Developing Learning Materials for Local Literature Education in Vietnam’s Northern Mountainous Provinces: Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Current Practices

In the context of modern education, learning material development is central to school-based curriculum development. In 2018, “Local Education” was introduced as a mandatory subject in Vietnam’s general education curriculum. This study aims to assess teachers’ perceptions of the role of instructional materials and the current state of their use in teaching literature-related topics within the Local Education curriculum at the secondary level in Vietnam’s northern mountainous provinces. We surveyed 163 administrators and teachers from secondary schools in this region. The survey used a questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale. The results indicate that the primary instructional materials are textbooks provided by Departments of Education and Training (78.5%), and the materials lack diversity. The primary teaching methods are group activities (80.4%) and presentations (64.4%). The most significant challenge teachers face in teaching literature topics is a lack of specific training or professional development for the subject (66.9%). We believe that overcoming this challenge requires concerted efforts from Departments of Education and Training, schools, and the teachers themselves to ensure the effective teaching of literature topics within the Local Education curriculum.