Local education: an analysis of Vietnam's approach in a global context and implications for the primary level

Abstract

Amid the global challenges of cultural identity erosion and the degradation of moral values, educational paradigms that return to indigenous roots are receiving heightened scholarly and practical attention. This paper examines the Local Education component of Vietnam's 2018 General Education Curriculum from the perspective of Local-Wisdom-Based Character Education (LWBCE), an approach dedicated to nurturing moral virtues through the transmission of local cultural values. Through a qualitative analysis of policy documents, this paper contends that the foundational philosophy and aims of Vietnam's Local Education, which underscore the “cultivation of homeland affinity,” the “conservation of cultural heritage,” and the formation of core competencies are profoundly consonant with the principles of LWBCE. Furthermore, the analysis is extended through a comparison with broader pedagogical philosophies, namely Place-Based Education (PBE) and Community-Based Learning (CBL), to delineate the distinctive stance of the Vietnamese model. The results reveal that whereas PBE and CBL leverage “place” primarily as a context for interdisciplinary skill acquisition, Vietnam's Local Education is distinctly oriented towards harnessing “local wisdom” for the explicit purpose of character building. Nevertheless, the on-the-ground implementation of this curriculum is confronted with substantial obstacles related to pedagogy, teacher competencies, and resource allocation. Drawing from these findings, the paper concludes with policy implications and multi-level recommendations aimed at augmenting the efficacy of Local Education in realizing its fundamental mission within primary education.