Quality assurance and accreditation in upper secondary schools in Hatinh Province in Vietnam

This thesis examines the implementation of Quality Assurance and Accreditation (QAA) in upper secondary schools in Vietnam. The aim is to investigate the perceptions of multiple stakeholders in the education system on the strengths and limitations of the implementation of QAA and the extent to which QAA has played a role in meeting the demands for school accountability and school improvement in Vietnam since the nationwide roll-out of QAA in the schooling sector in 2009. Through close examination of the achievements and constraints of QAA implementation in the study context and quality assurance (QA) practices in other education systems internationally, the study draws implications for the improvement of QAA policy and practice in Vietnam and other nations. Adopting a convergent mixed methods design, quantitative data was collected from 733 school leaders and teachers in 36 public upper secondary schools in Hatinh province using a self-report survey (January to March 2014), while in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with three senior Ministry officials, three senior provincial officials, and 11 school leaders and 16 teachers from nine of these schools in the qualitative phase of the study (February to May 2014). The majority of school leaders and teachers surveyed acknowledged the significant role and value of QAA in improving school quality. However, despite the positive perceptions reported regarding the effectiveness of performance indicators used and training received, and the strong sense of responsibility and enthusiasm for QAA indicated by study participants, interviews at all levels revealed several challenges in implementation. Drawbacks to QAA were perceived to be the deficiencies of policy itself, poor policy direction, inadequate oversight of implementation at the provincial and school levels, and failure of the cascading training model to reach a system-wide population of school leaders and teachers in need of guidance and support. A range of internal and external constraints – inadequate understanding of QAA policy and procedures, poorly developed evaluation skills, lack of time and human and financial resources, and poor information and data storage systems – have also added to the challenges. In many cases, implementation was driven by compliance rather than genuine ownership of or deeper engagement with QAA practices. The challenges reported in this study and reflection on international literature on QA shed light on possible ways to improve the implementation of QAA after the first 5-year cycle in Vietnam. These include further refinement of policy, more comprehensive and thorough training, better guidance on policy implementation, more responsive decision-making and support, and tighter policy monitoring. Better alignment, communication, and dialogue between stakeholders, especially at the system and school levels and within schools, is needed to build a shared vision and understanding of policy, procedures, and anticipated outcomes. Consensus on policy priorities, capacity building, resources allocation, and the roles of stakeholders will help smooth the implementation process. There is evidence that progress has been made through the first cycle of QAA in schools in Vietnam but more still needs to be done to improve policy impact and fidelity. Most important to the continued effort in this complex policy milieu is the significance of inextricably linking QAA to national priorities to improve classroom practice and bolster student learning outcomes.