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Would-be teachers don’t know how to teach: report

Would-be teachers don’t know how to teach: report

Thursday, July 19, 2012, 11:10 GMT+7

Local pedagogical students are very weak in teaching skills even though they have a sound understanding of the subject they will be teaching, educators said Wednesday at a conference in Hanoi, citing their research project.

Assoc Professor Vu Trong Ry, a project member who is with the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, complained that the majority of pedagogy majors have no ability to plan their teaching and behave in particular circumstances, especially when dealing with misbehaving students, when it comes to microteaching.

They do not know how to prepare lesson plans and arrange teaching spans in class, Prof Ry said, adding the would-be teachers even fail to explain themselves smoothly and raise questions for students despite having solid expertise in their subject.

He blamed all those weaknesses on teacher training schools, which often spend most of the time providing the majors with only technical knowledge.

Prof Dinh Quang Bao, another research team member, pointed out that teaching methodology accounts for less than 20 percent of math and literature disciplines’ curricula at two leading teacher training schools, Hanoi National University of Education and Can Tho University, whereas it should be at least triple that percentage.

This should be adjusted to produce good teachers for the educational system, according to Prof Hoang Tuy, a prominent academic who is also on the research team.

“Without good teachers, it is impossible to have a good educational system,” Prof Tuy said.

Prof Bao complained that it is very difficult to have competent teachers as pedagogical schools are increasingly lowering their academic standards to admit students.

“Qualified teachers can hardly come from low-performing enrollees.”

Meager salary

Prof Tuy said that teachers deserve higher salaries, as many are trying to do side jobs to survive while still having to spend 60 to 70 hours a week on teaching and other related duties.

The research project showed that 50 percent of the polled teachers live on an income lower than the VND3.8 million (US$182) average salary, while a teacher with 25 years of experience receives a mere VND4.1 to 4.7 million (up to $226) a month.

Meanwhile, a fresh college graduate can earn as much as VND5 million ($240) per month if he chooses to work in the private sector.

Fewer and fewer applicants go for pedagogy at the undergraduate level because expectations for them are high, but income is not, said Nguyen Quang Kinh, another member of the team.

Kinh asserted that hiking the teacher salary is a must if Vietnam wants to improve its education.

“An educational system would have no future if its teachers have to teach to make ends meet,” he added.

Tuoi Tre

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