Educational Reform and Teacher Education in Vietnam

Overview & Synopsis

This paper examines the current state and a challenge faced by teachers and teacher education in Vietnam, and analyzes international aid projects providing support to teacher education there. It is necessary to grasp changes in teacher education in Vietnam in the context of the current comprehensive reform of education, which has been greatly influenced by world trends. In Vietnam today, improving the quality of basic education has been given a high priority, in line with the global movement for Education for All (EFA). The main task for improving the quality of education in Vietnam is the effective implementation of the new curriculum adopted in 2002. Teacher education is the key to completing this task. It is important for teachers to learn new methods of instruction, and teacher education needs to be strengthened to allow them to acquire these new methods. A great deal of international assistance is provided for the promotion of this type of teacher education. Projects in this area are provided by the World Bank, Belgium, and Japan. This paper analyzes these projects, and examines the challenges facing international assistance for teacher education. (Contains 5 tables.)