Vietnamese academics research capacity in tertiary contexts

Vietnamese Academics’ Research Capacity in Tertiary Contexts HUYNH THANH TIEN A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education 2016 ABSTRACT Research carried out by academics at higher education institutions (HEIs) has substantially contributed to nations’ development, particularly in a time of globalisation and internationalisation of higher education (HE) A range of studies on academics’ research have been undertaken in western contexts Those studies can be classified into studies of academics’ research perceptions and studies of factors affecting academics’ research productivity However, there has been a very limited number of studies on academics’ research capacity and HEIs’ research capacities in Vietnam Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Government has attempted to develop its HE system to contribute to the success of its national development Over the past ten years, the Vietnamese Government has issued a series of research related policies and has had a greater investment into the development of its HE system However, the research capacity of Vietnamese HEIs has been lower than that of its neighbouring countries in the region Therefore, this study was conducted with the hope that it might provide an in-depth understanding of the research capacities of Vietnamese HEIs and their academics and how they can be better fostered in the Vietnamese HE system The study was conducted in three public HEIs at different levels in southern Vietnam: provincial, regional, and national The study employed an interpretive case study approach with a lens of historical and sociocultural theory Three key tools used for data collecting were surveys, individual semi-structured interviews, and document analysis The research participants were purposefully selected from the three institutions For data analysis, the study utilised a combined framework adapted from the predictive model department research productivity of Bland, Center, Finstad, Risbey, and Staples (2005), the model of factors affecting academics’ research productivity of Chen, Gupta, and Hoshower (2006), and Moore’s (2015) socialecological model: Looking beyond the individual The study’s findings indicated that the research capacities of Vietnamese HEIs and their academics were influenced by various factors at different levels At societal level, they include socioeconomic, sociocultural, and political factors At community level, they comprise resources, research orientation, research networks, professional development practices At institutional level, they consist of establishment history, geographical location, and organisation Additionally, the study identified that institutional contexts affected the academics’ research motivation and research engagement at this level Finally, this study suggested some recommendations for both academic leaders and academics from the three HEIs and Vietnamese HE policy makers to consider so that they may find ways to enhance the research capacities of the Vietnamese HEIs and their academics’ research engagement i ACKNOWLEDGMENT The writing of this PhD thesis was certainly challenging, but worth undertaking In addition to the writing, it taught me to press on determinedly, to be persistent, and to encourage myself The experience and knowledge that I have gained from this thesis would not have been possible without the love, support, guidance and participation of many people in my PhD journey in the wonderful and peaceful country of New Zealand Wholeheartedly, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my research supervisors I am heartily thankful to my primary supervisor, Associate Professor Joanna Higgins, providing generous support, guidance, and critical comments from the initial to the final stage of my thesis I would also like to show my appreciation to Dr Kate Thornton for her guidance, support, and valuable comments I wish to thank Professor Robert Strathdee for his supervision in the initial stage of my doctoral study And I would like to express my thanks to Dr Deborah Laurs from Student Learning Support at Victoria University of Wellington for her patience and time to read and provide constructive comments for my thesis I owe my sincere gratitude to all the lecturers who contributed their energy and time to participate in my study Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge, views, and experience that shaped this thesis I am deeply appreciative of An Giang University’s staff support, and its Board of Rectors giving me conditions to follow my doctoral journey Especially, I would like to thank Vietnam International Education Development and Victoria University of Wellington for granting me a scholarship Without this, I could not have achieved the success of my PhD journey I would like to thank all my colleagues in the Manor 31B Campbell Street, Mabel Hamon, Silia Finau, Kaye Stannard, Zawadi Juma, Upendo Biswalo, and Milka Otieno for sharing your experiences in study as well as taste of life as international students in Wellington I am indebted to my parents and relatives who always support me from my homeland and want my little family to go home soon I would like to thank my wife Hue Tran and my little Angel son Tien An who accompanied me during my challenging study in a beautiful country, New Zealand Lastly, I offer my regards and blessings to all of those who supported me in any respect during the completion of this project ii To my father, Huynh Thanh Bach, a former high school teacher, for your endless love, aspirations, and trust in my achievements iii TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Background of the study .1 Research productivity and research capacity Vietnam in a context of the ASEAN community Government policies supporting research at HEIs in ASEAN nations Rationale for the study Researcher’s background The objectives of the study 10 Methodology 10 The study outline 11 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 13 Chapter overview 13 Research generated in HEIs 13 Research-led teaching and research-informed teaching 15 Academics’ perceptions of research 18 Factors affecting academics’ research productivity 22 Academic disciplines 22 Individual characteristics 23 Institutional characteristics 30 Leadership characteristics 32 Social community networks 33 National research policies 34 Studies of academics’ research engagement in Vietnam’s HE context 36 Literature gaps 39 Chapter summary 40 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 41 Chapter overview 41 Research questions 41 Interpretive qualitative case study approach 41 Interpretive research 41 Case study 43 Qualitative case study 45 iv Data sources 46 Survey 47 Individual semi-structured interviews 49 Document analysis 50 Pretesting the tools 52 Participant selection 52 Survey participants 53 Interview participants 53 Data collection 54 Analytical framework 59 Data analysis 60 Data analysis procedures 62 Cross case analysis 63 Trustworthiness of qualitative research 65 Transferability 68 Dependability 68 Confirmability 69 Ethical issues 70 Voluntary participation 71 Protection of research participants 72 Benefit to the research participants 72 Chapter Summary 73 CHAPTER FINDINGS: CASE ONE 75 Chapter overview 75 Case One’s documentary analysis results 75 Case One’ s academic staff 75 Case One’s scientific research operations and orientation 76 Case One’s staff development strategy 80 Case One’s survey results 81 Research perceptions 81 PD activities 86 Case One’s interview results 88 Individual factors 88 Institutional factors 96 Chapter summary 104 v CHAPTER FINDINGS: CASE TWO 107 Chapter overview 107 Case Two’s documentary analysis results 107 Case Two’ s academic staff 107 Case Two’s evaluation of research activities in 2006-2010 108 Case Two’s plan of S&T activities in 2011-2015 110 Case Two’s survey results 111 Research perceptions 111 Positive factors impacting academics’ research engagement 115 Negative factors impacting academics’ research engagement 117 PD activities 120 Case Two’s interview results 123 Individual factors 124 Institutional factors 133 Chapter summary 144 CHAPTER FINDINGS: CASE THREE 145 Chapter overview 145 Case Three’s documentary analysis results 145 Case Three ’s academic staff 145 Case Three ’s research strategies and orientation 146 Case Three’s survey results 149 Research perceptions 149 Positive factors impacting academics’ research engagement 151 Negative factors impacting academics’ research engagement 154 PD activities 157 Case Three’s interview results 159 Individual factors 160 Institutional factors 169 Chapter summary 179 CHAPTER CROSS-CASE ANALYSIS 181 Chapter overview 181 Key findings 181 Impact of factors at societal level 183 Socioeconomic factors 183 Sociocultural factors 194 vi Political factors 199 Impact of factors at community level 205 Resources 206 Research orientation 208 Research networks 210 PD activities 212 Impact of factors at institutional level 214 Establishment history 215 Geographical location 217 Organisation 218 Effects of institutional contexts on academics’ motivation and engagement in research 232 Availability of leading research academics 232 Financial resources for research activities 233 Teaching loads 233 Institutional research environment 234 Institutional research policies and practices 236 Chapter summary 237 CHAPTER RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 239 Chapter overview 239 Major findings 239 Academics’ research perceptions 239 Factors impacting the research capacities of Vietnamese HEIs and their academics’ research engagement 240 Significance of the study 243 Contributions to the literature 244 Contributions to future studies 246 Recommendations 246 Limitations of the study 249 Suggestions for further studies 251 Thesis conclusion 252 REFERENCES 255 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRES 269 APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 274 APPENDIX LETTER OF ETHICAL APPROVAL 275 vii APPENDIX LETTER TO THE RECTOR 276 APPENDIX CONSENT FORM FOR RECTOR 278 APPENDIX LETTER TO THE DIRECTOR/HEAD 279 APPENDIX CASE ONE’S ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE 281 APPENDIX RESEARCH INFORMATION SHEET 282 APPENDIX CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH: QUESTIONNAIRE 284 APPENDIX 10 CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH: AUDIO-RECORDED INTERVIEW 285 APPENDIX 11 CASE TWO’S ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE CHART 286 APPENDIX 12 CASE THREE’S ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE 287 viii ... chapters of findings Chapter – Findings: Case One – presents the findings collected in Case One Chapter – Findings: Case Two – presents the findings collected in Case Two Chapter – Findings: Case... bringing data/findings from staff research into the curriculum 17 The use of research- led teaching approaches is very limited in Vietnamese HEIs because quality training in many Vietnamese HEIs in. .. conducted in Chinese universities investigate academics? ?? research perceptions in a single or crossdiscipline The findings show that academics have various research perceptions which were classified into