Multiple sets of textbooks: A multifaceted reality.

GD&TĐ - After several years of implementing the policy of socializing textbook compilation, Vietnam currently has 3 sets of textbooks approved and used in schools.

These are all sets of textbooks that meet quality standards, increase choices, and encourage innovation and proactive creativity among teachers… However, the practical implementation of selecting and using multiple sets of textbooks also faces some difficulties and challenges.

Opportunities come with challenges.

Mr. Tran Binh Trong, a teacher at Dinh Thanh High School (Dinh Thanh commune, Ca Mau province), believes that having multiple sets of textbooks in a curriculum increases choice, flexibility, and creativity for both teachers and students. At educational institutions, teachers can choose textbooks that suit the characteristics of their students, regional conditions, and school facilities. Furthermore, teachers have access to more resources for reference, research, professional development, and acquiring new knowledge.

"The same issue is presented differently in each textbook, with more vivid examples that reflect the cultural diversity of different regions and local characteristics. This helps students feel more connected and understand the subject more easily," Mr. Trong commented.

Furthermore, having multiple sets of textbooks encourages innovation and creativity. Publishers and editorial teams must compete healthily, thereby investing more effort in creating good, easy-to-understand, and engaging textbooks, avoiding textbook monopolies.

However, according to Mr. Trong, a program with multiple textbooks also puts pressure on teachers in teaching and testing. “Having many books requires teachers to read, compare, and prepare lessons more thoroughly, which is time-consuming; some teachers are also rigid in their approach to providing answers, leading to debates. In addition, each set of textbooks has a different presentation style, examples, and structure, making students worry that they have missed or are focusing on the wrong topics compared to the common exam, creating anxiety and a lack of confidence,” he said.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Ho Thanh Tung - a teacher at Vo Thi Sau Secondary School (Bac Lieu Ward, Ca Mau Province ) - said that the policy of socializing textbook compilation is correct, reflecting the spirit of innovation in education and promoting the creativity and initiative of the authors and teachers. However, the actual implementation shows that using multiple sets of textbooks simultaneously also gives rise to many difficulties.

"The content differs between textbooks in terms of presentation style, knowledge level, illustrative examples, etc., leading to a lack of consistency in teaching. Management, inspection, and evaluation among teachers, schools, and localities also become more complicated," Mr. Tung shared.

Regarding the challenging mountainous region and ethnic minority students, Mr. Nguyen Dac Thuan - Principal of Ta Tong Ethnic Boarding Primary and Secondary School (Ta Tong commune, Lai Chau province) - believes that current textbooks have focused on regional factors, reflected in lessons connected to local nature, customs, and culture.

"This helps ethnic minority students feel more familiar, confident, and interested in learning. The diversity of textbooks also promotes teachers' creativity, allowing them to proactively choose appropriate teaching methods to create more lively and engaging lessons," Mr. Thuan said.

Mr. Le Dinh Chuyen, Principal of Nam Manh Ethnic Boarding Primary School (Nam Hang commune, Lai Chau province), expressed the view that a unified set of textbooks should be chosen and used for convenience. This would allow for the reuse of textbooks in subsequent courses, facilitating content exchange and saving costs.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Thien Ha, Principal of Thang Tin Ethnic Boarding Primary and Secondary School (Tuyen Quang), raised the issue that when each locality and school uses a different set of textbooks, it will be difficult for students and parents who want to transfer schools.

A lesson taught by Mr. Tran Binh Trong - a teacher at Dinh Thanh High School (Dinh Thanh commune, Ca Mau). Photo: Quach Men

Addressing shortcomings

Natural science is the subject that underwent the most significant adjustments in the 2018 General Education Program, integrating Physics, Chemistry, and Biology and implementing teaching starting from grade 6. However, in recent years, this subject has also faced many concerns and difficulties in implementation due to a shortage of teachers for the new subject and a lack of uniformity in teaching methods and assessment.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Quang, a teacher at Hien Son Secondary School (Bach Ha commune, Nghe An province), believes that the advantage of the current Natural Science textbooks is that they teach in a way that develops students' competencies. Lessons are structured in an integrated manner, helping students apply their learned knowledge to solve real-life problems.

However, not all teachers can meet the requirements and achieve the above goals. Currently, teachers are mainly trained in a single subject, and having to teach three subjects will affect the quality of teaching. On the student side, the assessment process is difficult because not all students have equal abilities in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

Similarly, History and Geography – new subjects in the 2018 General Education Program – are being introduced. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van, a Geography teacher at Hung Hoa Secondary School (Truong Vinh Ward, Nghe An Province), commented that the textbooks currently used by the school to teach students have many advantages.

“The content has a fairly suitable knowledge structure from grades 6 to 9, including general geography, world geography, Vietnamese geography… The textbook also updates a lot of new data, is concise, and appropriate for students' abilities. However, there is some content that integrates History and Geography, and teachers who want to teach it well have to do more research and learn more, which is quite challenging,” Ms. Van shared.

Given this situation, many teachers teaching integrated subjects in Nghe An province hope that when the government decides to switch from multiple sets of textbooks to a single set, adjustments will be made to facilitate students' knowledge acquisition and teachers' teaching.

Mr. Huynh Thanh Phu, Principal of Bui Thi Xuan High School (Ho Chi Minh City), pointed out three main shortcomings of the current model: financial burden, chaotic knowledge for students, and lack of a common standard for testing and evaluation. Mr. Phu noted that purchasing textbooks has become difficult. Each school can choose many different textbooks, each subject has many options, and even each set of textbooks has many volumes.

This forces parents to buy many books, including textbooks, workbooks, reference books, and specialized books, thus increasing the total cost. In addition, the lack of standardization is also a major problem, as the same content is interpreted and understood in different ways. "Although the initial diversity was expected to be beneficial, in the current context, it creates many difficulties for parents, students, and schools," the principal explained.

A science class at Dung Hop Secondary School (Tan Ky commune, Nghe An province). Photo: Ho Lai

Expectations for stability and synchronization.

Mr. Tang Xuan Son, Principal of Thong Thu 1 Ethnic Boarding Primary School (Thong Thu, Nghe An), said that the school is using a combination of three sets of textbooks. Specifically, Art and Creative Activities uses the "Creative Horizons" series, Informatics uses materials from Vinh University Publishing House, and the remaining subjects use the "Connecting Knowledge with Life" series.

After a challenging first year, teaching gradually stabilized and yielded positive results in subsequent years. Ethnic minority students used textbooks suitable to their learning abilities and psychological characteristics, such as a preference for vivid, visual, and easy-to-remember materials that were easy to understand and relatable. Teachers also received training and professional development to teach in a way that fosters student competence and proactively used appropriate teaching materials.

“If we move towards using a unified set of textbooks, I hope we can inherit the values ​​of the current textbooks. In addition, there needs to be more guidance and direction for teaching students in mountainous areas and ethnic minorities. At the same time, to maximize the advantages of the 2018 General Education Program, I hope the Ministry of Education and Training will continue to allow and encourage teachers to creatively and flexibly apply various teaching materials to suit the reality of each school and the specific characteristics of different students,” Mr. Tang Xuan Son shared.

Regarding concerns that using a unified set of textbooks will lead to a return to passive and dependent teaching methods, Mr. Huynh Thanh Phu, Principal of Bui Thi Xuan High School, stated that the unified set of textbooks will serve as a "standard" or "backbone" of knowledge.

Teachers rely on this standardized set of textbooks to develop their lessons, while also proactively updating their knowledge and supplementing it with information from the internet and other sources to enrich the lesson content. This creates a solid foundation for teachers and students to develop, rather than a "mandate" to be followed mechanically.

Meanwhile, Mr. Le Hoang Du, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ca Mau province, commented that a program with multiple sets of textbooks is a progressive teaching program. The textbooks are basically of good quality and suitable for the goals and requirements of the 2018 General Education Program. The problem is that there are currently many sets of textbooks, but there has been no comprehensive and objective assessment of their suitability for different regions and student groups.

Some content in textbooks is still academic and theoretical, lacking practical application or not relevant to the conditions of disadvantaged areas. Overcoming these shortcomings will create favorable conditions for teachers and students and ensure the spirit of the 2018 General Education Program.

Ms. Dam Thi Hanh, a geography teacher at Ham Yen Ethnic Boarding Secondary and High School (Tuyen Quang), shared that having multiple sets of textbooks forces teachers to spend more time comparing, contrasting, and redesigning lessons to suit the curriculum's knowledge standards, avoiding complete dependence on any single set. Each textbook has different materials, data, and approaches, making it difficult to select gifted students or teach for graduation exams.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/nhieu-bo-sach-giao-khoa-thuc-te-da-chieu-post753391.html