One of the most famous images of the US War in Vietnam is a naked young Vietnamese girl, Kim Phuc, running from a village, her body inflamed with napalm. That photograph, taken by Nick Ut, displayed to the whole world the horrors of the US war in Vietnam. Kim Phuc, now a Canadian citizen living in Ottawa with her two children, runs a foundation to help child victims of war. Kim's success and inspiring story is reflective of the resilience of the Vietnamese both at home and abroad in the face of the dramatic tragedy of war, death, and violence.
Especially during the early period of communist rule (1975–1985) that followed US withdrawal from Vietnam and the end of the Vietnam War, many refugees (often as boat people) left Vietnam for the USA. Currently there are 1,418,234 Vietnamese-Americans (representing 0.5% of the US population). They are the second largest Southeast Asia-American group in the USA. Much attention has focused on the military conflict in Vietnam and the US war there. However, Vietnam is not just a war, but a country. Already in 2008, many books have been published about Vietnam. Nearly all are still about the tragic war. Vietnam has a long and rich history as a literate culture strongly influenced by China. On many occasions, the Chinese tried to dominate and defeat Vietnam, but always failed.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
References
Balme, S. and Sidel, M. (2007). Vietnam's New Order: International Perspectives on the State and Reform in Vietnam. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Banschab, T. and Klump, R. (2007). “Pro-poor Growth in Vietnam: Exploring the Spatial Differences,” in M. Grimm, S. Klasen, and A. McKay (eds.), Determinants of Pro-Poor Growth: Analytical Issues and Findings from Country Cases. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Baulch, B., Chuyen, T. T. K., Haughton, D., Haughton, J. (2002). Ethnic Minority Development in Vietnam: A Socioeconomic Perspective. Washington, D.C.: Development Research Group, Macroeconomics and Growth, The World Bank, Policy Research Working Paper 2836, May.
Boothroyd, P. and Pham X. N. (2000). Socioeconomic Renovation in Vietnam: The Origin, Evolution, and Impact of Doi Moi. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre and Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Chikada, M. (2006). “Educational Planning in Vietnam,” in Sugimoto, H. and Yamanouchi, K. (eds.), Educational Planning in Contemporary Asia, Tokyo: Gakubunsha Press (in Japanese)
Chikada, M. (2005). Contemporary Higher Education in Vietnam, Tokyo: Taga Shuppan Press (in Japanese).
Chikada, M. (2004). “Higher Education in Vietnam: Quality Assurance for a Million Students,” in Umakoshi, T. (ed.), Higher Education in Asia and Oceania. Tokyo: Tamagawa University Press (in Japanese), pp. 124–148.
Christy, E. E. (1986). Influence of the Soviet Union on Chinese Higher Educational and Scientific Development. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon, 4 volumes.
Dai, N. D. (2006). “Vietnam,” in Higher Education in South-East Asia. Bangkok: Bangkok UNESCO 2006, pp. 219–250 S.
Dalton, R. J. and Ong, N.-N. T. (2003). Civil Society and Social Capital in Vietnam. Munich: Munich Institute for Social Sciences. Also forthcoming in Modernization and Social Change in Vietnam.
Dang, B. L. (1997). “Vietnam,” in G. A. Postiglione and G. C. L.Mak, Asian Higher Education: An International Handbook and Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, pp. 359–371.
Dapice, D. O. (2003). ‘Vietnam’s Economic Success: Success Story or Weird Dualism? A SWOT analysis. Cambridge: Vietnam Program, Center for Business and Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
di Gropello, E. (2007). “Vietnam: Higher Education and Skills for Growth.” Paper presented at the Malaysian Higher Education Conference, December 3–5.
Ðô, P. (1998). Vietnam-Image of the Community of 54 Ethnic Groups. Hanoi: The Ethnic Cultures, Publishing House.
Duiker, W. J. (2000). Ho Chi Minh: A Life. New York: Hyperion.
ESCAP (2007). The Millennium Development Goals: Progress in Asia and the Pacific 2007. Bangkok: UN ESCAP, ADB, UNDP.
Ford Foundation (2007). Ford Foundation Pathways to Higher Education: A Ford Foundation Global Initiative for Promoting Inclusiveness in Higher Education. http://www.pathwaysto-highereducation.org/ countries/c.php?id=21
Fromm, Erich (1979). To have or to be? London: Abacus.
Gill, I. S., Kharas, H. J., and Bhattasali, D. (2007). An East Asian Renaissance: Ideas for Economic Growth. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
Glewwe, P. W., Dollar, D., and Litvack, J. (eds) (1998). Household Welfare and Vietnam's Transition to a Market Economy. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
Glewwe, P. W. and H. Patrinos (1999). “The Role of the Private Sector in Education in Vietnam: Evidence from the Vietnam Living Standards Survey.” World Development, 27(5): 887–902.
Gross, A. and Weintraub, R. (2005). Vietnam Human Resources Update. Bethesda, MD: Pacific Bridge, Inc.
Hayden, M. and Thiep, L. Q. (2006). “A 2020 Vision for Higher Education in Vietnam.” International Higher Education, 44: 11–12.
Hayden, M. and Thiep, L. Q. (2007). “Institutional Autonomy for Higher Education in Vietnam.” Higher Education Research and Development, 26(1): 73–85.
Hoang X. S. and Sloper, D. (1995). “An Entrepreneurial Development: Thang Long University,” in Sloper, D. and Lê T. C., Higher education in Vietnam: Change and Response. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. 200–210.
Kamm, H. (1996). Dragon Ascending: Vietnam and the Vietnamese. New York: Arcade Pub.
Khong, D. (2002). Population and Ethno-Demography in Vietnam. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books.
Klump, R. (2007). “Pro-Poor Growth in Vietnam: Miracle or Model?” in T. Besley and L. Cord (eds.), Delivering on the Promise of Pro-Poor Growth: Insights and Lessons from Country Experiences. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
Krugman, P. R. (1996). Pop Internationalism. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Lam Q. T. and Dang X. H. (1998). Vietnam, In Handbook on Diplomas, Degrees, and Other Certificates in Higher Education and the Pacific (pp. 349–365). Bangkok: Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development, and UNESCO PROAP.
Le V. G. L. (2003) Su giao duc hon 1000 nam nen giao duc Vietnam [Educational history over 1000 years]. Hanoi: National Political Press.
Le S. T. et al. (1994). Nho Giao tai Viet Nam [Confucianism in Vietnam], Hanoi: Social SciencePress.
Le T. C. (1991). “Higher Education Reform in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.” Comparative Education Review, 35(1), 170–176.
Lifton, Robert J. (1993). The ProteanSelf: Human Resilience in an Age of Fragmentation. New York: Basic Books, 1993.
Lindblom, C. E. and Cohen, D. K. (1979). Usable Knowledge: Social Science and Social Problem Solving. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Luong H. V. (1992). Revolution in the Village: Traditions and transformation in Vietnam, 1925–1988. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.
Luong, H. V. (ed.) (2003). Postwar Vietnam: Dynamics of a transforming society. Oxford and Singapore: Bowman & Litchfield; Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
McCornac, D. (2007). “Corruption in Vietnamese Higher Education.“ International Higher Education, 50 (Winter): 25–26.
McNamara, R. et al. (1999). Argument without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy. New York: Public Affairs.
Moock, P. R., H. A. Patrinos, and M. Venkataraman (1998). Education and Earnings in a Transition Economy (Vietnam). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, Working Papers – Education, no. 5.
Nghiem D. V. (2003). “Ho Chi Minh in Thailand,” in Thanyathip et al., Twenty Five Years of Thai-Vietnamese Relationship. Bangkok: Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, pp. 119–130
Ngo Q. T. (2001). La phong dich, kinh te tri thuc – Xu the moi cua xa hoi the ky 21 [The knowledge economy of the 21st century]. Hanoi: Hanoi National University.
Nguyen K. V. (1993). Vietnam: A Long History. Hanoi: The Gio Publishers.
Overland, M. (2006a). “Higher Education Lags Behind the Times in Vietnam: Outdated Thinking in the Classroom Hampers the Country's Reform Efforts.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 52, 40, A36.
Overland, M. (2006b). “Harvard Teaches Capitalism to Communists.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 52, 40, A37.
Overland, M. (2006c, February 17). “Vietnamese Professor Faces Prison Term for Taking Bribes from Students.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 52. http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/02/ 2006021710.n.htm
Paitoon, S. (1997). Raajngaan kaanpahtiruup kaansygsaa khong prathet Vietnam [Report on Educational Reform in Vietnam]. Bangkok: Office of the National Education Commission.
Pettus, A. S. (1994). Vietnam's Learning Curve: Dwindling Subsidies Squeeze Teachers and Parents. Far Eastern Economic Review, 157, August 18, 36–37.
Pham M. H. (1998). Vietnam's Education: The Current Position and Future Prospects. Hanoi: The Gio Publishers.
Pham, L. H. and Fry, G. (2002). “The Emergence of Private Higher Education in Vietnam: Challenges and Opportunities.” Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 1: 127–141.
Pham, L. H. and Fry, G. (2004). “Universities in Vietnam: Legacies, Challenges, and Prospects,” in P. G. Altbach, and T. Umakoshi (eds.), The Future of Universities in Asia. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 301–331.
Phan H. L. (1993). The Traditional Village in Vietnam. Hanoi: Thế Gió Publishers.
Porter, M. (1980). Competitive Strategies: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York: Free Press.
Porter, M. (1990). The Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York: The Free Press.
Sakellarious, C. N. and Patrinos, H. A. (2000). “Labor Market Performance of Tertiary Graduates in Vietnam.” Asian Economic Journal, 14(2): 147–165.
Sauvageau, P. P. (1996). Higher Education for Development: A History of Modern Higher Education in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Boston University.
Sen, A. K. (1999). Development as Freedom. New York: Knopf.
Simon, J. L. (1990). Population Matters: People, Resources, Environment, and Immigration. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Sloper, D. and Lê T. C. (1995). Higher Education in Vietnam: Change and Response. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Taylor, P. (2007). Cham Muslims of the Mekong Delta: Place and mobility in the cosmopolitan periphery. Nathan, Queensland: Asian Studies Association of Australia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Teekens, H. (2002). “Thi's Story: Growing up in the Mekong Delta and Studying Abroad,” in Grünzweig, W. and Rinehart, N. (eds.), Rockin' in Red Square: Critical Approaches to International Education in the Age of Cyberculture. Münster, Germany: LIT Verlag, pp. 147–161.
Thang, N. N. and Quang, T. (2007). “International briefing 18: Training and Development in Vietnam.” International Journal of Training&Development, 11(2): 139–149.
Thanyathip S. (1998). Mua Vietnam pathiruup [When Vietnam reforms]. Bangkok: Thailand Research Fund.
The Observatory (2005). One to Watch? Vietnam Pushes forth with Plans to Attract Foreign and Private Provision. London: The Observatory of Borderless Higher Education.
Tran K. (2002). Education in Vietnam: Current State and Issues. Hanoi: The Gio Publishers.
Trấn H. and Hà A. T. (2000). A brief Chronology of Vietnam's History. Hanoi: Thà́ Gió Publishers.
Tran T. V. A. and Le N. H. (2000). Women and Ðôi mó Hanoi: Woman Publishing House.
Tu W (1993). Way, Learning, and Politics: Essays on the Confucian Intellectual. Albany, NY: State University of New York.
Tu, W (ed.) (1996). Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity: Moral Education and Economic Culture in the Four mini-Dragons. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
UNDP (2008). Human Development Report 2007/2008. New York: UNDP.
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (1998). Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. Ho Chi Minh City: Tran Phu Printing Company.
VietNam Net Bridge (2005). IT Frame Provides Key to Distance Learning. http://english.vietnam-net.vn/ tech/2005/07/470578/
VNA (2005). The Hmong in Vietnam. Hanoi: VNA Publishing House.
Vu V. T. (1991). “Higher Education in Vietnam,” in Pham M. H. (ed.), Education in Vietnam. Hanoi: MOET, pp. 100–129.
Wasley, P. (2007, June 21). Vietnamese Leaders on U.S. Visit, Discuss Ambitious Overhaul of Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/06/20070621n.htm
World Bank (1997). Vietnam: Education Financing. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, A World Bank Country Study.
World Bank (1998). Vietnam: Higher Education Project. http://web.worldbank.org/external/ projects/ main?Projectid=P004828
World Bank (2006). Critical Discussions on Education: Meeting Emerging Challenges in East Asia. Washington, D.C.: East Asia and Pacific Region, Human Development Sector Unit, The World Bank, September, Working Paper Series No. 2007-2.
World Bank (2007). Vietnam: Second Higher Education Project. http://web.worldbank.org/external/ projects/main?Projectid=P079665
Zeng, Kangmin (1999). Dragon Gate: Competitive Examinations and Their Consequences. London: Cassell.
Ziderman, A. (2004). Policy Options for Student Loan Schemes: Lessons from five Asian Case Studies. Policy Research and Dialogue Student Loan Schemes in Asia Series, Volume 1, Number 6. Bangkok: UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education; Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning.
Zingerli, C. (2004). “Politics in Mountain Communes: Exploring Vietnamese Grassroots Democracy,” in D. McCargo (ed.), Rethinking Vietnam. New York: Routledge Curzon.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fry, G.W. (2009). Higher Education in Vietnam. In: Hirosato, Y., Kitamura, Y. (eds) The Political Economy of Educational Reforms and Capacity Development in Southeast Asia. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9377-7_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9377-7_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-9375-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-9377-7
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)