Managing continuing education via distance learning and face-to-face courses for human resource development in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

Abstract

Continuing education has increased in importance and popularity in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam as a means of ensuring a sustained and qualified workforce for the region. This research was conducted to investigate the input and output of continuing education through distance learning and face-to-face courses at selected institutions in the Mekong Delta. Institutional strategies and capacity in managing continuing education via two-course types were examined. The two main methods employed were demographic data analyses and quantitative analyses with a questionnaire of 70 Likert items distributed to 100 teachers and 20 administrators. The findings revealed an increase in the input quantity and quality of CE and the small gap between distance learning and face-to-face output. Regulatory management, finance, and promotion were the contents identified as areas that need improvement in managing continuing education; yet the unbalanced capacities of different sectors, favoring business and management, remained.