CITIES in Vietnam: an early childhood education project

Cities are growing at a fast pace. Urban stress is straining public school systems around the world. With the CITIES project (Communities of practice Inspiring Teaching Innovation in Early Education System), VVOB in Vietnam and the city of Da Nang (Vietnam) are exploring ways to mitigate urban barriers to preschool learning and to help teachers rediscover the benefits of life and education in the city.

This video provides information on the situation before the CITIES project found its way to Vietnam and testimonies from afterwards with examples of teachers who have put what they have learned into practice. 

Nguyen Thi Thanh, Vice-principal at the Rand Dong Preschool, notices how parents do not spend a lot of time with their children, but they are also afraid of letting their children play outside alone because of the busy traffic and child abuse. However, it is much better to let children play outside rather than spend a lot of time on their screens. Thi Thanh: “There are many green spaces to play, children do not get many opportunities to communicate and interact with their peers."

Before the CITIES project settled in Vietnam, there were toys bought and distributed by the school, but they were not open-ended. Also, teachers used to set a common goal for all children in the classroom and paid little attention to every child. After the CITIES project by identifying urban and teaching barriers, teachers have adjusted their teaching plans. Now there are more small group activities which increased children’s interactions. 




Throughout the video, you also find testimonials of various actors of the CITIES project. Below you will find some interesting quotes. 

• Phuong Thi Thu Thuy, teacher at Hoa My Preschool: “I learned about child observation and art-based innovative methods through training, study visits, coaching and harvesting, pupils learn with and from each other.” Now she pays more individual attention to children with a lower performance rate too and tries to increase their involvement in activities. "This results in more excited students.” 
• Ngô Yhi Phuoc, Vice-Principal at Hoang Cuc Preschool: “These activities are in line with the criteria on child-centred approaches set by the Ministering of Education and Training (MOET) being learning by playing-playing by learning.”
• Lê Thi Diêu Thuy, Specialist Early Childhood Education Division, Da nang Department of Education and Training: “Since Sa Nang People’s Committee approved implementation of CITIES project there has been a close cooperation between the two organizations by consulting and supporting. There are significant changes in preschool teachers, especially teachers in private schools: teachers are more confident to show and contribute their ideas.”

Wouter Boesman, Country Programme Director of VVOB in Vietnam concludes the video: “With the CITIES project VVOB wants to help government schools to overcome the urban barrier that is why we introduced innovations to deal with the urban challenges. In the second year, we want to continue to introduce community of practice."