CHANGES IN VIETNAM AND THE UK’S HIGHER EDUCATION – A COMPARISON by HY HOANG THIEN QUACH A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY School of Education University of Birmingham June 2013 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Based on international league tables and widely-held perceptions, higher education in Vietnam compares unfavourably to other countries, especially developed nations like the United Kingdom1. However, in terms of challenges, Vietnam and The UK both encounter many problems in higher education including financial matters and changes in policies. Nevertheless, in the global arena, the UK’s tertiary system appears to completely surpass Vietnam’s. This thesis is based on an empirical study within the interpretive paradigm and the framework of comparative education, seeking to understand the concepts of a university, mission and quality in Vietnam and the UK since 1992. The sites were Vietnamese and British universities established before and after 1992 for the comparison across and within the two countries. Following an historical analysis based on policy changes, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 participants, including lecturers and students. The data were detailed, illuminating the current perceptions and the expectations of higher education by 2020. Many factors were identified as remarkable constituents to the development of the changes in Vietnam and the UK’s higher education up to the present and forward to 2020. The ever continual changes in Vietnam and the UK’s higher education were reflected in the results. The study of the changes in higher education will continue to be important. 1 The United Kingdom or the UK includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland; Great Britain or Britain refers to only England, Scotland, and Wales (Hornby, 2010). In this research study, the higher education system is mainly examined within England, so the term “the UK” is preferable as the system is UK-wide. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This has been an incredible journey, which is full of emotions, challenges, and valuable lessons and I am sure that I am in debt to many who have supported and inspired me throughout this. I could not accomplish that without them and I would like to give my special thanks to them. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor Michele Schweisfurth, my supervisor, for her patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this research study. Without her kindness and her unshakeable faith in me, I could not overcome all the challenges and continue my studying. Without her generous help both morally and academically, I could not finish this work successfully. I would like to express my very great appreciation to Ms Helen Joinson for helping me with all the regulations and paperwork from the very start of my study up until now. Her willingness to guide and support me when I was not be able to be back in the UK has been very much appreciated. This research study cannot be completed without the generous help of the participants. Although it is necessary to anonymize them, I would like to extend my thanks to all of them, who spent time with me during my fieldwork and gave me valuable and illuminating ideas for answering my research questions. All my lovely and wonderful friends, Thieu Thi Hong, Do Tri Nhut, Le Huynh Nhu, and Nguyen Thuy Phuong presented me with encouragement and assistance during my fieldwork. They always offered me their hands for me to hold on under the storms. Especially, I would offer my special thank to my dear friend, Nguyen ii Thanh Long, for his technical, critical, financial, and emotional support. Without his motivation and encouragement, I could not stand up and continue my passion for study and research. Finally, I wish to thank my family for all their love, belief, and support to me. I wish to send all my gratitude, love and respect to my Father, Quach Vu Tuan, who was the first person to inspire me to be a lecturer and researcher. My Mother, Hoang Thi Nhung, has always tried to be strong under difficult conditions for me to feel assured and focus on my research study. I always feel thankful and lucky to be their daughter as they have sacrificed all their life to raise me up and support me on my academic path. My sister, Quach Hoang Phoi, is always by my side and thoughtfully provided me with help and motivation to reach the end. iii DEDICATION I wish to dedicate this work to my Father, Quach Vu Tuan, for his last wish was to see me be able to continue my study and to thrive with my passion as a researcher. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1 Context of the study ............................................................................................. 1 Research Objectives ............................................................................................. 4 Research framework ............................................................................................ 4 Personal Context .................................................................................................. 5 Organization of the thesis .................................................................................... 7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: DEFINITIONS OF TERMS ............................................................. 9 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 9 Definitions of terms ............................................................................................. 9 Concept of higher education ............................................................................ 9 Concept of higher education institutions ........................................................ 14 Concept of university mission ........................................................................ 18 Concept of university quality ......................................................................... 21 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 3: CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT ....................................... 27 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 27 The milestone year 1992 .................................................................................... 28 Period pre-1992 .................................................................................................. 30 Post 1992: ........................................................................................................... 36 Time phase 1: From 1992 to 1997 .................................................................. 36 Time phase 2: From 1997 to 2007 .................................................................. 44 Time phase 3: From 2007 to 2012: The present of higher education: ............ 52 v Time phase 4: From 2013-2020: The future of higher education .................. 60 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 66 Summary of the development of Vietnam and the UK’s higher education since 1992 ....................................................................................................... 66 Relations of the socio-economic development and the perceptions of universities, missions, and quality: ................................................................ 69 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 74 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 74 Positionality and Reflexivity .............................................................................. 75 Methodology and Epistemology ........................................................................ 77 Research Paradigm ......................................................................................... 77 Initial Thoughts on the Research Design ........................................................... 81 Review of some methodology from other studies .......................................... 82 The pilot study ................................................................................................ 85 The first pilot study ........................................................................................ 85 The second pilot study .................................................................................... 89 Justifications for applying Qualitative Design ................................................... 91 Multi-site cross-cultural qualitative study ........................................................