Higher Education Institutions In Vietnam Research Articles

Using Accreditation Standards for Internal Quality Assurance for Tertiary General English Program in Vietnam

The mixed-method study used a quantitative questionnaire to collect feedback from teachers and program directors regarding the current practices of quality assurance approaches in General English (GE) training programs at their higher education institutions (HEIs). Additionally, the study sought their evaluation of applying accreditation schemes to ensure the quality of GE training programs using a semi-structured interview. The results indicated that the quality assurance measures implemented in the GE training program were generally perceived as effective and aligned with industry standards and best practices. However, there needs to be a comprehensive QA approach that covers areas of improvement related to the learners' needs and expectations and the implementation of QA approaches for curriculum effectiveness. Informants were found to have positive evaluations of the application of the existing accreditation schemes for GE training programs at HEIs in Vietnam. Research on the effectiveness of a specific accreditation scheme implemented at particular HEIs in Vietnam will be conducted in the future.

Factors Influencing Academic Performance, With the Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing of Students: Evidence from Public Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam

Factors Influencing Academic Performance, With the Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing of Students: Evidence from Public Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam

Communication of Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam

Communication of higher education institutions are significant in implementing strategic goals and improving institutional governance efficiency; provide students updated information to make appropriate choices and decisions during their learning process; and promptly feedback to contribute to building a better educational and training environment. Communication tools used in higher education institutions are diverse in forms and contents. This studies focuses on two key points, which are policy communications and internal communications implemented by higher education institutions. The theoretical framework has been developed and a survey was conducted to collect opinions of 300 senior students from 3 universities under Hanoi National University, including: University of Foreign Languages; University of Economics; University of Social Sciences and Humanities. The results show that the policy communications of these higher education institutions are not effectively implemented. The findings suggest innovations for managers to improve communication effectiveness to achieve strategic goals and improve governance efficiency in these higher education institutions.

International education supports and cross-border student mobility: factors influencing Cambodian and Laotian students’ choice of studying in a Vietnamese university

PurposeCambodian and Laotian students (CLS) are among the largest groups of international students in intra-ASEAN student mobility as well as in Vietnamese higher education institutions (HEIs). However, little has been researched on the factors influencing CLS’s decision to choose Vietnam as destination country. The purpose of this study is to investigate why CLS decide to go overseas and choose Vietnam as their host country among other opportunities as well as their perceptions of the decision.Design/methodology/approachUsing qualitative methods and employing purposive sampling, data were collected by semi-structured interviews from CLS studying in a HEI in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The data were analysed against the push–pull framework to understand factors influencing the participants’ decision.FindingsThe findings show that CLS in the study were “pushed” by the perceived higher value of a foreign qualification and family encouragements. In terms of pull factors, they were attracted to choose Vietnam as the host country most observably due to scholarship opportunities. However other pull factors were also significant, especially the lack of certain skills in home countries and its congruence with Vietnam’s competitive strength in offering courses for those skills. In retrospect, the participants expressed a sense of optimism, though there was also certain reservation.Research limitations/implicationsThe small sample restrict the generalisability of the findings.Practical implicationsAs an exploratory study, the findings can lay the ground for largerscale studies investigating CLS mobility in Vietnam and be employed for inbound student mobility policymaking reference for HEIs in Vietnam as well as in other developing countries.Originality/valueThis study investigates why Cambodian and Laotian international students decide to go to Vietnam, a developing country in the lesser-known part of international student mobility landscape. This is a topic that remains under-researched in the Asia-bound student mobility literature. Insights from the study can not only contribute to the scholarly gap but also offer implications for HEIs in Vietnam and other Asian countries.

Harmonising traditions and modernity: Exploring the characteristics of healthy working environments in Mekong delta higher education institutions in Vietnam

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the characteristics defining a healthy working environment within higher education institutions in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, emphasizing the interplay of regional cultural, historical, and natural elements. The study employed a Social Constructivist Framework, Symbolic Interactionism, and the Phenomenological Approach to interpret findings from semi-structured interviews with five leaders from two institutions. These methodologies facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the institutional leaders’ perspectives on the elements integral to a thriving academic setting. The findings revealed several key themes: the significance of interpersonal relationships and mutual respect; the importance of continuous professional development; the role of institutional transparency and open communication; an emphasis on cultural and historical reverence; and a unique relationship between the institution and the natural environment of the Mekong Delta. These insights contribute to the global discourse on academic environments, highlighting the universality of certain educational values while underscoring the importance of context-specific factors. The study’s practical implications suggest the need for future research to further investigate these themes, aiming to enhance our understanding of healthy academic settings in diverse cultural and geographical contexts.

Learners’ Feedback in Quality Improvement at VNU National Defense and Security Training Center

Learners’ feedback is a common method used in higher education institutions, and is an effective tool in evaluating, adjusting and improving educational quality. By now, taking feedback from learners has become mandatory for higher education institutions in Vietnam and many countries around the world. For VNU National Defense and Security Training Center, its specific and distinctive training gives the tasks of taking feedback from learners its own specificity. Every course and year, the Center organizes feedback collection in different forms, amongst which the form of direct dialogue between the Center's leaders and the representatives of learners is carried out as required part of internal procedure in the unit, so as to promptly improving the quality of activities. The survey results showed 95.2% of the respondents answered that they were polled during their study at the Center; 98% of learners thought that feedback was well received and resolved satisfactorily; 100% of staff and lecturers think that the feedback of learners has a positive effect in improving the quality of activities at the Center. The survey results also show that there are still some tasks not well carried out, such asS not having a scientific questionnaire system, not having a rich form of feedback, not effectively using statistical and analysis tools, feedback and the use of feedback are not systematic and scientific, there has not been an evaluation of the effectiveness of feedback processing, whereby quality improvement has not been highly effective, requiring the Center to need further research and improvement.

DESIGNING INTERNSHIPS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL SKILLS OF AGRICULTURAL STUDENTS IN VIETNAM

To prepare citizens for the digital era, the Vietnamese government has issued guidance for higher institutions to play a vital role in cultivating digital skills. However, these institutions face challenges due to limited digital technology capacity, resulting in inadequate skill development. To address this, they collaborate with industries through internships to provide students with opportunities to enhance their digital skills in real work settings. Nonetheless, the strategies that higher institutions have implemented in designing internships for the development of students' digital skills are questionable to the public. Hence, this study aimed to explore the educational strategies implemented by higher education institutions in Vietnam to design internships that enhance learners' digital skills. Using a qualitative approach, primary data was collected through interviews with six policymakers from a higher institution in southern Vietnam, and additional data was gathered from documents related to internship and curriculum designs. Thematic analysis of the data revealed several strategies implemented in internship design, including curriculum design, pre-internship preparation, stakeholder regulations during internships, and evaluation actions. These strategies were identified as major themes for effective internship designs and the development of students' digital skills. The study also suggests various applications for multiple stakeholders and highlights the need for further research in this area. Keywords: designing internships, development of digital skills, agricultural students, Vietnam

Entrepreneurial education and intention: fear of failure, self-efficacy and gender

PurposeThis research adopts the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and a moderated mediation model to investigate the moderating impacts of entrepreneurial fear of failure (FOF) and gender on the direct and mediation relationships between entrepreneurial education (EE), entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and entrepreneurial intention (EI).Design/methodology/approachThe authors utilized a three-phase random sampling to compile a dataset from 1,890 graduate students from nine universities and higher education institutions in Vietnam. Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis results showed that the key study variables were reliable and valid. Harman's single-factor method and other tests of analysis assumptions ruled out common method bias and other confounding factors. The authors utilized the PROCESS macro to test a hypothesized moderated mediation model that included direct, indirect and conditional indirect effects.FindingsThe findings yield that ESE partially and positively mediates the relation between EE and EI. FOF was found to negatively moderate the impacts of EE on ESE and EI, and the direct effect of ESE on EI among females is stronger than among males. More importantly, the mediation influence of FOF on the linkage between EE and EI becomes weaker when the level of FOF is high, yet this mediation relationship among females is higher than among males at all levels of FOF.Practical implicationsThe results of this research are valuable for educators, policymakers and practitioners so that they may inspire individuals' entrepreneurial pursuits, especially those of female entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThis study significantly contributes to the entrepreneurship and gender literature by applying the SCCT to elucidate the moderated mediation impacts of FOF, ESE and gender on the relationship between EE and EI.

Competencies of the Team of Department Head At Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam in The Context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0

Competencies of the Team of Department Head At Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam in The Context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0

The interplay between internal communication, employee engagement, job satisfaction, and employee loyalty in higher education institutions in Vietnam

The present study examines the roles of internal communication (IC), job engagement (JE), organisation engagement (OE) and job satisfaction (JS) in producing employee loyalty (EL) based on the social exchange theory. This study employed an online questionnaire-based survey design to collect data from 255 respondents from higher education institutions (HEIs) in Binh Duong province using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Data analyses and hypothesis testing were carried out using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings show that all relationships are significantly validated, except for the JE-JS relationship. Our work is the first to investigate employee loyalty in the HEI context of an emerging economy such as Vietnam by incorporating internal communication, employee engagement (including job and organisation engagement) and job satisfaction to develop and validate a research model for the study. This study is expected to contribute to the theory and advance our understanding of different mechanisms that job engagement, organisation engagement and job satisfaction can play in the relationship between internal communication and employee loyalty.

RESEARCH ON EFL STUDENTS’ AWARENESS AND PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE UTILIZATION OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN VIETNAM

The adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education has been extensively studied worldwide, but there is a lack of research on OER awareness and usage among university students in Vietnam. This study used both quantitative and qualitative approaches to investigate students' awareness of OER and their perceived benefits and challenges when using OER materials. Participants were students in the English Language Teaching Program at UD-UFLS, who were randomly selected to participate in semi-structured interviews through focus groups. The study collected data from 80 questionnaire responses and interview transcripts. Marcus's Theory of Technology Adoption provided a framework for the investigation of OER use. The study identified several benefits of OER utilization, including increased access to materials, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and autonomy in learning. However, limited knowledge of OER and a lack of support from faculty were identified as barriers to the use of OER among students at UD-UFLS. The results of this study can inform stakeholders about the potential benefits of OER and encourage the promotion of OER in higher education institutions in Vietnam, including UD-UFLS.

English and French-major students’ suggestions on extracurricular activities for English learning: A case in the Mekong Delta

Purpose: Extracurricular activities (ECA) are encouraged by education stakeholders in Vietnam to contribute to improving the English ability of Vietnamese people. At universities, ECA is organized quite a lot, but there is a lack of consultation from students. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the English and French majors’ preferred ECA for English learning.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: This study involved 151 students from two groups of students majoring in foreign languages, English and French. A questionnaire was used to gather the students’ perspectives on how to implement ECA for English language learning.
 Findings: The results showed that most students favored experiential travel to places where English is used frequently to help them improve their oral skills. However, the students were not interested in multi-day activities, mandatory-participation policies, individual activities, or online-organized events.
 Conclusion: The research results suggest ideas for organizing ECA for English learning for students majoring in French and English.
 Practical implications: The research team proposed a specific tourism simulation activity in this paper based on the results, which can be a useable source for further ECA for English learning organized in the context of higher education institutions in Vietnam and elsewhere.
 Limitations: This study focused on students majoring in foreign languages, so its applicability to non-foreign language-major students is limited. Further studies in this field should focus on gathering perspectives from non-foreign-language majors.
 Contribution to literature: The literature on ECA for English learning has not yet received adequate attention. Therefore, this study contributes to the relevant literature and suggests significant topics for future research.

Legal Framework on Financial Activities of Private Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam

Under Vietnam law, the owners of private higher education institutions (“PHEIs”) established by Vietnamese or foreign investors with the purpose of providing educational services plays a crucial role in the “socialization of education sector” policy. The rules and regulations of Vietnam law are incomplete, inconsistent, ambiguous and cannot provide adequate protection for investors, education services users, and have not been able to create a safe environment for PHEIs to efficiently and stably operate in. Thus, it is necessary to continue with the research for sufficient rationales on the basis of practicality to establish this area of law. The contents of this article shall lay down the characteristics of PHEIs and their financial activities; regulations on the establishment, owner’s capital management, revenue collection, expenditures and profit distribution at PHEIs. This article also provides insights and recommendations to further finalize the legal framework on the financial activities of PHEIs in Vietnam.

BUILDING CRITERIAS FOR ASSESSING OF BLENDED LEARNING AT UNIVERSITIES IN VIETNAM

Blended Learning is the integration of traditional face-to-face learning and distance learning (E-learning). Throughout Blended Learning, instructors will give some clear parts of instructions on a part of their lesson, students will do online work without the lecturers for the rest. Students are likely to become active and understand new concepts more easily than passively acquire knowledge in traditional classrooms. Higher education institutions have a large number of suitable characteristics to deploy Blended Learning, such as the understanding of learners in information and technology, high-quality professors, and easy access to technology. The characteristics of economic science subjects are sociality, advisable communication, reading documents, videos, multiple choices, and analysis question(s). Moreover, the features of majors in higher education are more highly appreciated with Blended learning. Blended Learning makes these majors more effective in learning and teaching. These days, although E-learning develops drastically, with some problems with the insight of Vietnam’s educational condition, reverse classes have proved the corresponding in building a great environment that helps this method to be dominant. This study comes up with building integration of evaluation teaching scale at higher education institutions in Vietnam, according to the example of Blended Learning, in response to the process of teaching. This scale with criterias about Blended learning set the targets to evaluate the effectiveness and the ability of far-reaching of this teaching method at higher education institutions in Vietnam. This scale is tested and checked for reliability to be applied in the next research.

TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS LANDSCAPE IN VIETNAM: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Higher education institutions in different countries around the world have adopted a variety of sustainability strategies in their policies, management, and scholarly activities. However, the campus landscape has not been explored to promote sustainability. To address this gap, this paper provides a systematic and comprehensive review of the literature on the sustainable campus landscape. The various aspects outlined in this research can be used as a reference for building a sustainable campus landscape for higher education institutions in Vietnam. The results of the study indicate that a sustainable campus landscape must be expressed through five aspects including (1) Enhancing ecological functions in urban areas, (2) Promoting sustainability of landscape and habitats, (3) Supporting the educational and experiential activities, (4) Enhancing physical and mental health for people, (5) Preserving and promoting historical cultural values. As a case study, Vietnam needs a change in cognition to foster innovation toward building a more sustainable campus landscape in higher education institutions in the future. Approaches are suitable for Vietnam include (1) Taking educational goals as a premise, (2) Taking people as the center, (3) Taking sustainable ecology as the foundation, (4) Taking science and technology as the mainstay, (5) Taking culture, history, and aesthetics as the identity.

Attracting international students to a developing Asian country: Push–pull factors for a niche market, the case of a Vietnamese higher education institution

Student mobility has become a global phenomenon with an upward trend in the past two decades, and Asian countries are becoming important receiving countries. Such phenomenon has been increasingly investigated producing a growing body of literature on Asia-bound international student mobility. However, while some countries stand in the spotlight of international student scholarship, other lesser known destinations remain underrepresented. This article provides an exploratory effort to examine factors that attract international students to Vietnam, a country which has not been visible on international student mobility landscape as a receiving destination. The study employs push–pull factors framework and a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods (n = 94) to examine the push–pull factors that influence the decision of international students to choose Vietnam as the destination country and a Vietnamese higher education institution as host institution. Research findings show that major push factors include aspirations for new experiences, home country economic outlook and pessimistic job prospects at home. Regarding pull factors, at national level, bright economic prospect is the top pull factor attracting international students to a developing country like Vietnam, and at institutional level, the university’s reputation and its Vietnamese Studies and language programmes are the most important pull factors attracting international students to the university to study. Based on the research results, recommendations are proposed for higher education institutions in Vietnam and other developing Asian countries to attract international students with implications against the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign Lecturers Management in Higher Education Institutions: International Experiences and Suggestions

By reviewing previous studies on foreign lecturers and foreign lecturers management, this paper aims at exploring experiences in managing foreign lecturers from an international perspective, which can be applied to higher education institutions (HEIs) in Vietnam. These experiences are expected to attract more foreign lecturers and utilize them successfully, which in turn improves the quality of training, scientific research and international integration of HEIs in Vietnam. To accomplish these purposes, this study has used the method of reviewing documents related to foreign lecturers and managing foreign lecturers. The results of this article demonstrate increasingly important roles of foreign lecturers in HEIs, the diverse difficulties they encounter when working there, as well as various factors motivating them to come to these institutions. By summarizing the experiences of managing foreign lecturers in reviewing countries, the article proposes some policy suggestions and solutions for managing foreign lecturers in HEIs in Vietnam.

The Role of Digital Education in Narrowing the Gender Digital Divide in Vietnam

This paper introduces some perspectives on digital education in Vietnam and also highlights the important role of local people participating in the fourth industrial revolution. The digital revolution has emerged, expanded rapidly, and is making enormous changes in government, the economy, and social life globally and also in Vietnam. An independent survey of 1,229 students in eight universities was undertaken in April and May of the 2021 in five different regions/areas of Vietnam. This research study introduces several core elements of students’ awareness with regards to digital education in relation to face-to-face education in Vietnam during the current period. This paper addresses the current models of online education that have been applied before and during the pandemic. It focuses on analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of digital education in relation to face-to-face education among regions, particularly between urban and rural areas. Combining quantitative and qualitative research methods, the study also considers gender differences in digital education and the research results show that there is no big digital gender divide in access, use, and motivation between female and male students. Recommendations for policy makers and educators are made to further improve a systematic and strong digital education for higher education institutions in Vietnam. Received 24th August 2021; Revised 2nd January 2022; Accepted 20th March 2021

Assessment of the Level of Accountability in the Context of the Development of Autonomy of Public Universities in Vietnam

The purpose of the study was the development of a methodological approach to assessing the subordination of the level of honor and autonomy of universities in Vietnam. Methodology: a survey aimed at assessing the level of perception of respondents about the need to carry out accountable activities and assessing the real level of accountability of the studied universities in Vietnam. The survey included 559 managers and 448 teachers from 5 public universities in Vietnam. Correlation analysis of statistical data processing to empirically assess the density and nature of the relationship between the level of perception of need and the actual level of accountability of Vietnamese universities. Main Findings: the Vietnamese universities under study are characterized by an average level of actual accountability, which does not contribute to the effective development of their autonomy in modern conditions. Given that the level of perception of the need for accountability by university personnel and its actual level of implementation have a direct subordinate relationship, it seems necessary to introduce effective mechanisms of accountability based on the motivation of personnel of higher education institutions in Vietnam. Applications of this Study: the results of this research study will be useful to the government authorities of Vietnam, as well as the administration of educational institutions for the development and practical implementation of an effective strategy for increasing the autonomy of institutions of the higher education system in Vietnam, as a factor in the optimal ratio of state and market mechanisms in achieving socio-economic progress. Novelty/Originality of this Study: The authors empirically determined the level of perception and actual accountability of universities in Vietnam, as well as quantitatively substantiated the qualitative parameters of their interaction in the process of developing the autonomy of higher educational institutions.

Economic efficiency of higher education institutions in Vietnam between 2012 and 2016: a DEA analysis

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the economic efficiency of Vietnamese 172 higher education (HE) institutions within the 2012–2016 inclusive period through the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. The authors also compare public and private, multidisciplinary and mono-disciplinary, non-autonomy and autonomy, non-international and international HE Institutions’ efficiency.Design/methodology/approachThis study derived from an unique dataset from the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) of Vietnam. The data set comprises financial and academic annual reports of higher education institutions (HEIs). The authors achieved totally 204 Vietnamese HEIs, and the sample for analysis is 172 after the elimination of missing units, accounting for 84.3% entire of Vietnamese HEIs. The authors estimate the efficiency scores relying on these selected inputs and outputs by using the DEA method.FindingsOverall, HEIs in Vietnam decreased their operational efficiency during the 2012–2016. It also seems that public universities operate in the absence of market mechanism so that they tend to be less efficient than their counterparts in private sector. Based on our analysis, the authors observe that the HEIs including the international programmes have higher efficiency scores rather than these without international programmes.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the theoretical aspects as follows. First, it enriches the existent efficiency literature on HE using the DEA approach. This stands out among similar studies in Vietnam in terms of duration (from 2012–2016) and data size (172 entities). Second, the research is the first to examine HEIs in terms of disciplinary (mono or multi-disciplinary) and autonomy (autonomous and non-autonomous), internalization (international programmes). These aspects have been silent in previous studies of HEIs in Vietnam.