Bypassing opportunities for quality improvement: insights from Vietnamese administrators’ approaches to student evaluation of teaching
Quality Assurance in Education
ISSN: 0968-4883
Article publication date: 31 August 2023
Issue publication date: 9 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Although student evaluation of teaching (SET) is widely used, there has been a significant disparity between its potential benefits with the actual impact on improving educational quality. This study aims to inquire into the factors contributing to this discrepancy and the underlying mechanisms hindering the effective utilisation of SET.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative case study used problem-based methodology to investigate the theories of action of administrators involved in SET. The study uses SET documents and individual interviews with 18 administrators from six Vietnamese higher education institutions.
Findings
While the administrators monitored SET data and addressed SET problems, few used it for quality improvement. The participants’ SET approaches were influenced by various constraints, especially the intricate interaction between neoliberal agendas with professional and cultural values.
Research limitations/implications
Despite a lack of statistical generalisability, this study contributes to analytical generalisation by vividly portraying the complexity of the SET practice in a higher education context.
Practical implications
This study suggests a more inclusive approach to quality improvement that prioritises multi-stakeholder engagement.
Social implications
The constraint analysis offers invaluable insights into the challenges and dynamics of SET practice, which can be used to enhance SET effectiveness and overall educational quality.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the need to examine the theories of action of administrators involved in SET, emphasising the significance of a comprehensive understanding of the stakeholders’ underlying reasoning process for successful evaluation implementation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Associate Professor Claire Sinnema and Associate Professor Mei Lai for their supervision throughout the research project. Extensive gratitude also goes to the esteemed editor(s) and anonymous reviewers for their invaluable contributions. Their meticulous comments and exceptional suggestions have significantly enhanced the quality and rigor of this paper.
Funding: This research paper is exclusively funded by VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi under project number USSH-2023.15 as an integral part of the university’s initiative to advance international publication and doctoral education during the period 2021–2025.
Declaration of conflicting interests: The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Citation
Nguyen, L.A. (2024), "Bypassing opportunities for quality improvement: insights from Vietnamese administrators’ approaches to student evaluation of teaching", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 79-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-04-2023-0067
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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