An investigation of ICT policy implementation in an EFL teacher education program in vietnam

Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters 2019 An investigation of ICT policy implementation in an EFL teacher education program in Vietnam Phan Thu Ngan Vo Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the Education Commons This Thesis is posted at Research Online Theses Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site You are reminded of the following: Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement Where the reproduction of such material is done without attribution of authorship, with false attribution of authorship or the authorship is treated in a derogatory manner, this may be a breach of the author’s moral rights contained in Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) Courts have the power to impose a wide range of civil and criminal sanctions for infringement of copyright, infringement of moral rights and other offences under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form An investigation of ICT policy implementation in an EFL teacher education program in Vietnam This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Vo Phan Thu Ngan Edith Cowan University School of Education 2019 Abstract Due to the increasing pace of advances in technology and attempts to integrate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into education in Vietnam, teachers are now expected to make routine use of ICT in their teaching The Vietnamese government has promulgated ambitious policies aimed at engaging in an increasingly globalised world and promoting the country’s economic development These policies focus on education, and in particular, the development of ICT and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) competencies, seen as key requirements for greater international participation The competencies of teachers are a major factor in the successful implementation of these educational changes Given the key role played by ICT and EFL knowledge and skills in the educational reforms under way in Vietnam, this study investigated the process of implementing ICT into a pre-service EFL teacher education program It was aimed at exploring and understanding lecturers’ and pre-service EFL teachers' perceptions, knowledge and skills in the use of ICT in their teaching and learning practice, particularly as they related to pedagogical reforms in EFL that were occurring at the same time The theoretical framework for this study, derived from Fullan’s (2007) Educational Change and the TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006), was used to determine the factors that affected the implementation of new policies and reforms in the use of ICT in EFL teacher education in Vietnam The study applied a mixed method design involving a quantitative data collection phase followed by a qualitative data collection phase (Creswell & Clark, 2018) through an analysis of national ICT policy, institutional translation and classroom implementation At each level the analysis provided useful insights into the factors that impeded and supported the implementation progress The quantitative data were derived from a questionnaire, and the qualitative data, from document analysis, focus groups and face-to-face interviews Additional data were provided from analyses of policies, teacher education and course documents, lecturers’ teaching outlines and pre-service teachers’ lesson plans The participants included faculty managers, EFL lecturers and pre-service teachers i The key findings of the study were that, despite the noble goals of national ICT policies, conducive conditions at the university and the positive perceptions of lecturers and pre-service teachers, ICT was not fully integrated into the teacher training program Evidence of a gap emerged between ICT-related policies and classroom practice, mainly due to barriers at every level of the educational system The absence of clear ICT policies and guidelines at both national and institutional levels was a major cause of ineffective leadership, inappropriate allocation of ICT resources, and a lack of professional development, maintenance and support Based on the findings, a number of recommendations have been provided to address the development, translation and embeddedness of ICT policies and assist all stakeholders to solve the relevant issues In addition, a model has been presented to address the interrelationships between the relevant factors and effectively guide lecturers and pre-service teachers to integrate ICT and enhance their EFL teaching and learning practice ii Declaration I certify that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief: i Incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education; ii Contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; or iii Contain any defamatory material I also grant permission for the Library at Edith Cowan University to make duplicate copies of my thesis as required Signature: Date: 25/10/2019 iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere thanks to my government, ECU staff, friends, family and especially my supervisors, without whose encouragement, help and understanding this thesis would never have been completed I would like to begin by thanking the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and Edith Cowan University for granting me a joint scholarship to pursue my research I am also grateful to the administrators of the university for allowing me to conduct my study there, and thank the lecturers and students who agreed to participate in the research My heartfelt thanks go to my supervisors, Dr Yvonne Haig, Dr Jenny Lane, Dr Jeremy Pagram, Dr Maggie McAlinden and Dr Rosemary Joy Allen, for their encouragement, philosophical insights, guidance, perceptive comments and support during my academic journey Yvonne, you were a guiding light during the initial stage – starting from my first days at ECU to Confirmation of Candidature Jeremy, you not only improved my critical thinking and research skills, but also provided me with timely assistance in so many ways, for which I will always be grateful My thanks also go to ECU staff who helped and encouraged me along the way: Dr Calvin Wang, Dr Hendrati Nastiti and Zina Cordery I would like to extend a special thank you to Dr Alistair Campbell for supporting me with technical and information retrieval skills and resolving my EndNote headaches I would like to express my thanks to Bev Lurie for being a wonderful editor who helped proofread, edit and improve my thesis I offer my regards and blessings to all my close friends during my PhD journey, including Thi Hien Tran, Thi Thu Lan Nguyen, Thi Bich Hiep Vu, Huifen Jin and all my Vietnamese friends for their astute advice and perceptive suggestions at crucial moments I owe a great debt of gratitude to my father, uncle and aunt for their kind prayers, support, patience and encouragement Also, sincere thanks to my lovely daughters for being the source of strength I relied upon in difficult times v Descriptive Results of TPACK Confidence for Lecturers Technology knowledge (TK) TK1: adjust computer settings TK2: use computer peripherals TK3: troubleshoot common computer problems TK4: use digital classroom equipment TK5: use Office programs TK6: create multimedia TK7: use collaboration tools Content knowledge (CK) CK1: speak in English CK2: write in English CK3: understand English written texts CK4: understand native English speaker speech CK5: teach English language skills such as vocabulary usage and conversation CK6: teach linguistic knowledge such as knowledge of English sound, wordformation and syntax CK7: teach cultural understanding of English-speaking countries Pedagogical knowledge (PK) PK1: have knowledge about general learning theories PK2: prepare, plan and deliver teaching PK3: manage a classroom learning environment PK4: evaluate students’ learning processes Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) PCK1: select effective teaching strategies to guide students’ learning in the EFL context PCK2: have knowledge about the ways students interact to negotiate meaning in English PCK3: adapt a lesson plan in accordance with students’ language skill levels 241 Technology content knowledge (TCK) TCK1: take advantage of multimedia to express my ideas about various topics in English TCK2: use collaboration tools to work collaboratively with foreign persons TCK 3: have knowledge about technological applications for teaching English language skills TCK 4: have knowledge about technological applications for teaching English linguistic knowledge TCK 5: have knowledge about technological applications for teaching English culture Technology pedagogical knowledge (TPK) TPK1: have knowledge about learning theories with ICT TPK2: lead students to use information technologies legally, ethically, safely, and with respect to copyrights TPK3: use ICT to manage classes TPK4: prepare, plan and deliver teaching using ICT TPK5: assess student learning with ICT TPACK TPACK1: support students as they use ICT to develop their language skills in an independent manner TPACK 2: design real-life tasks through which students use ICT to learn English TPACK 3: evaluate software, tasks and students’ performance in a technologically-rich class TPACK 4: use ICT tools and resources to continuously improve the language teaching process 242 Descriptive Results of TPACK Confidence for Pre-Service Teachers Technology knowledge TK1: adjust computer settings TK2: use computer peripherals TK3: troubleshoot common computer problems TK4: use digital classroom equipment TK5: use Office programs TK6: create multimedia TK7: use collaboration tools Content knowledge (CK) CK1: speak in English CK2: write in English CK3: understand English written texts CK4: understand native English speaker speech CK5: teach English language skills such as vocabulary usage and conversation CK6: teach linguistic knowledge such as knowledge of English sound, wordformation and syntax CK7: teach cultural understanding of English-speaking countries Pedagogical knowledge (PK) PK1: have knowledge about general learning theories PK2: prepare, plan and deliver teaching PK3: manage a classroom learning environment PK4: evaluate students’ learning processes Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) PCK1: select effective teaching strategies to guide students’ learning in the EFL context PCK2: have knowledge about the ways students interact to negotiate meaning in English PCK3: adapt a lesson plan in accordance with students’ language skill levels 243 Technology content knowledge (TCK) TCK1: take advantage of multimedia to express my ideas about various topics in English TCK2: use collaboration tools to work collaboratively with foreign persons TCK 3: have knowledge about technological applications for teaching English language skills TCK 4: have knowledge about technological applications for teaching English linguistic knowledge TCK 5: have knowledge about technological applications for teaching English culture Technology pedagogical knowledge (TPK) TPK1: have knowledge about learning theories with ICT TPK2: lead students to use information technologies legally, ethically, safely, and with respect to copyrights TPK3: use ICT to manage classes TPK4: prepare, plan and deliver teaching using ICT TPK5: assess student learning with ICT TPACK TPACK1: support students as they use ICT to develop their language skills in an independent manner TPACK 2: design real-life tasks through which students use ICT to learn English TPACK 3: evaluate software, tasks and students’ performance in a technologically-rich class TPACK 4: use ICT tools and resources to continuously improve the language teaching process 244 Appendix E Relationship between Demographics and TPACK Components for Lecturers and Pre-Service Teachers Demographics and TPACK Components for Lecturers Gender TPACK TK Usefu CK Confi Usefu Confi PK Usefu Confi PCK Usefu Confi TCK Usefu TPK Confi Usefu TPACK Confi Usefu Confi Teaching experience TPACK TK Usefu Confi CK Usefu PK Confi Usefu PCK Confi Usefu Confi TCK Usefu Confi TPK Usefu Confi TPACK Usefu Confi 245 Teaching load TPACK TK Useful Confident CK Useful PK Confident Useful PCK Confident Useful Confident TCK Useful Confident TPK Useful Confident TPACK Useful Confident 246 Demographics and TPACK Components for Pre-Service Teachers Gender TPACK TK CK PK PCK TCK TPK TPACK Hometown TPACK TK CK PK PCK TCK TPK TPACK 247 Appendix F Main Contents and Time Allocation for Basic ICT Course Unit code IU01 & IU02 Essential computer IU03 Word processing IU04 Spreadsheets IU05 249 Unit code Presentation IU06 Web browsing & Communication Note: T=Theory; P=Practice 250 ... 35 ICT in Language Education 35 Definition of ICT and ICT Integration in Education 35 ICT Integration in Language Education 36 Benefits and Challenges of ICT Integration in Language... offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form An investigation of ICT policy implementation in an EFL teacher education program in Vietnam This... enhancing the role of IT in teaching English and other languages; using open-source software in teaching and training; developing an Educational Network (EduNet); and promoting and teaching informatics