Abstract:
Academic professional development (APD) has been identified as a vital feature of the higher education (HE) policy reform internationally for several decades. It is viewed as an essential component to respond to increasing social demands, market forces, and commitment to high quality education (Sorcinelli, Austin, Eddy, & Beach, 2006). In Vietnam, its significance was recognized in the Fundamental and Comprehensive Reform of Higher Education in Vietnam 2006-2020 released by the Government in 2005, and APD has since been formulated by national policies, and executed by local and institutional policies.
This paper presents the initial findings of a doctoral study exploring the key question of how policies hinder or foster APD in a particular provincial HE institution in Vietnam. Using a qualitative case study, the research attempts to understand how participants (n=36) (faculty members, academic administrators, and faculty developers) perceive APD, and what might influence their points of view. The preliminary findings to date identify that the institutional policy on finance support fosters APD in most of the case, while the administrative policy, which is strictly relied on the local policies, hinders faculty members' further education in some extent. Moreover, the interview data illustrate how participants can ignore the barriers from these policies in their own professional development or in supporting APD.
Taken together, these results suggest that participants' involvement in APD depends on how much they expect from the policies in addressing their APD needs, and how committed they are to APD. The initial findings provide insights for academic administrators and faculty developers to induce improvement of the policies for fostering faculty members' dedication to APD.
This paper presents the initial findings of a doctoral study exploring the key question of how policies hinder or foster APD in a particular provincial HE institution in Vietnam. Using a qualitative case study, the research attempts to understand how participants (n=36) (faculty members, academic administrators, and faculty developers) perceive APD, and what might influence their points of view. The preliminary findings to date identify that the institutional policy on finance support fosters APD in most of the case, while the administrative policy, which is strictly relied on the local policies, hinders faculty members' further education in some extent. Moreover, the interview data illustrate how participants can ignore the barriers from these policies in their own professional development or in supporting APD.
Taken together, these results suggest that participants' involvement in APD depends on how much they expect from the policies in addressing their APD needs, and how committed they are to APD. The initial findings provide insights for academic administrators and faculty developers to induce improvement of the policies for fostering faculty members' dedication to APD.