You are here

Children on their way to preschool in a rural area of central Vietnam

Name: Mitigating Preschool Children’s Barriers to Learning in Disadvantaged and Ethnically Diverse Districts (BaMi)
Location: Provinces of Kon Tum, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai
Implementation: 2017 - 2021
Budget: € 4,142,000
Donor: Belgium
Focus: Professional development of teachers (INSET) and school leaders; equity

The early education programme (2017-2021) in one minute

Challenge

Although Vietnam’s enrolment rates for early childhood education (ECE) are high, the country are facing challenges.

This is particularly true for the provinces of Kon Tum, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai in Central Vietnam, where there are big concentrations of people from poor backgrounds and ethnic minorities. These areas are also prone to natural disasters. Due to a policy and donor focus on accessibility for primary and secondary school children, insufficient attention is being given to ECE in these vulnerable areas.

A major concern in the ECE classroom in Vietnam, is the lack of well-being and involvement of young children. This hampers their full development and learning process. Although many ECE teachers have a degree, few can demonstrate the much needed practical skills and ECE specific pedagogies. This deficit is reinforced by school leaders that are not equipped with the knowledge or skills to organise effective professional development
trajectories for teachers in those areas.

Goal

Preschool teachers in disadvantaged and ethnically diverse districts of Kon Tum, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai provinces in Central Vietnam have the competences to improve the quality of learning for all 3- to 5-year old children in preschools.

Partners

  • Ministry of Education and Training
    • The national Department of Teachers and Educational Administrators
    • The national Early Childhood Education Department
  • 3 provincial Departments of Education and Training

Reach

  • 81 government officials
  • 3,400 preschool teachers
  • 570 preschool leaders
  • 62,000 children

Approach

The BaMi programme centres on strengthening the professional development of preschool teachers and preschool leaders in early childhood education (ECE) in three provinces with disadvantaged and ethnically diverse districts in Central Vietnam.

The programme is built around three pillars:

  • Improving preschool teachers’ and school leaders’ practice of process-oriented child monitoring.
  • Strengthening preschool teachers’ and school leaders’ practice of addressing barriers to learning and participation, and ensuring deep level learning among all children.
  • Enhancing needs-based/school-based teacher professional development (TPD) for preschool teachers on process-oriented child monitoring and addressing barriers to learning and participation.

The programme contributes to the implementation of a sustainable strategy on process-oriented child monitoring and addressing barriers to learning and participation in ECE, particularly in disadvantaged and ethnically diverse regions.

 

By the end of the BaMi programme:

The provincial Departments of Education and Training of Kon Tum, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai:

  •  provide TPD on process-oriented child monitoring;
  • support school leaders in the implementation of TPD and in process-oriented child monitoring;
  • strengthen the capacity of teachers and school leaders to address barriers to learning (related to gender, environment, language, socio-cultural backgrounds, or other factors) and to establish rich learning environments;
  • assist teachers and school leaders to establish school communities of reflective practitioners;
  • plan, communicate, document, adjust, and advocate for TPD on process-oriented child monitoring and addressing barriers to learning and participation.

The Ministry of Education and Training actively disseminates the approach of the BaMi programme nationwide so other provinces can build on them.

To reach its goals, VVOB Vietnam develops the capacity of its education partners. VVOB uses capacity development trajectories that give partners maximal responsibility in the execution and management of their own change processes. This is done through technical assistance provided by the VVOB Vietnam team, which includes both local and international educational and change management experts.