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When referring to this thesis and any accompanying data, full bibliographic details must be given, e. Thesis: Author (Year of Submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University Faculty or School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Data: Author (Year) Title. URI [dataset] UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF SOCIAL, HUMAN & MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES Southampton Education School COMPLIANCE VS.
IMPROVEMENT: PERCEPTIONS OF QUALITY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN VIETNAMESE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS – CASE STUDIES OF A PUBLIC AND A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY by Phuong Truong Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education April 2019 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON Abstract FACULTY OF SOCIAL, HUMAN & MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES Southampton Education School Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education COMPLIANCE VS. IMPROVEMENT: PERCEPTIONS OF QUALITY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN VIETNAMESE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS – CASE STUDIES OF A PUBLIC AND A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY by Phuong Truong Quality in English language education provided by higher learning institutions is significant in today’s rapid expansion of higher education and the growing demand worldwide of non-English speakers with sufficient proficiency in English language, Vietnam being no exception. Nevertheless, there is scarcity of literature regarding quality in the provision of English language modules/courses/programmes, particularly at university level. Quality initiatives and measures have been developed, applied, and transferred from context to context but without adequate investigation into the underlying quality notions and assumptions.
The aim of this research was to explore not only the conceptualisations of quality but assumptions about purposes and impact of quality activities on English language classroom practices. Differing from the few predominantly survey-based studies in the field, a case study approach was applied to examine quality issues at national, institutional, and individual levels. The cases were one public and one private university in Vietnam, subcases including the Vice Chancellors, managers and staff in education management and quality practices, teachers, and students. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, and review of public policy and institutional documents, and analysed through a constant-comparative method.
Outcomes-, objectives-, and accountability-oriented quality management at the national level promoted a compliance culture and accountable quality at the institutional level. Institutions responded to public policies by implementing outcomes-based education model and standards- based quality methods relevant to organisational culture, institutional structure, quality capacity, and other QA conditions of the institution. Thinking and actions at institutional and individual levels were influenced by messages from written policies concerning quality in tertiary-level English language education. Importance was attached to learners’ attainment of institutionally pre-defined learning outcomes, and quality as threshold standards.
Quality in learning outcomes did not lessen but was closely linked to quality in inputs and processes. Outcomes focus was presented in curriculum/syllabuses and materials reconstruction; teaching and learning arrangements, and test design and testing procedures. Standards orientation helped to assure immediate outcomes rather than continuous improvement in English language learning. Likewise, customer-focused/accountability-oriented quality measures had little connection with enhanced professionalism of English language teachers and did not always ensure contributing roles of the learners/employers in educational processes.
Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents. i Table of Tables. v Table of Figures .vii Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship .xi Abbreviations and Acronyms. xiii Chapter 1 Introduction .1 Motivation for the study .2 Background to the study .1 Higher education in Vietnam .2 English language teaching and learning in VHEIs .3 Prior research on quality issue.4 Statement of the study .5 Outline of the thesis.
17 Chapter 2 Literature review .1 The origin of the concept quality .2 Why quality concerns .3 Difficulty in defining quality .4 Approaches to defining ‘quality’ .5 Quality assurance in higher education .6 Managerialism and quality in English language education .7 The conceptual framework .2 Case study design. 51 Case study approach. 51 Potential limitations of case study approach for my study. 54 Selecting case study type.
55 i Table of Contents Selecting and defining the case. 56 Case selection procedures .1 Data collection instruments .2 Data collection procedures .1 Preliminary analysis and data preparation .2 Within-case and cross-case data analysis .3 Developing the case study reports. 75 Chapter 4 Messages from written policies .1 Higher education purposes and state governance of VHEIs .2 QAA policies, QAA measures, and quality initiatives. 83 Chapter 5 Case study 1: Junior University .1 Junior’s pen-portrait .2 Staff and managers’ perspectives.
102 ii Table of Contents 5. 104 Chapter 6 Case study 2: Fortress University .1 Fortress’s pen-portrait .2 Staff and managers’ perspectives. 128 Chapter 7 Discussion of findings .1 Quality conceptualisations at national, institutional, and individual level .1 Quality conceptualisations at national level .2 Quality conceptualisations at institutional level .3 Quality conceptualisations at individual level .2 Quality mechanisms for English language education in VHEIs – motives and impact .2 Institutions’ responses to public policy on QAA .3 Individual responses and thoughts .1 Summary of the current research. 169 iii Table of Contents 8.2 Contributions of the current research .3 Limitations of the current research .4 Implications of the current research .5 Final concluding statements.
181 List of references. 183 Appendix A List of topic areas for semi-structured interviews with university heads. 219 Appendix B List of topic areas for semi-structured interviews with heads/teachers of English language department. 221 Appendix C List of topic areas for semi-structured interviews with ETM, QAA people.
223 Appendix D List of topic areas for focus groups with students. 225 Appendix E Observation guide. 227 Appendix F Sample interview at Junior University. 229 Appendix G Sample interview at Fortress University.
245 Appendix H Code development illustrations. 265 Appendix I Ethics protocol. 269 iv Table of Tables Table of Tables Table 1 VHEIs stratification. 3 Table 2 Summary of research methods at each university.
60 Table 3 Illustration of how fictionalised accounts were created. 71 v Table of Figures Table of Figures Figure 1 Conceptual Framework. 43 Figure 2 Case selection procedures. 59 Figure 3 Development of all codes of the research project.
265 Figure 4 Development of codes for definitions of quality. 266 Figure 5 Development of codes for QAA learning. 267 vii Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship Print name: Phuong Truong Compliance vs. Improvement: Perceptions of quality in English language Title of thesis: education in Vietnamese higher education institutions – Case studies of a public and a private university I declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research.
This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given.
With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. None of this work has been published before submission Signature: Date: ix Acknowledgements Acknowledgements I owe my deepest gratitude to John Schulz.
He has always been a kind-hearted, generous, supportive, and approachable supervisor, guiding me through all ups and downs in my studies. Without his persistent help, constant encouragement, valuable and profound advice, and understanding from the start of my PhD journey this study would hardly have been completed. Also, I would like to thank Daniel Muijs for his insightful comments and suggestions and supervision in the first two years of my research process. My sincerest and special thanks go to Melanie Nind who has given me sound supervision and warm encouragement over the final two years.
Her expertise, motivational feedback, and constructive and meticulous comments have been essential for the completion of my thesis. I am indebted to the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam International Education Cooperation Department, and my employer for giving me the opportunity to conduct this research. I am deeply grateful to the two Vietnamese universities, institutional managers, middle managers, non-teaching and teaching staff, and students. Had it not been for their participation and support, this research would not have materialised.
My heartfelt appreciation is reserved for my close family members, friends, and colleagues. Their non-stop support and patience have led me through the lonely and challenging time of a PhD student. xi Abbreviations and Acronyms Abbreviations and Acronyms ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CDIO Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment CPD Continuous Professional Development ECS English as a compulsory subject EFL English as a foreign language EMI English as a medium of instruction ELT English language teaching ELTL English language teaching and learning ESL English as a second language ESP English for specific purposes ETM Education and training management ETMUEducation and training management unit HE Higher education HEIs Higher education institutions L1 Source language L2 Target language MOETMinistry of Education and Training MOIA Ministry of Internal Affairs MOFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs NAO (UK) National Audit Office PIS Participant information sheet xiii Abbreviations and Acronyms QA Quality assurance QAA Quality assurance and accreditation QAAU Quality assurance and accreditation unit QE Quality enhancement QM Quality management SLA Second language acquisition SPC Statistical Process Control TQM Total Quality Management USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics VHE Vietnamese higher education VHEIs Vietnamese higher education institutions xiv Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation for the study 24B I was triggered to examine quality issues in English language teaching and learning (ELTL) after I read the title of an article: ‘Students graduate English deaf and dumb after 16 years of study’ (VietnamNet, 2011). It shocked but also resonated with my experiences in a dual role of a learner and a teacher of English in Vietnam’s educational system.
University-level ELTL faced complaints about low quality in media and academic research reports (e. Hoang, 2008) despite numerous quality initiatives being introduced at departmental, institutional, and national level, which involved innovation in curriculum design and delivery, assessment, professional training development. Regarding quality management (QM), Vietnamese higher education institutions (VHEIs) at that time set it high-priority a task to set up institutional mechanisms of quality assurance and accreditation (QAA). Teachers and students were required to attain certain language competency levels.
Thus, I was inspired to learn about what people meant by ‘quality’, what was going on in VHEIs (VHEIs), what was the rationale for the so-called standardisation of ELTL in VHEIs, and how far quality initiatives/mechanisms had impacted on the process of higher education (HE) ELTL. Having delved into relevant issues I realised that quality in ELTL in VHEIs should be attributed to more than just classroom practices. I wanted to investigate the relationship between QAA and ELTL, which was expected to help build quality mechanisms that would be well-rooted in and well- connected with theoretical and practical issues in ELTL arrangements in VHEIs.