Vietnamese Higher Education At A Crossroads

Vietnam is a country on the move. Yet contemporary Vietnam's education system is at a crossroads. Rapid economic growth has permitted rapid increases in the scale and scope of formal schooling, but there is a prevailing sense that the current education system is inadequate to the country’s needs. Sunny assessments of Vietnam's “achievements” in the sphere of education have given way to a realization that the country lacks skilled workers. Some have even spoken of an "education crisis". These are not abstract concerns. What is occurring in Vietnam's education system today has broad implications for the country’s social, political, economic, and cultural development. Featuring contributions from scholars and policy analysts from within and outside Vietnam, Education in Vietnam addresses key issues pertaining to the political economy of education, the provision and payment for primary and secondary education, and the development of vocational and tertiary education. The book marks an important contribution to existing understandings of Vietnam’s education system and contributes to broader understandings of social conditions and change in contemporary Vietnam.

This book addresses the issue of graduate employability (GE) within the changing context of contemporary Vietnam. GE has become a highly topical and contested issue in Vietnam. Employers report that university students are not suitably prepared for work, and universities are often criticised for their poor commitment to developing student employability assets. However, it is suggested that enhancing GE in Vietnam involves many factors that are often underplayed in the general literature. In the Vietnamese context, both the education system and the economy remain relatively underdeveloped; students are schooled to be passive learners; and corrupt employment practices remain rife. Moreover, Confucian cultural features of face saving, hierarchical order in decision making, and the role of rumour and hearsay in a collectivist culture each play an important part in the different ways university graduates negotiate their transition to employment. Thus, in order to enhance the development of GE in Vietnam, all related stakeholders need opportunities to collaborate so that a mutual understanding of the problem is arrived at and feasible solutions are developed and implemented.

Vietnam is a dynamic member of the community of Southeast Asian nations. Consistent with aspirations across the region, it is seeking to develop its higher education system as rapidly as possible. Vietnam’s approach stands out, however, as being extremely ambitious. Indeed, it may be at risk of attempting to do too much too quickly. By 2020, for example, Vietnam expects its higher education system to be advanced by modern standards and highly competitive in international terms. This vision faces many challenges. The economy, though growing rapidly, remains reliant on the availability of unskilled labour and the exploitation of natural resources, and decision making in many areas of public life continues to be hamstrung by a legacy of over-regulation and centralised control. A large number of goals and objectives have been set for reform of the higher education system by 2020. The success of these reforms will have a major bearing on the future quality of the system. This sober assessment Vietnam’s global competitiveness forms a backdrop to the subject matter of this book, that is, the state of Vietnam’s higher education system. The book provides a comprehensive and scholarly review of various dimensions of the higher education system in Vietnam, including its recent history, its structure and governance, its teaching and learning culture, its research and research commercialisation environment, its socio-economic impact, its strategic planning processes, its progress with quality accreditation, and its experience of internationalisation and privatisation.

Located within the global changing contexts of higher education in the 21st century, this book examines the reform of the teaching and learning practices in Vietnamese universities under the Higher Education Reform Agenda and the influence of internationalization on the higher education sector. Specifically, it analyses the motives, current implementation, effectiveness, and challenges of these reforms, especially from student perspectives. Analyzing approximately 4300 survey responses and interviews with students, the book covers a range of key issues related to teaching and learning in higher education which have attracted attention in recent years, including: The learning environment Student support and first-year transition Student-centred teaching The use of credit-based curricula The use of information and communication technology At-home internationalization of higher education Assessment and feedback Work placements Informal learning via extra curricular activities Students’ perception of the values of university education.

This book deepens readers’ conceptual understanding of and provides practical insights into Vietnam’s higher education reforms. Globalisation has had profound impacts on higher education worldwide, creating transnational linkages and junctures, as well as disjunctures. At the same time, it has generated fluidities, hybridities and mobilities. Within the postcolonial context of Vietnam, it is imperative to identify the unique global traits that characterise the Vietnamese higher education system. The book focuses specifically on key aspects of culture and values that are decisive to the reform of Vietnamese higher education under the forces of globalisation. It critically examines how global forces have shaped and reshaped Vietnam’s higher education landscape. At the same time, the book explores local demands on Vietnamese higher education, and deciphers how higher education institutions are responding to globalisation, internationalisation and local demands. Based on empirical research, theoretical approaches and the experiences of researchers from Vietnam and overseas, it addresses critical perspectives on the aspects fundamental to the reform of Vietnamese higher education and outlines viable paths for the future.

This book focuses on models, strengths, opportunities, constraints and tensions in internationalisation in Vietnamese higher education. It reflects on key concepts from contemporary theories and models of internationalisation and discusses the implications for innovation, flexibility and responsiveness to local needs in Vietnam. Based on empirical research, theoretical knowledge and the experiences of researchers from Vietnam and overseas, the book draws out the distinctiveness and complexity of internationalisation practices and charts a way forward. It examines the key drivers and dimensions of internationalising Vietnamese higher education, and compares internationalisation in Vietnam to that in other countries. It clarifies and discusses tensions related to the appropriation of ‘Western’ internationalisation practice and models, and neo-liberal ideologies, to the local context of Vietnam. It provides readers with insights into government policy, quality assurance and benchmarking strategies, curriculum, the impact of international organisations on higher education, international student mobility, transnational education, employability, brain drain and brain gain and brain circulation.

Higher and tertiary education are crucial to modern nations. Vietnam has great potential, but its universities and colleges are poor-performing, under-funded and slow to change compared to those in neighbouring East Asian nations. This book analyses the problem and provides constructive solutions for the reform of higher education.

"Pulsating with energy and steeped in dreams." Vietnam stands at a crossroads. Located in the geographical center of Southeast Asia, Vietnam is a complex mixture of the ancient and the modern. A Soviet-style legacy contrasts with an emerging Western-style market economy. Vietnam is faced with pressing political, social and economic challenges, and yet it is full of hope and potential. Here is a first look at Vietnam in the twenty-first century, a nation undergoing rapid change and opening up to the world. Dr. Mark Ashwill paints a broad picture of Vietnam, past and present, and explores today's defining issues. Readers come to understand how a two-thousand-year history of foreign invasion, occupation and war has deeply influenced the Vietnamese character. The Chinese, French and U.S. Americans have all left their imprint. Yet the struggle against oppression has infused the Vietnamese with a fierce spirit of nationalism and caution in their dealings with foreigners. Building relationships and trust as a prelude to doing business are critical to the Vietnamese, whether at home or abroad. Vietnam Today reveals the most prominent characteristics of the Vietnamese: their energy and drive, the dominance of group over individual and the paramount importance of maintaining harmony. In doing so, Ashwill and his Vietnamese contributor shed light on many sources of misunderstanding between Vietnamese and Western professionals. But for those who are prepared to take the time to get to know the people, to move at their pace, and to learn about their culture and history, Vietnam can be a land of promise and opportunity.