Significance of Argumentation Tasks in Vietnamese Geography Textbooks Following the Competency-based Curriculum Reform

Abstract

This article focuses on the promotion of argumentation skills in Vietnamese geography teaching, which are not only relevant for understanding subject contexts but also for evaluation and critical reflection processes. An earlier study in this context showed that limited argumentation tasks are incorporated into the central medium of instruction, the textbook, and that this competence is rarely promoted in the classroom (Nguyen, 2018). However, a curriculum reform and revision of textbooks is currently taking place in Vietnam, alongside a liberalisation of the textbook market. As the main goal of the reform is competence orientation, this article examines the extent to which the importance of promoting argumentation competences through specifications in the new curriculum and tasks in new textbooks have increased in comparison to the previous study. The results suggest that there are few developments in this area, which are further discussed in the conclusion, in the context of the global challenges for implementing competence orientation through curricular.