This document summarizes a research study on differences in learning practices between Vietnamese and Danish students. The study used grounded theory methodology to analyze the situation of higher education learning in Vietnam. Key findings included that Vietnamese students see teachers as father figures responsible for imparting knowledge and mentoring students personally. They prefer face-to-face interaction and feel online classes lack a teacher's spirit. This contrasts with Danish students who view teachers as one source of knowledge and prefer independent study. The implications are that educational programs exported to Vietnam need to incorporate more one-on-one teacher time, online video meetings, and detailed guides to accommodate their expectations of teachers.

1. The Good, the Bad and the Lazy teacher.
A grounded theory approach to higher
education learning situations in Vietnam
Sandra Safwat
PhD Candidate
The humanities faculty - Aalborg University
ssafwat@hum.aau.dk
9th International Conference on Networked Learning
Edinburgh– April 2014

2. Globalization of education
In UK the numbers of international students
account for over 40% of UK postgraduate
students and 50% of those doing full-time
research degrees
(Source: UK council for international student affairs – September 2010).

3. Critiques of Internationalization of education
• Brain drain: uneven distribution of the world’s
knowledge economy (Parey and Waldinger 2008); (Lowell,
Findlay et al. 2004).
• Neocolonialism: “Efforts of the major powers to
dominate the “hearts and minds” of the world’s
peoples” (Altbach 2004)
• McDonaldization of higher education: standardized
‘one-size fit all’ programs(Hayes 2004)

4. The Case of A Danish Business School
International Business School of Scandinavia
Master of Business Administration (MBA) program

5. IBSS Vision
To provide European Standard
education to students in all
countries at an affordable price

6. Challenges in use of e-learning
EFMD Report:
“students from Vietnam enjoy face-to-
face contact with teachers and each
other but they do not engage in the
online activities, partly because of the
language barrier and partly because
they feel more comfortable organizing
joint study sessions among
themselves instead of participating in
online group forums as they enjoy the
personal interaction in meeting face-
to-face more. “

7. Research Methodology

8. Aim of Research:
• To study the differences in the learning
practices of students in different
countries and how these differences
affect students' approach to learning and
consequently their acceptance of new
learning tools as e-learning.

9. Focal Point of Research

10. Why Learning Situation?
“the conditions of the action are inside the situation
and therefore we should study the situation itself
as the focus of analysis” (Adele Clarke – SA 2005)
“…… any analysis is contextually situated in time,
place, culture and situation” (Kathy Charmaz, 2006)

11. Methodology
• Grounded theory ethnography
“Grounded theory methods move ethnographic
research toward theoretical development by
raising description to abstract categories and
theoretical interpretation.” (Charmaz 2006)

12. Grounded Theory
• Glaser approach:
– Objective/positivist
• Strauss approach:
– Interpretive
• Charmaz approach:
– Constructivist
• A. Clarke approach:
– Situational analysis

13. Line By Line Coding
Qualitative Data Analysis Software: Atlas.ti

14. Memo Writing

15. Research Findings

16. Students’ learning – whose
responsibility?
• Teacher centered:
– A Guru
– Expected to have all
knowledge
– Acts as personal mentor
– Cares personally for
students

17. Assumptions about "good" and "lazy" teachers

18. Assumptions about "good" and
"lazy" teachers

19. Discussion
• In Vietnam: teachers act as father figures
and mentors
“And he knows what the society needs and he get us to
do that. For example, confident when in front of a lot of
people, we can control what we say, what we act, what
we do. Students are very shame to talk with a lot of
people but he teach us how to talk well”

20. Discussion
• In Denmark: teachers are one of the
sources for knowledge
" The teacher is the last resort that we go to, if I can't
understand the information from the book or from the
internet, then I go to the teacher to see if he/she has
another take on it".

21. Discussion
• Roots in Buddhism and Confucianism:
– Tet celebrations
– Learning as a spiritual path
“ If I attend an online class, I cannot feel
the spirit of the teacher”

22. Implications for exporting educational
programs to CHC as Vietnam
• More one-on-one time with the teacher
• Regular scheduled online video meetings
with each individual student
• Teachers as mentors providing detailed
step-by-step guides
• Always use webcams

23. Implications for exporting educational
programs to CHC as Vietnam
When teachers schedule synchronous online classes in
Vietnam, they should expect students to gather in one
place and attend the class online together

24. Implications for teachers:
Facilitator or Guru?
To honestly admit lack of knowledge of the
answer to one of the students’ inquiries can result
in permanent loss of credibility of the teacher and
the assumption that he/she is a “lazy” teacher
who does not work very hard to acquire the
highest level of knowledge possible.

25. Limitations of The Study
• Language barriers
• Theoretical sampling

26. “What academics need to do is see the
benefits of ICT through the eyes of
students using a cultural lens.”
(Munro-Smith 2002)

27. Thank You

28. Discussion