VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY TRINH NGOC ANH OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN VIETNAM: CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES MASTER'S THESIS VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY TRINH NGOC ANH OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN VIETNAM: CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES MAJOR: GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CODE: 8310210.01QTD RESEARCH SUPERVISORS: Prof. KAZUO KURODA Prof. NGUYEN TUAN ANH Hanoi, 2022 STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT On my honor, I certify that the findings of this study are original and do not conflict with Regulation on prevention of plagiarism in academic and scientific research activities at Vietnam Japan University (issued in conjunction with Decision No. 700/Q- HVN dated 30 September 2021 by the Rector of Vietnam Japan University).
This research has been submitted to satisfy the requirement of the Master's program of global leadership Signature Trinh Ngoc Anh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to take this chance to commend the individuals and dear professors who supported me to complete my research. First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to Prof. Nguyen Tuan Anh and Prof. Kuroda Kazuo, who worked as my research supervisors, for their suggestions and active engagement during my entire research process.
I want to convey my appreciation for your advice, compassion, and inspiration in helping me get beyond the challenges. I will always be grateful to Dr. Jasmine Ryu for her unending kindness, perceptive remarks, and inspirational lectures during my study. Throughout my period at VJU, the MGL board of directors and MGL professors, especially Prof.
Pham Hong Tung and Prof. Katsuma Yasushi, have provided me with a lot of valuable feedbacks and helpful comments, which I would always remember and appreciate. Above all, throughout my busiest two years, none of my efforts would have been possible without the love, assistance, and understanding of my family and friends. Thank you for being patient and supportive towards my academic journey.
Hanoi, July 2022 Author Trinh Ngoc Anh ABSTRACT The concept of open educational resources (OER) has evolved over the past 20 years from being a loosely defined term for freely accessible courseware to becoming a part of tactical strategies now included in many governmental and institutional policies. The significance of OER ranges from improving learning quality, expanding opportunities for lifelong learning for all to increasing access to education. With such immense significance, OER is becoming a key contributor to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal number 4: quality education. Nowadays, more and more nations are adopting this concept to innovate the existing challenge of education in the midst of the blooming technology 4.
Vietnam, as a developing country, is experiencing technological advancement in all sectors, including open education. By boosting its support for OER and open education in general, both domestically and internationally, Vietnam can play a significant role in advancing SDG4. Therefore, the research aims to investigate the current mechanisms that support OER and the situation of OER implementation using a specific study at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH). In order to obtain the results, a mixed-method design is incorporated to analyze the research data.
The resolutions, directives and articles relating to the advancement OER in Vietnam will be assessed as part of the document analysis. Furthermore, an online survey will be distributed to the students of USSH to explore the utilization of OER by students. Taking a deep dive into the facilitation of OER at the university, an in-depth interview will be conducted to find out the lecturer’s effort in promoting this innovative concept. In general, the research expects to find that OER is being increasingly supported in national documents and institutional practice.
Hence, students will have the opportunity to adopt the use of OER considerably in their study. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .i LIST OF FIGURES. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATION. iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 Reason of the study .2 Research objectives and significance of the study .4 Scope of the study.
3 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL CONSIDERATION AND METHODOLOGY .1 The development of OER .2 Major OER initiatives around the world .3 Benefits of OER in higher education .4 Challenges of using OER .5 OER in Vietnam .2 Working concepts and theoretical consideration. 24 CHAPTER 3: FINDING AND DISCUSSION.1 Basic experience and understanding of OER by lecturers and students in USSH .1 Student’s experience of OER. Lecturer’s understanding of OER. Institutional practice in promoting OER .1 Student’s implementation of OER .2 Institutional effort in promoting OER.
Benefits of using OER. Student’s perspective on the benefit of OER. Lecturer’s perspective on the benefits of OER. Challenges of using OER .1 Student’s perspective on the challenges of using OER .2 Challenges from the school management and practice .3 Challenges from individual.
Implication to promote OER .2 Limitations to the research. 52 LIST OF TABLES Table 2. Authors’ illustration, adapted from UN Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations, n.2: Analytical framework created by author on the current implementation, benefits and challenge of OER. 26 i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework created by author .2: Students divided by school year .3: Survey participants’ faculty .1: Student’s understanding of OER .2: Percentage for OER materials serving different academic purpose .3: Assessment of OER use in the classroom by students .3: OER positive impact on student’s academic results .4: Student’s perspective on the benefits of OER.5: Student’s perspective on the disadvantages of OER .6: Student's perspective on the disadvantages of OER.
45 ii LIST OF ABBREVIATION OER: Open Educational Resources VNU: Vietnam National University USSH: University of Social Sciences and Humanities VFOSSA: Vietnam Free & Open Source Software Association MOET: Ministry of Education and Training SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals UN: United Nations UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter provides background information, motivation for the research, operationalization, and significance of the topic that will be covered in this thesis.1 Reason of the study Over the years, the education domain has been prevailed by the global expansion of technology. With the help of technology, Education 4.0 is a new concept that calls for new learning methods and competency to enhance the process of knowledge generation and information dissemination (Miranda et al. The teaching and learning channels are considered as fundamentals for the enhancement of students' capabilities. In order to create a generation of highly skilled graduates amid the Education 4.0 era, universities shall undertake the mission to include advanced technology into the system and alternate the conventional methods of learning (James, 2019).
Engaging with the innovation of technology, Vietnam as a developing country was officially connected to the Internet in November 1997 and became one of the most developed countries in Asia in terms of technology and communication (Chi, 2019). Ever since, a considerable number of universities in Vietnam have utilized e-learning practice into their education system. Nowadays, the assistance of technology in education is highly emphasized. Open educational resources are considered a very important type of resources on the acceleration to achieve a 4.
Around the world, many educational institutions are encouraged to apply and research the use of OER (Commonwealth of Learning, 2011). Thus, the functions of OER as an advanced and highly available resources will open more opportunities for learners to reach further knowledge. Given the situation of the Covid-19, learners are more encouraged to approach e- learning and materials online to assist their academics. Vietnam, as a country targeting the open initiatives for educational reform, is becoming more susceptive to this concept.2 Research objectives and significance of the study As part of the developing nations that targets the global trend of Education 4.0, Vietnam is enhancing approaches to adopt the “Open initiatives” in all sectors of 1 education.
Particularly, the Party of Vietnam enacted Central Resolution 29 to create a comprehensive and fundamental renovation in education. In the resolution, the mission to reform the system in the direction of “openness” at all levels of education is emphasized (Department of Continuing Education, 2019). As part of a 4.0 education enablers, Open Educational Resources (OER) is capable of supporting a quality education system that promotes an inclusive and open environment as well as empowering the autonomy of teachers in creating standard learning materials (UNESCO recommendation, 2019). Therefore, securing an open and sustainable learning resource is an essential path for Vietnam to reach the quality of education and produce a proficient generation amid the era of Education 4.
While the use of OER is rising quickly in developed nations, it is languishing in developing countries as a result of numerous organizational, technological, and cultural constraints. Particularly, nothing is known about the situation of OER at the moment. According to Hu et al., (2015), research on OER adoption in developing nation is lacking. Consequently, this research is aimed at uncovering the underlying value of Open Educational Resources as a solution to the existing challenges in resource availability and quality education in the context of Vietnam.
Furthermore, it will take a deep dive into the policies or frameworks discussing OER in education to explore the existing mechanism for the facilitation of OER. Finally, the study aims at investigating the application of OER at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities through institutional policy and student’s utilization of OER. How is the current application of Open Educational Resources in the University of Social Sciences and Humanities? 1. What institutional practices does USSH lecturers use to promote OER? 1.
How are students integrating OER in their study? 1. What are the perceived benefits of OER? 2. What are the existing challenges in promoting OER at USSH ? 2. What challenges are on the school level? 2.
What challenges are on the individual level? 2 1.4 Scope of the study The main focus of the study is aimed at lecturers and students. According to Nghia (2022), the development of OER can only be successful when it involves the contribution of stakeholders, such as educators and learners. While educator plays the role of creating and disseminating the practice of OER into the lecture, the role of learner is to proactively find out new and effective OER, at the same time, utilize the use of free OER to the fullest to serve their academic purpose. Therefore, the research collected data from lecturers and students at a particular higher education institution.
The time duration for the data collection last 3 months, from May 2022 to August 2022. 3 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL CONSIDERATION AND METHODOLOGY 2.1 The development of OER a, The history of OER Since the dawn of time, the concept of "open" was introduced in literature in the work of Karl Popper's, named “The Open Society and Its Enemies”. In which, the term “open” was interpreted as the broad-mindedness towards unconventional perspectives, theological virtue and diverse ideas (Popper, 1945). Thereafter, the word "open" is frequently attached with a wide array of domains, including "open access”, “open education'', “open data”.
The origin of one the “open” initiatives, which is “open access” dates back to 1931 with the work of Ranganathan called “Five Laws of Library Science” (as cited in Mishra, 2012). The goal of “open access” in this pre-digital era was to ensure that all people could read and be granted access to literature. This milestone paved the way for future initiatives to legalize the trend of “open access”. In September 2002, with the development of the Internet, the term "Open Access" was introduced in the Budapest Open Access Initiative.
This initiative provides users with free public internet access, allowing them to review, browse, duplicate, disseminate, and print documents. Users will be protected from technical barriers when using the materials as long as the integrity of the work is preserved and the author’s moral right is acknowledged (Vollmer, 2012).