Reforming Teaching and Learning in Vietnam’s Higher Education System

Abstract

Modernisation (renovation) of teaching to enhance its quality and relevance in Vietnam’s fast developing market-driven economy is a significant topic on the country’s higher education reform agenda. Importantly, the knowledge economy is generating a need for emerging skills and knowledge to augment and replace outdated knowledge that has not previously been part of the country’s higher education curriculum. This chapter directs its attention to recent moves aimed to improve teaching and learning in Vietnam’s higher education system. It focuses particularly on: broader issues that need to be addressed in the reform process in a country determined to become a major player in a global, knowledge-intensive economy; obstacles impeding these reform attempts; examples of reforms aimed to enhance the quality and relevance of teaching and learning; and some suggested strategies the higher education system could adopt to modernise and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in the higher education system. Contended here is that while some innovative reforms have been successfully implemented, there is huge potential in Vietnam’s higher education system for enhancing further the quality and relevance of teaching and learning but realising this potential will depend ultimately on the nation’s ability to implement policies and realistic strategies matched by appropriate resources.