Reform of philosophy teaching in universities in Vietnam today

Abstract

It is a broad theme to discuss philosophy teaching for
different target groups in a country. In this article, the
author only focuses on the teaching of philosophy in
universities, a narrower scope, for a bulk of young
learners who have entered in universities, eager to
investigate and explore huge knowledge treasures.
According to the author, it is necessary to look into the
current situation of philosophy teaching and learning
in universities in order to make reforms in line with
Vietnam’s comprehensive renewal drive and rapid
international integration in the context of
globalization.
Presently, there are numerous concerns in providing
philosophy knowledge in universities in Vietnam.
Notwithstanding to gains recorded in the
dissemination of philosophy knowledge, warnings have
been made of the situation in which undergraduates
do not want to or dislike learning the philosophy
subject. Many students study philosophy to pass its
tests rather than consider it a subject that would help
them to train and develop their minds, a means to
improve the intellectual level and search for
knowledge. Regrettably, responsible persons are not
bold enough to look into this truth, could not realize
the inadequacy of philosophy of students, even
including among lecturers. Consequently, a routine
path is still being taken; curriculums are outdated and
inflexible, obscuring enthusiastic queries of learners
as well as creativeness and self-development of
lecturers.
The author fingered at causes of the above situation.
As for him, it is not the fault of students (i.e.,
learners), but it is attributable to the insufficient
timing given to the philosophy subject; at the same time, the learning programs and curriculums are
inflexible and repeated for all target groups of various
sciences. And, a substantial error is that learners
could not find the history of the issue in learning
programs. As regards the teaching methodology, it is
not creative since lecturers tend to choose the most
secure and easiest way; the lecturing content is
stagnated and superficial.
Through the above-discussed analysis, the author
points out some tasks in the reform of lecturing and
learning exercise of philosophy in Vietnamese
universities today.