<P><FONT color=#33711E><STRONG>Day 3 – Session 7B: <br>Panel Discussion: Integrating School Reform with Community Development in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam</STRONG></FONT></P>
Panorama 1
13.00 – 14.30
7.B Panel Discussion: Integrating School Reform with Community Development in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam
This panel utilizes the results of a five-year project which integrated school reform with community development in the poorest province in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam. In addition to improving household income, this project improved basic education, promoted civic engagement and created new collaborative relationships among community, education, business and governmental agencies. The four papers presented by this panel address the following questions. In what ways can schools contribute to community development in the Vietnamese context? What conditions make possible such contributions? What kinds of technical support are needed to promote teacher change and community development?
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7.B.1 What the Project Components Are and How They Fit Together
Christopher Wheeler, Michigan State University, United States of America
The challenges involved in linking schools to community development in Viet Nam are significant. The education system of Viet Nam is highly centralized with a packed curriculum that encourages a focus on content coverage and factual recall. A high-stakes testing system at each level of schooling, coupled with parental concern that students do well on such tests, further reinforces this focus. In addition, there is a substantial gap separating schools from their surrounding communities. This paper argues that reform at the school level should go handin-hand with projects that address the problems that communities face. The paper describes the process used to initiate teacher change within schools, how this process is connected with summer activities that address local community development needs, and how these activities can then be brought back to the school in a variety of ways. It examines some of the outcomes of the project in promoting teacher change and improved household income and it concludes with a discussion of challenges facing this project.
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7.B.2 Teacher Change: The Key Role of a Support System.
Bui Lan Chi and Ho Thi Thu Ho, Cantho University, Viet Nam
Recognizing that one-shot training sessions and new materials are often not effective in the long term, this project has introduced an innovative teacher support system that has helped all teachers in the project change their teaching practices. This paper describes a number of components of this support system and focuses on the follow-up support at the classroom level in the areas of content and pedagogy. The paper also examines the role and function of “support team” teachers (at least one per building) as they assist colleagues in trying new classroom pedagogical practices and using the school grounds for learning activities. In addition, the paper discusses the key role of Cantho University Faculty members in providing support to help teachers understand and teach central concepts in the curriculum. Finally, the paper reports on what changes in teaching and learning have been brought about by the project.
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7.B.3 School-Initiated Summer Projects to Address Community Problems
Phung Thi Nguyet-Hong, Cantho University, Viet Nam
School-initiated projects during the summer vacation months have proved to be effective ways of linking schools to community development. This paper describes two summer projects: composting to enhance the growing of market vegetables and household monitoring to reduce the incidence of dengue fever. Both projects addressed significant community development issues: the need to replenish nutrients in areas where the soil is easily depleted and the prevention of dengue fever. Both projects drew on what schools do best: application of academic knowledge and techniques to local problems. Both of the projects began at the school and were then adopted by local community organizations (the Women’s Union and the Farmers’ Union). And both projects led to closer collaboration by the school with provincial offices and local administration. The paper also describes the implications for sustained school involvement in such projects during the school year.
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7.B.4 Issues, Dilemmas, Challenges and Lessons Learned in Linking Schools to Community Development
Phung Thi Nguyet-Hong, Bui Lan Chi, Ho Thi Thu Ho, Cantho University, Viet Nam
Christopher Wheeler, Michigan State University, United States of America
Efforts to link schools to community development have proven difficult to accomplish in many countries. This paper examines the challenges the project has faced in accomplishing this goal. This paper also addresses questions such as: How does the curriculum limit such possibilities? If summer activities are one way to address this problem, how can they be integrated into the school during the year? What role do principals, district officials and provincial officials play in creating conditions for success or failure? What are some of the personal issues that affect implementation? What are some of the difficulties of providing adequate technical support for teachers and community projects that affect a project like this? Can such a complicated project continue to expand? And can it become sustainable?
Download the paper (word, 100kb) and presentation (pdf, 210kb)