Perceptions Of Vietnamese Social Science Teachers On The Integration Of History And Geography In Gen...

PERCEPTIONS OF VIETNAMESE SOCIAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ON THE INTEGRATION OF HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY IN GENERAL EDUCATION Nguyen Phung Tam, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Van Ngo (Faculty of pedagogy, VNU University of Education) Abstract Based on survey data and in depth interviews with a group of History and Geography teachers at the secondary level, the essay summarizes and analyzes the social science teachers’ objective perspective on the advantages, disadvantages, needs, and adaptability as well as ambit[.]

ON THE INTEGRATION OF HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY IN GENERAL EDUCATION

Nguyen Phung Tam, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Van Ngo

(Faculty of pedagogy, VNU University of Education)

Abstract: Based on survey data and in-depth interviews with a group of History and Geography teachers at

the secondary level, the essay summarizes and analyzes the social science teachers’ objective perspective on the advantages, disadvantages, needs, and adaptability as well as ambitions for professionals in the context of the general education program reform for History and Geography integration in 2018.

Keywords: integration, social science teacher, history, geography, education, education program, integration.

1 INTRODUCTION

In less than the first 15 years of the 21st century, Vietnam high school educators were continuously undergoing renovations to curricula and books: before 2006; period 2006-2018 and the recent period, since the end of 2018 when the Ministry of Education and Training officially issued the general education program, and the educational curriculum of each subject and grade level The focus of the current general curriculum reform is to transform towards the orientation of advancing students’ quality and competence One of the “breakthroughs” is expected to be the appearance of educational programs with “integrated trends” at the secondary level, such as the curriculum of Natural Sciences, History, and Geography Within the context of education, however, which was strongly affected by the approach to content according to the single-subject educational model of the former USSR, especially in the context

of a team of educational professionals, lecturers from schools, the pedagogical faculty remained very audacious The group of social science teachers at the secondary level has a number of urgent issues, such as: what are the problems and challenges that teachers are currently facing regarding professionalism and innovation-oriented methodologies of the 2018 curriculum? What is their state of mind when teaching in the direction of integrating History and Geography into grade 6 has been implemented from the academic year 2021-2022? What is this group of social science teachers’ immediate and long-term eagerness for professional training and support? We conducted a sociological study, including a statistics survey, in-depth interviews, qualitative analysis as the main research methodologies On that basis, we presented

a number of immediate and long-term solutions in the History and Geography teacher fostering and training model according to the integration trend of current innovations in general education programs

1.1 Overview of research issue, objects and research methodologies

1.1.1 Overview of research issue

Along with all the rapid advancement of statistics and data science, researching on teachers’ attitudes and needs are being incorporated into the “demand prediction” trend to help ensure feasibility

and effectiveness in implementing an education’s innovation strategy, which has emerged as one of the most significant research directions in applied educational science Perceptions of Vietnamese social science teachers on the integration of History and Geography in general education is a type of survey research in the field of statistical science in education However, the objective group and context that the research is targeting are secondary school social science teachers (History teachers, Geography teachers) in the 2018 education reform with the orientation of integrating History and Geography As the result, the overview of the research problem refers to two typical groups: the research group related studies on statistical science and the science of human resource demand forecasting and the research group related studies on integrated History and Geography education in high school models

The related studies on statistical science in education and the science of the “demand prediction”

of human resources have a diverse variety and provide a theoretical framework for research to sample surveys and design survey questions, and statistical analysis methods in terms of current situation and needs of the social science teachers’ group in the context of the integrated renewal of the History and Geography program Nevertheless, associated studies on the integrated History and Geography educational model in secondary schools remain modest

The integrated teaching is one new feature of the 2018 curriculum Conceptually, the program clearly states: “Integrated teaching is an instructional orientation, that enables students to develop knowledge, skills and the ability to solve problems in numerous different areas In the process of acquiring knowledge and practical skills, problems in learning and in life are accomplished effectively.”.1 Integrated education programs must first be supplied in order to make progress to integrated teaching Integrated curriculum

is a type of curriculum approach which differs from a trend in independent subjects, emphasizing the multidimensional, and interdisciplinary approach to learning problems And thereby, integrated and interdisciplinary educational programs, including a history and geography curriculum, were replaced for previous independent subjects However, early initiatives in advanced education systems worldwide, such as the USA and Japan, have been taken in relation to the integrated approach to the history and geography curriculum

In general education curricula in most countries, history and geography have so far been separated subjects In reforming general education, particularly advanced countries, as the Us (since the end of the 19th century), Japan (since the Second World War) have taken the pioneers to evaluate and transform its curriculum into the integration of history, geography, social sciences and reality at the elementary and secondary levels Since the 1990s, China - a country in which general education places a high value

on historical education as a separate subject, has also experimented with History and Society curricula

in secondary education according to the orientation of integration in some provinces, especially in the entire Zhejiang Province

In relation to the process, it is a fact that, in most countries from USA to Japanese, China, there are always considerable barriers to teachers’ readiness to change and to innovate in the very first stage of general education reform from a single subject model to an integrated model In the USA, an integrated model for social research was proposed at the end of the 19th century, with the ambition to abolish the traditional thinking of learning History in a rigid way However, the debate in American education about the role of the history subject in an integrated model toward social research started in the 1930s

1 The Ministry of Education and Training (2018), General Education Program in History and Geography (secondary level), promulgated with Circular No 32/2018/TT-BGDĐT dated December 26, 2018, p35.

and extended into the 1960s and 70s of the 20th century On that basis, the foundation of history and geography education in social research has been laid by the birth of the History and Social Sciences curriculum from the 1980s to the present day1 Lessons have been learned about problem-solving: high school teachers need a detailed education program, an experts support system, and a specific training plan, with a clear roadmap for changing towards an integrated teaching model

Aftermath of World War II, and early stages in 1947, Japanese education began to undergo revolutionary transformation with the promulgation of new education laws and new educational programs

in accordance with the spirit of the 1946 Constitution’s “peace, democracy, and respect for people” Accordingly, social studies is a completely new topic that has been established in this country for the first time in general education history, based on learning from the American education background On

5 May 1947, the Japanese Ministry of Education issued nationwide the Social Studies Guideline books (1st to 10th grade) From that time on, the Social subject has been maintained, heritaged and renovated, but the essence of the 1947’s version remains intact “Social subject is a topic not centered on academic systems that is based on real problems of adolescents, and thereby expands and enhancing the social experience of younger generations.” This is the overarching and outstanding feature of Social subject: the formation of and advancement of student integrated thinking through experiential activities from real-social life.2 One of the primary goals and approaches of the Social subject is to educate the learning competence, particularly the discovery learning capacity, of individuals and groups of students through discussion on social problems; create the habit of acquiring knowledge from contact with people by investigating, documenting, using, and creating data, maps, and statistics about social life Advanced educational principles are comprehended in the entire guide books, such as the focus on student’s

interests and the principal evaluation criteria for learning activities: “There is no valuable learning experience if the students have no interest” 3; or taking the “learn-by-doing” principle as suggestions

and requirements for organizing and addressing approaches in general, learning and teaching methods in particular with specific expressions associated with diverse students’ types of learning activities such as:

“(1) eye activities”, (2) Ear activities”, “(3) Speech activities”, “(4) Drawing activities”, “(5) Writing activities”, “(6) Shape creation activities”, “(7) General activities” 4

Instead, it is an integrated mindset and act, connecting learning to social life’s reality; the purpose and approach of the Social subject as above has breached the “traditional” and “academical” nature of the teaching of History and Geography This is one of the breakthrough points of the general education system in Japan since 1945 and is the spotlight of its Social curriculum

Since the 1990s, the program integrating history and society has also been implemented in the secondary school in the Zhejiang province as a whole and in some towns for over 30 years However, the willingness of teachers to adapt and the training and promotion of experts during the implementation

of the program is one of the biggest problems Zhejiang and other areas have already had.5

1 The Wiley International Handbook of History Teaching and Learning, edited by Scott Alan Metzger, Penn State University, Pennsylvania, US; Lauren McArthur Harris, Arizona State University, Arizona, US, 2018, Page 13th- 36th.

2 Nguyen Q.V (2016), Social Studies Guideline, Volume I, Hanoi National University of Education Publishing House,13-14.

3 Nguyen Q.V (2017), Social Studies Guideline, Volume II, Hanoi National University of Education Publishing House, 12.

4 Nguyen Q.V (2017), Social Studies Guideline, Volume II, Hanoi National University of Education Publishing House, 20.

5 Nguyen P.T, Zhang Lujia (2016), The problem of History synthesizing in Middle School in China, History Research Journal,

No 8 (484), 70-82.

Currently, in Vietnam, attidudes and adaptation of teachers in middle schools are completely empty of the 2018 integrated curriculum of History and Geography If so, the surveys usually only serve the practical needs of the introduction of social science courses for training, including History and Geography at pedagogical universities and colleges Instead, in recent years, the staff of the curriculum-textbooks of History and Geography in particular, as well as the academic staff of pedagogical schools and faculties of the social field in general, have been primarily interested in The task is to compile a textbook to encounter the 2018 educational curriculum, and even a set of training materials based on modules with intertwined designs: The History teachers will study the modules on Geography in-depth, while the Geography teachers will do the opposite Many teachers boldly stated that it was a “quick” type of training, even with a module that took “only 3 days to complete” in a “dreamy” mood1

From the above overview, we realized that:

- Relevant studies of statistical research in education and science of “demand forecasting” human resources have provided a theoretical framework for research on survey sampling, survey question design, and statistical analytical methodology, so on

- World experience of building and conducting an inclusive educational program in social science will provide valuable suggestions to determine the scientific foundation and the trend of improvement for Vietnam’s integrated educational model in History and Geography in secondary schools

- The research investigated the adaptive attitude and needs, as well as the aspirations of the secondary educators as the basis for proposing immediate and long-term solutions, before the transfer from the single-subject model of teaching (History or Geography) to the integrated teaching model (History and Geography) This is one of the research directions with the high application The results

of the research will make a significant contribution to ensure the viability and efficiency in Vietnam’s education reform today

1.1.2 Research Object

Among the 222 surveyed objects are teachers, currently in charge of teaching History and Geography at the primary and middle school levels, of which there are 31 teachers teaching at the inter – level schools, 99 teachers teaching in secondary school, 63 teachers teaching at primary school, 28 teachers working in other units or information hiding units Regarding professional qualifications, there are 113 teachers with college level credentials, accounting for 50.9% of the total number of respondents (most of these objects are studying to ameliorate their certifications); 85 teachers with bachelor’s degrees, accounting for 38.22% of the total number of people surveyed; and 10 teachers with master’s degrees (accounting for 4.5%t of the total number of people surveyed); the rest are 16 teachers who hide information about qualifications (accounting for 7.2%)

Concerning the number of high school teachers taking part in the survey, years of seniority: There is

a workforce of 59 persons for 20 years, representing 26.6% of the number of people surveyed; a total of

80 persons with 10 to 20 years experience equal 36%; a total of 26 persons with between 5 and 10 years experience representing 11.7%, and 57 persons with a workforce of under 5 years representing 25.7%

1.1.3 Research Methodologies

We used the following main methodologies to accomplish this study:

1 According to in-depth interviews from some secondary school teachers of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

- Methods of analyzing and summarizing experiences from relevant sources, in which emphasizing the analysis and summarization of experiences of the group of descriptive statistical methods

- Survey method: designing survey forms, creating questions, selecting survey samples, and so on and are planning an online survey via Google Forms

- Method of the in-depth interview via direct phone, social network

- The quantitative statistical analysis method was used in conjunction with the qualitative method

to draw the most objective conclusions about the difficulties, challenges, attitudes, and needs of a group

of social science teachers in the context of program and textbook innovation of History and Geography towards integration

Among the methods mentioned above, surveys and in-depth interviews are the two that we concentrate on the most

It is pivotal to conduct surveys, investigate, and build questionnaires for the proper purposes of the survey The questionnaire for this study includes the following information and the purpose:

Table 1: Questions and purposes survey statistic

Question 1: To what extent do you agree with integrating

History and Geography at the secondary level (2018 GEP)?

In order to accumulate teachers’ perspectives on the implementation of integrated teaching.

Question 2: To what extent do you believe a History or

Geography teacher is able to teach History and Geography?

Polling the confidence in teaching the entire subject

of History and Geography.

Question 3: What are the advantages of adopting integrated

History and Geography teaching at the secondary level in the

coming years?

Observing the perks of teachers when teaching History and Geography; foundation for undergoing in-depth interviews.

Question 3: What are the disadvantages of adopting

integrated History and Geography teaching at the secondary

level in the coming years?

Accumulate teachers’ struggles in implementing integrated History and Geography teaching as a foundation for undertaking in-depth interviews and proposing support solutions.

Question 5: What solutions do you have for best

implementing integrated History and Geography teaching in

elementary level in the year 2021-2022 (2018 GEP)?

The survey intends to approach teachers in order to find feasible solutions in teaching and learning, and

to serve as a foundation for conducting in-depth interviews and proposing support solutions.

Question 6: In the context that you will be in charge of

teaching the entire subject of History and Geography at the

elementary level, please propose some immediate and

long-term solutions.

As a foundation for conducting in-depth interviews and proposing support solutions.

We carried out in-depth interviews with groups of History teachers or Geography teachers at the secondary level, along with extensive surveys In the table below, some information about the group of teachers taking part in profound interviews is described:

Table 2 In – depth interview participant statistic Location Quantity Professional qualifications after graduation Type of school

Seniority teaching (Year)

Interview time (Minutes)

Ha Noi

Hoa

Binh Hoa Binh city

Thanh

Binh

Ho Chi

Minh

city

Table 2 demonstrates that there were elementary history or geography teachers from five provinces and cities across country who participated in profound interviews These teachers teach the 6th grade education curriculum for the 2021-2022 with the corresponding local textbooks In which, rather than two independent subjects previously, almost 50% of the teachers were wholly accountable for History and Geography in grade 6

On the other hand, in the scope of nation, until September 2021, Ho Chi Minh City is the pioneer

in the training program on History and Geography at the elementary levels and in the implementation of one teacher is responsible this whole subject in the 6th grade curriculum The main direction of the city

is to prioritize the cross-training in expertise and methods of teaching Geography teachers’ group will take part in Geography training modules at high school, including basic knowledge and History teaching methods On the contrary, History teachers’ group will take part in History training modules at high school, including basic knowledge and Geography teaching methods Based on this, Ho Chi Minh City encourages even certain schools to be “compulsory” for teachers to be involved in the recent training, taking over the whole subject of History and G eography in Grade 6 from the school year 2021-2022

Of the 12 teachers taking part in profound interviews, Ho Chi-Minh City teachers accounted for nearly 50$of telephone interviews up to 225 minutes/418 minutes The data of the teaching group participating

in profound interviews in Ho Chi Minh City are thus also the most diversified and multi-dimensional When undergoing an in-depth interview, the most common method is to call Zalo directly, record the call, or simply call, and type the exchange information into a word document

The content of the profound interview was developed based on the questions and answers provided by teachers during the mass survey (Table 1) On that basis, the research team gathered more multidimensional data related to teachers’ sentiments when officially teaching History and Geography

6 at the secondary level, as a crucial foundation for proposing immediate and long-term support solutions at the study’s conclusion

1.2 Survey findings analysis

According to the survey, 222 elementary and secondary teachers across the country were asked

“History and Geography are the subjects in the 2018 general education program at the primary and secondary level The teacher needs to integrate historical as well as geographical knowledge in these subjects To what extent do you agree with this request as a teacher? The findings are intuitive in the chart in Figure 1 The data show that the percentage of teachers who agreed to do so was 76%, partly agreed with 21% There were only 3% of teachers who disagreed This proves that most primary and secondary teachers support the integrated teaching policy and implement it

In practice, most primary schools have only one teacher, but many high schools must allocate two teachers to teach this subject (one teacher teaches History, one teacher is in charge of Geography)

In teaching and evaluating students, has created many drawbacks The implementing strategies also compound both historical and geographical disciplines mechanically In response, the research team asked teachers the question: “Do you think a teacher in primary schools can be in charge of teaching History and Geography?” The results show that 1 teacher has the capability to teach History and Geography, which the rate is 89% of 222 teachers instead of having to arrange two teachers such as many schools recently In which 68% of teachers believe that formal training is necessary before the course This prescribes an urgent requirement for management agencies and educational institutions, which

is immediately deploy training courses on teaching contents and methods for History and geography integration for the teachers who have been responsible for teaching this subject

The research team has received many actual answers reflecting the educational life in primary and secondary schools nowadays via studying in detail the advantages and disadvantages of teachers in the fields of History and Geography

- The views of teachers are shown in Figure 3 with regard to the advantages

The main advantage for the learners is shown in this chart Students get access to general knowledge when implementing integrated teaching The second advantage is that teachers are more productive and more knowledgeable This reflects an enthusiastic spirit, the willingness to learn to enhance teachers’ qualifications and teaching skills In addition, the implementation of integrated education also reduces the burden on students and reduces the number of subjects in the current education program

- Figure 4 reflects the challenge of integrated teaching

The diagram shows that the biggest struggle for teachers is that they are not sufficiently educated, have not been professionally prepared, and have not had sufficient documents and instructions This problem is a major issue for educational institutions that need to promptly train History and Geography teachers in a methodical way and fully equipped with materials for teachers before class

- The research team investigated the teacher’s solutions for overcoming these challenges

The chart reaffirms the urgency of the plan to train teachers to teach integrated History and Geography in primary and secondary schools

Figure 5 above shows the answer.

In-depth interview findings

In a total of 418 minutes of extensive interviews with 15 telephone calls or Zalo, we accumulated a number of multi-dimensional personal views related to the focus of this research In which, the following infomation is out stading:

- The perception that teachers have about the problem of “integration,” from content to specific forms of expression, is still misleading In which teachers all stated that combining two independent subjects: History and Geography into History and Geography subject is “integrated” The core of this work, however, is “synthetic,” combining two in one The curriculum on the History and Geography of grades 7, 8, 9 is essentially a synthesis, combining two previously independent subjects into one subject, including two subjects but having the difference that there are some integrated topics Hence, History and Geography is essentially incorrectly assumed to be an integrated subject This subject open the way for the ‘integrated trend,’ which is obvious in grades 7, 8 and 9 programs with a number of integrated topics Nevertheless, teachers should benefit from internal integration and support between history and geography and the other way round to reach the “integrated trend,” when responsible for this subject

- The education and promotion of education programs in history and geography was carried out hurriedly in a wide range of locations, pushing educators to a “race against time”, appearing the phenomenon of participation “in sufficient quantity” and obtain the modules within the time limit As far as this phenomenon is concerned, all teachers in Ho Chi Minh City have shown that each module has only three days of training During 2 days online, the other day students are mainly invited to study, practice or exchange ideas Another module is coming next Teacher completed the general modules and the necessary modules on history or geography with this approach in only three months In this context, there is a phenomenon in which teachers “cannot pull off”; nearly new school years, teachers have not been trained new textbooks; even up to now, teachers also have not had printed textbooks

- The alottment of teachers to be in charge of the whole subject of 6 grade History and Geography was too hastily carried out, with administrative burden, regardless of teacher attitude and emotion Even a History teacher in 20 years, she/he have to teach Geography now because of being sent for training modules on Geography last summer Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training’s idea

is up to the school, but the spirit is to promote a teacher to teach History and Geography at the same time Howerver, the interpretation is that “teachers are trained, no reason to not teach.” There is a

phoenomenon that after a short period of time in class, when a teacher teaches a new subject in the History and Geography subject, not the teacher’s forte, the teacher goes to class just to read, copy textbooks, even use the teaching plans, electronic lectures are “begging” from colleagues, or “buying”

on the Internet When students ask more about knowledge which is not their forte, the teacher often has

to answer “I’ll find out and answer you later.” However, if the teacher continues to repeat this response,

it will lead to student credible, emotional, class motive loss, pressure, etc These are more difficult if they reach levels 7, 8 and 9 grade with higher specialized knowledge requirements

- The teachers’ desires for support include typical solutions, such as:

Teachers who teach history and geography 6 throughout the province, city and the entire country need to be provided with an online support channel The focus is on the promotion of learning resources in general, especially digital learning material, adhere to the new curriculums and textbooks as specifically

as possible with the themes

The summer time should be used to organize training sessions on professional development, curriculum and new textbooks, and avoid them during the school year At the same time, it is not recommended to hurry, pursue achievements and forget the interactions and needs of teachers

Progress for a teacher responsible for history and geography subject is inevitable A step by step implementation roadmap is necessary, in order not to be passive, one-way administrative orders, teacher must be well prepared for spirit, knowledge, capabilities etc

In the long term, pedagogical universities and colleges need to provide training in association with innovation to History and Geography teachers at primary and secondary levels

Results from the above-mentioned survey and extensive interviews show that there are still a number of problems with the new integrated approach to History and Geography at the beginning Especially through the research, the in-depth interviews of the group of teachers in Ho Chi Minh City showed that teachers invovled in the renovation of the curriculum of History and Geography in a passive and urgent position In the context described above, we propose both short-term and long-term solutions for implementing the History and Geography curriculum in an integrated, interdisciplinary manner, with the predominant goal of assisting teachers so that they can be more attentive when implementing and continuing to innovate curriculum in the practice of lower secondary education

1.3 Some solutions to train intergrated History and Geography teachers to meet the 2018 general educational program

We emphasized the main groups of suggested training solutions based on the integrated orientation

of the general education curriculum of History and Geography in 2018, as well as the actual needs of high school teachers: constructing training programs and providing immediate support for History and Geography teachers in current secondary schools (3.1) and a group of solutions on the development orientation of a new model of human resource training in universities (3.2)

1.3.1 Building a training program to respond to the needs of History and Geography teachers in secondary schools

Based on survey data from online forms and discussion forums, as well as in-depth interviews, we realized that, at the moment, teacher trainning in the direction of integration and competence development associated with the 2018 educational curriculum is a legitimate and urgent requirement of History and Geography teachers in current secondary schools Nevertheless, the sources of training materials and