Lost in Elective Subjects – Part 1: Consequences of 'Choosing Dishes on the Tray'

Students take the 10th grade entrance exam in Hanoi – Photo: NAM TRAN

At the high school level according to the 2018 General Education Program, commonly known as the New General Education Program, in addition to 6 compulsory subjects (excluding compulsory educational activities), students can choose 4 out of 9 remaining subjects (group of elective subjects). This is a more flexible and differentiated design than the old program to help students orient their future careers.

But the problem lies in the fact that when students have to "choose a path for the future" - choose subjects in the "optional" group - they lack information and are not properly advised.

Most high schools still only allow students to choose subject combinations that are convenient for the school's organization (suitable for the number of teachers, facilities and management) but cannot allow students to choose completely according to their wishes, interests and career orientation. That means they can only "choose the dishes on the tray".

Physics, chemistry, and biology are inferior.

According to the initial design of the 2018 General Education Program, there are 3 groups of subjects to choose from, each group has 3 subjects. Students are allowed to choose 5 subjects to choose from, provided that each group chooses at least 1 subject. This regulation is to prevent students from choosing too much of the natural sciences or social sciences.

But after history was made compulsory just before the implementation, the choice groups were broken. Students chose 4 subjects out of 9 without the conditions as before.

This leads to a situation where students choose subjects skewed towards social sciences, especially students in rural areas where teaching conditions are not favorable.

Many schools offer 6-8 groups of elective subjects, but the number of classes choosing groups with 2 social sciences (geography, economic education and law) is high. Among the remaining subjects, physics and computer science are chosen more, technology and biology are chosen by very few students. Many schools do not offer art and music because there are no teachers and few students want to. Some schools do not have students choosing groups with technology.

The organization of classes by different subject groups of schools is often based on a survey of the needs of grade 10 students and conditions (teachers, classrooms). Many schools initially planned to organize many combinations but then gradually reduced them, only keeping combinations close to the traditional university entrance exam block. "The meal tray has few dishes", so the students' choices are also more limited than the original goal of the new program at this level.

According to data provided by experts at a seminar reviewing the 5 years of implementing the 2018 General Education Program (recently organized by the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges), the number of students choosing the group of subjects of physics, chemistry, and biology in the provinces of Phu Tho, Son La, Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh, Gia Lai, Hau Giang... only reached 11 - 15% of the number of students choosing the subject in grade 10.

In Hanoi and Da Nang, the demand for subjects is more balanced between the two groups of social sciences and natural sciences. However, the number of students choosing more social sciences is still dominant. In Hanoi, physics and history are chosen by more students while the percentage of chemistry, biology, technology, etc. is low.

Dr. Le Dong Phuong (Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences), when conducting a survey to serve the topic of career counseling for high school students, shared that there are schools where physics and chemistry teachers only have 4-5 periods/week because too few students choose to study these subjects. To ensure enough periods/week according to regulations, many teachers have to do other jobs to convert into the number of periods.

Experts say that in the context of promoting STEM education in general education and investing more heavily in engineering and technology, the current situation of the majority of high school students refusing to choose physics, chemistry, and biology is a danger.

Grade 9 students in Ho Chi Minh City asked questions to the advisory board at the 10th Grade Confidence Day held in March 2024 - Photo: MY DUNG

Accept difficulties to have many "dishes"

The 2018 general education program has been implemented for 3 school years, enough time for schools to learn from practice and adjust their methods to give students more choices and also aim for a more balanced choice of subjects. But to prioritize the students, schools must accept the difficulties.

Ms. Ngo Thi Thanh, Vice Principal of Phan Huy Chu High School (Hanoi), shared that the school's arrangement tries to personalize the timetable for each student. Accordingly, the school's natural science-oriented classes will have fixed subjects (in the group of elective subjects) of physics - chemistry - biology.

In addition, each student will be able to flexibly choose a fourth elective subject according to their individual timetable with subjects such as economics and law, geography, computer science, technology, music, and fine arts. Social science-oriented classes have fixed subjects such as history and geography. Students can flexibly choose a fourth elective subject according to their individual timetable with subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, and technology.

With the above arrangement, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school will have only 29 fixed 10th grade classes, but there will be days when the number of classes will increase to 32. Some classes will have 40 students, but some will have only 10, depending on the subjects that students choose. To arrange flexibly and increase the opportunities for students to choose, the design of the timetable must be scientific, meticulous and flexible. In addition, it is also necessary to have good teachers and facilities. Therefore, only autonomous public schools and private schools are able to do this.

Ms. Tran Thi Hai Yen, principal of Tran Phu High School (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi), said that in order to help students avoid "lost paths" in choosing subjects, it is necessary to arrange many options and provide careful advice. Tran Phu High School arranges classes into 8-10 groups of subjects to choose from. Among these are groups oriented towards natural sciences, social sciences and a comprehensive group with a full range of subjects for students who do not have a clear orientation from grade 10.

“10th grade students will have 2 subject group options. In addition, students who do not have a clear direction will study classes in general subject groups. After 1 semester or 1 school year, students can find out information about university admissions, future careers, and also self-assess their abilities to suit nature or society and decide to adjust.

Students who want to change their elective subjects will register with the school and the school's advisory team will guide students in self-study, creating conditions for students to supplement their knowledge and take tests before the new school year," said Ms. Yen.

(to be continued)

School initiative

Ms. Nguyen Boi Quynh, principal of Viet Duc High School (Hanoi), shared that if the school only arranged classes based on its favorable conditions, students would easily "get lost" because secondary school students do not have much information about career orientation, while in the past 3 years, university admissions have also had many fluctuations.

“We must proactively learn about the admission combinations corresponding to the majors at university and vocational education levels to build appropriate groups of subjects to choose from. Currently, the school has 8 groups of subjects to choose from. The groups must interweave natural and social subjects,” Ms. Quynh said.

Random selection, lack of career guidance information

According to many experts, students entering grade 10 basically lack career guidance information. Many parents and students are not aware of the importance of choosing subjects, so they choose randomly, choosing subjects that are easy to learn and easy to get high scores.

Changes in university admissions and the emergence of many entrance exams such as aptitude tests, aptitude tests, etc. have also made schools and students confused in choosing subjects.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Tung, principal of Lomonoxop High School (Hanoi), said that recently Hanoi National University announced the adjustment of the competency assessment test. My school has 2 12th grade classes with 70 students who did not choose any subjects that overlap with the subjects related to the competency assessment test of this training institution (except for compulsory subjects).

Thus, students will not have the opportunity to use the results of the competency assessment test for university admission. Choosing subjects from grade 10, while the university admission process changes every year, will be very difficult for students.

A practical math lesson of 10D2 students at Nguyen Khuyen High School (District 10, HCMC) – Photo: NHU HUNG

Study abroad application rejected due to lack of reason and chemistry

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhiep, principal of Chu Van An High School (Hanoi), shared that after 3 years, the imbalance between choosing natural science and social science subjects is a big problem.

Chu Van An High School has 6 groups of subjects for 10th graders, in which all classes must study physics and chemistry. According to Ms. Nhiep, there are some students who do not like to study physics and chemistry, and parents also question the arrangement of such groups of subjects like those in specialized schools for natural sciences.

“Many students who intended to study abroad after graduating from high school had their applications rejected by foreign universities because they did not study physics or chemistry in high school,” Ms. Nhiep explained.

Chu Van An High School has to recruit more physics teachers to ensure teaching time for all students. According to Ms. Nhiep, for 11th grade students who did not choose physics or chemistry last school year but now want to adjust, the school also creates conditions to teach the 10th grade curriculum and organizes additional tests for students to meet the requirements.

Sharing about this, Professor Do Duc Thai, chief editor of the 2018 math program, also said that in Australia alone, there are at least 5 major universities that refuse to accept students who do not study physics and chemistry at high school level. Students studying economics or law are also required to study physics and chemistry at high school level.

“They see studying natural sciences as training their thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities. And every field of life requires those abilities. That is why STEM education (the combination of knowledge from natural sciences to solve practical problems in life) is an inevitable trend in many countries’ secondary schools,” said Mr. Thai.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lac-loi-voi-mon-hoc-lua-chon-ky-1-he-luy-cua-chon-mon-tren-mam-20241127091031086.htm