Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Joanna Karet

Abstract

Vietnam’s higher education institutions have been criticized for producing graduates who are lacking skills required by employers. To address this criticism, the general education program at a university in Vietnam aims to build the broad knowledge and skills. However, it was unknown if students, faculty, and employers perceived the program to adequately provide students with broad knowledge and skills. The purpose of this convergent mixed methods study was to investigate the perceptions of students, faculty, and employers about whether the general education program was providing students with broad knowledge and skills needed for career success. The theoretical foundation for this study was Mezirow’s transformative learning theory and Kolb’s experiential learning theory. Research questions focused on examining the perceptions of students and faculty regarding broad knowledge and skills needed for students’ career success provided by the general education program. Quantitative data were obtained from 419 student responses to a Likert scale survey and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were collected from eight faculty members and six employers, which were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The findings showed that students perceived that they gained many skills but little broad knowledge from general education; faculty saw the value of the provision of general education but realized that many students did not find value; employers valued the provision of general education but did not share the same emphasis on content and skills as the university. A faculty professional development program was created to help faculty better equip students with general education knowledge and skills, so that students graduating with general education competencies can be change agents in their workplace and the community.

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