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VOL. 7, ISSUE 2 (2025)
From local practice to global standards: A case study and evidence-based policy framework to reform primary school swimming education in Vietnam
Authors
Le Tran Nhat Hoang, Tran Ngoc Cuong
Abstract
Drowning is a leading cause of child mortality in Vietnam, with
approximately 2,000 preventable deaths annually, a crisis exacerbated by
climate change and urbanization. Despite
national policies emphasizing swimming education, local implementation often
lacks pedagogical rigor, failing to impart essential water safety competencies.
This paper presents a qualitative case study of a community-based swimming
program in Ho Chi Minh City to analyze the limitations of its traditional,
technique-focused curriculum against international best practices, identify
systemic barriers to effective implementation, and propose a comprehensive, evidence-based
national curriculum framework for primary school water safety education.
Employing a methodology informed by Yin and Stake, the study analyzed program
documentation and interview data from the Van Don Club, contextualized by a
systematic literature review of drowning epidemiology, swimming pedagogy, and
implementation science. The findings reveal a significant "pedagogical
dissonance", where the program's generic, one-size-fits-all curriculum is
misaligned with the developmental needs of primary school students. Key
deficiencies include an overemphasis on stroke mechanics at the expense of
critical survival skills, the absence of a structured water safety component,
and inadequate Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) among instructors. These
issues are symptomatic of broader systemic challenges, including resource
constraints and the lack of a standardized national curriculum. A paradigm
shift from basic swimming instruction to comprehensive water safety education
is therefore imperative. This study concludes by presenting a detailed national
curriculum framework for Vietnam that integrates water safety knowledge,
survival skills, and swimming technique, benchmarked against global standards,
and provides multilevel recommendations for policy, practice, and research to
guide this vital educational reform.
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Pages:27-31
How to cite this article:
Le Tran Nhat Hoang, Tran Ngoc Cuong "From local practice to global standards: A case study and evidence-based policy framework to reform primary school swimming education in Vietnam". International Journal of Physical Education, Exercise and Sports, Vol 7, Issue 2, 2025, Pages 27-31
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