Perceptions of higher education quality at three universities in Vietnam
| Date | 04 July 2016 |
| Published date | 04 July 2016 |
| Pages | 369-393 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-07-2014-0037 |
| Author | Huong Thi Pham,Louise Starkey |
| Subject Matter | Education,Curriculum, instruction & assessment,Educational evaluation/assessment |
Perceptions of higher education
quality at three universities
in Vietnam
Huong Thi Pham
English Department, University of Finance and Marketing,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and
Louise Starkey
School of Education, Victoria University of Wellington,
Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract
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.
Keywords Vietnam, Higher education, Quality assurance, Cultural context
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The past two decades have witnessed global growth in quality assurance (QA) systems
in higher education. The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in
Higher Education began with eight members in 1991. Its total membership exceeded 200
members in 2015 (INQAAHE, 2015). This rapid growth in interest in QA systems may
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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Higher
education
quality
369
Received 29 July 2014
Revised 18 November 2015
21 April 2016
Accepted 27 April 2016
QualityAssurance in Education
Vol.24 No. 3, 2016
pp.369-393
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/QAE-07-2014-0037
have resulted from increased numbers of students, increased public funding for higher
education, increased government attention to national needs for graduates, increased
demand for higher education, decreasing micro-management of higher education
institutions (HEIs) by governments and globalisation. All of these factors have
contributed to the need for developing a new system to assure quality; to assess whether
higher education is keeping pace with change; and to evaluate expenditure decisions, the
quality of graduates and transnational mobility of students (Kristoffersen and
Woodhouse, 2005). The development of mass education has caused concerns about the
quality of education. Because massication is regarded as a means of providing
developing economies with a highly skilled workforce to enhance economic
development, it is, therefore, one of the characteristics of higher education in most
developing countries, including Vietnam. However, Mok and Neubauer (2015) warn of
unintended social consequences, including graduate unemployment and social mobility
stagnation, as the result of the growing massication in higher education.
The World Bank (2000, p. 27) stated that much of this expansion has “[…] been
unbridled, unplanned, and often chaotic”. Coupled with resource scarcity, competition,
accountability to various stakeholders and the growing complexity of knowledge
(Mhlanga, 2008), the results of such expansion are “the decoupling of teaching and
research, issues of quality, privatization and cost sharing, managerialism and academic
freedom, and over-education and unemployment” (Shin, 2015, p. 10). These could all
have serious consequences. Educators and scholars have expressed concerns about the
quality of education provided by HEIs and the protection of consumers of that education
(Dunrong, 2015;Shin 2015;Thompson-Whiteside, 2013). One of the downsides to the
massication, particularly in countries with historically under-developed higher
education, is that it has been difcult to rapidly develop academics, programmes and
curricula that are of high quality (Ramirez and Berger, 2014). In response to these
concerns, governments and universities have focussed on QA policies and mechanisms.
In alignment with the global trend, Vietnam is establishing a QA system at a time of
rapid expansion of higher education. This attempt began in the late 1990s with the
introduction of development strategies to 2020 for higher education by the Ministry of
Education and Training (MoET). Key gures included completing the organisational
and managerial systems of higher education, empowering universities in terms of their
training and research and developing a system to assess and control the quality of
higher education and teaching and training, based on a standard set of criteria (MoET,
1998). A system to assure higher education quality at the national and institutional level
was developed and regarded as an initial step to improve educational quality (Nguyen
et al., 2009). This was supported by the government through the establishment of
policies and strategies for educational development and the identication of approaches
and mechanisms in management via monitoring, inspection and accreditation of
educational quality (Phan, 2001). Vietnam decided to follow the US accreditation model
to assure and accredit quality (MoET, 2004). Educational quality accreditation was
ofcially brought into the Vietnam Amended Education Law in 2005 (Vietnam National
Assembly, 2005), specically stated in articles 17, 58 and 99. QA centres were
established at the two national universities, the rst two centres responsible for quality
assurance and accreditation (QAA) for HEIs in Vietnam. Since then, as required by the
Education Law, HEIs in Vietnam have started to establish their own units for QA or
QAA.
QAE
24,3
370
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