Integration or transformation? Looking in the future of Information and Communication Technology in education in Vietnam
Introduction
Related to ICT1 in education in Vietnam, a turning point seems to be drawing near. For over a decade, an extended body of guidelines and policies has been put in place, addressing several aspects of integration of ICT in education (Peeraer & Van Petegem, 2011b). Starting from 2000, ICT has been placed on the education reform agenda both as an object of education and as an important pedagogical tool for innovating teaching methodology. Furthermore, impressive progress on improving access to ICT has been made in Vietnam, as is shown in the ICT Development Index (International Telecommunication Union, 2009, International Telecommunication Union, 2011). In a recent report of SEAMEO (2010),2 it is stated that the policy guidelines and ICT infrastructure and resources in schools in Vietnam may have provided the necessary and sufficient conditions for some schools to transform their ICT-mediated teaching and learning practices. Nevertheless, it is clear that, as in other countries, no educational revolution is taking place yet. Vietnamese teacher educators for example, mostly use ICT in ways that mainly replace traditional teaching practice. However, regular, innovative use of ICT in support of student learning is still very improbable for most (Peeraer & Van Petegem, 2011a).
Research has been carried out worldwide on factors influencing or constraining the use of ICT in education and these factors have been addressed in ways to create a breakthrough (e.g. Drent and Meelissen, 2008, Groff and Mouza, 2008, Mumtaz, 2000). At the same time, critical voices are raised with regards to the entire discourse on integration of ICT in education (e.g. Bigum and Rowan, 2008, Kirkup and Kirkwood, 2005, Selwyn, 2007). The questions for Vietnam are now what to aim for and how to move ahead. Earlier we argued that Vietnam and other emerging developing countries could make a difference and aim to go beyond an access and skills based approach, striving instead for integration of ICT in education as a tool for creative learning (Peeraer & Van Petegem, 2011a).
We believe that a look into the future might put current achievements in perspective. As argued by Williams (2005), extrapolations from emergent trends can have a value in promoting understanding of the present situation as well as in identifying needs for the future. It is clear, as argued by Selwyn (2012), that technology is certainly not an uncontested or uncontroversial area of education and many of the issues that surround education and technology are the fundamentally political questions that are always asked of education and society – i.e. questions about what education is, and questions about what education should be.
Accordingly, we brought together a selected group of key players in the field of ICT in education in Vietnam and facilitated a reflection process on targets and priorities in respect of ICT in education in Vietnam for 2020. Facer and Sandford (2009) recommend such forums to enable educators, policy makers, learners, communities, business and parents to explore how best to appropriate or resist emerging socio-technical developments, and to debate the political and ethical questions raised by ‘the unpredictability and serendipity of social and technical outcomes’ (Williams in Facer & Sandford, 2009). From discussions of national strategy, to day-to-day interactions between educators and learners, ideas about possible futures can be instrumental in rationalizing and generating educational change (Facer & Sandford, 2009). Also in Vietnam, a stronger dialogue among practitioners, researchers and policy makers can be achieved. In our study, we facilitated this by following the Delphi method wherein different survey rounds key players assessed the current situation of ICT in education, identified a series of targets for the future and were asked to assess these targets on their importance.
In this research paper we start with a critical perspective on the future of ICT in education. After clarifying the research objectives, we describe in detail the Delphi method and how we applied the method for this study. For each round of the study we present the major findings, after which we draw conclusions and discuss about how to move ahead with ICT in education in Vietnam.
Section snippets
The future of ICT and education
ICT is one of the most visible symbols of globalization and educational innovation (Power, 2007) and is often presented as both a cause and a consequent driver for educational innovation and change (Clegg et al., 2003). Different rationales that are behind ICT in education policies have been identified (e.g. Hawkridge, 1990, Kozma, 2008, Selwyn, 1999, Tondeur et al., 2007), going from an economic rationale, a social rationale, and an educational rationale, to a catalytic rationale (Kozma, 2008
Research objectives
The aim of this study was to facilitate dialogue and cooperation on a wide range of operational components of ICT in education and transformation of education. To initiate this dialogue, key players were identified and invited to share their opinion on the current status of ICT in education in Vietnam as well as to identify targets for 2020. To make sure all of the factors that relate to ICT in education were addressed, the holistic framework of ICT in education, identified by SEAMEO (2010) was
Research methodology
To facilitate the dialogue and to identify targets and achieve consensus on importance, we have applied the Delphi technique. The Delphi technique is an anonymous multi-round surveying technique for gathering and synthesizing experts’ and stakeholders’ judgments and opinions on matters relating to complex policy considerations. The technique is a method for structuring a group communication process so that the process is effective in allowing a group of individuals, as a whole, to deal with a
Current status of ICT in education in Vietnam
In 2010, the SEAMEO (2010) identified Vietnam as a “group 2” country: group 2 countries are mainly at the infusing stage for most of the dimensions and most of them already have developed ICT plans and policies in education (SEAMEO, 2010). According to the SEAMEO report, Vietnam has three dimensions of ICT in education in the transforming stage—i.e.: national ICT in education plans and policies; complementary national ICT and education policies; and ICT infrastructure and resources in schools.
Conclusions and discussion
In this Delphi study we have explored how a group of key players, representing the public and private sectors as well as development partners in Vietnam look at the future of ICT in education in the country. The topic is very relevant, as the key players identified 97 different targets to aim for, addressing 10 dimensions of ICT in education. Moreover, there was a high level of consensus on the importance of most of these targets. Many items on which there was a consensus were related to
Reflection on lessons learned
Rayens and Hahn (2000) believe that taking part in the Delphi process can be a highly motivating experience for participants. However, time frames for conducting and completing a study, the possibility of low response rates, and unintentionally guiding feedback from the respondent group are areas which must be considered when designing and implementing a Delphi study (Hsu & Sandford, 2007).
An important issue of this study was the engagement of the panelists. Due to the multiple feedback
Acknowledgments
This study took place in the framework of a development cooperation program of the Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance. The first author would like to thank his colleague, Mrs. Tran Nu Mai Thy who assisted in the data collection process and Mr. John Bently for proof reading of the paper. The authors highly appreciate the key players for their contribution to the study.
Jef Peeraer Thao Vien Guesthouse A3 rm 307, 1B Bac Son-Ngoc Ha, Hanoi, Vietnam [email protected] Web: http://www.vvob.be/vietnam/Jef Peeraer works for the Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB) as adviser on M&E and integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The focus of his research is on education change processes in general and on integration of ICT in education in particular. He is supporting teacher education institutions in
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Jef Peeraer Thao Vien Guesthouse A3 rm 307, 1B Bac Son-Ngoc Ha, Hanoi, Vietnam [email protected] Web: http://www.vvob.be/vietnam/Jef Peeraer works for the Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB) as adviser on M&E and integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The focus of his research is on education change processes in general and on integration of ICT in education in particular. He is supporting teacher education institutions in Vietnam in operationalizing their vision on education innovation, and developed and implemented capacity building programs for educators in a variety of learning environments.
Peter Van Petegem Venusstraat 35, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium [email protected] Web: http://www.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=peter.vanpetegem Peter Van Petegem is full professor of education at the Institute for Education and Information Sciences of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He is head of the research group Edubron (http://www.edubron.be/) that is focusing on diverse aspects of education including performance indicators as a tool for school improvement, evaluation of educational innovations, policy making capacities of schools, school effectiveness, and environmental education.