Practical Education of Sea and Island Sovereignty Awareness for Students in History Teaching in High Schools

part of the East Sea with a coastline of 3,260 km. The sea area of Vietnam accounts for about 1,000,000 km 2 with an average of 1 km of coastline for every 100 km 2 , this ratio is 6 times higher than the ratio of coastal countries in the world. According to statistics, out of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities, there are 28 provinces and cities with sea, including 125 coastal districts and 12 island districts with nearly half of the population living in coastal provinces and cities. In the sea and islands under Vietnam's sovereignty in the East Sea,

The two archipelagos of Hoang Sa (Da Nang) and Truong Sa (Khanh Hoa) together with more than 3,000 large and small islands near and far from shore, form a defense line to protect, control and dominate the seas and continental shelf of our country.

The two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa have extremely important positions, guarding the East Sea, where the most important shipping routes in the world pass through. Due to their location along the coast of Vietnam, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa are outposts protecting the eastern flank of the country, as well as the seas and coasts of the Fatherland. Economically, these two archipelagos contain many rich and diverse biological and mineral resources, especially accounting for more than 70% of the oil and gas reserves of the East Sea. Therefore, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos are not only important in economic activities, controlling the sea routes through the East Sea but also have important strategic defense significance for Vietnam.

With such a strategic position, the East Sea is home to complex disputes in the world, especially around the issue of sovereignty over seas and islands. In the trend of globalization, the complicated disputes affect peace and cooperation in the East Sea region. In recent years, the situation in the East Sea has become increasingly complicated as the disputes have become increasingly tense. The risks of violating national territorial sovereignty have caused a strong wave of struggle among all classes of Vietnamese people with the desire to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland, and maintain peace and stability in the East Sea.

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Therefore, strengthening the education of awareness of protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands for all classes of people, including students, and at the same time guiding the correct behaviors according to the Party and State's guidelines is an urgent requirement. One of the most effective methods is to incorporate the content of education on awareness of the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland into teaching activities in schools nationwide, especially for subjects with advantages in educational work such as History, Geography, Civic Education, National Defense Education, etc., as well as through extracurricular activities. This is an extremely important and urgent political task of schools nationwide today.

2.2.2. Practice of educating students about sovereignty over seas and islands in history teaching in high schools

2.2.2.1. Situation of educating students about sea and island sovereignty in localities in recent years

Based on the characteristics and current situation of Vietnam's seas and islands, the Party and State have issued many policies to enhance the education of awareness of sea and island sovereignty for the people, including young people. In particular, the content of education on awareness of sea and island sovereignty has been included in the teaching content as well as in extracurricular activities by high schools across the country.

Recognizing the importance of educating students about sea and island sovereignty in schools, since the 2011-2012 school year, the Ministry of Education and Training has compiled and published "Guidelines for teaching and learning about marine and island resources and environment for high school students" to serve the teaching of teachers and the learning of students. Since then, in provinces and cities across the country, activities to educate students about sea and island sovereignty have been carried out in both the curricular and extracurricular programs. Taking the lead in implementing and initially achieving remarkable results, we can mention a few provinces and cities as follows:

In Hanoi - the capital of the country, educational activities are carried out in many forms, especially through HĐNK. Many schools have established clubs "Discovering Vietnam - Sea and islands of the homeland" ; organizing map-making activities for Vietnam; organizing Talent Festival with the theme "Pharos" - The lighthouse towards the distant sea and islands; organizing many charity activities to call for help for families and children in difficult circumstances in remote areas, especially border areas and islands...

In Quang Binh, the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, the Department of Education and Training, in coordination with the 83rd Naval Brigade (Da Nang), organized propaganda about the sea and islands for students at high schools in Bo Trach and Le Thuy districts to raise awareness of responsibility for protecting the border and islands. In addition, high schools also organized many competitions to learn about the sea and islands, draw pictures, and exhibit images of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Closely related to the Hoang Sa archipelago, education and propaganda work on sea and island sovereignty in Da Nang city has been focused. Since the 2011-2012 school year, the content of education on sea and island sovereignty has been included in the teaching activities of schools at all levels, officially including the lesson "History of Da Nang, history of Hoang Sa sovereignty" in the local history section in the official history program of secondary and high schools. Schools regularly organize learning activities on the topic of sea and islands with many forms.

awareness, contributing to deeply educating students about the sovereignty of the sea and islands such as: Tran Phu High School organized the "Lighting the Fire of Hoang Sa" Camp ; Ngu Hanh Son High School collected documents about Hoang Sa, Truong Sa and set up a gallery; Thai Phien High School and Thanh Khe High School established the "I Love History" club ;...

Quang Ngai Department of Education and Training organizes propaganda activities for students, especially in Ly Son island district; compiles teaching materials to serve the education of awareness of sea and island sovereignty for students at all levels. Coastal schools have many ideas in implementing the teaching of sea and island sovereignty. In addition, the organization of learning activities is also focused on: Binh Son High School organizes drawing and presentation contests; Ba Gia High School organizes the contest "Sea and islands in my heart", Ly Son High School organizes to learn about the traditional house of Hoang Sa team, cleans the coast... In particular, the painting contest to protect sea and island sovereignty on the annual "Khao le the linh Hoang Sa" festival organized by the Provincial People's Committee, or the contest "Learning about the history, homeland, country and people of Quang Ngai" in the form of dramatization... brings practical educational effects.

Since the 2012-2013 school year, the Department of Education and Training of Binh Dinh has actively responded and organized useful activities towards the sea and islands of the Fatherland with many diverse and attractive forms such as: Quoc Hoc Quy Nhon High School, Nguyen Thai Hoc High School or Tran Cao Van organized activities with the theme "Homeland sea and islands", "Rivers and borders", "Sea and island festival" ...; organized propaganda about borders and islands for students at 6 high schools across the province: Trung Vuong High School, Nguyen Thai Hoc High School (Quy Nhon), Phu Cat High School No. 3, Nguyen Hong Dao High School (Phu Cat), My Tho High School, Nguyen Trung Truc High School (Phu My); especially organized activities with the theme "Embrace of love" for nearly 300 students on Nhon Chau island commune (Quy Nhon) ...

Phu Yen is one of 28 coastal provinces and cities, with a coastline of nearly 200km. Recognizing the role and position of the sea and islands early, accepting the policies of the Party, the State and the Ministry of Education and Training, since the 2011-2012 school year, the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department and the Department of Education and Training have conducted training and deployed the content of "Guidelines for teaching educational content on marine and island resources and environment for high school students" for cadres, teachers and students at all levels in the province and initially achieved remarkable results. The content of educating awareness of sea and island sovereignty for students in general schools has been increasingly popularized with many diverse and rich forms, not only in the internal curriculum but also promoting extracurricular activities, especially for the subjects of History, Geography, Civic Education and National Defense Education.

Khanh Hoa province, in association with Truong Sa island district, has also compiled teaching and learning materials to serve the education of sea and island sovereignty awareness for students. The education of sea and island sovereignty has been promoted in many diverse forms, initially demonstrating feasibility and effectiveness. Historical and geographical knowledge about Truong Sa is integrated into the History and Geography curriculum at secondary and high schools with the topics "Khanh Hoa sea and islands - the economic development strength of the province", "Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, the sacred and inseparable territory" ... In the learning activities, knowledge about the importance of sea and islands; the responsibility of the young generation in protecting the sovereignty of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa is focused on, typically: Ha Huy Tap High School, ISCHOOL High School, Nguyen Thai Hoc High School organized extracurricular activities "Sea and islands of the homeland" , "I love the sea and islands of the homeland" ; Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted organized the contest " Sea and islands of my homeland" ...

In Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan provinces and many other coastal localities, the work of educating students about sea and island sovereignty has also been focused on with many diverse forms from knowledge competitions, to painting competitions, propaganda, distributing leaflets, designing posters on the theme of sea and islands, or organizing photo exhibitions about island soldiers... These are very practical activities, suitable for the age of each grade level, so they bring high educational efficiency.

In the Southern provinces, propaganda and education on sea and island sovereignty also take place in many schools at all levels. In Ho Chi Minh City, primary schools organize painting contests on the theme of sea and islands; secondary and high schools launch contests to learn about the sea and islands of the Fatherland, and exhibitions of pictures of Vietnam's seas and islands. In Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Bac Lieu, Dong Thap, etc., propaganda activities on protecting the marine and island environment take many rich forms. In Kien Giang, Ca Mau - the southernmost provinces of the Fatherland associated with the sea and islands, schools pay great attention to education on sea and island sovereignty, especially with instructions to include in the teaching content of History, Geography, Civic Education, Biology, etc. propaganda content on sovereignty and protection of the marine and island environment for students.

In general, since the 2011-2012 school year, many high schools across the country have recognized the importance of educating about the sovereignty of the sea and islands and have implemented education for students in a variety of forms. In addition to integrating the content of the sea and islands into the internal lessons of all subjects, a series of extracurricular activities with the theme of the sea and islands of the Fatherland have been organized in all localities.

2.2.2.2. Survey and investigation of the practice of educating students on sea and island sovereignty awareness in high schools

To grasp the actual situation of educating awareness of sea and island sovereignty for students in the DHLS in high schools, we conducted a survey of 96 teachers and 2,160 students at 24 high schools in 14 provinces (8 provinces in the South Central Coast, 2 provinces in the Northern Delta, 2 provinces in the South, 1 province in the North Central Coast and 1 province in the Central Highlands) (see Appendix 1). The survey focused on three issues: the importance of educating awareness of sea and island sovereignty in history teaching in high schools; forms and measures of educating awareness of sea and island sovereignty in DHLS in high schools; causes leading to limitations in educating awareness of sea and island sovereignty in DHLS in high schools (see Appendix 3 and 4).

* Investigation and survey content

- For history teachers: We focus on clarifying some key issues such as:

+ The need to educate students about the awareness of sovereignty over seas and islands in general teaching and history teaching in particular in high schools.

+ Contents on sea and island issues in current History textbooks.

+ Forms and methods of teaching content about seas and islands in internal history lessons and learning activities.

+ Causes leading to limitations in educating students about sea and island sovereignty in history teaching at high schools.

+ Suggested ideas contribute to improving the effectiveness of teaching the subject as well as improving the effectiveness of education on sea and island sovereignty in DHLS in high schools.

- For students: Focus on clarifying some basic issues as follows:

+ Find out students' interest in learning history in general and the issue of Vietnam's sea and island sovereignty in particular.

+ Students' awareness of the issue of sea and island sovereignty through subjects.

+ Forms of education on sea and island sovereignty organized in schools (form, frequency, effectiveness).

+ Students' understanding of Vietnam's sovereignty over seas and islands in the East Sea, including the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

+ Difficulties of students when learning and studying contents related to the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland in the history subject.

+ Students' proposals on educating awareness of sea and island sovereignty in history teaching (on content, form, and measures).

* Investigation and survey methods

To understand the current situation of education on sea and island sovereignty awareness in high schools, we conducted survey methods such as using questionnaires, directly interviewing managers, teachers, students, observing, and observing classes... After collecting and processing information sources from practice in high schools with diverse types of schools, in many different regions, we drew some comments as follows:

- On the part of history teachers:

We conducted a survey with 96 history teachers of 24 high schools (each school surveyed 04 teachers), the survey results showed the following opinions:

+ When asked about the necessity of educating awareness of sea and island sovereignty in high school curriculum: 78.26% of teachers said that this is very necessary; 21.74% said it is necessary; no opinion said that this is unnecessary.

+ Assessing the subjects that have advantages in educating students about the awareness of sovereignty over seas and islands in high schools: 52.78% of teachers said that History has the most advantages; 26.19% of teachers said Geography; 21.30% chose Civic Education and National Defense Education. Thus, the majority of teachers see the role of History in educating students about the awareness of sovereignty over seas and islands.

+ Regarding the forms and measures of educating awareness of sovereignty over seas and islands in history teaching in high schools: up to 82.15% of opinions said that it is necessary to flexibly and effectively use forms and teaching methods, combining teaching of in-class lessons with extracurricular activities, and between modern and traditional teaching methods to promote students' positivity and independence. However, some teachers (17.85%) do not want to include the content of sovereignty over seas and islands in teaching the subject.

+ Regarding the current status of educating students about sea and island sovereignty in high schools: 76.17% of opinions said that the issue of educating students about sea and island sovereignty was mentioned in subject teaching; 14.23% of teachers integrated the content of sea and island sovereignty in internal history lessons; 9.60% of opinions said that the issue of educating students about sea and island sovereignty was integrated into subjects such as Geography, Civic Education and National Defense Education.

+ When asking teachers to choose the form of education on sea and island sovereignty for students in teaching the subject: up to 62.88% said that education on sea and island sovereignty should be implemented in teaching internal history lessons; 25.77% chose the form of extracurricular activities to propagate and educate about sea and island issues; some teachers (11.35%) said that students must learn and exploit other information channels (Internet, TV, newspapers, etc.). In particular, 93.62% of teachers agreed that education on sea and island sovereignty awareness for students should be carried out in both internal history lessons and extracurricular activities.

+ Considering the content of sea and island sovereignty in the textbook program, most teachers (96.14%) emphasized: the issue of establishing and continuously implementing the sovereignty of our country's sea and island through historical periods and the struggle to protect the sovereignty of the sea and island of generations of Vietnamese people should be included in the textbooks of Vietnamese history in all grades. The inclusion in the program can be integrated into lessons or built into separate topics on the issue of Vietnam's sea and island sovereignty.

- For students:

We conducted a survey of 2,160 students in 24 high schools (each school surveyed 90 students, including 30 grade 10 students; 30 grade 11 students; 30 grade 12 students). Most of them were interested in the issue of sovereignty over seas and islands and cooperated well, which was an important condition for us to be able to investigate and collect results, specifically:

+ The majority of students (82.50%) think that it is very necessary to include the content of educating about the awareness of sea and island sovereignty in history teaching in high schools; only 14.00% think that it is not necessary because it makes the subject content more difficult; a few students (3.5%) think that this content should be included in other subjects.

+ Studying students' knowledge of the most basic issues related to Vietnam's sovereignty over seas and islands in general, and the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in particular: only 26.75% of students answered the questions correctly, the majority (73.25) answered incorrectly or did not answer. This is a sad reality because the survey content is very basic and familiar, learned in many different subjects.

+ Questions related to the form of education on sovereignty over seas and islands that has been conducted in history teaching in high schools: 63.85% of students said that the issue of sovereignty over seas and islands has been integrated into the curriculum of some subjects such as History, Civic Education, Geography, and National Defense Education; 31.52% of students said that the school has organized extracurricular activities and propaganda on a grade-wide or school-wide scale; 4.63% of students also said that the content of sovereignty over seas and islands of the Fatherland has not been given attention and included in the teaching of subjects in high schools.

+ When asked about the difficulties in the process of learning educational content on sea and island sovereignty: 79.50% of students said that the school lacks facilities and learning materials on the topic of sea and island; 68.12% of students said that the subject teachers' teaching of content on sea and island is not really attractive to students; 32.08% of students said that their curriculum is too heavy so there is not enough time to add content on sea and island sovereignty; in particular, 2.80% said that knowledge on sea and island sovereignty is not really necessary so there is no need to learn.

2.2.2.3. General comments on the current status of education on sea and island sovereignty awareness in DHLS in high schools

Through surveys and investigations of teachers and students at high schools in many different locations, we have the basis to draw general conclusions about the current state of education on awareness of sea and island sovereignty in history teaching in high schools as follows:

- On the part of history teachers:

+ Most teachers are aware of the role and significance of educating awareness of sea and island sovereignty in general teaching and history teaching in particular, in which history is a dominant subject. Up to 92.5% of teachers surveyed believe that the content of education on sea and island sovereignty should be included in the textbook program for teaching students. However, many teachers seem quite confused when exploiting the content related to the issue of sea and island sovereignty in the curriculum, especially in choosing and applying forms and pedagogical measures appropriate to the students.

+ In fact, many teachers have tried to integrate the content of sovereignty over seas and islands into history lessons, but only use one teaching method, which is oral presentation, without combining modern teaching methods smoothly, so the lessons are boring, monotonous, and lack appeal to students. In many cases, teachers abuse reference materials about seas and islands, leading to a "overloaded" situation, making the lessons heavy and losing the characteristics of history lessons. The flexible combination of forms and methods of organizing teaching by many teachers is still limited, leading to low effectiveness in educating about sovereignty over seas and islands.

- For students:

+ Most high school students are interested in the issue of sovereignty over the sea and islands of the Fatherland, including the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, but the level of understanding varies depending on the regions. The majority of students are aware of the significance of the issue of education on sovereignty over the sea and islands and believe that it is necessary to include the content of education on sovereignty over the sea and islands in teaching, especially in history. However, there are still many students who are not interested or indifferent to the issue of sovereignty over the sea and islands of the Fatherland. That shows the limitation of the sense of civic responsibility of many students.

+ Talking about the forms of organization and measures to educate awareness of sea and island sovereignty in history teaching, the majority of students said that sea and island sovereignty should be educated in both in-class lessons and extracurricular activities. At the same time, teachers need to innovate teaching methods so that the content of sea and island sovereignty included in teaching becomes attractive, close and attracts students' attention.

+ Although aware of the importance, students' understanding of the subject matter

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