Textbooks should not be a barrier to improving the quality of teaching and learning.

The workshop was attended by Mr. Peter Girke (Head Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation in Vietnam), Prof. Dr. Vu Minh Giang (Chairman of the Science and Training Council, Vietnam National University, Hanoi), Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities), and many educators and scientists in the field of History.

The seminar consisted of two sessions. Session I was themed "Fundamental Issues in Reforming the Compilation of History Textbooks for Secondary Schools." Session II was themed "Reforming the Compilation of History Textbooks for Secondary Schools: Current Situation in Vietnam and International Experiences." The focus of the seminar was to discuss the limitations of current history teaching and learning and to propose reforms and innovations in the compilation of history textbooks for secondary schools.

Professor Pham Quang Minh, the Rector, delivered the opening remarks at the seminar.

In his opening remarks at the seminar, Professor Vu Minh Giang stated the argument that Vietnam is a nation where history is the foundation of its culture and traditions, therefore history plays a particularly important role. Consequently, the teaching and learning of history always receives the attention of the general public and educators in particular.

Currently, the teaching of History at the secondary school level faces many challenges. These include an overemphasis on rote memorization and knowledge acquisition, leading to student boredom. History textbooks are overloaded with dry, factual data. Teaching is largely one-way interaction between teacher and student, leaving students feeling pressured to adopt certain viewpoints.

Professor Vu Minh Giang believes that innovation is needed in both the teaching mindset and the way history is taught. This is because "we are entering an era where people can learn and access knowledge from many sources and through many different methods. Schools are no longer the only channel for learning."

Professor Vu Minh Giang delivered the opening remarks at the seminar.

According to Professor Vu Minh Giang, there are many points to consider in the process of compiling high school history textbooks. These include a strong shift from a content-based, knowledge-based approach to learning competencies. Textbooks must be compiled in a way that stimulates creativity and critical thinking skills in students. The writing style of history textbooks must reflect that history is a science, objective rather than subjective and immutable. What is the appropriate amount of historical knowledge to include in a textbook? How can textbooks be made engaging and accessible to learners, from content and titles to illustrations and presentation style? Should IT elements be applied to create digital textbooks? How can textbook content be adapted to the diverse levels of development and understanding of students in different regions, ensuring universality without being uniform?

Sharing the viewpoint of Professor Vu Minh Giang, Professor Vu Duong Ninh (former Head of the Department of International Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities) also believes that the historical knowledge in current textbooks is still "heavy" on content. With the mindset that textbooks are "laws," writers cram all historical content and knowledge into the books, teachers dare not teach differently from the textbooks, and students dare not learn anything outside of the textbooks. Thinking skills, analytical abilities, presentation skills, the ability to express opinions and defend one's viewpoints... are not encouraged or promoted at the secondary school level. In terms of format, history textbooks have few drawings, diagrams, and illustrations, mainly consisting of text, making them unappealing to learners.

Professor Vu Duong Ninh, People's Teacher, speaks at the seminar.

Regarding the team involved in compiling the textbooks, Professor Vu Duong Ninh affirmed that they are excellent professors with broad and exemplary knowledge. However, when compiling books for students, sometimes the teachers do not take into account the learning characteristics of this age group, resulting in an inappropriate concentration of knowledge. Furthermore, other factors such as understanding information technology, the application and transformation of knowledge into various vivid forms of expression, etc., have not been given sufficient attention.

Professor Vu Duong Ninh, a People's Teacher, has identified three things to avoid when writing high school textbooks: avoid being overly ambitious with information, avoid lengthy explanations, and avoid imposing subjective opinions.

The seminar was attended by scientists from Vietnam and Germany.

Regarding the teaching of World History in the secondary school curriculum, Professor Tran Thi Vinh stated that the structure of world history content follows a "concentric" principle, meaning that historical knowledge about different periods is taught repeatedly across all three levels, leading to boredom. According to surveys, world history content at the lower secondary level only accounts for 12% of the total curriculum time, a modest percentage compared to the rest of the world. Furthermore, there is a lack of contemporaneous connection between world history and Vietnamese history in the textbooks. The content on wars and revolutions is excessive compared to other important topics such as economic history, culture, civilization, and scientific and technological achievements of humanity.

According to Professor Tran Thi Vinh, when writing world history in textbooks, it is important to base it on common global standards but to view world history from a Vietnamese perspective, with a connection to Vietnamese history.

Professor Tran Thi Vinh speaks about the reform of world history textbook compilation.

Sharing experiences in compiling history textbooks in other countries, Associate Professor Dr. Ngo Minh Oanh (Faculty of History, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education) stated that each country has different socio-economic conditions, educational systems, academic levels, customs, and habits, so applying foreign experiences to Vietnam requires careful consideration. However, every education system needs textbooks that are beautiful and engaging in both content and form; focusing on developing students' abilities based on diverse sources of information and persuading readers with varied information. Therefore, history textbooks need to be carefully compiled to match the position and importance of this subject, ensuring that textbooks do not become a barrier to improving the quality of teaching and learning.

Mr. Peter Girke (Head Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation in Vietnam) highly appreciated the quality of the seminar and suggested developing this discussion into a collaborative project between the University and the KAS Foundation.

Speaking at the closing session of the seminar, Mr. Peter Girke (Head Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation in Vietnam) said that he had gained new insights into textbook compilation – a seemingly simple task but in reality very complex and requiring careful consideration from many perspectives and acceptance of different viewpoints. Teaching history is also a path and a means of creating reconciliation in history. History teaching must aim to build independent and critical thinking. Convinced by the quality of the exchange at the seminar, Mr. Peter Girke expressed his desire to turn this discussion into a long-term research project between the school and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation in the future.