Teaching and learning reforms in Vietnamese higher education: students' experiences

Student experiences are important resources to inform the improvement of the quality of higher education teaching, learning and management activities. In the case of Vietnam, a series of teaching-learning reforms have been conducted since the 2000s, amidst many other reforms in the higher education system, following the Higher Education Reform Agenda (2005). All changes as a result of such reforms may affect students’ experiences with their university education. Unfortunately, there have not been any studies about teaching-learning reforms in Vietnamese higher education, taking into students’ experiences to enhance educational quality or to inform the reform directions. This paper reports a synthesis of 10 empirical studies that explored the experiences of approximately 4,300 students across Vietnam with different teaching-learning reforms occurring in their universities. In particular, the paper focuses: • building a learning environment support provided to first-year students • the operation of the credit-based training system • the implementation of a student-centered teaching approach • the use of ICT in teaching and learning • the effectiveness of imported programs • the use of student-centered assessment practices • the implementation of internship programs • the execution of extra-curricular activities to develop students’ employability skills • the added values of Vietnamese higher education The results suggested overall positive student experiences with the teaching-learning reforms. The studies also revealed several obstacles to the reforms related to students’ learning attitudes, teacher beliefs and expertise, and leadership and management capacity. Some socio-cultural and systemic factors were identified as inhibitors to the reforms. Based on the results, the paper discusses and develops a framework for teaching and learning reforms that place students’ learning experience in the heart of on-campus and off-campus activities, setting “ecologies” conducive to students’ learning

Measuring the perceived destination image of Vietnam in Finland

Vietnam tourism has been developing fast in recent decades with the considerable increase in the number of international tourists. Among Nordic countries, Finland is one of the most potential tourist markets for Vietnam as it had a noticeable growth rate in the number of tourists to Vietnam last year. Admittedly, Vietnam recently emerged as the new tourist destination for Finnish people and is gradually becoming a favorite choice of many tourists. In an attempt to boost the activities of Vietnam tourism in Finland, it is essential to identify ‘the extent of awareness of Vietnam destination image in Finland’. This study focuses on figuring out the image of Vietnam as a tourist destination in Finnish people’s perception. It also aims to explore the influential degree of these image characteristics on travelers’ decision-making and the obstacles limiting Finnish tourists from travelling to Vietnam. Quantitative approach was employed to gather necessary information from Finnish participants. The survey questionnaire is designed in structured and unstructured format to capture all components of the destination image. Based on data from 121 survey responses, the study’s results were analyzed and presented in both forms of numeric and narration. The results provide valuable information regarding to the prominent destination image of Vietnam in Finland and the difficulties constrain Finnish tourists from visiting Vietnam. The study proposes the preliminary suggestions for effectively promoting the destination image and tourism activities of Vietnam in Finland. Moreover, several improvement recommendations for tourism activities in Vietnam were also mentioned in this paper

Committed, face‐value, hybrid or mutual adaptation? The experiences of international students in Australian higher education

This paper explores the adaptation patterns of international Chinese and Vietnamese students in relation to academic writing practices in a higher education context. The study utilises a trans‐disciplinary framework for interpreting students’ and lecturers’ practices within institutional structures. This framework has been developed by infusing a modified version of Lillis’ heuristic for exploring students’ meaning making with positioning theory. A prominent finding of the study indicates the emergence of three main forms of adaptation, committed adaptation, face‐value adaptation and hybrid adaptation, that the students employed to gain access to their disciplinary practices. The findings of the study give insights into ways that a dialogical pedagogic model for mutual adaptation can be developed between international students and academics. The aim is to enhance the education of international students in this increasingly internationalised environment