The Roles of Teachers in Implementing Educational Innovation: The Case of Implementing Cooperative Learning in Vietnam


  •  Pham Thi Hong Thanh    

Abstract

Since the late 1990s there has been a top-down movement to reform teaching and learning approaches in Vietnam. An important component of this reform is to change the traditional teaching and learning approach into cooperative learning. However, cooperative learning has failed to make its impact on the current teaching and learning approach. This paper examines one of the most important constraints on the implementation of cooperative learning in Vietnam, namely, perceptions of Vietnamese teachers toward the roles and responsibilities of teachers in class. It argues that many principles of cooperative learning are in serious conflict with traditional perceptions of Vietnamese teachers regarding the nature of teaching and learning. Therefore, policymakers and educators need to take cautious steps when implementing such radical approaches in Vietnamese educational settings. If they want to obtain support from teachers, they cannot merely borrow the original version of the innovation. Rather, they need to take various modifications into consideration.


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