Face-to-Face, Online, or Hybrid? Investigating Learning Mode Preferences Among Vietnamese University Students

• In Event: Digital Learning in Higher Education: Examining Environments, Engagement, and Empowerment

Proposal

Over the past decade, the emergence and growing popularity of distance and e-learning has been an eminent feature of higher education in Vietnam, with universities and colleges increasingly offering online programs and courses to cater to the diverse learning needs of a growing student population. At the same time, the growth of the international higher education market has seen a growing number of international universities and colleges entering the country, bringing with them a variety of direct, online, and hybrid programs and courses. The growth of virtual learning, furthermore, saw a boost during COVID-19, with the majority of schools moving their classes online. Even after the pandemic, at many universities, classes are now still organized in online or hybrid formats, with students preferring these options over traditional face-to-face classrooms.
This study investigates the preference for learning modes in internationally offered programs among Vietnamese university students. Based on the rational perspective (Boudon, 1962), we posit that students choose a certain mode when it is compatible with their learning style. We surveyed over 700 students across Vietnam to explore the factors determining their preference for online, face-to-face, or hybrid learning modes. The survey collected their demographic information such as age, sex, region, parental socioeconomic conditions, financial preparedness, educational goals, as well as their learning history, such as the high schools they graduated from, their currently enrolled programs, their current universities, and their interests in international study programs. We asked two questions: (1) whether there are any differences in learning mode preferences among Vietnamese university students, and (2) what factors predict the likelihood of Vietnamese university students preferring one specific learning mode over others.
To answer the first question, we conducted Pearson Chi-square tests (Howell, 2013) via background factors, including sex (male vs. female), age (under 20 and 20 and above), high school type (public, private, and international), parent education (less than high school, some higher education, and bachelor’s degree and above), region of birth (North, Central, South), and educational goals (only bachelor’s degree, and bachelor’s degree and career aspirations). We examined whether there was an association between learning mode preferences among Vietnamese students and these background factors. We then included the significant factors in the outcome models. We determined that age and sex, two indispensable demographic variables (Bahr, 2010), would be included in the outcome model to answer the second question, whether or not they were significant.
For the second question, we fitted a multinomial logistic regression model as the outcome model (Meyers et al., 2016). This logit model is compatible with categorical variables with three or more categories. According to Meyers et al. (2016), the way the model works allows us to analyze the association between one category of the outcome variable and a predictor in comparison with the reference category before turning to the remaining categories. Our multinomial logistic regression analysis shows that respondents’ home region, financial preparedness, year in college, current programs, and current higher education institution types accounted for a preference for face-to-face learning versus hybrid learning. For those who preferred online programs versus hybrid learning, the significant factors were their educational goals, financial preparedness, year in college, and current programs.
The analysis conveys interesting insights into how preferences for different learning modes are associated with different demographic and educational characteristics of Vietnamese students. This study’s findings will inform educational policymakers, administrators, and higher education providers on how to assess, develop strategies, and design effective and inclusive learning environments to accommodate the needs and interests of diverse student populations.

Authors

• Binh Chi Bui, Johns Hopkins University, School of Education

• Hang Bich Duong, Arizona State University

• Minh Q Huynh, University of Da Lat