalizing the family-school-society relationship as a strategic breakthrough in Vietnamese education.

N DEFECTS IN COORDINATION BETWEEN FAMILY, SCHOOL AND SOCIETY

On November 27, the Ministry of Education and Training and the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education held a seminar on "Strengthening coordination between families, schools and society in educating children, pupils and students in the new period". Here, Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Doan, President of the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education, pointed out many bottlenecks that are weakening the coordination between the three important subjects of education.

A survey by the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences in 2024 showed that only 46% of parents regularly communicated with teachers; 60% of high school students said that their parents did not or rarely participated in school activities; and 42% of parents participated in skills education programs organized by the school. Along with that, domestic violence, marital conflicts or excessive pampering also created behavioral deviations in children. Some parents even intervened with teachers to ask for grades or support their children to achieve titles. Many parents had to work far away, leaving their children with grandparents, causing family ties to decline.

Education requires coordination between family, school and society.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

The school also has limitations: moral education is heavy on theory, lacking practical experience; the disease of achievement has not been overcome; connection with parents is still formal.

Although society plays an important supporting role, it has not fully participated in the educational process. According to the General Statistics Office in 2023, only 21% of general schools regularly cooperate with professional social organizations. The online environment with many risks and deviant behaviors in social life negatively affects the development of students' personalities.

These shortcomings show that the education of children and adolescents is still fragmented, lacking strong coordination mechanisms and clear regulations to handle problems arising inside and outside schools.

Coordination of education is an obligation

Professor Nguyen Thi Doan proposed the most important solution: Building a legal framework and institutionalizing the family-school-society coordination relationship through "responsibility contracts". The contract must clearly define the responsibilities of each subject, establish specific educational targets, and include an evaluation and handling mechanism when not implemented, and especially must have principles to protect students in all situations.

This model is consistent with Resolution 71-NQ/TW, which identifies three strategic breakthroughs: institutions, resources and educational environment. The Resolution emphasizes the requirement of clearly defining the roles, responsibilities and coordination mechanisms between families, schools and society in moral education, personality and standard value systems; at the same time, promoting the responsibility of management agencies, party committees and local authorities. This shows that institutionalizing the family-school-society relationship is the key solution to building a healthy, safe and humane educational ecosystem.

This mission affirms that education cannot continue to operate as a closed system where schools must "carry themselves". On the contrary, education must become the work of the whole society, operated by a coordination mechanism with legality, responsibility and supervision. This is a strategic shift compared to the past when there were regulations but lacked binding force and enforcement.

The educational environment is not only within the school walls but is a combination of family - school - community. Therefore, it is necessary to implement synchronous, sustainable solutions with clear mechanisms.

Education must become the work of the whole society, operated by a coordinated mechanism with legality, responsibility and supervision.

Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach

Accordingly, the Government issued a decree promulgating a set of rules for family-school-society coordination that is unified nationwide, easy to implement and easy to monitor.

It is necessary to build a provincial-level community education support network based on the model of support groups for school clusters, managed and coordinated by the Department of Education and Training, to provide psychological counseling, career guidance, school safety, legal matters, and connect parents - schools - society.

Innovate communication work by increasing parent training and creating regular dialogue forums to unify educational methods.

Promote digital transformation associated with data protection mechanisms, limit abuse of student information and reduce pressure on teachers.

It is possible to incorporate the criteria of three-party coordination into the competition assessment of the school, local authorities and parent representatives. At the same time, mobilize social organizations and businesses to create a healthy educational environment, support cultural activities, scientific experiences, life skills and volunteering.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/giao-duc-khong-chi-la-nha-truong-tu-ganh-18525120420213223.htm