MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VIET NAM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
---  ---

LE THI THU HANG

INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS
MANAGEMENT IN HIGH SCHOOL
ACCORDING TO THE THEORY OF
CHANGING MANAGEMENT

Specialised subject: Education Management
Code:

9 14 0114

SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION OF
SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

HA NOI - 2018


This disertation is completed at
Viet Nam National Institute of Educational Sciences

Supervisors 1: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Kiem
Supervisors 2: Dr. Nguyen Anh Dung

Reviewer 1: ....................................................................

teaching methods.
- The theory of Change Management has been successfully
applied in many areas in the world, including education, suitable
for changing context of Vietnamese education.
Starting from the apparently objective demand as mentioned
above, we chose to study the topic “Management of innovative
upper secondary school teaching methods based on the theory of
change management” in order to improve the teaching quality in
upper secondary schools.
2. Research purposes: Based on theoretical and practical
research, this research aims at assessing the current situation and
proposing measures to modernize teaching and learning in upper
secondary schools based on the theory of change management.
3. Objects and subjects of the study
3.1. Objects of the study: Innovative teaching methods at upper
secondary school
3.2. Subjects of the study: The management of innovative
teaching methods at upper secondary school following the theory
of change management
4. Literature review: The theory of change management consists
of three phases: thawing phase (preparation phase of reforming
teaching methods); Renovation period (stage of organizing and
directing the implementation of the renovation plan); Refreezing
phase (sustainable development results of innovative teaching


methods). If we apply this theory in combination with approaching
management functions, the implementation of teaching method
renovation in high schools will be effective, contributing to the
improvement of the teaching quality in particular and the

8.1. Applying the theory of change management with three stages
in combination with function management approach to manage
teching method renovation at upper secondary school: Preparing


for teaching method renovation; conducting and managing
teaching method renovation; and sustainably developing the
results of teaching method renovation. This is the most innovative
paths in the current context of Vietnam.
8.2. The results of the implementation of teaching method reform
in high school depend on many factors: the perception,
qualifications, capacity and qualities of the principal, teachers and
other members in the school, the consensus of students’ parents
and the community as well as the society. Among these, teacher
plays a decisive role and the principal plays a key role in
promoting or hindering innovation.
8.3. Combining the management of teaching method innovations
based on the three-phase and function management approach in
high schools , principals need to focus on groups of measures:
preparation of teaching method innovations (development of
strategic plans on renewing teaching materials, awareness raising
to create consensus for all members inside and outside the school);
Implementation of the plan to renovate teaching methods
(arranging resources, directing the implementation of professional
activities, removing barriers, supporting the promotion of
renewable teaching); Sustainable development of teaching method
innovation results. These measures are implemented alternatively
or at the same time depending on the stage and specific conditions
of each school.
9. Contributions of the study

1.2.1. Teaching procedures: Teaching and learning is a complex
process, encompassing many elements that are closely related. The
basic elements are: Objective - Content - Method - Vehicle Formats - Evaluation. These elements interact together, forming a
whole body operating in the educational environment and the
socio-economic environment.
1.2.2. Methods: Method understood in the most general sense is
the way to achieve the goal, which is arranged in a certain order.
1.2.3. Teaching Method: Teaching method is a system of targeted
actions in a specific sequence of teachers to organize the learning
activities of students to ensure that the purpose of teaching is
achieved. Each teaching method leads to a certain level of
comprehension and no teaching method is universal.
1.2.4. Management and management functions:
- Management is the impact (management, control, command)
governed by the rules of management within an organization to
make the organization run while achieving the desired results and
its proposed objectives.
- Management functions: planning, organizing, directing,
inspecting. These functions are closely related to each other and
form a closed management cycle.


1.3. The basic theoretical issues of management of teaching
method renovation in upper secondry school based on the
theory of change management
1.3.1. Physiological characteristics of high school students: This
section describes the characteristics of high school students'
psychophysiology to illustrate the fact that teachers need to find
the best teaching methods for each lesson and each student in
order to enable them to promote their own strengths. The school


Guarantee conditions: from subsidized => active, creative,
practical
1.3.5. Renovating teaching methods: Renovating teaching
methods is the process of applying modern teaching methods and
modern teaching technologies to the schools on the basis of
bringing into play the positive elements of traditional teaching
methods in order to change the learning methods: from the passive
learning, remembering knowledge as the key to active learning,
being active and creative, focusing on fostering self-learning
method, practising skills to apply knowledge to solve practical
issues of life
1.3.6. Management teaching method renovation in upper
secondary school
The approach to the elements of the teaching process changes; as a
result, the management of teaching method renovation also
changes from subsidy, imposition of orders to democratization,
decentralization of management, granting autonomy.
1.4. Management of teaching method renovation in upper
secondary school based on the theory of change management.
1.4.1. Some modern approaches in educational management
This section provides an overview of the contents and advantages
and disadvantages of some modern approaches to educational
management such as: School Based Management, Management by
Objectives (MBO), Total Quality Management (TQM) and
Change Management in education, thereby recognizing the objects
of education, members of the educational organization are the
people with psybiological, social traits ... always moving; The the
natural, cultural and social environment around the school is
constantly changing; The trend of internationalization of areas of

achieved”. Building school culture; Assessing the results of the
implementation of plans for renewal of teaching methods
(possibly at stages) and adjust if necessary. The result of
sustainable development period is the formation of habits, the selfconsciousness, the positiveness in the teachers implementing
innovation, etc.
These three stages are not always mechanically separated, at times
they are intertwined.
1.5. The role of high school principals in managing innovative
teaching methods based on change management theory
- A leader and a manager
- Supporters, cheers, catalysts stimulate change
- The person who handled the situation occurred during the change
process
- Who links the resources to the change
- The person who maintains stability in change
1.6. Factors affecting the management of teaching method
renovation


1.6.1. Factors related to the principal: Levels, perceptions,
professional competencies, managerial capacities and the quality
and prestige of the principal influence greatly on the management
of teaching method renovation in high school education.
1.6.2. Factors related to parents, teachers and students
For the parents: being a participant in the leadership and
management of the school plays an important role in the overall
development of the school; For teachers: capacity for organization,
administration, management, guidance are the requirements and
capabilities are increasingly required in teachers; For students:
Renovating teaching methods does not mean renewing teaching

an important step in the process of fundamental reform in upper
secondary education nowadays. From the viewpoint that
everything or every phenomenon always keeps moving and
developing, we realise the crucial role of studying the application
of the theory of business management into general management
and management of teaching method renovation in particular. ICM
is planning and directing the implementation of change to achieve
the goal set for that change. Change management means making
plans and directing the change so as to achieve the set goals for
such changes. In other words, change management in education
takes a "dynamic equilibrium" as a fulcrum and a roadmap is an
important characteristic of the change management. To
accomplish this task, the Principal should have a firm grasp of the
theory of change management theory and its management
functions, which will be applied in the management of teaching
method renovation, and propose appropriate and effective
management measures.
Chapter 2: Practical basis of teaching method innnovation
and management of teaching method innnovation in Red
River Delta high schools
2.1. International experience
The dissertation examines the experiences of some countries such
as the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Japan,
and draws some lessons on the management of innovative
teaching methods in upper secondary schools in Vietnam:a. In the
context of the changing education sector, understanding, planning
and implementation of change play an important role in the
development of the school. Any innovation takes three stages,
each with different lengths for particular school, and these stages
are not always separate.

higher than the national level. However, the demand for quality
human resources has not really met the requirements of
globalization and international integration.
2.3. Overview of the survey: Based on the theoretical framework
developed in Chapter 1, the author selects the problem and criteria
to be surveyed, schedules the survey together with anket, conducts
surveys to collect data, processes data, exchanges and consults
experts, compares theories and management practices, thus
identifying the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities and the
challenge of management.
2.4. Current status of innovations in teaching methods in
upper secondary schools: Survey of contents: awareness and
understanding of managers and teachers on innovations in
teaching methods, level of teachers' teaching methods innovation
and students' learning method implementation, student assessment


innovation, reform in professional meeting, teacher observation
and evaluation. Overall results are limited.
2.5. Current status of management of in teaching method
innovation in upper secondary schools:
2.5.1. Preparatory phase for teaching methodology
2.5.1.1. The status of developing the strategic planning for reform
of teaching methods
Schools have plan bust only for the school year and not based on
assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges so
there is no basis, not close to reality. The planning of innovative
teaching methods is mostly superficial, implemented at the request
of the management seniors, serving for the purpose of inspection
and supervision, not really serving school teaching method

2.5.2.2. Direct the implementation of professional activities
Regarding the management and directing activities of professional
groups: professional activities on lesson study are still confusing,
not effective in the development of profession for colleagues.
Activities to manage and direct teaching activities of teachers;
Managing, instructing teachers' directions on learning methods for


students; Management and directions on students' testing and
evaluation reform: principals have little professional interest so
teachers are not really supported in their teaching methodologies
and assessments in students' competence orientation, as well as
instructing students how to learn by designing learning activities
for students.
2.5.2.3. Removing barriers, supporting the promotion of teaching
method innovation
Principals do not correctly identify the barriers to innovation
teaching methods and find incentives to motivate teachers to
innovate teaching methods.In general, the activities have been
implemented by the schools, but the quality is not high, not as
effective as expected.
2.5.3. The stage of sustainable development results in the
innovation of teaching methods
Through research and enquiring about the process of
implementing innovative teaching methods in upper secondary
schools, in fact, very few schools are interested in transferring the
changes achieved into the school culture, so as maintaining reform
sustainability. The inspection and evaluation of the
implementation of the plan, the correctness of the roadmap, and
the adjustment of the plan when needed to ensure success and

with superiors; Attention to communication and propaganda, the
communicating of the school's innovation plan and policy to all
members of the school, the parents and the community is not
highly considered. So, in the face of difficulties, they do not
receive sympathy and support from the society. Besides, the
barriers that are hindering the implementation of innovative
teaching methods are not identified.
Management officials are limited in managing and directing
activities on renovating teaching methods in schools. They are
passive, rigid, dependent on their superiors. Many managers do
not have proper knowledge about innovative teaching methods
and the application of modern management theories to school
management; There is not enough knowledge to support teachers
in implementing teaching methodology reform. They do not
boldly trust subordinate levels, while relying heavy on
administrative management which leads to reducing teachers'
flexibility, limiting the promotion of teachers' creativity and
confidence to motivate teachers actively and objectively to
participate in the process of innovation.
Chapter 2 Conclusion
The analysis of the current state of management of innovation in
teaching methods in the Red River Delta high schools from the
perspective of change management reveals the following
shortcomings: (1) Many teachers and management staff are not
aware of the urgent nature of teaching method innovation for the
existence and development of schools in the current context. (2)
Managers and teachers lack knowledge and skills on teaching
methodology reform. The self-training and self-learning ability of
managers and teachers is still limited. Teacher training is not
regular. (3) Lack of a long-term strategic plan with appropriate

3.2. Principles for proposing measures: Ensuring
objectiveness; efficiency; systematic; synchronism; practical
and feasible
3.3. Measure groups
3.3.1. Group of measures to prepare for teaching method
innovation
a) Develop a strategic plan for teaching method innovation
Objective: A clear strategic plan that drives decisions and directs
everyone to action for a common purpose.


Implementation: Identify the current status of the school, identify
changes; Identify strategic goals and specific objectives; Select
solutions and planning.
b) To propagate and disseminate plans on renovating teaching
methods
Objectives: Raise awareness and create urgency about teaching
methodology innovation for members in the school. Create
consensus, support from the community
Implementation: Contents of propaganda: the international and
domestic context; The policy of the Party and the sector on general
education reform in general and renovation of secondary
education in particular; Vision and strategic planning to teaching
method innovation. Forms of propaganda: Using various forums,
on the principle of "Repeat, Repeat and Repeat"; Convinced by the
example of the principal and initial success of the core team.
Propaganda objects: teachers, staff and students, parents, public
organizations, local governments where the schools are located,
enterprises, production and service establishments. Prepare
resources and implement effective communication.

life, students' not being satisfied with knowledge in books, in
school, thus having a need to explore and expand knowledge ... so
that students are helped to have the ability to study for life.
Supervise and instruct student assessments towards comptence
development.
3.3.2.3. Removing barriers, supporting the promotion of teaching
method innovation
Objective: Identify and remove some of the barriers, meeting to
the maximum possible extent in the context, the requirements of
teaching method innovation. Create mechanisms to support and
encourage teachers to innovate teaching methods.
Implementation: Depending on the specific educational institution,
the barriers will vary. Through the real context of renovating
teaching methods in high schools in provinces and cities in the
Red River Delta, there are some basic barriers to be eliminated:
grant autonomy to professional groups and teachers in building
and implementing a school education plan; Reform teacher
assessment and evaluation based on an analysis of student
performance; Encourage, motivate teachers to support changes.
3.3.3. Group of measures for sustainable development for the
results of teaching method innovation
3.3.3.1. Inspecting and evaluating the implementation of the plan
on renovating the teaching method
Objectives: Evaluation and supervision are important functions in
the management process and is also the starting point for decision
making, planning and evaluating the achievement of goals in order
to find good points and limits to adjust the planning, organization,
leading, implementation.



always mechanically separated, sometimes intertwined, sometimes
intermittent at the same time. It is important for managers to
firmly grasp the occurrence of each stage in the change process to
determine appropriate management responsibilities.
3.4. Experimenting and piloting the proposed measures
3.4.1. Experimenting: To investigate the opinions of
administrators and teachers on the necessity and feasibility of the
proposed measures, the author of the dissertation distributed


questionnaires to 100 administrators including DOET officials,
principals, vice principals, heads of professional team and 104
teachers of the surveyed institutes. Survey receipts shall be
processed according to the following calculations: very necessary
or very feasible 3 points; necessary or feasible 2 points; not
necessary or not feasible 1 point.

From the experimenting results of the assay, it is possible to
reaffirm that innovative management measures based on the
change management theory proposed by the thesis are necessary
and feasible and applicable in management practice.
3.4.2. Piloting
Piloting purpose: piloting to verify the necessity and feasibility of
some proposed measures with the aim of increasing the
effectiveness of management of teaching method innovation in
upper secondary schools.
3.4.2.2. Piloting content: The thesis proposes seven measures to
manage teaching methodology innovation under the change
management theorry, but in the scope and conditions of the
research, the author of the dissertation selected to pilot 2 contents:

Thus, it is very effective in managing the innovation of teaching
methods of the school.
Chapter 3 Conclusion: Based on scientific foundation and
educational practices with basic principles, the thesis proposes 7
measures to manage the innovation of teaching methods based on
the theory of change management in high schools in the Red River
Delta. The analysis results of the experimenting and piloting of
innovative management methods based on the theory of change
management in high schools in the Red River Delta proposed in
the thesis are evaluated by experts to be very necessary and
feasible. The proposed measures only really work when they are
applied flexibly, depending on the actual conditions of each school
to choose priorities and develop a suitable and feasible roadmap,
as well as ensuring both systematicness and practicality.
CONCLUSION AND IMPPLICATIONS
1. Conclusion
Innovating teaching methods is a scientific activity that is
governed by many internal and external factors of the activity


itself. The innovation of teaching methods in upper secondary
schools has become increasingly important, however, due to
various reasons, this activity is facing many difficulties and has
not brought about high efficiency.
Based on the theoretical research on the innovation of teaching
methods, the management of teaching method innovation and the
theory of change management, the thesis clarifies the theoretic
rationale for management of teaching method innovation in
secondary school basing on the theory of change management. In
practice, the thesis provides insight into international experiences

Renovate State's testing and examinations, inspections and
supervision on education management. Create online environment
for senior high school principals to build learning communities
and share professional, management and leadership experience for
provincial, regional and national principals. Enhance online
activities: teacher and administrator training, learning resources
supplemented, creating learning and sharing spaces for the cohort
of principals
Instructing pedagogical colleges to innovate the teacher training
and enriching to meet the requirements in professional
competence, pedagogical skills and capacity for change
management. Strengthening teacher training in the form of
"training on the job", with support after training of "Mentoring".
2.2. For Departments of Education and Training
- Strengthening the autonomy and flexibility of schools, attaching
importance to accountability of principals. Strengthening
professional management through the internet, creating a shared
and self-study environment for the principals of upper secondary
schools in the whole province or city.
- Attending to succession: In order to sustain the changes and
make them the school culture, it is necessary to pay attention to
the succession of personnel when appointing the leaders of the
institutions. If the succession process is not changed in line with
the new ones, old cultures will come back
- Specificizing the policy of the Ministry to suit the local reality;
Providing training for teachers and inspection collaborators on
innovations in teaching methods; Introducing typical examples,
dissemination of experience; Mobilizing local resources to support
teaching method innovation.
2.3. For High School Principals