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The Standard of Quality for HEIs in Vietnam: A step in the right direction?
Quality Assurance in Education
Abstract
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the Standard of Quality for higher education institutions in Vietnam which was developed in response to an urgent call for a fundamental reform to enhance the quality of educational provision, particularly of teaching and learning.
Design/methodology/approach
– The standard and some related legislative documents such as the Education Act 2005 and the national curriculum frameworks are critically reviewed against a student‐centred approach in education, the theory of constructive alignment, and definitions of quality. In addition, the experiences of the second author, who was involved in the first phase of the Accreditation Program, proved to be invaluable in shedding light onto the evaluative criteria proposed in the standard.
Findings
– While the establishment and development of the standard have been welcomed as the right step in addressing quality‐related concerns across the sector, its evaluative criteria do not appear to point in the right direction. Throughout the standard, criteria on outcomes of student learning are not given due priority. Owing to the lack of emphasis on the presence of students and their learning – core components in any educational activities – it seems less likely that implementation of this standard will lead to radical changes towards a student‐centred approach in teaching and learning.
Originality/value
– Analysis presented in the paper lends itself to examination of the decision making process concerned with quality assurance and its implementation. Lessons learned from Vietnam in this quality assurance exercise may be useful for countries seeking to adopt a similar approach.
... Though the context of this study is Indian HEIs, its findings would apply to HEIs across the globe because the accreditation of HEIs is a widely followed practice the world over: see Suchanek et al. (2012) in Germany, Tran et al. (2011) in Vietnam, Stura et al. (2019) in Italy, Jaber and Al Batsh (2016) in Jordan, Ordonez and Ordonez (2009) in the Philippines, Jolly and Mahieu (2016) in France, Almarghani and Mijatovic (2017) in Libya, Crick et al. (2020) in the UK, Cheng (2015) in Taiwan and the USA and Augusti (2005) in Europe. This paper presents unique information about a large number of HEIs slipping on their accreditation scores in the third cycle of accreditation. ...
... It also analyzes the causes for this slippage and offers suggestions. Accreditation is a global concept (Suchanek et al., 2012;Tran et al., 2011, and many others, as cited in the preceding paragraph) related to quality assurance, and hence, this article is a warning to HEIs to avoid complacency. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sustenance of quality over the long run by higher education institutions (HEIs) as measured by the accreditation scores in two consecutive five-year cycles of accreditation, which is a global quality practice. It also aimed to uncover the causes of the decline in the quality performance of the majority of HEIs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyzed 481 Indian HEIs based on their accreditation scores for the second and third cycles of assessment by the apex agency, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. Given the alarming results, the authors investigated the matter further. Possible causes for the lack of quality sustenance on the part of Indian HEIs were ascertained.
Findings
While 161 HEIs showed improvement, 320 showed a decline in the accreditation scores. Indian HEIs are on a slippery slope in dealing with quality. This survey of a sample of 248 out of 481 institutions showed that much remains to be done by the Internal Quality Assurance Cells. The lack of institutionalization of quality is a major concern. Findings of this study have implications for HEIs across the globe who want to be assured of quality on a sustained basis.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its kind to look into drops in quality among HEIs that have been in a quality environment for more than 10 years. It warns institutions to guard against quality complacency to sustain quality in the long run.
... University A did not have the freedom to steer themselves in terms of institutional autonomy as defined by Askling, Bauer, and Marton (1999). For example, TEIs in Vietnam rely heavily on MoET's annual enrolment quota (Tran, Nguyen, & Nguyen, 2011). This lack of autonomy is also due to the MoET's role in determining programmes which (Tran et al., 2011) referred to as "close-to-absolute power." ...
... For example, TEIs in Vietnam rely heavily on MoET's annual enrolment quota (Tran, Nguyen, & Nguyen, 2011). This lack of autonomy is also due to the MoET's role in determining programmes which (Tran et al., 2011) referred to as "close-to-absolute power." The institution was not granted full autonomy for designing their programmes. ...
Building a quality culture in each institution has been encouraged by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) along with the introduction of new approach to higher education, quality assurance and accreditation nearly 15 years ago. This article attempts to report one case of a multiple case study research that examines quality culture in Vietnamese higher education. Data collection methods include documentation and in-depth interviews with three groups of participants: academic leaders, academics, and quality assurance (QA) staff. Data were analysed for patterns and themes. Fourteen participants from a university volunteered to take part in this research. The findings show that the faculty under investigation traditionally assured higher education quality under a centralist mechanism. As a result, it has limited autonomy and compliant accountability of limited bottom-up engagement with decision-making processes. The faculty was found to have characteristics of a reactive quality culture.
... Globally, there is consensus that provision of quality education is key for economic development. Generally, it is accepted that there is positive correlation between the provision of quality education and the quality of teacher education products (Bane et al 2005, Borrego & Cutter 2010, Muhammet & Sangoz 2018, Rust 2002, Tran et al 2010, and Wang et al 2011. ...
... Drawing on the constructive alignment framework, this paper assesses the usefulness of the teacher education curricular that churns out curriculum implementers of science education in the primary school curriculum as enunciated in the national goals (Biggs 2001, Sasaki 2018, Vera Cruz 2018, Walsh 2007, Wang et al 2013, Wijngaards-de Meij & Merx 2018). The constructive alignment framework (CA), a brainchild of Biggs is an integrative concept that places more emphasis on the intended learning outcomes, teaching & learning activities and assessment tasks(Biggs & Tang 2007, Tran et al 2010, Wang et al 2013, Walsh 2007). Biggs' framework is hinged on Tyler's (1949) argument that "learning takes place through active behaviour of the student: it is through what he does that he learns not what the teacher does." ...
Globally, it has been difficult to synchronize curricular in cases where two separate ministries of education and higher education exist. The ministry of higher education spearheads human capital development for the nation’s multisector demands while the education sector is just a single sector. Often times aligning the needs of the education sector together with those of the education sector has been difficult. This paper explores skills needed by post O’ Level pre-service student teachers so as to fully service the primary school science and technology curriculum (PSSTC). It also examines the effectiveness of primary teacher education science and technology curriculum (PTESTC) in facilitating the acquisition of the needed skills. The major argument of this paper is that successful curriculum implementation is dependent on alignment of teacher education with primary and secondary school programmes. Using the multistage designs sampling technique two colleges from a target of eleven primary teachers’ colleges were selected. Convenience sampling was used to select two colleges while snowball sampling was done to select the lecturers for interviews in the two colleges who are involved in the teaching of Science and Technology Professional Studies Syllabus B. For triangulation purposes, analytical rubrics were also used to analyse clarity of policy, the organization of content and the relevance of pedagogical approaches used in teacher education. Through juxtaposing PTESTC against PSSTC, this paper contributes towards addressing the alignment gaps that exist. The findings were that instead of having a synchronized approach, the PTESTC is diverging from PSSTC. The teaching approaches used in PTESTC do not add value to primary school science and technology teaching. The study also found out that no science and technology content is taught in Science and Technology Professional Studies Syllabus B and student teachers do not develop positive attitudes and responsible behaviour towards community and environment. The whole course outline focuses on methodology of teaching Science and Technology and not content. The conclusions drawn were that there is misalignment between PTESTC and PSSTC. Two key proposals are made to deal with the current misalignment of PTESTC and PSSTC. These are, a synchronization of PTESTC with PSSTC and an emphasis on content so that its mastery by the teachers is standardized. The PTESTC should align its objectives to the primary school science and technology syllabus.
... At the national level, quality has been defined as fitness for purpose, guiding the process of assuring and accrediting HEIs through the national set of standards. Several authors (Tran et al., 2011;Westerheijden et al., 2010), however, have criticised the standards, arguing that the standards do not demonstrate the national perception of quality as fitness for purpose, which creates uncertainty for HEIs being evaluated. These authors concluded that none of the national standards required alignment at different levels of educational activity. ...
... The training they received, including the national definition of quality, could possibly shape this view. Such conceptualisation of quality requires specifications and alignments among the national objectives, institutional missions and programmes' objectives for judging quality (Tran et al., 2011), which was found to be absent in this study. ...
Purpose
Vietnam is experiencing rapid expansion in the provision of higher education that requires quality assurance appropriate for the Vietnamese-centralised Confucian cultural context. This paper aims to examine the concept of quality from the perspectives of academic leaders, quality assurance members and academics at three higher education institutions in Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an interpretative study, semi-structured interviews were used as a major research instrument augmented with document analysis across three case studies. Interviews were conducted with 35 participants from three groups of stakeholders.
Findings
The concept of quality was found to be under-conceptualised in this Vietnamese context. Quality was conceptualised as meeting societal needs across the case studies underpinned by the belief that the purpose of higher education is to prepare graduates for employment.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted in similar disciplines at three state-owned universities in Vietnam in 2011. This provides insight within this context and timeframe that may not be generalised. It is suggested to extend this research to other disciplines, the private sector and other groups of stakeholders.
Practical implications
The paper discusses the necessity of revisiting the philosophy of higher education and re-conceptualising quality in Vietnam that informs quality assurance processes that are relevant to the cultural context.
Originality/value
This paper provides a centralised Confucian perspective to the literature on quality assurance in higher education. How quality is perceived by academic leaders, quality assurance members and, in particular, academic staff can be used to inform policy. In a centralised country such as Vietnam, academic leaders and quality assurance members may indicate their “obedient” attitudes to policies, leading to the same view with what is centrally enacted, while the academic staff have a different perception of quality.
... Higher education institutions then developed a detailed version based on these frameworks, their own mission and their competence (Hayden & Lam, 2010). By prescribing the same frameworks, the MoET aimed to ensure consistency in the quality in different institutions offering the same degree programmes (Tran, Nguyen, & Nguyen, 2011). Educational institutions thus had very little control over what they wished to offer their students. ...
... This study represents a story of constraints being encountered in one Vietnamese higher education institution trying to align with the reform agenda. Drivers for curriculum innovation, such as quality control (Do & Do, 2014;Tran et al., 2011) and political influences on curriculum (Dao, 2015), have been a big challenge for Vietnamese universities and colleges. We propose that our findings can be used as a starting point for developing more innovative and student-focused understandings of curriculum, and enabling institutions to approach the reform agenda effectively. ...
The Vietnamese higher education context is characterised by state control, including the state's development of curriculum frameworks and materials. Institutional autonomy has been ratified by the government; however in practice, universities seem to have little control over curriculum. In order for universities to develop more ownership of curriculum, it is necessary to explore the foundational understandings of curriculum held by stakeholders. Thus, this paper explores the understandings of curriculum expressed by a group of senior staff, academics and students at a Vietnamese university. We found a diversity of understandings that tended to be product focused, teacher focused and textbook driven. We propose that our findings can be used as a starting point for developing more innovative and student-focused understandings of curriculum.
... Constructive alignment reflects the shift of the paradigm from a teacher-centred teaching and learning to a student-centred one, which emphasises encouraging and supporting students' construction of their own knowledge inside and outside the classroom instead of teachers' transmission of the knowledge in class (Tran, Nguyen, and Nguyen 2010). ...
... Scholars also used it as a reflective framework to measure teaching quality and students' learning experience in different academic fields of study, for example, in biochemistry (Hartfield 2010), social work (Molding 2010), marketing (Kuhn and Rundle-Thiele 2009), online teaching (Talay-Ongan 2003), etc. Moreover, despite the fact that CA was originally conceptualised as an integrative model to improve teaching at the classroom level (Biggs 1996), quality assurance agencies gradually sought to follow the systematic thinking of the principle and utilise it as a framework for programme evaluation in higher education in different countries and regions, such as Australia (Barrie, Ginns, and Prosser 2005;Treleaven and Voola 2008), the UK (Rust 2002), Vietnam (Tran, Nguyen, and Nguyen 2010), Hong Kong (Wang et al. 2011) and the USA (Borrego and Cutler 2010). ...
This paper investigates whether instructors’ adoption of constructive alignment has any impact on university students’ learning approaches, which are highly correlated with students’ achievement of learning outcomes. A multi-method model with a combination of qualitative and quantitative design was adopted, using document analysis, interviews and survey. The analysis of covariance results suggested that regardless of individual differences, students would adjust their learning approaches and study behaviours in response to the classroom teaching and learning environment. Students in more ‘constructively aligned courses’ were more likely to adopt deep learning approaches and less likely to use surface learning approaches in their study of a particular course.
... Construction of new knowledge and its incorporation in schema of students can significantly be attributed to constructive alignment between the learning objectives to be covered, teaching methods and assessment plans [16] as constructively aligned courses are more likely to enhance adoption of deep learning approach deemed essential for conceptual and long-term learning of the subject [17]. In the current study, about 20 students with Anatomy and Physiology results and another 20 students with Pathology and Biochemistry results filled Bigg's Revised Two Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). ...
Objectives: To assess the learning approaches of undergraduate optometry students with respect to different subjects of basic sciences. Subjects & Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was done to assess the learning approach to basic sciences subjects among 2nd, 3rd, and final year BSc Optometry students of Munawar Memorial Hospital & College of Optometry. About 40 students were enrolled in the study by simple random sampling. 20 students filled Bigg's Revised Two Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) for Anatomy and Physiology while the rest of the 20 students filled it for Pathology and Biochemistry. Their relevant subject scores were also given due consideration while studying their learning approaches. Independent sample t-test was used to measure the difference in mean score pertaining to subscales of deep and surface learning approaches. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Annual scores of 2 groups of BSc Optometry students in basic sciences were almost equal. However, the group of students with Anatomy and Physiology scores studied by opting deep and surface learning approach comparatively more than those of Pathology and Biochemistry group with statistically significant difference (P =0.0001). Conclusion: Group of students with Anatomy and Physiology scores were involved in deep learning of their subjects.
... These efforts were undertaken to gain deeper insights into whether accreditation effectively supported the quality assurance objectives of HEIs. Tran et al. (2011) critically examine the quality standards applied to higher education institutions in Vietnam. These standards were developed in response to the pressing need for fundamental reforms to improve the quality of education, particularly in teaching and learning. ...
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 underscores the importance of accreditation and introduces the “National Accreditation Council” as its overarching body. The NEP envisions a 15-year phased approach, emphasising graded accreditation and institutional autonomy, aiming for all higher education establishments in India to evolve into self-governing entities focused on innovation and excellence. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has formulated new guidelines, enabling universities and colleges operational for at least one academic year to apply for provisional accreditation. These guidelines intend to widen the scope of accreditation. Unlike the previous requirement that mandated institutions to be at least six years old or to have graduated two student cohorts for NAAC application, the new approach led to a limited number of institutions seeking accreditation due to low application rates. This article examines the viewpoints of 400 faculty members from Higher Educational Institutions in Maharashtra on whether the proposed norms will enhance the quality standards of these institutions. The faculty members collectively believe that the anticipated norms are unlikely to improve the existing quality standards of Higher Educational Institutions significantly.
... Wang et al. (2013) suggested that quality assurance agencies follow a systematic approach to principles and seek to use them as a framework for higher education program evaluation in different countries and regions. For example, CA as a quality assurance measure/ method is evident in Australia (Treleaven and Voola 2008), the USA (Borrego and Cutler 2010), the UK (Rust 2002), and Vietnam (Tran et al. 2011). As Gough (2013) contends, the idea that education should be an evidence-based practice is now a widespread and uncritical assumption in many countries. ...
Constructive alignment (CA) has developed into one of the most significant concepts in higher education since its establishment in the late 1990s. CA is a powerful instrument for curriculum design that aligns learning outcomes with teaching and learning activities and assessments to enhance the quality of students’ learning. In this conceptual study, Foucault’s concept of problematization is used as the theoretical framework to explain how and why CA has become a powerful approach for curriculum design dominantly used in higher education worldwide. The discussion focuses on three main blind spots of the CA: pedagogical hegemony, implementation fidelity, and policy enactment. The study closes by offering concluding thoughts and identifying new agendas for research.
... This has been due in part to the fact that the national accreditation centers are publicly operated out of the national university, an obvious conflict of interest [6]. Other reasons include the fact that accreditation appears to be micro-managed under state control [7] and does not seem to adequately measure improvements in modern teaching methodology, such as student-centered learning [8]. Further and current research of the internationalization of Vietnamese higher education will not only benefit Vietnamese constituents, but also education globally. ...
Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian universities view the importance of national accreditation secondary to international recognition. As a result, Southeast Asian regional accreditors are expanding their university networks and forming international standard education in Southeast Asia. However, the link between Asian and American accreditation has yet to be formed, even though America is the number one education destination for international students. Theresearchpaperthatthisproposalintends to put forth will evaluate the differences in Asian and American regional accreditation; it will highlight potential academic, institutional, and cultural issues that may arise when a Vietnamese university seeks American regional accreditation.
... In 2002, the Ministry of Education and Training implemented a policy called "Three Things in Common", which called for institutions to use common exam items, common organization of exams, and common use of exam results for admission (Tran et al., 2011). The intent of the three things in common policy was to standardize admission entrance into higher education thereby providing equal access to higher education for the citizens. ...
Higher education has jumped into the quality movement with expectations of enhancing the excellence of education being received by students. The total quality management philosophy that dominated the manufacturing industry has found its way into the education industry. W. Edwards Deming developed a set of 14 quality management principles, which can be applied to the education sector (Hughey, 2000; Prasad, 2017). Accreditation is a mechanism to inform the employers, the public and students that a university or program has met the minimum standards for quality. The injection of accountability and accreditation into the educational system has raised the expectations of an institution. External accreditation has been growing worldwide in importance. This paper looks at the development of accreditation within the United States, Vietnam, and Japan. An educational curriculum was seen to be a pillar needed for growth for each country. It became apparent that all three countries realize the importance of quality and are heavily involved in the assessment process. There are some differences in who controls the curriculum and the assessment process. However, continuous improvement is universally shared among the three countries. Developing an understanding of the accreditation process will contribute to the literature surrounding accreditation and quality assurance.
... Constructive alignment is growing in popularity as a curriculum design model. It has been used across a wide range of academic fields such as enterprise education (Jones, 2006) and has been applied towards the standardization of higher education in some countries, such as in Vietnam (Tran et al., 2011). More recently, the model has also been applied to distance education courses (Jackson et al., 2014). ...
The last decade has witnessed incredible and noteworthy changes in using technology to facilitate the process of teaching and learning. The potentials of technology integration strategies in higher education institutes around the world have induced many universities, including Jazan University, to consider their teaching strategies and course delivery methods.
... In a historically centrally controlled country such as Vietnam (Dao & Hayden, 2010;Tran, Nguyen, & Nguyen, 2011), the call to decentralise and grant full autonomy for higher education institutions is considered to be extremely challenging. Attempts have been made to reform the system in this direction. ...
Quality assurance in higher education has been introduced in Vietnam to improve the quality of the entire sector. Academics are considered key players in the reform plan of the Vietnamese government. This paper discusses the development of the Vietnamese quality assurance approach in higher education reform and how it could be further developed to improve higher education based on an analysis of current practices related to academic staff development. Data collected from documentation and in-depth interviews with thirty-six participants from three universities have been analysed for patterns and themes. The results indicate that assuring the academic staff quality in Vietnam is an urgent need. The role of the quality assurance approach, however, seems to be limited in this aspect. Therefore, it is suggested that the Vietnam quality assurance policies be re-visited to ensure that minimum standards are maintained and to promote institutional commitment to improve the quality of higher education.
... As described in the context of this study, the curriculum of the selected university is required by the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training to include certain components to ensure the consistency of similar programmes among different universities across the nation (D. N. Tran, Nguyen, & Nguyen, 2011). The goal of the TESOL programme at CU is to train TCs to become EFL teachers at senior secondary schools in Vietnam. ...
Second language teacher education (SLTE) has changed its focus from cognitive to sociocultural perspectives. By considering located SLTE and community learning, this qualitative study was conducted to explore how preservice teachers of English as a foreign language learned to teach in response to learning needs in a Vietnamese city. Data sources for the study were written assignments produced by preservice teachers and in‐depth interviews with them. Through their engagement in the local community, the preservice teachers identified nine groups of adult learners who were not able to gain access to English learning in the formal schooling system. Those learners sought to learn English not only to meet their personal and professional needs but also to contribute to socioeconomic development of the local community. Based on the findings regarding the local learners’ needs and characteristics, the preservice teachers developed pedagogical practices appropriate to each specific group of learners and suggested that university‐based SLTE programmes should embrace diverse learners and community‐based teacher learning. The study substantiates the concept of located SLTE and offers some implications for SLTE in response to local needs.
... The findings of this study indicate that HE quality was centrally assured in Vietnam, and HE governance in Vietnam is still centralized. [12,20,26] The three universities reported compliance with the government regulations and documents in aspects under investigation in this study: Program development, academic recruitment, teaching and research, student assessment, and student feedback, as well as institutional accreditation. ...
Quality assurance has been introduced and developed into Vietnam for almost 15 years. The importation of such a concept from other countries with different cultures may result in resistance in some ways. This study explores quality assurance arrangements at three institutions of higher education in Vietnam, a Confucian heritage country, as perceived by academic leaders, quality assurance practitioners, and academics to respond to quality assurance policies from the government. The methodological approach taken in this research is a multiple case study. A qualitative approach was used to explore quality assurance practices at three institutions. Data collected from documentation and in-depth interviews were analysed for patterns and themes. It was found that centralism and large power distance of a Confucian collectivist country such as Vietnam significantly influenced the government's attempts to reform higher education for quality improvement. Culturally appropriate measures from the bottom level with long-term strategies should be considered to assure and improve quality, including the shift to decentralisation in higher education.
... Cuå thïí : 18/61 tiïu chñ liïn quan àïë n vêë n àïì naâ y, vñ duå nhû "coá àuã diïå n tñch sûã duå ng àêë t theo quy àõnh cuã a tiïu chuêí n TCVN 3981-85" (tiïu chñ 7 cuã a tiïu chuêí n 9). Ngoaâ i ra, khoaã ng 1/4 söë tiïu chñ yïu cêì u caá c trûúâ ng thûå c hiïå n caá c quy àõnh cuã a phaá p luêå t vaâ Böå GD-ÀT [4]. ...
The new set of assessment standards for universities has just been promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training with a purpose to replace the current one. This paper first analyses the weaknesses of the current standards through the synthesis of specialists’ viewpoints and results of self-assessment and external assessment. Next, the study highlights main content of the new set of accreditation standards with a focus on the innovative criteria in order to confirm the reasons why universities in Vietnam need to be accredited by new criteria. Finally, the research presents discussions and recommendations for the implementation of this new set of accreditation standards and criteria.
... Sau khi bộ tiêu chuẩn hiện đang sử dụng được ban hành, đã có nhiều chuyên gia trong và ngoài nước có ý kiến về những bất cập và hạn chế của bộ tiêu chuẩn này. Các chuyên gia cho rằng bộ tiêu chuẩn đánh giá chất lường trường đại học của Việt Nam chủ yếu tập trung vào đầu vào và quá trình, nhấn mạnh vào tiêu chuẩn tối thiểu theo quy định, có quá nhiều tiêu chí định lượng, và có xu hướng khẳng định kết quả đã đạt được trong quá khứ hoặc hiện tại [4,6,7,8]. Những điều này trái ngược với các bộ tiêu chuẩn kiểm định ở các nước tiến tiến trên thế giới. Ví dụ, bộ tiêu chuẩn của Hội đồng kiểm định đại học, Hoa Kỳ (HLC) chủ yếu tập trung vào quá trình và kết quả hoặc đầu ra, nhấn mạnh vào việc thực hiện sứ mạng và mục tiêu đề ra của các cơ sở giáo dục đại học, các tiêu chí đều định tính, và xu thế khuyến khích sự chuẩn bị cho tương lai và nâng cao chất lượng [7]. ...
In this paper, the author points out 7 reasons to explain why universities in Viet Nam need to be accredited with new assessment standards and criteria. Firstly, several reasons are synthesised from the practice of implementing accreditation for universities in our country with current standards. Moreover, the other reasons come from the analysis of the new set of standards for higher education institution accreditation (draft) announced by the Ministry of Education and Training.
... Constructive alignment is growing in popularity as a curriculum design model. It has been used across a wide range of academic fields such as enterprise education (Jones, 2006) and has been applied towards the standardization of higher education in some countries, such as in Vietnam (Tran et al., 2011). More recently, the model has also been applied to distance education courses (Jackson et al., 2014). ...
... In higher educational institutions in Vietnam, implementation of standards have been welcomed.( Nga D. Tran, Thanh T. Nguyen, My T.N.Nguyen, 2011),INQAAHE: The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education is a worldwide association of over 200 organizations active in the theory and practice of quality assurance in higher education. The great majority of its members are quality assurance agencies from across the world. ...
Education is one of the most important fields. Its objectives are not only to make people literate but also teach the students important skill sets and give them knowledge. It is important in the long run for the development of countries and nations. Its importance is felt globally as well. Education creates business men, world leaders and citizens of the future. The students of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Therefore it is essential that they receive high quality education.
Quality is often referred to as the degree or grade of excellence. It is the relative measure of goodness. In general terms quality product or a service is the one which meets or exceeds the expectations of a customer. The expectation of customers relate to product performance, reliability, durability and fitness to use. Customers expect the products to or the service to perform as per their expectations. Quality of conformance is a measure of how a product meets its expectations. Many experts believe that the definition that Quality is conformance is the best definition of the word quality. Quality assurance in education can be explained as systematic management and assessment procedures adopted by higher education institutions and systems in order to monitor performance against objectives, and to ensure achievement of quality outputs and quality improvements.
Universities and colleges throughout the world today are giving special attention on designing and implementing new quality assurance mechanisms and systems in order to ensure that students receive high quality and relevant education. The aim of the universities is provide the students degrees and diplomas are widely recognized and make them good citizens. This paper thus tries to find out the quality assurance practices in different countries across the world.
keywords: quality assurance, quality.
... Constructive alignment is growing in popularity as a curriculum design model. It has been used across a wide range of academic fields such as enterprise education (Jones, 2006) and has been applied towards the standardization of higher education in some countries, such as in Vietnam (Tran et al., 2011). More recently, the model has also been applied to distance education courses (Jackson et al., 2014). ...
Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made in the development of distance education across the world. Historically, distance learning began in the 19th century, when Sir Isaac Pittman, a professor from England, began teaching shorthand by correspondence, where he would send the contents and exercises to students via the new Penny Post system and the students would in turn submit the assignments by mail as well, which the professor would then grade and return (Moore & Kearsley, 2005).
... Constructive alignment is growing in popularity as a curriculum design model. It has been used across a wide range of academic fields such as enterprise education (Jones, 2006) and has been applied towards the standardization of higher education in some countries, such as in Vietnam (Tran et al., 2011). More recently, the model has also been applied to distance education courses (Jackson et al., 2014). ...
The last decade has witnessed incredible and noteworthy changes in using technology to facilitate the process of teaching and learning. The potentials of technology integration strategies in higher education institutes around the world have induced many universities, including Jazan University, to consider their teaching strategies and course delivery methods.
... Constructive alignment is growing in popularity as a curriculum design model. It has been used across a wide range of academic fields such as enterprise education (Jones, 2006) and has been applied towards the standardization of higher education in some countries, such as in Vietnam (Tran et al., 2011). More recently, the model has also been applied to distance education courses (Jackson et al., 2014). ...
Human beings cannot survive without cooperation. If we look into the history of mankind, societies that have survived and progressed are those that successfully managed to create a strong social contract. This cannot happen without the cooperation of the members of that society. Cooperation, therefore, is a significant factor in the development of all aspects of human societies including education.
... Other researchers such as Nguyen and Tran (2009) or Jones (2014) argued that academics' conceptions of student learning play a vital role in their teaching practices. Nguyen and Tran (2009) and Tran, Nguyen and Nguyen (2011) further reconceptualised academics' conceptions of student learning into four categories ranging from teachercentred to student-centred ones (see Table 1). These researchers called for an improvement in tertiary teaching quality by making a real change in academics' conceptions of teaching and student learning to more advanced ones, i.e. student-centred conceptions. ...
Although the question of what to teach and how to teach has received much
attention from the literature, little was known about the way in which academics in
teaching groups make decision on what and how to teach. This paper reports an
analysis of variations in the decision-making approach to tertiary teaching through
academics’ practices of designing course syllabuses, teaching, and assessing
student learning. The study was conducted in three Faculties of business
administration of three Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Vietnam and three
different patterns of decision-making approach to tertiary teaching, namely as (i)
the Given Framework, (ii) the Closed Framework, and (iii) the Open Framework,
were found.
Constructivism is an important learning theory that educators employ to help students acquire knowledge. Constructivism is based on the concept that individuals actively construct or create their own knowledge and that their learning experiences determine the nature of reality. Learners use their prior knowledge as a foundation and build upon it as they acquire new information. The teacher acts as a guide in the learning process; therefore, constructivism supports student-centred learning. In a constructivist classroom, learning is viewed as constructed, active, reflective, collaborative, inquiry-based, and evolving. The psychological theory of constructivism originates from the rapidly expanding field of cognitive science, primarily from the constructivist perspectives of Jean Piaget, the socio-historical work of Lev Vygotsky, and the constructivist account of discovery learning by Jerome Bruner. This article discusses constructivism and the contributions of Piaget, Bruner, and Vygotsky to its development.
In the era of globalization, higher education acts as a player in the game, presenting a vivid picture of how the system manifests the globalizing process of a nation. This chapter takes a critical look at quality assurance of higher education in a country, Vietnam, under the impacts of international organizations. Drawing on Marginson and Rhoades's glonacal agency heuristic, the chapter aims to argue that quality assurance has been prioritized as one of the core stepping stones for Vietnam to participate in international and regional educational space. It further explains while international organizations as global actors have set the foundation for quality assurance in Vietnam and introduced neoliberal ideas into the system including institutional autonomy, decentralization and social accountability, the national tradition of state-eccentric power, and the discrepancies among local institutions divert the quality assurance system away from such neoliberal ideas. The organizations that are the focus of the chapter include the World Bank, ASEAN, and ASEAN University Network.
آموزش مبتنی بر نتیجه و شاگردمحور دو رویکرد آموزشی است که شاگردان را در مرکز روند یادگیری قرار میدهد. در آموزش مبتنی بر نتیجه، نتایج یادگیری از قبل تعریف و مشخص شده و همه فعالیتهای یادگیری و ارزیابی در روشنایی آنها و بخاطر دستیابی به آنها روی دست گرفته میشوند. در رویکرد شاگردمحور، صلاحیت میان استاد و شاگرد تقسیم شده و محتوا نقش دوگانه را بازی میکند. برعلاوه، نقش استادان و شاگردان تغییر کرده و روندهای ارزیابی و اهداف آنها بر یادگیری شاگردان تمرکز میکنند. استادان بهعنوان تسهیلگران، نهایت تلاش خویش را میکنند تا یادگیری شاگردان را به حد اکثر رسانده و آنها را برای زندگی بعد از فراغت آماده کنند.
Constructive alignment is often promoted as a principle to enhance the quality of learning but the student perspective has often been neglected when exploring its influence on student learning. There is therefore a need to further explore how students’ experiences of the different elements of constructive alignment influence the approach to learning they adopt. Student perceptions and their approaches to learning were analysed. The results show that different elements of constructive alignment had a clear role in guiding student learning. The teaching and assessment related factors appeared to play a crucial role in guiding student learning and studying. Teaching and assessment that required students’ active involvement clearly encouraged students to adopt a deep approach to learning whereas the opposite was true for more traditionally organised courses. The intended learning outcomes did not seem to influence student learning much. The results also imply that the key is to find an optimal level of challenge to support student learning and studying. The study deepens our understanding of the importance and influence of constructively aligned teaching to students’ learning processes.
Vietnam is one of the countries which do not have a tradition of education evaluation and accreditation until 2003 with the establishment of the General Department of Educational Testing and Accreditation. Since then, various approaches and attempts have been made to develop QA systems in Vietnam. This chapter will outline quality assurance in Vietnam education after almost fifteen years of development into three major subsections: historical developments, present developments, and future implication. By highlighting the key stages and achievements in the development of the QA system in the country as well as comparing the developments of Vietnamese QA with other countries in the same region, the chapter will dwell on academic discussion about the future development of quality assurance and accreditation in the country.
Significant reforms are currently underway in Vietnamese higher education since it is in the phase of transformation to improve the higher education system. In implementing higher education reforms, leaders play a key role. The paper reports on phase two of a multi-method research: a quantitative approach using the multifactor leadership questionnaire to investigate the Vietnamese high education leaders’ leadership styles (i.e., transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership) to support the quality improvement in Vietnamese higher education. The multifactor leadership questionnaire was administered to 190 senior managers in State institutions in Mekong Delta region in Vietnam (nine of colleges and universities). The psychometrics of the multifactor leadership questionnaire for the Vietnamese sample confirmed the reliability and validity of the instrument with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.779. A principal component analysis was conducted, and all factor structures were stable and consistent. The findings from the multivariate analysis of variance showed that the leadership styles of Vietnamese higher education leaders were not largely different based on their gender, but the educational background. The descriptive statistics analysis on the demographic items indicated a trend that transformational and transactional leadership were more preferable than laissez-faire leadership in higher education leaders’ performance.
This study investigates the viewpoints of higher education managers, staff, lecturers and students on the impacts of accreditation in institutional quality management. These views are explored via a case study approach involving semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders at a leading university in Vietnam. The study’s results suggest that accreditation influences most of the university’s management activities, including programmes, teaching activities, lecturers, supporting staff, learners, and facilities. We argue the influence of accreditation contributes significantly to enhancing the university’s quality of teaching, learning, research and management. Recommendations for improvement in the use of accreditation results are also proposed.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of Viet Nam’s approach to higher education quality assurance during the last dozen years since its establishment, focussing on the achievements and challenges.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a desktop analysis study. The paper analyses the policies and practices related to the development of Viet Nam’s higher education accreditation system through reviewing associated literature.
Findings – The research has found out that there are several achievements, including: the accreditation framework has been developed; accrediting agencies were established; almost universities have completed their self-assessment reports; some institutions have undergone an external assessment exercise, a few of which were awarded accreditation certificates. However, there are still a number of challenges related to the independence of the accrediting agencies, human resources, accreditation standards and criteria, institutions’ awareness about accreditation, and the pace of accreditation implementation.
Research limitations/implications – The primary limitation of this study is the research methodology which merely relies on document analysis. It would be more credible if the findings could be triangulated with data taken from other sources such as interviews with key stakeholders.
Originality/value – Based on the analysis of achievements and challenges at both macro and micro levels, discussion and recommendations are made for future policy-making and management in the field of higher education accreditation.
The educational environment created by university lecturers influences student learning, knowledge progress and self-realisation. In the professionally designed educational environment, all knowledge acquirement ways acceptable to students are promoted, a variety of learning forms and methods are tolerated, and evaluation results are used for promoting successful learning and teaching process improvement. To maximise the quality of learning outcomes, courses developed by university lecturers should provide students with sufficient teaching and learning materials, and contain tasks and experiences which are authentic, real-world based and relevant; are constructive, sequential and interlinked; require students to use progressively higher order cognitive processes; are aligned with each other and with the desired learning outcomes; and provide challenge, interest and motivation to learn. Although researchers have recognised that constructive alignment is an important educational tool for study design, the experience of university lecturers revealed various difficulties in applying this approach (Blumberg in Innovative Higher Education 34(2), 93–103, 2009; Biggs in Higher Education 32(3), 347–364, 1996 1996; Biggs in Higher Education Research and Development 18(1), 57–75, 1999; Meyers and Nulty in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 34, 565–577, 2009). In this paper, constructively aligned study course design as an approach and a teaching tool for sustainability implementation practise is analysed. Results of a survey conducted to evaluate the attitude of university lecturers to this approach are also presented. It should be stressed that the constructive alignment approach can significantly increase the quality of teaching in the area of sustainability and change the attitude of university lecturers to sustainability.
The use of any forms of teaching evaluation, particularly student evaluation of teaching (SET) is often subjected to controversies. In the context of Vietnam, since 2010 the Ministry of Education and Training has mandated the use of SETs in all universities and colleges. However, the ultimate aim of SETs to trigger much needed change in the quality of teaching and learning at tertiary level remained elusive. In this paper, the challenges of SET implementation in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Vietnam from cultural and policy perspectives will be discussed. Employed meta-analysis from the extant literature of models of teaching and learning, it is argued that challenges will remain unless a new approach to teaching evaluation, that is, student learning-focused approach, is embraced in the development of SETs across HEIs in Vietnam.
From interviews of 253 adults and teachers of adults in Canada, the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States, five conceptions of teaching emerged: Engineering–Delivering Content; Apprenticeship–Modeling Ways of Being; Developmental–Cultivating the Intellect; Nurturing–Facilitating Personal Agency; and, Social Reform–Seeking a Better Society. Variation amongst conceptions was examined in relation to three interdependent aspects of each conception: actions, intentions, and beliefs related to one or more of five elements and the relationship amongst those elements: teacher, learner, content, context, and/or an ideal vision for society. Findings have implications for cross-cultural work, the evaluation of teaching, and the development of teachers.
In this article we make three related arguments. The first isthat different teachers have different intentions concerning whatstudents will learn and consequently in their teaching they constitutethe topic or subject to be taught quite differently. The second is thata teacher's intentions concerning what it is that students should learnis closely aligned with a teacher's expectation of how students learnand how they can be helped to learn through teaching. The third is thatwhen teachers focus specifically on the teaching of a particular topic,within a specific context, there is a close relationship between theirintentions and their teaching practice. In this article we explore thesearguments through an empirical study which considers the different waysin which 26 university teachers intended to constitute a subject ortopic for their students to study, how they then taught the subject andsubsequently how consistent were their intentions and their practice.The analysis shows that when the context of teaching and learning istightly defined there is a clear relationship between a teacher'sintention and their practice. In particular, university teachers whoadopt more conceptual change and student-focussed approaches to teachingconstitute objects of study which are more relational and focus on thestudent's knowledge. Approaches which are more information transmissionand teacher-focussed constitute objects of study which are moremulti-structural and have a focus on knowledge which is as constitutedas being external to the student.
The increasing importance of constructivism in higher education has brought about a shift in pedagogy from a focus on the
teacher to a focus on the student. This has important implications for teaching and assessment. A student-centred pedagogy
implies a different role for the teacher. What exactly does student-centred teaching require from teachers’ actual teaching
practice? What is expected from them in order to teach in a student-centred way? It is in order to respond to these questions
that this research project has been carried out establishing a core competence profile of student-centred teachers in higher
education. Qualitative data were collected by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews with teachers from different institutions
for higher education in Belgium, known for their student-centred way of teaching. This research method is innovative compared
to the methods used for existing competence lists in the literature, which were usually developed on the basis of conversations
with pedagogical experts. By exploring practice and having teachers participate in the development of a competence list, the
acceptance of a competence profile is much higher. The result of the project is a validated competence profile which takes
into account the critiques on existing competence lists. The competence profile provides a further insight in the functioning
of teachers within a student-centred pedagogy and can be used as a starting point for the educational development of teachers
within this pedagogy.
This paper reports a study ofthe effectiveness of an innovative approach tostaff development, the conceptual changeapproach, which attempts to change teachers'frameworks for conceptualising teaching andlearning. The evaluation investigated theprogramme at three levels: the impact on theconceptions of teaching of the participants,the resultant impact on teaching practices, andthe consequential effect on student learning.Encouraging results were obtained. Theprogramme brought about detectable conceptualchange or conceptual development in two-thirdsof the sample group. Subsequently, all the`changed' teachers received better ratings ontheir teaching practices from their students inthe following academic year while none of thosewho did not change their conceptions showedsimilar gains in student rating scores. Aresultant positive impact on their students'studying approaches was observed for half ofthe teachers who changed their conceptions.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically review dominant conceptions of and approaches to quality in higher education. It suggests an alternative approach with potential to shift the focus of quality activities from accountability and control to improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
The applicability and limits of quality concepts and models are critically reviewed against key systems concepts of purpose, boundaries and environments. The limited transferability and utility of such models and the tensions between control and improvement are discussed.
Findings
The language and tools of industry‐born quality models are an imperfect fit to higher education. Authentic quality improvement is more likely to result from approaches to systemic intervention that encourage exploration of questions of purpose and of the meaning of improvement in context than from the imposition of definitions and methodologies from elsewhere.
Research limitations/implications
Evidence to support the utility of systems approaches in higher education is limited. Research into their use is needed.
Practical implications
Systemic approaches are complex but likely to be beneficial.
Originality/value
The paper takes a systemic perspective on quality likely to be of value in encouraging debate and different interventions for improvement.
Two lines of thinking are becoming increasingly important in higher educational practice. The first derives from constructivist learning theory, and the second from the instructional design literature. Constructivism comprises a family of theories but all have in common the centrality of the learner's activities in creating meaning. These and related ideas have important implications for teaching and assessment. Instructional designers for their part have emphasised alignment between the objectives of a course or unit and the targets for assessing student performance. "Constructive alignment" represents a marriage of the two thrusts, constructivism being used as a framework to guide decision-making at all stages in instructional design: in deriving curriculum objectives in terms of performances that represent a suitably high cognitive level, in deciding teaching/learning activities judged to elicit those performances, and to assess and summatively report student performance. The "performances of understanding" nominated in the objectives are thus used to systematically align the teaching methods and the assessment. The process is illustrated with reference to a professional development unit in educational psychology for teachers, but the model may be generalized to most units or programs in higher education.
Since the mid 1970’s there has been a growing tendency for research on teaching to distance itself from the narrow examination of teachers’ observable classroom behaviours and shift towards the more subtle and implicit aspects of teaching that accompany those classroom behaviours. This tendency is based on a strengthening perception of teaching as a professional activity entailing complex and demanding cognitive processes such as creativity and originality in thinking, problem-solving, and reflection (see e.g. Schoenfeld, 1998). On this view, teaching should be likened to the professional work of medical doctors, lawyers and architects, rather than to technicians who use their skills to perform tasks using prescriptions or algorithms designed and defined by other professionals (Shulman & Hutchings, 1997). Therefore, understanding teaching necessitates understanding teachers’ thinking, beliefs and knowledge regarding teaching, learning and students.
In the last decade, several classifications of the ways in whichacademics conceptualise teaching and learning have been proposed,including our scheme (Samuelowicz and Bain 1992). This paper reassessesthe framework described in our earlier paper, evaluates the adequacy ofthe belief dimensions and categories in that framework and considerswhether there is a `transitional'' orientation to teaching and learningas argued by Kember (1997a) in his recent synthesis of the domain.Thirty-nine academics representing a range of disciplines wereinterviewed and in accordance with a `beliefs'' framework we sought theirtypical ways of thinking about teaching and learning, and theirdispositions to teach in particular ways. The constant comparison method(Strauss and Corbin 1997) was applied to whole interview transcripts toidentify broad orientations to teaching and learning, which were thenanalysed to identify the qualitatively distinct beliefs constitutingthem. An extended framework of academics'' beliefs about teaching andlearning is proposed in which seven orientations are described in termsof nine qualitative belief dimensions. There is considerable overlapwith our previous findings, but there also are some importantrefinements and additions. Three forms of evidence (the qualitativeanalysis itself, a hierarchical clustering based on that analysis, andnarratives of two academics) are presented to demonstrate that there arefundamental differences between teaching-centred and learning-centredorientations to teaching and learning. Thus our data are broadlyconsistent with previously reported evidence, but they provide noempirical support for Kember''s (1997a) `transitional'' category acting asa bridge between the two major sets of orientations. Yes Yes
In this paper, an attempt to reconceptualize university teachers' conceptions of student learning in nine empirical studies is provided. Largely based on intended learning outcomes, four categories are found arranging on a continuum from lower level, i.e. storing/recalling atomised information and reproductive understanding, to higher level, i.e. reorganizing/modifying knowledge and change-in-way-of-thinking. The former conceptions lay foundation for teacher-centred approach to teaching while the latter conceptions set the ground for student-centred approach. Implications of this reconceptualizing for enhancing teaching quality are also discussed.
Although cognitive psychology currently represents the mainstream of psychological and educational thinking, it is only recently that much concern has been shown for learning as such — that is, concern for the factors and/or variables that influence changes in human performance, knowledge structures, and/or conceptions. This article examines current thinking about learning within the framework of cognitive psychology and how a new, cognitive conception of learning can guide future research on both learning and instruction. Similarities and, differences between behavioral and cognitive conceptions of learning are discussed, along with issues such as the active (rather than passive) nature of learning, the concern for understanding (i.e., comprehension), the role of prior knowledge, the cumulative nature of most forms of human learning, and the role played by cognitive analyses of performance. Several cognitive theories of learning are presented as examples of how cognitive psychology has influenced research on learning.
External quality monitoring of higher education is explored and analysed. The different types of external bodies and their modus operandi are reviewed. The reasons for undertaking the evaluation are also examined in detail. It is argued that external evaluation legitimates the status quo and fails to ask substantial questions about the nature of learning. External quality monitoring is preoccupied with method and has almost entirely ignored a quarter of a century of research into learning theory, the nature and styles of learning, and classroom innovations. It is suggested that higher education monitoring agencies need to adopt an explicit 'transformation' approach to quality and to address the implications of that for student learning. Only then will they shift from accountability- and compliance-orientated agencies to ones that raise substantial questions about improving student learning.
The purpose of this article is to analyse the development of accreditation standards and processes in Vietnam and to offer recommendations for the further progress of Vietnam’s accreditation model. The authors first provide contextual details of the higher education system and then present the conceptual framework of quality assurance in relation to input, process and outcome. Third, the development process of quality assurance and accreditation in Vietnam’s higher education system is described and analysed, including cross‐national influences from the US accreditation model. In the final section, a synthesis of the entire Vietnam accreditation process and its implications is followed by recommendations that can be used to inform future policies and procedures.
This article analyses the characteristics and driving forces of regional quality assurance activity in Southeast Asia, which has been actively promoted in recent years by the ASEAN University Network, an organisation for higher education under the auspices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). There are now more collaborative efforts among quality assurance agencies and higher education institutions for quality assurance at the international and regional levels as ‘globalisation’ of higher education accelerates. However, each effort is formed with different objectives and characteristics, as it is driven by different forces. In Southeast Asia, ASEAN’s policies, such as reducing the economic gap within the region and creation of a single market, and member countries’ policies to internationalise higher education institutions have brought about a strong need to improve the quality of higher education and to foster harmonisation of higher education systems, which have been the driving force behind this regional quality assurance activity.
The author applies strategic response theory to develop hypotheses about the type of response that public colleges and universities will exhibit as a consequence of state policies to encourage the scholarship of teaching, discovery, and application.
As part of the process of enhancing quality, quality culture has become a taken-for-granted concept intended to support development and improvement processes in higher education. By taking a theoretical approach to examining quality culture, starting with a scholarly examination of the concept of culture, and exploring how it is related to quality, quality improvement and quality assurance, the aim of this paper is to create a better understanding of how one can make sense of quality culture, its boundaries but also its links to the fundamental processes of teaching and learning.
One of the most famous images of the US War in Vietnam is a naked young Vietnamese girl, Kim Phuc, running from a village, her body inflamed with napalm. That photograph, taken by Nick Ut, displayed to the whole world the horrors of the US war in Vietnam. Kim Phuc, now a Canadian citizen living in Ottawa with her two children, runs a foundation to help child victims of war. Kim's success and inspiring story is reflective of the resilience of the Vietnamese both at home and abroad in the face of the dramatic tragedy of war, death, and violence.
Especially during the early period of communist rule (1975–1985) that followed US withdrawal from Vietnam and the end of the Vietnam War, many refugees (often as boat people) left Vietnam for the USA. Currently there are 1,418,234 Vietnamese-Americans (representing 0.5% of the US population). They are the second largest Southeast Asia-American group in the USA. Much attention has focused on the military conflict in Vietnam and the US war there. However, Vietnam is not just a war, but a country. Already in 2008, many books have been published about Vietnam. Nearly all are still about the tragic war. Vietnam has a long and rich history as a literate culture strongly influenced by China. On many occasions, the Chinese tried to dominate and defeat Vietnam, but always failed.
A range of studies conducted since the late 1970s have sought to describe students' conceptions of learning, and more recently, teachers' conceptions of teaching. These studies, using what has come to be known as the phenomenographic approach, have identified conceptions of teaching, and conceptions of learning which have had a significant impact on the teaching-learning culture of higher education institutions in many parts of the world. The study reported here contributes to our understanding of student learning, describing it from the viewpoint of lectures from a range of disciplines. From the viewpoint of these lectures student learning was seen variously as: acquiring knowledge through the use of study skills; the absorption of new knowledge and being able to explain and apply it; the development of thinking skills and the ability to reason; developing the competencies of beginning professionals; changing personal attitudes, beliefs or behaviours in responding to different phenomena; and a participative pedagogic experience. The relationship between these conceptions and previously identified conceptions of teaching and learning is discussed.
This paper addresses the nature of the concept of quality in relation to higher education. It analyses ways of thinking about quality, considers their relevance to higher education, explores their interrelationships and examines their philosophical and political underpinnings. The relative nature of quality is examined. First, quality means different things to different people. Second, quality is relative to ‘processes’ or ‘outcomes’. The widely differing conceptualisations of quality are grouped into five discrete but interrelated categories. Quality can be viewed as exception, as perfection, as fitness for purpose, as value for money and as transformative.
Articles about the conceptions of teaching of university academics are reviewed. There is found to be a high level of correspondence between largely independent studies reported in 13 articles. An attempt to synthesise the body of research places conceptions under two broad orientations characterised as teacher-centred/content-oriented and student-centred/learning-oriented. Each orientation has two associated conceptions. A transitionary category, labelled student-teacher interaction, links the two orientations. The five conceptions beneath the orientations are visualised as well-defined points within a continuum, and there is some evidence of lecturers shifting beliefs across the spectrum over time. Teaching conceptions have been shown to be related to measures of the quality of student learning, so are modelled as influencing teaching approaches which in turn effect student learning approaches and learning outcomes. It is argued that measures to enhance the quality of teaching should take account of teaching conceptions if they are to be effective, as teaching approaches are strongly influenced by the underlying beliefs of the teacher.
In the present study 71 university teachers from several disciplines were interviewed in order to capture the variation in descriptions of teaching. Two broad categories of description were identified: the learning-focused and the content-focused approaches to teaching. The results showed that the relationship between the two approaches was complex and variation could be captured in detail only after considering the purpose of teaching. Within both of these categories 10 aspects of teaching were identified, which were further grouped into four broader ones, namely teaching process, learning environment, conception of learning, and pedagogical development.
This paper outlines the qualitative research method and results of an investigation of the conceptions of teaching and learning held by teachers of first year university chemistry and physics courses. In both cases a limited number of qualitatively different categories of description were identified (6 and 5 respectively) ranging from information transmission to facilitating conceptual change in teaching and knowledge accumulation to conceptual change in learning. An analysis of the referential and structural components of the conceptions is used to develop the internal structure of the conceptions. Finally, the relation of the results to conceptual change programs is discussed.
Vietnam has recently accepted the need for a comprehensive transformation of its higher education system. In 2005, the Ministry of Education and Training developed a Higher Education Reform Agenda (HERA), a blueprint for reform of the system by 2020. The Government of Vietnam recently approved the main elements of the Agenda, including a proposal to give universities and colleges the right of autonomy. Measures supportive of institutional autonomy in higher education now need to be addressed. In particular, there is a need for legislative and regulatory reform, the establishment of appropriate accountability relationships, the development of leadership and managerial expertise at the institutional level, and the building of confidence and trust in the processes of institutional self-governance.
Changing lecturer's conceptions of teaching and learning through action research
- G Gibbs
Quality assurance in Vietnamese higher education”, paper presented at The Sixth QHE Seminar: The End of Quality?
- P N Nguyen
- J J Mcdonald