Higher education teacher training program in Vietnam – Why researching

Vietnam higher education – an overview

Vietnam has a long tradition of higher education, dating back in 1076, the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam) became one of the oldest universities in Southeast Asia. Its long history of higher education was marked with the influence of the Confucian norms during the Chinese one-thousand-year dominance under the feudal period. Western influence on its higher education system was also strong during the French colonial period, the separation of the country during 1945-1975, with the Soviet influence in the North and

Conceptual Changes in Higher Education Teaching and Learning in Vietnam

26 the US influence in the South of the country. When the country became independent and unified, it underwent a crisis with the centralised economy policy and education suffered a period of underdevelopment. In 1986 the Doi Moi (Revolution) policy revitalised the country’s economy and reforms in education took place. A fairly complete higher education system was progressed and higher education management, government and its finance were realised as important challenges that need addressing. Privatization of the higher education system was believed to help reduce the burden of the state budget and widening access to higher education system and started to expand. Contemporary private higher education in Vietnam has experienced almost three decades of development featured by an impressively rapid expansion in the 2000s, as a response to economic demand for highly educated workforce. However, issues of governance and policy are putting their existence at its edge and affecting its learning and teaching quality (Nguyen, 2015). Other forms of partnership or foreign higher education institutions started to find its success and popularity in Vietnam but the questions of its success and sustainability are still debated (Tran et al., 2014). MOET introduced the normative Higher Education Law (which came into effect since 2013), and proposed education development strategy (higher education is included) to 2020. Decision 37/QĐ-TTg (26/06/2013) on the adjustment of planning universities and colleges network to 2020 was added together with important modifications of higher education law. The country is experiencing a period of constant changes in both its economy and educational development as a result of globalisation. Its higher education system is unique, judged from the influence of historical development and measures to effectively respond to the uniqueness of its higher education are proposed, both to deal with the challenges and take advantage of its uniqueness.

Higher education reforms

The Doi Moi policy and reforms in higher education have been reported to have significantly changed Vietnamese higher education in positive ways, but at the same time left numerous challenges for the country. Higher education reform is taking place in Vietnam in the context of the country facing opportunities and challenges under the influence of globalisation and the market-driven knowledge economy. Unlike some other Asian countries (such as China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore), where the Confucian model of higher education promises great achievements in university quality due to strong nation-state structures, funding and priorities, universal participation and accelerated public investment, Vietnam is considered an exception (Marginson, 2011). Policy problems in higher education are yet to be addressed

Conceptual Changes in Higher Education Teaching and Learning in Vietnam

27 (Harman, Hayden, & Pham, 2010). Internal efficiency and the quality of teaching and learning in higher education in Vietnam remains a challenge and some reform plans introduced have produced poor outcomes (Dao, 2015; Harman et al., 2010). Modernisation in higher education has just started recently and research languishes (Marginson, 2011). The country’s higher education system is highly centralized in management and governance, and even in curriculum (Dao, 2015; Dao & Hayden, 2010; Phan, Lupton & Watters, 2016; Tran, Le & Nguyen, 2014;). Decentralisation and greater autonomy would be one solution in the process of modernisation of higher education in Vietnam (Dao & Hayden, 2010; Tran et al., 2014;) but the transition to autonomy is ongoing and students’ voices in curriculum construction continue to be unheard (Phan et al., 2016). Assessment in higher education has often been designed to test students’ knowledge and their rote memory and reproduction of knowledge, rather than challenging their capacity to analyse situations and develop creativity (Nguyen, 2012). Contemporary higher education is concerned with behaviourist theory, cognitive constructivist approaches, social and situated learning (Steward, 2012, as cited in Tran et al., 2014), focusing on student-centred approach but the most popular form of pedagogy in higher education in Vietnam is the traditional transmission of knowledge, with teachers considered as the knowledge transmitters (Tran et al., 2014). Both the curriculum and pedagogy of Vietnamese higher education therefore are out of tune with current educational developments of the rest of the world, and seem to be experiencing crucial paradoxes that need to be addressed. Research recently undertaken by a Vietnamese higher education institution found that the understanding of curriculum was predominantly “product focused, teacher focused and textbook driven” (Phan et al., 2016, p. 1).

Recent years, however, have seen the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET)’s determination to reform higher education. MOET is attempting to reform curriculum in higher education into a more responsive credit-based curriculum (National Assembly, 2012) and is reforming pedagogy with a focus on shifting towards a student-centred approach (Pham, 2012) to promote active learning and creative thinkers to respond to social demands and market needs. Under the new credit-based curriculum reform, students are expected to be autonomous, responsible for their learning pathways. In addition, MOET has started to allow the establishment of privatised higher education, and international and transnational higher education. A lack of highly qualified higher education teachers, however, has been reported to be a chronic problem of non-public higher education institutions, and could pose serious threats to quality standards of the entire higher education system (Dao & Hayden, 2010). The

Conceptual Changes in Higher Education Teaching and Learning in Vietnam

28 practices of international cooperation and transnational education activities in higher education, although dynamic and growing fast, need long-term strategic plans, and systematic monitoring and evaluation (Tran, Marginson, & Nguyen, 2014). The newly introduced credit- based curriculum has caused potential issues due to the lack of professional development and quality assurance, insufficient research on innovative pedagogies, and limited facilities (Tran et al., 2014).

Despite those inherent issues, higher education in Vietnam is still undergoing strong reform, especially of the curriculum in a way that better satisfies labour markets and social demands (Pham & Tran, 2013; Tran, 2012). The commitment of the government to reform the higher education system is reflected in a few government documents (Resolution 14/2005/NQ_CP or the Vietnamese Higher Education Law, June 2012). The government promulgated Resolution 14 on the reform for higher education of the country 2006-2020 (Higher Education Reform Agenda, HERA), addressing a vision for higher education until 2020. By 2013, there were 203 universities and 215 colleges across Vietnam and the number is increasing rapidly, and it is projected that by 2020 the enrolment rates will be 450 students per 10,000 people. In the HERA document, it was forecast that by 2020, Vietnamese higher education will be advanced to international standards, highly competitive, and appropriate to the socialist-oriented market mechanism (Pham, 2010).

Compulsory higher education teacher training program

The pressure on higher education institutions to employ teachers and improve their quality of teaching and learning was great because higher education is considered the key pillar in producing skilled personnel to promote the country’s development. Transforming teachers’ pedagogy into a student-centred approach and enhancing students’ employability became a central issue. Guidelines on standards for higher education teachers were suggested (Circular 06/2011/TTLT-BNV-BGDĐT) and those standards are considered an impetus for higher education teachers to improve their professional practice and act as a guideline for Rectors and Department Heads to recruit, monitor and evaluate teachers’ outcomes. In Decision 61/2007/QĐ-BGDĐT, it is stated that a pedagogical training certificate must be the first requirement of a higher education teacher, together with their disciplinary degree. The main aim of the program is to enhance teachers’ pedagogy and improve quality of teaching staff of universities, colleges in the context of industrialisation, modernisation and international integration (Decision No. 61/2007/QĐ-BGDĐT).

Conceptual Changes in Higher Education Teaching and Learning in Vietnam

29 The expansion of higher education institutions, including private institutions, in Vietnam has led to the need for an increasing number of higher education teachers. Therefore, the Minister of Education and Training made a few modifications to the original program (2007). The new program (2013) is now open to in-service teachers as well as prospective higher education teachers who are either graduates or professionals in other fields. The main aim of the program is still based on pedagogical knowledge and skills, providing professional pedagogical knowledge and skills to those who do not have a background in education but are aspiring to become higher education teachers (Circular 12/TT-BGDĐT, 2013). For those who have already been employed by a higher education institution, it is important that they are sent to this training program as soon as possible. The program certificate cannot guarantee participants’ future tenure or promotion within their departments, but participating in the program for in-service higher education teachers is still strongly encouraged by their departments.

The official program curriculum (Circular 12/2013/TT-BGDĐT) states that the program aims to improve participants’ pedagogical knowledge and skills in higher education. A strong focus of the program on pedagogical knowledge and skills, and teaching practice manifests well the expectation from MOET to improve participants’ teaching practice. However, no explicit expectations on the conceptual change about teaching are stated. Apparently, MOET aims at changing the teaching practice of participants by arranging modules which build up knowledge and skills related to teaching in higher education, without considering what beliefs participants were holding before commencing the program. Considering the importance of measuring program participants’ conceptual change (discussed in 2.1.4), researching higher education teachers’ conceptual change will be helpful to reflect on the compulsory higher education teacher training policy in Vietnamese context.