Status of training implementation of vocational schools in bac ninh province development of intervention program

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY This is to certify that the research work / dissertation entitled STATUS OF TRAINING IMPLEMENTATION OF VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS IN BAC NINH defended/ presented under

INTERVENTION PROGRAM

_

A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School

Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

in Collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that the research work / dissertation entitled STATUS OF

TRAINING IMPLEMENTATION OF VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS IN BAC NINH

defended/ presented under the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management

Program jointly offered by Southern Luzon State University of the Republic of the

Philippines and Thai Nguyen University of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,

embodies the result of original and scholarly work carried out by the undersigned

This dissertation does not contain words or ideas taken from published sources or written works by other persons which have been accepted as basis for the award of any degree from other higher education institutions, except where proper referencing and acknowledgement were made

CHU BA CHIN

Researcher Date Orally Defended: June, 27,2014

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Completion of this doctoral dissertation was possible with the great support of

the following teachers, schools and individuals to whom the researcher owes his

great debt and gratitude His special thanks to the following :

Dr Cecilia N Gascon, President of the Southern Luzon State University,

Republic of the Philippines for giving her full academic support and allowing the

researcher to train and work for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational

Management at the International Training Center, Thai Nguyen University;

Dr Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University for approving the

training of the researcher for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational

Management at the International Training Center, Thai Nguyen University;

Dr Ricaryl Catherine P Cruz, lecturer of Southern Luzon State University,

Republic of the Philippines for her comprehensive instruction in the completion of this

research;

Dr Apolonia A Espinosa and Dr Teresita V Dela Cruz, for their

suggestions and recommendations;

Dr Tran Thanh Van, Head of Postgraduate, Thai Nguyen University and Dr Dang Xuan Binh, Director of International Training Center for their kind support

throughout the course of this study;

Rector of the Vocational Schools in Bac Ninh Province, with special thanks to Master Nguyen Hong Nam, Rector of Bac Ninh Vocational College of

Construction and Engineering for his contribution in the survey questionnaire to

enrich the database for my study;

Managers, lecturers, teachers and individuals for their participation in

answering the survey questionnaire of this research;

The researchers’ family and his loved ones for encouraging him in every

phase of the research, giving him the inspiration and determination to go through the

most difficult stages of this study

CBC

DEDICATION

This research could not have been made possible without the support and encouragement of the following people This piece of work is most sincerely dedicated to them:

My friends and mentors in Bac Ninh Vocational College of Electromechanical and Construction, Bac Ninh Vocational College of Economic Technical School, Vocational College of Management – Technology School, Viglacera Vocational College, Bac Ninh Economic Technical Vocational Middle School, Au Lac Vocational Middle School, Thuan Thanh Vocational Middle School, Đong Duong International Vocational Middle School, Thuan Thanh Vocational Middle School of Economics - Engineering and Traditional Handicrafts, Vocational Middle School - the Department of Defense for giving me permission to commence this thesis from the initial stage to the end, to do the necessary research work and to use the current status of training quality management and data of the schools for my analyses I also want to thank all respondents for helping me with the survey questionnaire in order to gather the primary facts and information for data analysis

My classmates and the teachers of this course for giving me an opportune time to bring us together as friends and mentors as we journey together through rough times and light moments in class – discussing, exploring, arguing and analyzing issues of vital concern

My family, especially my loving wife for the constant support, love and inspiration

CBC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

TITLE PAGE ……… i

APPROVAL SHEET ……… ii

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ……… iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ……… iv

DEDICATION ……… vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……… vii

LIST OF TABLES ……… ix

LIST OF FIGURES……… x

LIST OF APPENDICES ……… xi

ABSTRACT ……… xii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ……….… 1

Background of the Study ……… 2

Objectives of the Study ……….…… 4

Significance of the Study ……….… 5

Scope and Limitation of the Study ……….……… 5

Definition of Terms ……… 6

II REVIEW OF LITERATURE ……….……… 8

Conceptual Framework ……… ….……… …… 18

Research Paradigm ……… ….……… 23

III METHODOLOGY ……… 25

Locale of the Study ……….……… 25

Research Design ……….……… 25

Population and Sampling ……….… ………… 26

Research Instrument ……… 27

Validation of Instrument ……… 27

Data Gathering Procedures … ……… 28

Statistical Treatment …….……… 29

IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ……….… 33

Determining the Status of Training Implementation of Vocational Schools ……… 33

Analysis of the Differences among Variables by School that the Students are Gaining from Teaching and Learning Activities, Teachers and Administrators, Curriculum and Syllabus, Library, Facilities and Services for Students ……… 45

Proposed Intervention Program - Training Quality Management of Vocational Schools ……… 47

V SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary ……….……….… 59

Findings ……… 60

Conclusions ……….… 61

Recommendations ……… …… 62

REFERENCES ……… 63

APPENDICES ……… 68

CURRICULUM VITAE ……… 76

LIST OF TABLES

1 Distribution of Respondents ……… 26

2 Data Analysis Technique ……… 30

3 Mean Distribution of Teaching and Learning Activities ……… 33

4 Mean Distribution of Teachers and Administrators ………… 35

5 Mean Distribution of Curriculum and Syllabus ……… 37

6 Mean Distribution of Library Facilities ……… 38

7 Mean Distribution of Facilities and Equipment ……… 39

8 Mean Distribution of Services for Students ……… 41

9 Linear Regression Results ……… 43

10 ANOVA Results ……… 45

LIST OF FIGURES

3 Input-Process-Output Model on the Status of Training

Implementation of Vocational Schools in Bac Ninh Province:

Development of Intervention Program ……… 24

LIST OF APPENDICES

C Linear Regression and Hyphothesis Testing ……… 75

ABSTRACT

Title of Research : STATUS OF TRAINING IMPLEMENTATION OF

VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS IN BAC NINH PROVINCE: DEVELOPMENT OF

INTERVENTION PROGRAM

MANAGEMENT Name and Address

of Institution

: Southern Luzon State University Lucban, Quezon, Philippines and Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

This study determined the status of quality management training of vocational schools in Bac Ninh province bases for an intervention program The study utilized a conceptual research model which includes goals and tasks, organization and management, teaching and learning activities, teachers and administrators, curriculum and syllabus, library, facilities, financial management, and services for students This study utilized the descriptive analysis using the researcher made questionnaire in arriving at data Meanwhile, the research topic has the following limitations on a number

of factors impacting on vocational training quality The study was conducted

in Bac Ninh Province from April 2013 to April 2014 The respondents of the study consisted of 300 students from the 10 vocational schools in BacNinh Province with 271 students responding to the questionnaire Slovin’s formula and random selection method were used to determine the samples Based

on the findings of the study, the following are drawn: the status of the training

quality management of vocational schools in Bac Ninh Province needs an intervention program since some of the indicators in determining the training quality management requires enhancement for better performance and service The intervention program is ready for try-out and utilization

Descriptive statistics shows that the students agree with current teaching and learning activities, curriculum and syllabus, and services for students while they strongly agree with teachers and administrators All components justify the 69.2% of variance of training quality in vocational school in Bac Ninh Province All components are correlated with training quality and this correlation is statistical with F-Test value equal to 93.86 and Sig value less than 0.05 Among these components, organization and management and teachers and administrators component have the highest impact on training quality in vocational schools in Bac Ninh Province

Based on the findings and conclusions, the following are the recommendations: Training vocational schools for quality management must

be implemented yearly The intervention program must be done at the soonest time possible Finally, future researchers may conduct in-depth studies using similar concepts but employing more diversified variables other than those used in the study

Chapter I INTRODUCTION

In line with the statement of the United Nations in its millennium development

goals, Vietnam has invested significant efforts and resources to implement a training

system where all children aged 6 to 14 are required to participate Thai (2006)

indicates that the role of training has always been advocated by the Vietnamese

Government since 1992 because the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of

Vietnam states that education is the responsibility of the State and the right of every

citizen Thai (2006) also highlights the importance and role of the constituents to

provide for themselves and their families a better and more productive life Hence,

the training system in Vietnam is now more focused on basic or primary skills such

as teaching the local language as well as practicing and advocating physical training

for better health The cultural development is equally enhanced by offering additional

training in dancing, singing, or playing musical instruments In this context, training

is determined as a fundamental step to help people and children alike to achieve or

gain substantial skills and knowledge to prepare them for the next level of education

such as the secondary school

According to the Institute for Research on Educational Development (2013),

the Vietnam training system is now confronted with several problems The first one is

the shortage of teachers in both public and private schools Such shortage is not

even at par with the quantity and quality of the teachers in the aforementioned

sectors The Research Institute on Educational Development (2013) states that

Vietnamese teachers are often overloaded and practically have no time to broaden

and hone their teaching capabilities and knowledge The second concern is

inadequate school facilities and equipment to support and promote a better learning

process of the students According to the Research Institute on Educational

Development (2013), most of schools in Vietnam are now finding themselves with a

dearth of laboratories and libraries for their students The lack or absence of these

necessary facilities and equipment is prevalent in remote, mountainous and isolated

areas where the government funds are often being spent for life improvement and

economic development rather than establishing an ideal and adequate learning

environment

Ryder (2012) also expounds on the importance of human resource in any

organization However, most of the Vietnamese organizations have not taken into

serious consideration the importance of training their employees (Bekkevold et al.,

2003) The weaknesses in the training mechanism of Vietnamese organization lies in

the lack and/or inadequacy of training materials and facilities because staff

development is not the top priority of companies compared to other goals and

missions of corporate entities

Background of the Study

The quality of human resource, furthermore, can be improved through

vocational training, according to Ryder (2002) examining the kind or quality

vocational training or vocational education Vietnam Ministry of Education and

Training (2014) asserted that there are a lot of training centers that have been

established in Vietnam for the last many years However, the training quality of these

centers are quite questionable because many of them refuse to recruit the

candidates with in-service training degrees On the other hand, it may mean that

most of these training centers might only be selecting candidates based on local

academic achievement degrees notwithstanding that there exists a big gap since

the training education in Vietnam is still in its early stages of development as against

those with in-service qualifications For the last several years, the Vietnam Ministry of

Education and Training has been providing knowledge-based programs in order to

improve the training perception in local universities Through these programs in the

university, lectures are being done to educate the students on the importance of

vocational training as part of their in-service In this context, it is indeed vital or

imperative on the part of the university to assess the effectiveness of this method and

really see or find out whether it really helps and promotes the learning-playing

environment among attendees

In another context, the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (2014)

also addresses the importance of training quality in vocational education whether it

directly impacts on the outcome of trainings or what students can acquire from

vocational programs Generally, there are several models that have been developed

to measure the quality of training such as Quality Control Model, Quality Assurance

Model, and Over Training Quality Model (or named as Total Quality Management

Model) It is effectively to emphasize the fact that Total Quality Management Model

(TQM) is the most effective framework that helps to facilitate the training quality in

vocational education (Nguyen, 2014) The application of TQM in vocational education

has not been well-recognized in Vietnam although it requires the management of

input such as student recruitment, investment on training equipment, lecturers,

syllabi, etc TQM training system also requires vocational training centers to develop

the system of measuring the performance of trainings, including learning-teaching

plan and its implementation, assessment, inspection)

Objectives of the Study

The study determines the quality management training status of vocational

schools in BacNinh province and an intervention mechanism program

Specifically, this research aimed to achieve the following objectives:

1 Determine the status of the training quality management of vocational schools

in terms:

 Teaching and Learning Activities

 Teachers and Administrators

 Curriculum and Syllabus

 Library

 Facilities

 Services for Students

2 Analyze the differences among variables by the school that the students are

learning for :

 Teaching and Learning Activities

 Teachers and Administrators

 Curriculum and Syllabus

 Library

 Facilities

 Services for Students

3 Develop an intervention program based on the findings

Significance of the Study

This study is significant to lecturers and managers of vocational training

centers in Bac Ninh Province It means that the lecturers will be well-oriented on the

current status of the training quality management of vocational schools in Vietnam

The students at Bac Ninh’s vocational training centers also find the

usefulness in this study as they can share their ideas on training quality in these

facilities and contribute directly to the intervention program to uplift the performance

of vocational education and training in the province

On the other hand, this study is also significant to other researchers who

would like to conduct their studies on quality training in specific organizations

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study covered the training quality management of the vocational schools

in Bac Ninh Province in terms of goals and task, organization and management,

teaching and learning activities, teachers and administrators, curriculum and

syllabus, library, facilities, financial management and services for students

This study utilized the descriptive analysis using the researcher made

questionnaire in arriving at data Meanwhile, the research topic has the following

limitations on a number of factors impacting on the quality of vocational training The

study was conducted in BacNinh Province from April 2013 to April 2014

Definition of Terms

The following are hereby defined conceptually for better understanding

of the study.Curriculum and syllabus is considered a broader term used in institutions to cover policies, plans, teaching, learning items, materials, equipment and logistics (Newby, 1999).Enhancement Program is defined as

“an increase or improvement in quality, value, or extent” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014)

Facilities are defined as “ a place, amenity, or piece of equipment provided for a particular purpose” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014)

Library is “created with the intention of providing free public access to

reading material, with the altruistic goal of educational enlightenment and the better

welfare of the people Many libraries are in operation with specialization in a specific subject or focus.”

(Library Laws, 2014)

Services for students are defined as a set of combined activities that bring

advantages and benefits to the students, including “School Counselors, Interpreters,

Special Education Resource Staff, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists,

Rehabilitation Counselors, School Nurses, School Psychologists, School Social

Workers, and Speech and Language Pathologists.” (Illinois State Board of Education,

2007, pp.6)

Teachers and administrators are those who provide teaching contents and

teaching assistance and other beneficiary services to students (Penny, 2007)

Teaching and Learning Activities are operationally defined as both the

activities of the teachers and the learners

Training Quality Management is defined as a designed system to assist

training providers to develop quality management and to encourage them to

continuously improve the quality of their operations and results in pursuit of

excellence (The Finnish National Board of Education, 2008)

Vocational Education is defined as “every form of education geared towards

the developing qualifications related to a certain profession, art or employment or that

which provides the necessary training and the appropriate skills as well as technical

knowledge, so that students are able to exercise a profession, art or activity,

independently of their age and their training level, even if the training program contains only the elements of general education.” (Mortaki, 2012, pp.51)

Chapter II REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The chapter is an explanation of the human resources and exploration

of academic concepts and theories that are relevant to the present study (Dellinger and Leech, 2007; Cooper, 1998) The study conducted with literature review on concepts and theories of vocational training quality and its antecedents Then, the conceptual research model is established in the latter part of the chapter Therefore, this is set to focus on literature and studies relevant to topics about training quality in vocational schools

Training and Training Quality in Vocational Education

Understanding and awareness of training and training quality in education context can be obtained through building a sense of satisfaction among trainers of human resource development Swanson and Holton III (2001) stated that human resource training satisfaction was one part of a wider concept namely employee satisfaction It means that when the employees feel satisfied in their jobs, they will try their best to help build a strong image for their firm and consequently achieve better corporate performance Generally, nothing is more fundamental to generating feelings of satisfaction and engagement than providing the employees opportunities for professional development Employee development training programs offer those developmental opportunities, but many companies don’t have the time, expertise or budget to coordinate first class, relevant instruction and learning programs It also refers to the fact that the firms can evaluate their training

program through how their employees feel satisfied with the training program Thus, the definition of human resource training could be explained through the definition of employee satisfaction Locke (1969, pp137) emphasized employee satisfaction as “pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from an appraisal of one’s job or job experiences.”

O.C (2010) stated that human resource training satisfaction is considered as the benchmark for the effectiveness and efficacy of previous training programs The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (2011) reported that employee satisfaction was the outcome of continuous training Along with the findings of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (2011), the author paid attention to the findings of Clark and Oswald (1996) which explained that the equation to measure employee satisfaction through training is based on four variables namely: income, working hours, individual characteristics, and training participation Hence, the author asserted that in accordance with the definition of employee satisfaction, human resource training satisfaction is the level of satisfaction of the employees in an organization due to previously undergone training programs

Teaching and learning activities

Seeklander (2009) defined teaching and learning activities as a process that consisted of initial design of a program based on goals from the execution of the training to the measurement of results and finally , to the modification of the program to achieve those results Holton et al (2000) emphasized training design as the way in which it was designed and conducted with the objective of helping the trainees to apply what they had learnt from training to their present jobs

Figure 1 Training Design Process

Source: Seeklander (2009)

Holton et al (2000) illustrated that the employees in an organization would be more satisfied with the training through proper teaching and learning activities The reason behind this relationship was reflected through the fact that training was designed to help the employees shape up and develop their competencies in their daily occupation or profession Hence, the employees were more likely to be satisfied with the training programs if they perceive that the training program was designed and delivered in such a way that maximizes their ability to apply what they have learned from the training to their job (Holton, 1996; 2005)

Teachers and Administrators

Holding (1991) and Healthfield (2012) explained that teachers and administrators play critical roles in transferring the learning processes to those who underwent the training Baldwin and Ford (1988) asserted that the

teaching and learning activities could be applied positively to varying situations and circumstances and vice versa During those times, many previous studies were written about the relationship between teachers and administrators, and human resource training satisfaction in which these previous studies placed a considerable premium on human resource training satisfaction (Zumrah, 2012) Noe and Schmitt (1986) found out that the transfer of training was significantly related to the educator’s improved performance as well as their fiscal management and relationship with the community

Curriculum and Syllabus

It cannot be denied that the curriculum and syllabus or academic activities is the central or focal point of training for the benefit and greater welfare of students This is done by the academic staff or professors which consequently and directly impact on the students’ satisfaction because the rationale for creating training centers is basically acquiring academic knowledge Hence, the role and responsibility of the academic staff and professors is the primary concern of the board of directors in the training centers Besides having substantial knowledge, there are some other characteristics required of academic staffs Firstly, they need to have a positive attitude because they communicate directly with the students and the latter will find it hard to gain knowledge and communicate with people who feel otherwise When the students work with academic staffs who have positive attitude, they will feel confident to ask more questions about what they do not understand clearly and therefore strengthen their knowledge Moreover, academic staff with positive attitude will tend to give solutions for

students and receive feedbacks from students rather than rejecting all others opinions In addition, the academic aspects refer to the characteristic of professors with good communication skills In fact, if someone does not have good communication skills, he/she cannot convey information to other people and the effectiveness of transferring knowledge from professor to students will

be compromised

Furthermore, the students will not satisfy with the education system if they do not receive sufficient consultation from their professors when doing assignment/thesis/dissertation or carrying more research of the topic given in the class/books Sufficient consultation from professors is not only what students deserve but also being the motivation for them to enhance their knowledge; the professors must consider that giving their student sufficient consultation is their prior duty and is one of the best method to bring satisfaction to their students Moreover, with academic activities, the professors need to provide regular feedback to students in order to let the students understand the strength and weakness or what need to be improved during training time at training centers and therefore the professors also take

a deep look on the current educational status of the students and find the right way to give suitable consultation for their student Through carrying all responsibilities, the professors can satisfy their students with the academic educational system of the training center

Facilities and Equipment

Facilities and equipment aspect can be seen under the view of the accessibility of information from extra services, accessibility to the supports of

administration and accessibility of academic staffs When students carry their assignment/thesis/dissertation, it is very important for them to access the information from books/contexts/researches in the university’s library If the approachability of the student is limited, they will not implement the jobs in the most effective way therefore leads to the dissatisfaction of the students The availability of the academic staffs as well support staffs will also make the students feel self – worth and therefore increase their satisfaction

Services for students

It is notable to indicate that services for students are widened and it can be recognized through the characteristics of training center Training center is determined as an organization so that it has distinctive characteristic

in organization structure According to Watson (2005) and Huff (2003), the organization of training center is generally constructed by as set of:(i) a board

of trustees; (ii) a president, chancellor, or rector; (iii) at least one vice president, vice-chancellor, or vice-rector; and (iv) deans of various divisions

Secondly, private and public training center is also considered as another aspect of training center’s characteristics As mentioned above, public training center and private training center are distinctive with each other through the source of funds However, public training center is also different to private training center as it has larger size and low cost Grove (2013a, 2013b) states that all largest training centers in the world are public ones ad public training center often requires tuition fees less than what the student should have to pay for attending private training center Another different characteristics of public training center is that it allows the students to be more

commuter and part-time attendances while such mechanism is very rarely in private training center

Thirdly, another characteristic of training center is addressed by the nature of training center work as it “mandate to conduct original research requires resources, infrastructure, human capital, and a climate of inquiry protected by the principles of academic freedom.” (Bennie, 2012, pp.4) Each training center, has different nature of work, thus it creates high portfolio of diversification for global training center context The nature of work of each training center is clearly stated in the website of each training center

However, services for students are narrowed in this study with concentration on the mechanism of which the students are allowed providing feedbacks after training Colbert (2012) defined performance feedback as the way in which the organization conducting an assessment on their employee performances through different feedback mechanisms For example, the organization could choose between formal and informal feedbacks Formal feedbacks referred to the mechanism enabling the managers, the customers could provide the feedbacks to the employees Informal feedback, however, referred to somewhat private discussion between the managers and their employees Kluger and Denisi (1981), Kim (1984), and Jawahar (2006) denoted that feedbacks have significant and positive effects on performance when it is provided for a familiar task, is directed on goal setting, and does not direct attention to the self Hattie and Timperley (2007) asserted that feedbacks have the most influence on learning and the polar of this relationship could be positive and negative depending on the articles of trainings These authors also identified that although feedback is among the

major influences, the type of feedback and the way it is given can be differentially effective According to Velada et al (2007), performance feedback was one part of the working environment

Student Satisfaction

It can be seen that from a long time ago, customer satisfaction has been become the main goal of for success of many companies and researching customer behavior as well as customer satisfaction was a topic which has been discussed in many important marketing books However, in term of social marketing – a branch of marketing – the concepts of customer satisfaction has taken into consideration to other organization as well, including universities (Kotler, 1995) The first discussion about customer behavior in higher education is who are the real customers and who are the partners in this sector In traditional view, the students are considered as the products of the university, however, educational marketing started to doubt of who are the actual customers of the universities (Eagle, 2007 and Finney, 2010) As the student is the main factor affecting directly to the operation of the university, the role of students is becoming more and more important Therefore, many studies have paid time to research about the behavior of student and how can universities bring satisfaction to their student (Rowley, 1996)

From point of view of marketing, students’ satisfaction can be considered as customers’ satisfaction as the students are customers of the universities According to N Senthilkumar and A Aralraj (2010), among the service sectors, higher education system has directly bearing on society and economic development The higher education institutes paid more and more

attention on service quality and customers’ satisfaction as tertiary education service industry moves to the era of commercialization (Brown & Clignet,

2000 as cited in Kathleen & Julie, 2001)

The analysis of the factors that influence the students’ satisfaction can provide relevant information about how students are thinking and what are the most important aspects impacting students’ satisfaction However, before coming to the factors affecting students’ satisfaction, the author would like to provide the general concepts of students’ satisfaction In this context, students’ satisfaction is considered as an important concept for management and control especially in business universities (Douglas, MccClelland & David, 2008; Helgesen & Nesset, 2007),

According to Sirvanci (1996), student satisfaction is considered as customer satisfaction within the context of higher education quality In a research of Corneliu et al (2010), student satisfaction was defined as an evaluative summary of direct educational experience, based on the prior expectation and the perceived performance In another point of view, students’ satisfaction is considered as the subjective perception, on the student’s part, of how well a learning environment supports academic success (Celia, 2010) Measuring student satisfaction is not an easy task because of the lack of consensus on the definition of satisfaction with the corresponding service as a concept Hence, there is no generally accepted measurement scale for customer satisfaction in higher education (Garcia, 2009 as cited in Basherr & Ahmad, 2012)

Postema and Markham (2001) define student satisfaction to be the most important indicator in educational assessment in many countries

because it is the very first factor to guarantee the quality of student training A good point to consider is that student satisfaction has received considerable appreciation in academic circles On the other hand, Sinclaire (2011) argues that many previous researches on student satisfaction have not been able to define the term student satisfaction This can only be solved by evaluating existing concepts of student satisfaction Ali et al (2012) affirm that various definitions of student satisfaction have been laid out by educational researchers Postema and Markham (2001), explain student satisfaction as a form of student behavior whether and how they react after the training what they expect prior to the learning process Alridge and Rowley, (2001) assert that the student dissatisfaction lessens students’ learning growth and performance and therefore might lead to withdrawal from academic pursuits

In this light, the definition of student satisfaction is much closer to the definition of customer satisfaction in business as the latter is also observed as the difference between customers’ expectations and what they actually receive from products and services provided by the firms (Kanji et al., 1999)

Besides, they realize that student satisfaction develops in accordance with the levelling up of educational grades Notwithstanding a range of studies conducted on the subject, Hasan et al (2008) shows that a high degree of student satisfaction in private institutions of higher learning in Malaysia consequently encourages the continuous enrollment of students in succeeding years Focusing on student satisfaction in Malaysia, Hasan et al (2008) also point out the growing concern of the Malaysian government to develop student satisfaction in higher education through the implementation

of specific national programs Additionally, mastering the concept of student

satisfaction will support the program management to increase the learning quality by adjusting course targets aligned with students’ expectations (Kuo

et al., 2013; Olmstead, 2007) This can be achieved if the program advocates and prime movers will take advantage of the fact that student satisfaction can really pave the way for instituting changes and reforms to revolutionize learning schemes and better student performance in school

Some previous researchers opine that students who are satisfied with their academic environment can always derive pleasure and inspiration during the training period (Sweeney and Ingram, 2001; Moore, 2009; Sinclaire, 2011) O’Leary and Quinlan (2007) define student satisfaction as a direct response stimulated by a very positive learning atmosphere as they go through various phases of the training program In this case, the degree of student satisfaction can be assessed and quantified by the marketing analysis models For example, Thurmond et al (2002) propose using SERVQUAL model to measure student satisfaction It’s a good point to realize that SERVQUAL is widely accepted in many marketing researches (Parasuraman

et al., 1994)

Conceptual Framework

Student satisfaction is equated with customer satisfaction because students are customers of universities and with the prevailing concept of commercialized education nowadays, universities have to exert no ordinary effort in order to improve the quality of education programs as well as the ideal educational environment for enhancing student satisfaction Therefore, this term in a way is likewise intertwined with the concept of customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction translates into the higher education context

as genuine satisfaction of the student – the principal customer of university services (Sirvanci, 1996) This point of view is also supported by Firdaus (2006) as stated in International Journal of Consumer Studies: “In higher education, the definition of customer is quite different from the point of view of manufacturing or general services since certain groups such as students, employers, academic staff, government and families are all customers of the educational system with a diversity of requirements.” Moreover, Crawford (1991) affirms that in British education system, students must now be considered as primary customers

When assessing customer satisfaction, researchers always mention the concept of service quality because the latter is considered as the most important factor impacting on customer satisfaction In fact, service quality in the management and marketing literature is the extent to which customers’ perception of service meets and/or exceeds their expectations as defined by Zeithaml (1996) Therefore service quality whether good or bad is how customers are served in organizations The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction have generated a great deal of attention from scholars and practitioners (Eshghi et al., 2008 as cited by Chingang & Lukong, 2010) Many scholars believe that service quality has a significant bearing on customer satisfaction (Gronroos, 1984; Parasuraman et al., 1998) while others argue that customer satisfaction is as an antecedent to service quality (Bitner, 1990 as cited in Basherr & Ahmad, 2012)

Parasuraman (1988) defines service quality as “the difference between customer expectations and perceptions of service” The aim of providing

quality service is primarily to satisfy customers Quantifying service quality is a better way to indicate whether the services are good or bad and whether the customers feel satisfied or not at all Likewise, according to Parasuraman (1988) there are five dimensions of service quality, namely: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy

Figure 2 SERVQUAL Model

(Source: Parasuraman et al 1988)

However, Teas (1993) claims that SERVQUAL lacks the discriminatory validity stemming from the expectation dimension scores because the respondents misunderstand the expectation questions Cronin and Taylor (1992) find that the service quality concept under SERVQUAL confounds satisfaction and attitude They also conclude that service quality can be better measured by using only the perception dimension, rather than expectation As

a result, Cronin and Taylor (1992) came up with a new research instrument, SERVPERF, which did not include the expectation dimension for the measurement of service quality Unlike SERVQUAL model, SERVPERF

Perceived Service

Perceived Service Quality

model is considered a simpler instrument for measuring service quality since the elimination of the expectation dimension makes the SERVPERF instrument more efficient The SERVPERF model is better than the SERVQUAL model due to some reasons as stated below:

 SEVRQUAL model is a popularly used in many studies which tend to generalize the dimensions measuring quality service However, the said model also contains certain disadvantages Even Parasuraman et

al (1988) have suggested that one of the disadvantages of SEVRQUAL model is due to the desire of finding a model that can represent all types of quality service so in effect, the researchers only retain the popular and suitable components that fit into all types of services Therefore, a number of necessary and acceptable components of certain services are not compatible with the majority of components that have been removed

 The expectations of customers in SEVRQUAL do not substantially define the concept of customer perception

 Using the SEVRPERF model will produce better results in comparison with SEVRQUAL model because the questionnaire survey of SEVRPERF is shorter and more understable However, the definition

of expectation is quite confusing among the respondents

 Measuring customer expectation is very difficult

Goals and tasks impact positively on student satisfaction with regard to vocational training and education program in Bac Ninh Province It is notable

to emphasize that if the students and teachers can clearly define their goals

and tasks during the training process, the learning contents will be suitable and in line with the perception and needs of students as well as teaching and management skills of teachers and administrators respectively

Organization management is also impacting positively on student satisfaction as Bloom and Reenen (2010) assert that efficient organization will create efficient workflow and process that enable the possibilities of reducing overtime work or higher operating costs

Teaching and learning activities are central to the system of vocational training and education in order to beef up the levels of teaching and learning which will bring out positive outcomes and long-range satisfaction among students in the future On the other hand, it means that well-prepared teaching activities and laudable learning behavior can lead to more productivity and enhanced learning Teachers and administrators can equally make a big difference as far as student satisfaction is concerned if teachers are highly skilled and administrators employ good, practical, systematic and down-to-earth management techniques Nickse (2007) claims that teachers motivate students by starting their lessons with examples, activities, or questions that challenge the curiosity and imagination of their students

Apart from teaching and learning activities and capacities of teachers and administrators, a well-designed curriculum and syllabi will create higher student satisfaction Indeed, at this point, the Vietnamese educational system

is faced with the problem of rallying the students to engage themselves in more academic pursuits Therefore, a well-designed curriculum and syllabi will

benefit the students because they can apply the theorems and principles to circumstances and situations obtaining in their daily lives

Libraries, facilities, and equipment play critical roles in generating student satisfaction in the field of vocational training particularly because the Vietnamese education system is undergoing a critical transformation process

as a national mandate On the other hand, it means that vocational training schools have to invest in libraries, facilities, and equipment in order to ensure that their students can apply what has been learned to real life situations

Financial management is the combination of anticipating, planning, managing, allocating, coordinating, and controlling all activities related to and affecting the financial performance of firms within both current and future contexts as regards the financial objectives Good financial management will benefit the students as they can study with very minimal costs on their part thus, indirectly creating satisfaction among themselves

Finally, services for students is emphasized as all value-added services that the students will benefit from In the long run, diversified services eventually create student satisfaction

Research Paradigm

Figure 3 explains the input of the study in determining the status of the training quality management of the vocational schools in terms of goals and tasks, organization and management, teaching and learning activities, teachers and administrators, curriculum and syllabus, library, facilities,

financial management and services for students The process includes observation and distribution of research questionnaire to the vocational schools in the target locale, data collection, interpretation and the development of the intervention program Finally, the output is a proposed intervention program

Figure 3 Input-Process-Output Model on the Status of Training

Implementation of Vocational Schools in Bac Ninh Province:

Development of Intervention Program

Status of Training Quality

Management of Vocational

Schools in terms of:

 Teaching and Learning

PROPOSED INTERVENTION PROGRAM

Chapter III METHODOLOGY

This chapter covers the research methodologies applied in the study It also

includes the research locale, the research design, respondents of the study, data

gathering procedures and statistical treatment

Locale of the Study

The study was conducted in BacNinh middle of December 2013 The

researcher chose Bac Ninh as the locale of the study because it has many vocational

schools such as (1) Bac Ninh Vocational College of Electromechanical and

Construction, (2) Bac Ninh Vocational College of Economic Technical, (3)Vocational

College of Management – Technology, (4) Vilacera Vocational College, (5) Bac

Ninh Economic Technical Vocational Middle School, (6) Au Lac Vocational Middle

School, (7) Thuan Thanh Vocational Middle School, (8) Đong Duong International

Vocational Middle, (9) ThuanThanh Vocational Middle School of Economics -

Engineering and Traditional Handicrafts, (10) Vocational Middle School - the

Department of Defense

Research Design

This research was a descriptive research analysis of various trainings

conducted in various vocational schools in Bac Ninh Province The design described

the essential character of the method Employing this method dealt with collecting

data to gather information about existing conditions without analyzing relationships

among variables

Population and Sampling

The respondents of the study were 300 students from the 10 vocational

schools in Bac Ninh Province with 271 students responding to the questionnaire Slovin’s formula and random selection method were used to determine the samples

Table 1

Distribution of Respondents

Bac Ninh Vocational College of Electromechanical

Bac Ninh Vocational College of Economic

Vocational College of Management – Technology 642 30

Bac Ninh Economic Technical Vocational Middle

Đong Duong International Vocational Middle 567 28

ThuanThanh Vocational Middle School of

Economics - Engineering and Traditional

The questionnaire was designed to determine the status of the training quality

management of vocational schools in Bach Ninh Province in terms of (1) Teaching

and Learning Activities, (2) Teachers and Administrators, (3) Curriculum and

Syllabus, (4) Library, (5) Facilities and (6) Services for Students.Likert scale was

used in the questionnaire

Validation of Instrument

Polit and Hungler (1993) referred to the validity of an instrument as the

degree that measures what it is intended to measure An instrument represents the

factors under study with respect to content validity The interviews and

questionnaires consisted of a number of questions on the knowledge of students

about the quality of vocational training in Bac Ninh province

The questions were based on the information gathered during the literature

review to ensure that they are representative of what respondents should know about

the vocational training activities Content validity also was ensured by the

consistency of questionnaires The researcher will distribute the questionnaire to

employee personally and interview the managers directly All questions in the

questionnaire and interview were designed in simple language for clear and easy

understanding

The participants completed the questionnaire in the presence of the

researcher to ensure that they themselves did it To ensure validity, the

questionnaires were collected by the researcher for further analysis With

closed-ended questions, the researcher should add more appropriate alternatives and

response choices to provide for meaningful data analysis (Burns and Grove, 1993)

Self-determination also was kept throughout the questionnaires The subjects

were informed about the study and asked whether they were willing to participate or

not The respondents themselves completed the questionnaire

Scientific honesty was considered as a very important ethical responsibility

when deploying research Brink (1996) indicates dishonest conduct such as

manipulation of design and methods and retention or manipulation of data And the

researcher should avoid any form of dishonesty by recording the answers truthfully

of those subjects who could not read or write The open-ended questions analyzed

by the researcher were also checked by the supervisor to confirm its credibility

Data Gathering Procedures

This study was conducted with the primary data collected from the survey of the target respondents It was worth mentioning that the respondents’ personal

profiles were sourced from the researcher’s database of vocational schools in Bac

Ninh Province The sample size is about 300 students who have been receiving

vocational training for the last 3 years Then the survey process was designed with

the following steps:

Step 1: Preparing the draft of the survey form and sending it to the directors of

vocational training centers in Vietnam for approval

Step 2: Working with human resource departments of various vocational training

centers in Bac Ninh province to get the list of students who have been receiving

vocational training for the last 3 years It is notable to emphasize that there are 300

students involved in this survey The sample size is generated randomly from the

student population following the Rule of Thumb by Robson (2002)

Step 3: Conducting the survey with 300 students and 10 schools heads by email in

two weeks

Step 4: Collecting and consolidating the answers of 300 students into Excel sheets Step 5: Uploading the database of answers of 100 customers into SPSS 16 and

preparing the data analysis, including (1) descriptive statistics, (2) reliability test

analysis, and (3) linear regression

Step 6: Generating key findings and listing them into the study

Statistical Treatment