Van-Son Huynh

To successfully embed the social-emotionallearning (SEL) model in the education sector, pre-service teachers must prepare for social-emotional competence (SEC). Unfortunately, studies on how pre-service teachers were trained and developed their SEC before practicing the SEL model in the teaching profession are lacking. This study focuses on discovering how to train and develop SEC for pre-service teachers within the framework of teacher undergraduate training programs in Vietnam, a developing country in Southeast Asia. We employed a convergent parallel mixed-method approach, utilizing both quantitative data (n=650) and qualitative data (n=23), which were subsequently integrated during the interpretation phase to derive comprehensive results. Our findings revealed that the current pre-service teachers had an average level of SEC, which was limited by: i) confusion in understanding SEC and SEL concepts; ii) the lack of professional supervision in undergraduate training; and iii) the unguaranteed need to foster SEC self-development and SEL-based practice training courses. These themes highlight the need to change the administrative policy in undergraduate teacher training programs to support and supervise the development of pre-service teachers’ SEL-based knowledge and practice in developing countries.

Adolescents experience numerous changes, both psychologically and physically, and they are also the age group with a high prevalence of mental problems that need counseling help. The study aims to assess the difficulties and the needs for psychological support, factors affecting the need to use psychological services among adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 672 high school students in Thu Duc City, Vietnam. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between grades 10–12 in student’s difficulties (DS) and a statistically significant difference in needs for psychological services (NPS, RPS). Additionally, there was a statistically significant difference in academic performance for DS. The findings also implied that RPS was predicted by a DS, NPS, and factors affecting the need to use psychological services (FA), in which NPS and DS were mediators in the relationship between FA and RPS. The study significantly contributes to research practices and the theoretical framework that the parliament and the government use to make counselors mandatory in schools. Meanwhile, the study suggested that school counselors, educators, and teachers must appropriately evaluate students' counseling needs and psychological difficulties; this is essential to providing support and interventions when students deal with challenges promptly.

This paper investigates the perceptions of pre-service teachers and in-service teachers regarding the concept of 'values education' and the preparation of values education in professional programs in Vietnam. Furthermore, the pedagogical strategies employed by teachers in addressing values education situations in their classrooms are explored. A qualitative research design was employed, involving interviews with forty-three pre-service teachers from a university. Additionally, eighteen teachers from two different high schools were interviewed, and their teaching sessions, along with school assemblies, were observed. The findings reveal that values education is primarily understood as the instruction of living skills and moral education. There is a lack of conceptualization and knowledge regarding values education among the participants. Both pre-service teachers and in-service teachers did not receive formal values education programs during their university education, and the support provided by schools in this regard was limited. Teachers tended to integrate values education into subjects randomly and subjectively, without employing advanced strategies. Inconsistencies in implementation and challenges associated with teaching values were observed. Highlighting an urgent necessity, this article emphasizes the imperative need for values education programs tailored for both pre-service and in-service teachers in Vietnam. It underscores the significance of adequately equipping teachers to effectively address values education in their classroom.

Purpose: Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a model that positively affects adolescents, particularly high school students. Adolescents experience physical and psychological changes that result in emotional and social-behavior difficulties. SEL improves academic performance, mental health problems, peer relationships, and family relationships. Responsible decision-making is one of the six fundamental skills of the SEL model and plays a crucial role. Methods: This study was founded on a literature review to examine the significance of responsible decision-making. Results: The study then provides a model of activities based on identifying and solving problems to assist students in developing their decision-making skills. Conclusion: The approach presented in this study is comprised of two primary activities: basic activity and practical activity; the study is also providing a seven-step procedure for problem-solving. Students are required to perform the content of the exercises following the instructions, and the implementation of these activities should be performed regularly to increase their effectiveness and competence in making decisions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the direct and indirect effects of expectations for marital relationships and premarital sexual permissiveness on intent to marry of Vietnamese emerging adults. Patients and Methods: Our cross-sectional study was focused on emerging adults including 344 participants, undergraduate students from universities in Viet Nam. This study was assessed by using the PLS-SEM approach. Results: The main findings demonstrated that (i) sexual orientation have a significant effect on marital intention; (ii) individuals’ expectations for marital relationship have a direct effect on marital intention; and (iii) premarital sexuality permissiveness mediates the relationship between expectations for marital relationship and marital intention. Conclusion: Our results contribute important documents and clearer understanding of emerging adults’ expectations and requirements in a relationship for the marriage decision-making process.

Children living in incomplete families have to suffer from more hardships than others including psychological trauma that could never be cured without safe approaches. In this paper, we used the Children Behavior Checklist (CBCL test) by Achenbach to initially filter the incidence of children in incomplete families with psychological trauma, the extent of childhood trauma, and the signs of trauma. Moreover, the Self-esteem scale of Toulouse was also utilized to investigate children's self-esteem and determine the impact of psychological trauma on the self-assessment of children. Based on these tools, the research conducted a correlation analysis of psychological trauma of children in incomplete families through indicators of awareness of, emotions with, and behaviors towards family and social life (self-evaluated by children). The results showed that there are differences in psychological trauma of children in terms of awareness, emotions, and behaviors. The differences allow for a better definition of children's causes, influences, and degrees of psychological trauma. This is the basis for proposing timely filtering solutions and effective psychological support measures for these children.

Purpose: The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically influenced many aspects of individuals’ lives, putting the general population’s mental health at high risk, especially university students in Vietnam. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between current living status and COVID-19 stress and test whether COVID-19 stress mediates the effect of self-concealment on help-seeking attitudes among university students. Patients and Methods: A sample of 478 university students was recruited online to complete the survey. Parametric tests, correlation, regression, and simple mediation analyses were used to analyze the data. Results: Our results show that students living alone experience more COVID-19 stress levels than those living with family or friends. Additionally, there is a significant positive association between self-concealment and professional help-seeking attitudes that is partially mediated by COVID-19 stress. Individuals who tend to conceal personal information have high COVID-19 stress levels, leading to positive professional help-seeking attitudes. Conclusion: University administrators, social workers, counselors, clinicians, and therapists must consider students living alone as prioritized vulnerable groups for early mental health interventions. Clinicians should be aware of self-concealment and professional help-seeking attitudes that could influence psychological treatment.

Currently, the studies on sexual abuse trauma, and resilience in Confucian survivors are still limited. The purpose of this study is to explore the resilience of Confucian women after sexual abuse trauma to provide evidence to support in counseling and psychotherapy practices. The article describes the resiliency story of a Vietnamese Confucian female survivor who was abused by her brother from the age of 8 to 16. The life history approach used in qualitative narrative research was applied in this study. The researcher identified two factors that strongly influence the survivor’s resilience: (1) the effectiveness of passive education in the general education curriculum is oriented to both competence and quality development; and (2) an authentic understanding of the core Confucian philosophical doctrine: the neutrality and the self-nurture. Based on the findings, we propose a 7-stage flow diagram of a Confucian women's resilience following sexual abuse. These findings provide a new approach to psychological counseling for female survivors of any religion by using Confucian philosophy and contribute to the impact of studies on religious and spiritual factors affecting the resilience of sexual abuse survivors.