Contact hours in Dutch and Vietnamese higher education: a comparison

Abstract

The number of contact hours, one of the important institutional context factors, was examined and compared between Dutch and Vietnamese higher education at institute and student levels in Psychology and Business and/or Economics specializations. The quantity of contact hours per credit point given by institutions was investigated in a number of Dutch and Vietnamese universities. Additionally, 104 students in Groningen, the Netherlands, and 140 students in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, participated in the survey with a self-reported and self-assessed questionnaire on their study time allocation. Beside contact hours, other learning process related factors such as study activities, motivation, quality of instruction, and generic skills were examined to provide a better insight into these two systems. Results showed that Vietnamese students had significantly higher number of contact hours than Dutch students while their generic skills, motivation and time spent on independent study were a lot lower.