Preliminary findings from the third round of the Young Lives survey in Vietnam were launched at a special workshop in Hanoi on 24 November 2011. The event, opened by Professor Dr Nguyen Quang Thuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, was attended by over 70 participants from various Government departments, embassies, research institutions, and local and international NGOs working with children in Vietnam in addition to the media.
The workshop was chaired by Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha, Co-Director of Young Lives in Vietnam. Dr Nguyen Thang, Co-Director of Young Lives in Vietnam, first presented an overview of the Young Lives study in Vietnam, followed by a presentation of initial findings from the Young Lives Round 3 survey by Dr Le Thuc Duc, Principal Investigator, Young Lives Vietnam. Three major themes emerged from the findings: improvement in living conditions of households, improved health and nutrition of children, and some specific challenges relating to the education system in Vietnam.
Animated education debate
After the coffee break, Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huong, Young Lives Vietnam Lead Qualitative Researcher, provided more evidence on the reasons for school drop-out raised by Dr Duc in his presentation. An animated debate between participants ensued, particularly around education. The issues surrounding out-of-school children and extra classes are major concerns, not only because of the Young Lives findings, but because they are major concerns to the authorities and society in general.
The discussions around why children drop out of school included contributions from each of the representatives from the five provinces in which the Young Lives sample are concentrated, with each province presenting the situation and condition of children in their own region. The issue of drop-out, less evident in delta regions, seems to be particularly important for distant and remote areas and ethnic minority children, who already start dropping out of school from their early years.
The debate around extra classes was also heated, with discussion on whether these add any real benefit to children and their future life. Participants called for a better definition of 'extra classes' in order to differentiate between extracurricular activities (learning and development of non-cognitive skills) and curricular subjects taking place outside of official school hours.
Due to the many contributions from the floor, the discussion session took longer than expected, leaving little time for the presentation of Round 3 data. Dr Le Thuc Duc presented briefly about the data available and offered individual discussions after the workshop to researchers who might be interested in the dataset.
The programme ended with closing thanks by Dr Nguyen Thang, Co-Director of Young Lives in Vietnam. In particular, he singled out the provincial representatives who had travelled a considerable distance to come and share the situation in their own provinces and make valuable suggestions for the direction of future Young Lives study.
Authorities present at the workshop included the Young Lives provincial Steering Committees Office of the National Assembly?s Department of Culture, Education, Youth and Teenager, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Department of Education for Ethnic Minorities under MOET, Lao Cai Province People Committee Vice Chairperson of Lao Cai, representatives from the provincial Departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Departments of Education and Training of Hung Yen, Ben Tre, Phu Yen, Lao Cai and Da Nang provinces, plus the Deputy Head of Mission at the Norwegian Embassy, Counsellor Ragnhild Dybdahl. Research institutes represented included the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, the Institute of Family and Gender Studies, the Institute of Linguistics, the Indochina Research and Consulting, the Centre for Child Rights Research, the Research Centre for Sustainable Development, and the Centre for Research and Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women and Children. The international donor community was represented by delegates from Plan International, Action Aid, Oxfam GB, GVI, and others.
Some journalists, print, online and television, also attended the workshop. As a result, the event was immediately broadcasted in the mid-day edition of daily news on the Vietnam News Agency Television (Thong Tan Xa Vietnam). Dr Le Thuc Duc also presented key messages from the workshop to the same TV channel, which will feature in a programme about family and children to be broadcast later.
Access the report
How Do Children Fare in the New Millennium? Initial findings from Vietnam, Round 3 Survey Report by Le Thuc Duc, Nguyen Thang, Nguyen, Van Tien, Mai Thuy Hang and Vu Thi Thu Thuy Young Lives, Oxford: Young Lives, September 2011.
Links to press coverage
The launch was covered in the following media (in Vietnamese):
Viettinnhanh (online): 'How do children fare in the new millennium?', 24 November 2011 http://viettinnhanh.net/News/Giaoduc/Chinhsach/2011/11/5901/Tre%CC%89-len-nhu-the%CC%81-na%CC%80o-trong-Thien-nien-ky%CC%89-mo%CC%81i-.aspx
Public Force Newspaper (online): Higher risks of out-of-school children', 25 November 2011 http://www.cand.com.vn/vi-VN/xahoi/2011/11/160476.cand
Tuoi Tre online: 'Study on school drop-out', 25 November 2011 http://tuoitre.vn/Giao-duc/466607/Nghien-cuu-tinh-trang-hoc-sinh-bo-hoc.html
Thong Tan Xa, Vietnam (Vietnam News Agency Television): 24 November 2011
Preliminary findings from the third round of the Young Lives survey in Vietnam were launched at a special workshop in Hanoi on 24 November 2011. The event, opened by Professor Dr Nguyen Quang Thuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, was attended by over 70 participants from various Government departments, embassies, research institutions, and local and international NGOs working with children in Vietnam in addition to the media.
The workshop was chaired by Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha, Co-Director of Young Lives in Vietnam. Dr Nguyen Thang, Co-Director of Young Lives in Vietnam, first presented an overview of the Young Lives study in Vietnam, followed by a presentation of initial findings from the Young Lives Round 3 survey by Dr Le Thuc Duc, Principal Investigator, Young Lives Vietnam. Three major themes emerged from the findings: improvement in living conditions of households, improved health and nutrition of children, and some specific challenges relating to the education system in Vietnam.
Animated education debate
After the coffee break, Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huong, Young Lives Vietnam Lead Qualitative Researcher, provided more evidence on the reasons for school drop-out raised by Dr Duc in his presentation. An animated debate between participants ensued, particularly around education. The issues surrounding out-of-school children and extra classes are major concerns, not only because of the Young Lives findings, but because they are major concerns to the authorities and society in general.
The discussions around why children drop out of school included contributions from each of the representatives from the five provinces in which the Young Lives sample are concentrated, with each province presenting the situation and condition of children in their own region. The issue of drop-out, less evident in delta regions, seems to be particularly important for distant and remote areas and ethnic minority children, who already start dropping out of school from their early years.
The debate around extra classes was also heated, with discussion on whether these add any real benefit to children and their future life. Participants called for a better definition of 'extra classes' in order to differentiate between extracurricular activities (learning and development of non-cognitive skills) and curricular subjects taking place outside of official school hours.
Due to the many contributions from the floor, the discussion session took longer than expected, leaving little time for the presentation of Round 3 data. Dr Le Thuc Duc presented briefly about the data available and offered individual discussions after the workshop to researchers who might be interested in the dataset.
The programme ended with closing thanks by Dr Nguyen Thang, Co-Director of Young Lives in Vietnam. In particular, he singled out the provincial representatives who had travelled a considerable distance to come and share the situation in their own provinces and make valuable suggestions for the direction of future Young Lives study.
Authorities present at the workshop included the Young Lives provincial Steering Committees Office of the National Assembly?s Department of Culture, Education, Youth and Teenager, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Department of Education for Ethnic Minorities under MOET, Lao Cai Province People Committee Vice Chairperson of Lao Cai, representatives from the provincial Departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Departments of Education and Training of Hung Yen, Ben Tre, Phu Yen, Lao Cai and Da Nang provinces, plus the Deputy Head of Mission at the Norwegian Embassy, Counsellor Ragnhild Dybdahl. Research institutes represented included the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, the Institute of Family and Gender Studies, the Institute of Linguistics, the Indochina Research and Consulting, the Centre for Child Rights Research, the Research Centre for Sustainable Development, and the Centre for Research and Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women and Children. The international donor community was represented by delegates from Plan International, Action Aid, Oxfam GB, GVI, and others.
Some journalists, print, online and television, also attended the workshop. As a result, the event was immediately broadcasted in the mid-day edition of daily news on the Vietnam News Agency Television (Thong Tan Xa Vietnam). Dr Le Thuc Duc also presented key messages from the workshop to the same TV channel, which will feature in a programme about family and children to be broadcast later.
Access the report
How Do Children Fare in the New Millennium? Initial findings from Vietnam, Round 3 Survey Report by Le Thuc Duc, Nguyen Thang, Nguyen, Van Tien, Mai Thuy Hang and Vu Thi Thu Thuy Young Lives, Oxford: Young Lives, September 2011.
Links to press coverage
The launch was covered in the following media (in Vietnamese):
Viettinnhanh (online): 'How do children fare in the new millennium?', 24 November 2011 http://viettinnhanh.net/News/Giaoduc/Chinhsach/2011/11/5901/Tre%CC%89-len-nhu-the%CC%81-na%CC%80o-trong-Thien-nien-ky%CC%89-mo%CC%81i-.aspx
Public Force Newspaper (online): Higher risks of out-of-school children', 25 November 2011 http://www.cand.com.vn/vi-VN/xahoi/2011/11/160476.cand
Tuoi Tre online: 'Study on school drop-out', 25 November 2011 http://tuoitre.vn/Giao-duc/466607/Nghien-cuu-tinh-trang-hoc-sinh-bo-hoc.html
Thong Tan Xa, Vietnam (Vietnam News Agency Television): 24 November 2011