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Impacts of globalization on the quality of higher education in Vietnam: From the

practice in a number of training institutions

Presented by:Dr. Le Ngoc Thach & Le Thi Ngoc Nhan (M.Ed)Institute of Educational Managers Ho Chi Minh city

At the SEAMEO RETRAC, 35 Le Thanh Ton, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - June 20-21, 2013

The International Conference on Impacts of Globalization on Quality in Higher Education

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Impacts of globalization on the quality of higher education in Vietnam: From the practice in

a number of training institutions

Contents

1. Globalization

2. Globalization in Education

3. Positive impacts of globalization on the quality of higher education in Vietnam (the Bright side)

4. Negative impacts of globalization on the quality of higher education in Vietnam (the Dark side)

5. Conclusions

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1. Globalization

– “Globalization is a process that encompasses the causes, course, and consequences of transnational and transcultural integration of human and non-human activities” (Al-Rodhan, 2006).

– Human activities: the linguistic, cultural, economic, political and other aspects of human life.

– Non-human activities: phenomenon such as the spread of bacteria and non-human diseases (e.g., bird flu), as well as natural disasters.

– All of these issues impact human and global security.

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2. Globalization in Education

– The term globalization in education refers to the measures and changes that educational institutions will adopt to take their products to the global education market (McNamara, 2012).

-Globalization requires education that enhances the ability of learners to access, assess, adopt, and apply knowledge, to think independently to exercise appropriate judgment (Cogburn,1998).

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Impacts of globalization on the quality of higher education in Vietnam

Since 1986, Doi Moi (Renewal) policies have led to the emergence of globalization in Vietnam. This force has strongly impacted economic development, culture, science, technology and education.

In higher education, the impacts of globalization have had two sides, “the Bright side and the Dark side” or positive and negative impacts.

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3. Positive impacts of globalization on the quality of higher education in Vietnam (the Bright side)

3.1 Improvement of Training Curriculum Developing the training curriculum following international standards.

- A typical case is training curriculum at Bac Ha International University, adapted from selected training programs of advanced universities in the United States, Australia and Britain (Ho Thu, 2011).

BAC HA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

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3.1 Improvement of Training Curriculum (Cont.) World Bank funded reform of training and research at

14 universities under Higher Education Project 2 (Bich Lien, 2007).

The aim is to develop management ability to improve the quality of training management, scientific research and technology transfer. With this type of international support, the training program likely will improve.

SIGNING CEREMONY

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3.2 Upgrading of facilities, experimental equipment, and scientific materials

Teaching facilities are equipped through sponsors from projects and international organizations.

– The Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program (HEEAP) resulted in improved equipment for teaching.

– HEEAP 2.0: Arizona State University (US) and five other major universities support the training of engineering students in Vietnam.

HEEAP’s set of essential guiding principles and the member institutions’ linking role will form a model to guide higher education programs

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3.3 Developing teaching staff and administrators Through academic cooperation and exchange programs

between domestic and foreign universities, the capacity of lecturers is enhanced.

– Decision No. 322/QD-TTg, signed 19 April 2000: “Training of science and technology staff in foreign universities by the state budget.”

2,000 students attending Doctoral programs and over 10,000 students studying Master's programs in developed countries.

– Decision No. 911/QD-TTg, signed 17 June 2010: Approved the project “Training lecturers having Doctoral degrees for universities and colleges in the period from 2010 to 2020”. The project aims to train 20,000 doctors, including 10,000 with degrees from foreign universities.

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3.4 Improvement of teaching and research by higher education lecturers

- Through the overseas study programs, lecturers’ professional knowledge is upgraded while studying in masters, doctoral and training programs in foreign countries;

- Teaching methods are improved by exposure to active learning and teaching methods when participating in international projects on educational innovation; and

-Research capacity is strengthened by conducting collaborative research studies.

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3.5 Improvement of management skills for higher education leaders

- The MoET issued new programs for training educational managers on 20 January 2012 (382 Program). The National Institute of Educational Management in Hanoi and the Institute of Educational Managers HCMC were assigned the primary duties of training educational managers following MoET’s programs.

IEMH NIEM

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3.5 Improvement of management skills for higher education leaders (cont.)

- Through various international projects, including MoET’s projects, graduates of master’s or doctoral degree programs in educational management will become the core administrative force of universities and colleges in Vietnam.

AUSTRALIA AWARDS IN VIETNAM

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3.6 Changes in students’ learning skills linked to globalization

The trend of active learning and teaching requires lecturers to focus on teaching and practice (learning by doing) in order for students to be more engaged with the learning process.

The universities and colleges usually offer good conditions for students’ self-study, and equipment for conducting research has become progressively better.

HUE UNIVERSITY’S LIBRARY

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No guarantee of quality at non-public colleges and universities in the context of globalization “Socialization of Education” issued in 1997:

Non-public universities and colleges have been allowed to establish and develop.

+ In 2012, there were 419 universities and colleges throughout the country (public: 337, non-public: 82) (MoET, 2012)

- Development of many kinds of colleges and universities affects the quality of Vietnam higher education.

4. Negative impacts of globalization on the quality of higher education in Vietnam (the Dark side)

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4.1 Lack of permanent lecturers- MoET Statistics for 2010: 50 universities and colleges

had student/lecturer ratios over the regulation (e.g., HUFLIT : 47/1; Tay Do University: 44/1; Viettronics College of Industry: 47/1 …).

=> To invite lecturers from other universities Lecturers teach two or more subjects

4.2 Lack of facilities and finances Many lack facilities, equipment for

studying, laboratories, computers, books …

Hire laboratories to do experiments, thus spend more time teaching theory than doing practice.

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4.3 Low entrance In 2012, many majors in universities and colleges accepted

minimum MoET allowed pass marks on the entrance exam ; however, they still did not enroll enough students to achieve assigned targets (e.g., Cuu Long University (30%), Bac Lieu University (50%), Thai Nguyen University (50%), Phuong Dong University (65%),...) (Tuyen sinh online, 2013)

4.4 Low requirements in evaluating learning outcomes Most students are able to graduate because tests are not difficult; improper evaluation of student knowledge. The output quality is not really guaranteed.

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4.5 No guarantee of training programs

The quality of some training programs with foreign universities is not tested before implementation (e.g., Frederick Taylor University, Preston University, University of the South Pacific,…). (Hong Hanh, 2013).

-Many training majors have not been designed to meet society’s demand and the national human resource development program (Đao Trong Thi, 2013).

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-The National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, the Youth and Children examined 50 out of 419 universities in July-December 2012, and concluded that

The Committee proposed to dissolve low quality universities (Vietnamnet, 2013).

universities have been mushrooming in Vietnam under the people founded schools, but most of them have low quality training.

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• Globalization is not a force that needs to be stopped; rather, it is a process that influences each of us in a number of ways, both to our benefit and also to our detriment (Al-Rodhan, 2006).

5. Conclusions

- Globalization brings both opportunities and challenges to Vietnamese higher education. Therefore, colleges and universities need to have their own strategic plans in order to reduce disadvantages and take advantage of opportunities associated with globalization to develop their organizations as high quality educational institutions.

20DR. DIANE E. OLIVER

(Red shirt)

Acknowledgement

We are thankful and appreciative for Dr. Diane E. Oliver,

who helped us edit our paper.

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THE ENDTHE END