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number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,590
Attitude - an important psychology concept has got attention in education research around the world. In Vietnam, research related to students’ attitudes towards studying science subjects is still quite new. This study conceptualizes and operationalizes attitudes, and measures students’ attitudes toward learning mathematics. Building on previous studies, we designed an instrument that based on the ABC model of attitudes to measure how 128 high school students in Hue City changed their attitudes towards mathematics when participating in modeling tasks. The results showed that many students (59.4%) expressed their dislike of Mathematics even though they perceived Mathematics as an important subject. However, student attitudes have gradually changed in a positive direction after taking a mathematical modeling course; they shared their love towards authentic tasks. This shows the students had changed their attitudes about mathematics and were cognizant of its utility.
number: /2022
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,702
This paper aims to sketch a comparative review of the education of mathematical talents between Eastern and Western countries. In this study, East Asia refers to countries such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam, and the “West” refers to North American countries and Europe. Student achievement is determined by a variety of different factors and international comparative studies would seek to identify similarities and differences in educational policies and practices, unraveling the variables underlying the different practices. Within the scope of this text, the variables construed to be related to talent development include the traditional perception of mathematical giftedness, the identification regime, gifted curriculum and teacher capacity. The strengths and weaknesses of each of the systems will be discussed in light of educational perspectives regarding mathematical talent education. The second half of the text examines a specific case of Vietnam, a country with impressive achievements in international Math competitions. Discussion will focus on Vietnam’s mathematical successes and contributions in local and international contexts, as well as the future fostering of brilliant children in mathematics.
number: /2021
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,966
In the era of globalization, one of the ultimate goals in English language education is to equip learners with intercultural sensitivity (InS) to effectively communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds; however, EFL learners in rural contexts are supposed to encounter difficulties in achieving InS. Therefore, this mixed-methods study aims at exploring EFL students’ InS in a rural high school where students have few opportunities to interact with foreigners in person. The study involved 185 EFL high school students in Lam Dong province, Vietnam, in answering the questionnaire, and 18 students in responding to the focus group interview questions. The results indicated that participants possessed a high level of InS. Among the five constructs of InS (e.g. interaction engagement, respect for cultural differences, interaction enjoyment, interaction attentiveness, & intercultural confidence), the participants were most aware of respect for cultural differences, had interaction enjoyment and attentiveness, and showed their intercultural confidence. Nevertheless, they were likely to have difficulties in interaction engagement. It can be implied that the EFL high school students could, to some extent, gain their InS except socially intercultural interactions.
number: /2021
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 3,366
The paper aims to investigate the impact of the Big Five personality traits on the academic performance of college students within the context of the Faculty of Business English at Foreign Trade University. A quantitative approach was applied in this study. Primary data was collected through an online questionnaire. Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) was used as the academic performance measure, whereas the Big Five personality traits were measured using the extra short version of the Big Five Inventory-2. Regression results showed that 41.2 percent of the variance in CGPA is explained by personality traits. Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience were found to have significant and positive impacts on CGPA, while Neuroticism was found to have a significant negative impact. It is concluded that Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience enhance academic performance, and Neuroticism impairs it. Suggestions were made on creating an appropriate fit between teaching and assessment methods and individual differences in personality among college students. Limitations of the personality trait instrument and the academic performance measure were considered.
number: /2021
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 3,932
This research mainly aims at investigating non-English majored students’ awareness of autonomous English learning. To obtain the data for this research, one hundred non-English majors, from The Saigon International University, were surveyed. The objectives were to explore the students’ perceptions of their responsibility in learning English as well as the main factors affecting students’ autonomy. In addition to the survey, five students were also interviewed to discover the roles of autonomous English learning in students’ view. The findings indicate that the majority of students perceive themselves as autonomous learners who are willing to take responsibility for their English learning inside and outside the classroom. Besides, according to the results, there are various factors influencing autonomous English learning which includes laziness, a lack of learning strategies, and a lack of motivation. Moreover, the results show that autonomy does play an integral part in English learning. This study concludes by suggesting various methods to promote non-English majors’ autonomy in their English language learning process.
number: /2021
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,883
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic reached most countries globally, economies have suffered more or less a change in all activities. Vietnamese firms have been struggling with economic consequences associated with social distancing measures and lockdown. Firms in Vietnam have had to apply strategies of reshaping business, cutting costs and laying off staff. In this context, graduating students should have concerns. This study investigates their perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employability and their perceptions of training gaps. The study explores what graduating students prepare to find a job after graduation and their future career intentions. In addition, the research is aimed at students’ proposals for universities’ support to help them cope flexibly with the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used quantitative research methods, including an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms to collect data over a 3-week time frame in May 2020. More than 500 suitable responses were collected for descriptive statistical analysis with the support of SPSS software. The results of the study reveal that the final year students are well aware of the disadvantages when they graduate in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of them are willing to accept the difficulties and adjust themselves to survive and have a job. This study proposes solutions to assist graduating students by providing justifications, adaptation and skill improvement sets for better employability. In addition, this study also highlights information for higher education institutions with students’ perceptions of career orientation and new skill training to respond to Vietnam’s market demands.
number: /2021
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,393
Although accompanied by the socialist-oriented market economy, private higher education plays a critical role in the development of the higher education sector of Vietnam. In this context, teaching staff development has been becoming more important than ever to make these non-public universities more competitive to the public universities. The main objectives of this research are to develop an understanding of an overview of the teaching staff development of the private universities in Vietnam. The study uses qualitative analysis in order to gain insights into different development aspects of these teaching staff. The findings should make an essential contribution to human resource development in the non-public universities regarding quality, quantity and assessment of the quality of the teaching staff in these universities. This research supports the idea that the teaching staff development of the private universities should be equally regarded as their colleagues in the public one.
number: /2021
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 2,892
Since late April 2021, Vietnam has experienced the 4th outbreak of COVID-19. It was also the time to end the second semester of the school year at colleges and universities in Vietnam. To curb the pandemic, the Vietnam government has implemented many strict measures in public places, such as social distancing, quarantine processes, and embracing hygiene and sanitation throughout the country. As a result, almost all schools were closed, and both teachers and students had to work from home. This qualitative study sought to examine the lecturer’s experiences of online assessment at a regional university. Information was gathered by conducting multiple interviews via the Zalo application with 20 lecturers at the University of Foreign Language Studies. An analysis of the results of this study found the most preferred assessment methods to be written assignments, multiple-choice tests, quizzes, presentations, and oral examinations. In addition, Zoom and Microsoft Teams are believed to be the most popular testing environments. Through this study, many challenges of online assessment have been unveiled, such as cheating, teacher’s workload, and testing process problems.
number: /2021
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 1,503
Grounded on Engstrom’s interacting activity theory, this qualitative study examines higher education (HE) students’ views about the roles of their groups regarding tasks assigned to them during classroom activities and how their views influence the ways they interact with their peers in the groups. The key findings are twofold. In symbolic group work (GW) interactions, students perceive group leaders as a symbol of group authority who distribute unequal responsibilities among group members. Students, then, positioned themselves as “disciplined members” and passively participate in the group. In authentic GW interactions, students see that the group leaders put forth the authentic conversation and shared responsibilities among group members. Students then positioned themselves reflexively between “collaborative learners” and “active agents,” in order to participate in the group actively. Findings suggest that students view GW dynamics differently when their interactions and participation are either imposed or supported by the group dynamics themselves and whether university teachers take social aspects of GW into account of their facilitation. The study provides insight into the complex interactional group dynamics that influence cooperative learning goals in the university settings and offers opportunities for university teachers to think about adopting social pedagogic approaches in facilitating classroom GW as a constitutive part of pedagogical reform at higher education institutions.
number: /2021
CIT number: 0
Number of views: 3,118
Shaking off the remnants from a long-lasting period of colonization and conflicts, the 35-year span from 1986 with multiple comprehensive reforms has transformed Vietnam from a country of war to an “emerging dragon” across all social and economic sectors, including education. Vietnam made an impressive success story of the efficiency of investment in education given its top position in the PISA average score ranking and international academic competitions. This article accounts for the major post-1986 changes of Vietnam’s education system, the country’s “success formula” as well as lapses. Recommendations for educational policymakers and educators regarding the role of the education sector in the coming ever-disruptive social and economic context will be discussed as concluding remarks.