New teacher training program at Vinh University: Increasing learning opportunities, increasing job opportunities

These are the industries that are currently "thirsty" for human resources in many high schools across the country when the entire education sector is implementing the 2018 General Education Program.

Open new training majors to adapt to the educational innovation program

The 2023-2024 school year is the fourth year the Education sector has implementedGeneral education program 2018. In the structure of new subjects, secondary school level has a fundamental change when Physics, Chemistry, Biology subjects according to the current education program will be integrated into Natural Science subject; History and Geography subjects will be integrated into History and Geography subjects.

In reality, although the program has been implemented in grades 6, 7, and 8 in many schools in Nghe An and many other schools across the country, the arrangement of teachers for integrated subjects has encountered many difficulties. Due to the lack of teachers trained in integrated subjects, in recent years, the situation of either having to arrange for 2-3 teachers for one integrated subject; or one teacher having to hold the position of "2 in 1" or "3 in 1" is common in many schools. However, this is only a temporary solution to meet the need for enough teachers to teach integrated subjects.

Meanwhile, many teachers expressed concern because they were only trained in one major and having to take on 2-3 other subjects not only puts pressure on teachers but also affects the quality of teaching in schools. Specifically, for Natural Sciences, most are only trained at the university level in a single major of Physics, Chemistry or Biology, and some are trained in a dual major of Chemistry - Biology or Biology - Chemistry (at the Pedagogical College level); for History and Geography, most are only trained in History or Geography.

The shortage of teachers has been predicted. Accordingly, from the 2021-2022 school year, when implementing the new program, the Ministry of Education and Training has estimated that the whole sector needs to add about 30,000 positions, of which 20,000 are teachers for new subjects.

This is also an urgent need in many provinces and cities in the North Central region. In Nghe An, according to the Project "Developing the team of teachers and managers of preschool and general education institutions in the period of 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030 in Nghe An province", by 2025, the number of classes at the secondary level is expected to be 6,498 (an increase of 25.6% compared to 2021) and by 2030 it will be 7,197 (an increase of 38.2% compared to 2021).

The project "Developing the team of teachers and educational managers of Thanh Hoa province in the period of 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030 of Thanh Hoa province" determines the need for secondary school teachers in the 2025-2026 school year to be 12,944 teachers (2,982 teachers short of the need for the 2021-2022 school year).

In order to promptly train teachers for the new general education program, from the 2024-2025 school year, Vinh University is allowed to enroll and organize training in Natural Science Pedagogy and History - Geography Pedagogy.

Choosing this major will be a new career opportunity, meeting the urgent need for teachers of the system of secondary schools across the country in general and in the provinces of Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh in particular in the current period and contributing to the successful implementation of the 2018 General Education Program.

In addition to the above two majors, currently, with the increasing demand for support, mental health care, and comprehensive development for students, the human resources teaching Psychology and Education are also facing many job opportunities. Based on the above reality, Vinh University has also developed a project to open a university-level training program in Educational Psychology.

Previously, the training of undergraduate Psychology majors was concentrated in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Thai Nguyen, Da Nang and one university in the North Central region, Hong Duc University. Therefore, opening a new major at Vinh University not only solves the "thirst" for teachers majoring in Psychology but also creates favorable conditions for students to study in a quality training environment with a tradition of training students in the pedagogical field.

The advantage of these programs is that after graduation, students majoring in Natural Science Education can study for a Master's degree in Physics, Chemistry or Biology; students majoring in History and Geography Education can study for a Master's degree in History or Geography as appropriate majors.

Students can also study additional majors in the above subjects with a high percentage of alternative subjects.

Students majoring in Natural Science Education, History and Geography Education are supported with tuition fees and living expenses according to Decree 116/2020/ND-CP.

Affirming the quality of training in Pedagogy

In 1959, Vinh University was established by the Ministry of Education with the initial name of Vinh Pedagogical University Branch. On February 29, 1962, the Minister of Education decided to change the name of Vinh Pedagogical University Branch to Vinh Pedagogical University.

After more than 60 years of construction and development, Vinh Pedagogical University (now Vinh University) is a national key university and one of the 7 key pedagogical schools in the country.

From these solid foundations, Vinh University opened morePedagogyNatural Sciences, History - Geography Pedagogy and Educational Psychology training show a new development step of the school. That shows the trust of the Ministry, shows the maturity of the teaching staff and this is also the important mission of the school to contribute to the implementation of the key tasks of the North Central region, creating the basis for the successful implementation of the 2018 General Education Program.

In preparation for new training programs, the school has paid special attention to staff building in recent times. Among the lecturers in these programs, many are key pedagogical lecturers who conduct training for all high school teachers in the three provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh within the framework of the ETEP Program, and participate in teaching postgraduate programs for majors at Vinh University.

In addition, the school also has 01 lecturer as editor-in-chief and 04 lecturers participating in compiling textbooks for Natural Sciences according to the 2018 General Education Program. The teaching staff of Vinh University is qualified (both in quantity and quality) to perform the task of teaching the university-level training program in Natural Sciences Pedagogy.

In addition, determining the quality of training will create a brand for the school, so in recent years, this has been the top priority. Therefore, in addition to focusing on the quality of the staff, the school has focused on innovation in teaching.

The output standards of the training programs of the pedagogical majors are developed based on the CDIO Outline which has been consulted with relevant parties. On that basis, the majors have built a teaching program including modules designed so that the ratio of theory/practice/project is built on the principle of ensuring the scientific and systematic integration of all output standards of the training program into the teaching program.

In addition, each training program has its curriculum and learning materials updated regularly, and digital technology is applied to the maximum in line with the trends of the times.

To implement the new General Education Program, the school is focusing on building teacher training models in particular, training human resources in general according to competency approach, strongly innovating teaching methods, testing and evaluation, applying IT, developing e-Learning teaching support system, online teaching forms to continuously improve training quality.

The school also focuses on promoting regular training with rich and diverse training programs. In particular, with the support of the Pedagogical College Development Program to improve the capacity of teachers and managers of general education institutions (ETEP), the school has been effectively contributing to regular training for teachers at all levels for the provinces in the North Central region and the whole country.

Speaking more about the school's training work, Associate Professor Dr. Luu Tien Hung - Principal of the School of Education - Vinh University said: In the current context, opening new majors is urgent and also an opportunity for the School of Education - Vinh University.

This not only improves the quality, reputation and brand of the school but also helps students have more opportunities to study and new career opportunities, meeting the urgent need for teachers of secondary schools in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh provinces and many other provinces and cities in the present period and in the future.

On July 21, 2021, the Council of Vinh University issued a Resolution on the establishment of the School of Education under Vinh University, continuing the tradition and strengths of teacher training and development over the past 60 years. By 2030, the School of Education promises to become a smart School of Education, a pillar in the network of training and development of teachers and educational managers in the North Central region and the whole country. With the mission of being a unit for training and developing high-quality teachers and educational managers; a center for research, innovation in educational science, basic science, serving the community, contributing to promoting the socio-economic development of the North Central region and the whole country.

In 2024, Vinh University will enroll 16 Pedagogical majors with an expected quota of 1,500, including the following pedagogical majors: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Informatics, Literature, Biology, History, Geography, Political Education, Preschool Education, Primary Education, Foreign Language Pedagogy, Physical Education, National Defense - Security, History and Geography and Natural Sciences.

Students who are admitted and study the 16 teacher training majors above will be supported with tuition fees and living expenses according to Decree 116/2020/ND-CP on living expenses for pedagogical students. Students will receive tuition fees and 3.63 million VND/month to cover living expenses during their time studying at the school.

Candidates are admitted through many methods including direct admission; Admission based on the results of the 2024 high school graduation exam; Combination of entrance exam and admission.

For details, please visit Vinh University website at:https://vinhuni.edu.vn/dai-hoc-chinh-quy-c06.01l0vp0a0.html.