Variations in Decision-making Approach to Tertiary Teaching: A Case Study in Vietnam

Although the question of what to teach and how to teach has received much
attention from the literature, little was known about the way in which academics in
teaching groups make decision on what and how to teach. This paper reports an
analysis of variations in the decision-making approach to tertiary teaching through
academics’ practices of designing course syllabuses, teaching, and assessing
student learning. The study was conducted in three Faculties of business
administration of three Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Vietnam and three
different patterns of decision-making approach to tertiary teaching, namely as (i)
the Given Framework, (ii) the Closed Framework, and (iii) the Open Framework,
were found.