Liberal Education Seminar – Topic “Liberal Education – Comparing Vietnam and other countries in the region”

December 24, 2018

The seminar “Liberal Education – Comparing Vietnam and other countries in the region”* by the Department of Liberal Education just took place on December 22, 2018, at Hoa Sen University, with the participation of more than 60 researchers. researchers, teachers (from preschool to university), educational managers, social activists, and students from organizations inside and outside the school.

 – Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, at Hoa Sen University – presented an overview of liberal education in a chronological perspective and in the context of comparing Vietnam with other countries. The presentation provided general information and set the stage for the lively debate that followed on major issues: Is liberal education necessary or a luxury program? Is liberal education a program with science subjects or should it be the liberal education spirit of the entire education system? What are the difficulties of the Liberal Education program in the context of education unified in a single direction?

Accordingly, the presentation provides a context that shows that liberal education (as university institutions: in the US many liberal arts universities are established) is tending to become a luxury. In the context of the US economic recession, workers need to find a program to graduate and get a job immediately. Meanwhile, in Southeast Asian countries, on the contrary, liberal education is becoming a movement, receiving attention and being promoted. In Vietnam, there are no liberal arts universities. Schools with liberal education programs are all private sector with high tuition fees, not public. On the contrary, many subsequent exchanges show that the Liberal Education Program is being realized in many forms of learning such as Teach For Vietnam, Happy School, UPSHIFT, and Design For Change… making the spirit of liberal education implemented in both private and public school contexts. These efforts from the private and public sectors contribute to forming the spirit of liberal education in education.

Debate is very lively around whether liberal education should be a program with scientific subjects or simply a liberal spirit in professional training programs. Some argue that the liberal spirit conveyed in professional training programs and teachers is more important than a program. On the contrary, there are many views that a liberal arts program can provide students with the fundamental theoretical knowledge and methods of liberal education philosophy, helping learners to be open-minded and methodical. It is right to practice this competency when studying other subjects.

Discussing the difficulties in implementing the liberal education program/spirit, the attendees in the auditorium provided many current situations such as liberal education is not yet a recognized mainstream in the education system. Vietnamese education; Current political institutions are not suitable for building a liberal education; The teacher does not have a liberal spirit, so the subject implementation is not in a liberal spirit, and the teacher is not equipped with the skills to ensure a liberal spirit in teaching; The status of a textbook from the Ministry of Higher Education…

The Department of Liberal Education would like to thank you for your participation and your very enthusiastic, frank, and sincere exchange. We also express our appreciation to the three benefactors who, after learning about the seminar and after attending the first seminar, sponsored this academic activity. They want to contribute to the community through the seminar, so they do not reveal their identities. They are people who do good things without wanting others to know their kindness. Thanks to their contributions, we were able to organize a small tea party after the seminar ended, to serve the public, creating conditions for people to continue to meet and discuss issues. mentioned. We also look at support for speakers. And especially, we will use the contributions of these precious souls to build a “Scientific Activities Fund of the Department of Liberal Education” to support the scientific activities of the Department. GDKP aims to connect knowledge-creation activities and disseminate them to the community. Needless to say, thanks to organizing this activity, we realized that when we open our hearts, we will find the hearts of others.

We received a lot of feedback from attendees, either in person or via email. This proves the public’s interest in the seminar’s topic. And we also recognize that many people want to say passionate things but don’t have enough time to say them. We will think about extending the time of each seminar and have reasonable regulations on discussion time so that everyone who wants to speak can voice their opinions.

Chieu Anh (recorded and summarized)

*The seminar begins  organized by the Department of Liberal Education – Hoa Sen University in a non-profit spirit, to create a space for scientific exchange on educational and social topics.