The Implementation of Critical Thinking in Vietnamese Primary Moral Education Classes

Abstract

Vietnam is undergoing a comprehensive educational reform. Innovation within the curriculum requires a content-based approach to be replaced by a competence-based approach in which critical thinking is stressed in educating primary students. This study aims to determine the extent to which critical thinking is implemented in current primary moral education classes to provide a knowledge base for designing a new moral education curriculum that can be effective in teaching critical thinking to Vietnamese primary students. It reveals that despite a generally positive attitude toward the use of critical thinking by students, critical thinking is still currently implemented only to a low extent in moral education classes. The study reinforces the belief about the deep influences of Confucian heritage culture on the implementation of critical thinking that primary teachers and students use in their classroom practices. It recommends that critical thinking should be more widely fostered in moral education in Vietnam with attention needed to be given to cultural features and divergences. The study suggests the application of a social constructivist perspective and transformative learning to a new design of the moral education curriculum with a view to improving critical thinking and sociocultural values among students.