MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING
VIETNAM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
TRAN THI BICH NGOC
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
WORKERS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
BASED ON CAREER COMPETENCY APPROACH
MAJOR: EDUCATION MANAGEMENT
CODE OF MAJOR : 9 14 01 14
ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION
HA NOI, 2021
The project was cpmpleted in:
VIETNAM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Supervisers:
1. Ass.Prof. Nguyễn Xuân Hải
2. PhD. Vương Hồng Tâm
Reviewer 1:…………………………………………………………..
Reviewer 2: ………………………………………………………….
Reviewer 3:……………………………………………………………
Dissertation was evaluated at Commission for dissertation Approval in Vietnam
National Institute of Education Science, 101 Trần Hưng Đạo, Cửa Nam, Hoàn Kiếm,
Hà Nội.
……… …….date…………month…….năm 20
References at :
-National Library
- VNIES Library
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INTRODUCTION
1. Background
The socio-economic development of a country leads to an increasing concern in persons
with special needs. Either people with disabilities or children with disabilities are always the
most significantly vulnerable among those of disadvantaged groups. Actually, one of
important index of the society progress or a country or education is the facilitation and
investment of a country towards people with disabilities.
Reports by UNICEF and the Vietnam General Statistics Office showed that the overall
disability rate among children aged 2-17 years is 2.79% in the population [49]. The number
of children with disabilities attending school increased rapidly from 46,000 in 1996, wheares
more than 600,000 in 2016, which was higher 10 times over 20 years of inclusive eduaction
implementation in Vietnam[1]. The highly needs to access a quality education also leads to a
demand of our country to deliver some solutions of advocacy to educate people with
disabilities in effective way. Therefore, Laws and a set of legal document promote education
for people with disabilities have been promulgated including Law on Persons with Disabilities
(2010), Law on Education (2019), and Decrees No 28/2012/ND-CP, Prime- Ministeral
Decision No. 1019 / QD-TTg dated August 5, 2012, Joint Circular No.58/TTLT-BGDĐT-
BLDTBXH-BTC in 2012, Circular No. 42/2013/TTLT-BGDĐT -BLĐTBXH-BTC, Circular
03/2018/BGDĐT. Those legal documentaries are refered to the development of human
resource to meet the requirements of education for people with disability. Development of
educational support workers (paraprofessionals/integration aids) contributes to the essential
and effective implementation of education for people with disabilities.
Educational support worker (ESW) has known as a paraprofessional or a teacher
aids/assistant work to help children with disabilities all around the. The main task of ESW is
to support to children with disabilities in learning through direct support by themselves or
indirect support by collaboration among parents, schools and other sources. In Vietnam, A
title of job as ESW has been mentioned in Law on persons with disabilities, then directly
specified in Circular No.19/2016/TTLT-BGDĐT-BNV of Ministry of education and training
& Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2016 in which regulated their tasks as follow: a) Operate
support plans or program for people with disabilities under their settings’ regulations; b)
Participate in individualized educational plans (IEP) for each person with disability; c)
Support people with disabilities to learn and practice essentially specific life skills
accomodated to their abilities; d) Assist teachers in taking care of and educating people with
disabilities; e) Mobilize people with disabilities to attend school; f) Provide information and
skills for families with disabilities and the community to educate people with disabilities [3].
Thus, different from the teachers’ role, ESW team have to support students with disabilities
by assisting teachers to develop and follow-up IEP; tutoring; mobilizing them to attend and
engage into classroom; involve into consultancy to parents or other relevant people on skills
of supporting their children. With uneasily tasks assigned, ESS must be trained and advocated
to fulfill their competency. It is essential for them to have core competencies of understading
general issue in support people with disabilities, operating the job, linking and collaborating
and assuring job ethics to successfully support people with disabilities.
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Some studies have been conducted and reported such as the coorperation among ESW
and other resources in educating people with disabilities with other forces (Hoang Thi Nho,
Nguyen Ha My, Nguyen Thi Hoa 2016) [40]; Develop competencey-based training programs
for ESS (Le Thi Thuy Hang, 2018) [21], support strategies of ESW to educate students with
disabilities in inclusive classrooms (Nguyen Ha My,2018), [37]. Reports showed that the
competency building of ESS is so important to education of people with disabilities.
Researches by Nguyen Xuan Hai (2017) on the operational model of Disability Education
Supporters in Vietnam [19]; A research named “Quality assurance approaches to the
development of inclusive education services for people with disabilities in Vietnam” (Nguyen
Xuan Hai 2018) referred to requirements of management of human resources for both national
and school level where ESS work directly.
However, the current situation in Vietnam revealed that due to it is in the first steps of
the process to competencied- based develop ESW group, there are so many challenges.
Definitely one of them comes to school managers when they do not understand the role of
ESS and how to manage them at schools. The ESW management should guarantee to supply
sufficient staff with all required professional competencies. Issues in ESW resource
management consist of planning, training, recruiting and employing, evaluating and
facilitating them should be considered in the axis of professional, which lead them to fulfill
their tasks at preschools, high schools, inclusive education development support centers.
Morover, many issues of this topic are regardless studied, therefore carrying out further
researches on policy and practices to deepen theory and propose some appropriate strategies
to manage ESW with highly professional competency is so essential. For the above reasons,
the topic of "Developing Educational support workers team based on approach of professional
competency” is choosen to be our dissertation.
2. Research Purposes
Review Literature and carry out empirical research and recommend some solutions of
developing ESW based on professional competency, which contributes to improve their
competency and quality of supporting operation in the study area
3. Research focus and population
3.1. Research population
Educational support worker for people with disabilities
3.2. Research focus
Developmental management educational support workers for people with disabilities
based on professional competency.
4. Hypothesis
ESS for people with disabilities is an essential position to help parents, teachers to taking
care and educating them at kindergartens, general school system and inclusive education
support and development center. Producing some solutions to develop highly professional
competency ESW based on theoritical and practical background on planning, recruiting and
employing, training, evaluating and encouraging makes contributions to improve their
competency and ensure quality of support works in research area.
5. Reseach topic
- Building a theoretical basis for development the team of ESW team for people with
disabilities with competency approach , including fundamental concepts, human resource
development approach, professional competency approach, factors affecting the development
of ESW team applied competency approach.
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- Evaluating professional capacity of ESW for people with disabilities and develop ESS
team at some pre-schools and schools K12 and inclusive education support and develop.
- Proposing some solutions to develop the ESW team to educate people with disabilities
based on competency approach, at the same time, testing proposed solutions to affirm research
results.
6. Research scope
6.1. Management authorities
a) Directors, managers of provincial inclusive education support and development who
supervise and monitor ESS in all support activities at schools and the center.
b) Administrators of Divison of eduaction and training who indirectly manage ESW
play a role as coordinators to guide support activities from The Center to educational setttings
in their area.
c) Board of managers of schools who directly manage, organize, monitor support
activities towards people with disabilities of ESS in schools, family and community.
Each of management authority has specific function and responsibility in a system of
support network for people with disabilities from provincial level to district level or school,
family, community
6.2. Content scope:
The dissertation focus on solutions to develop ESW team based on competency
approach at several kindergartens and schools and the center.
Due to limited time and other conditions, the dissertation tested a solution of Operating
evaluation of ESW based on fundamental competency framework.
6.3. Survey location and sample
Survey location: 4 provinces/cities are chosen including Hà Nội, Ninh Bình, Quảng Ngãi
and Ninh Thuận, in which have 2 provincial inclusive education support and development
centers of Quang Ngai and Ninh Thuan, Hà Nội has private support centers.
Sample of survey:
+ Educational Support Workers: 200 staffs, which covers 160 ESWs at schools and 40
ESWs of the provincial centers.
+ Managers: 170 administrators of DOETs at provincial and district level, the centers
and general schools in 4 above provinces.
7. Approaches and research methods
7.1. Approaches
- Systematic approach: It needs to have a concencus between teaching contents and
support activities to people with disabilities. Aims, content and solutions to manage this team
have to consistent in the support network for people with disabilities covers both schools and
the centers.
- Human resource development approach: The ESW team is an essential team to
support people with disabilities during their learning, achieving skill process and inclusion
into our society. To fullfil the needs of the people with disabilities, the requirements of having
enough high qualified ESSs are considered. Thus, the research on developing ESW team
should be based on approach of human resource development, which conclude of planning,
recruiting and employing; training ; assessing and encouraging staff by motivation
- Careeer competency based approach: Developing ESW team by planning, recruiting
and employing; training; assessing and encouraging staff by motivation have to define and
implement under the competency framework specifically for helpers of people with
disabilities. Appropriate competencies to support people with disabilities consits
understanding support issues, professional practices, cooperation and ethics.
