Narrativa: Cosas que pasan(1906)

The data collection was aligned with the research questions and Berry’s framework (see Table 9). Semi-structured interviews were conducted on three occasions. The first interviews concerned the first research question, aiming to explore the “heritage culture” or the teaching and learning practices in Vietnamese higher education that the participants had experienced. The second set of interviews aimed to investigate the “host culture” or the characteristics of the educational environment that the participants encountered in the ICT-enhanced blended learning environment at the Australian University to address the second research question. The third interviews explored possible changes in learning styles of the students studying in the new educational environment, and the students’ learning experiences in relation to how Vietnamese students can become more active in their learning while studying in the ICT-based learning environment in Australia. Although each of the interviews had a particular focus, the participants were encouraged to compare and contrast what they had experienced in both the heritage and host cultures to increase the clarity and depth of the information provided. The reviews of the participants’ course documents such as subject outlines, policies and guidelines were also conducted to reduce the biases and enhance the validity of this study

Table 9

64

Research Questions Rationale (how does this question help to achieve the

main aim)

Data Required Source

(instrument)

1. How do the Vietnamese students perceive their

experiences of teaching and learning practice in Vietnamese higher education?

Helps to examine teaching and learning practice in

Vietnamese higher education that the students have experienced.

Students’ perceptions of teaching and learning practice in Vietnamese

higher education Student interviews

2. What types of teaching and learning practice are encountered by the students in the ICT- enhanced blended learning environment at the Australian

University?

Helps to identify the

characteristics of teaching and learning practice in the ICT- enhanced blended learning environment in which the students are engaged.

Students’ perceptions of teaching and learning practice in the ICT- enhanced blended learning environment

Features of the learning environment

Student interviews

Document reviews

3. What are the

perceptions and practices of Vietnamese students using ICT-enhanced learning environments that seek to foster active learning?

Examines outcomes of the meeting of the two cultures and the potential harmonies and conflicts encountered by students in the new learning environment

Investigates the ways that learning in the new learning environment can encourage active learning among the students Evidence of changes Students’ learning strategies in relation to active learning Student interviews Document reviews

65

The period of time scheduled to carry out all the interviews was six months, starting in December 2011 and concluding in May 2012. All the interviews were face-to-face, and the particular time and location for each interview was set for the participants’ convenience. The choice of locations included the participants’ home, the interviewer’s office, the University’s library and the library of the city where they studied. All the interviews were recorded with the shortest interview taking only 30 minutes (30 mins) and the longest was one and a half hours. The following table presents the details of the interviews with participants.

Table 10

Interviews’ audit trail

Participants 1

st

Interview Length Place

2nd

Interview Length Place

3rd Interview Length Place Ha 30/12/11 41mins Interviewer’s Home 11/02/12 31 mins City’s

Library 17/05/12 32 mins City’s Library

Huyen 08/12/11 45 mins University’s

Library 25/02/12 45 mins

University’s

Library 18/05/12 47 mins

University’s Library

Khanh 14/12/11 55 mins University’s

Library 22/02/12

1.08 mins

City’s

Library 26/05/12 44 mins City’s Library

Lan 18/12/11 41 mins University’s

Library 10/03/12 35 mins

University’s

Library 16/05/12 40 mins City’s Library

Phung 13/12/11 30 mins Participant’s

Home 10/03/12 36 mins

Participant’s

Home 19/05/12 31 mins

Participant’s Home

Thu 20/02/12 53 mins City’s Library 05/03/12 45 mins City’s

Library 09/05/12 36 mins City’s Library

Toan 15/12/11 37 mins University’s

Library 12/02/12 38 mins

Participant’s

Home 20/05/12 38 mins

Participant’s Home

66 Tri 08/01/12 1.29 mins Interviewer’s Home 21/02/12 48 mins Participant’s Home 19/05/12 38 mins Participant’s Home

Truong 01/12/11 35 mins Participant’s

Home 26/02/12 41 mins

Participant’s

Home 16/05/12 30 mins

University’s Library

The leading questions for interviews (see Appendix 1) were prepared based on the research questions and the analytical framework in order to obtain in-depth information from the participants. The questions were prepared in both English and Vietnamese versions and sent to participants by email some days prior to the interview time. After the first interview of each session, the researcher systematically reviewed the interview to identify limitations and emerging topics from that interview in order to have timely adjustments for the next (Rubin & Rubin, 2005).

The language used in the interviews was mainly Vietnamese but participants were encouraged to use whatever language allowing them to best describe their particular experiences. The combination of the two languages in the interviews seemed to be productive because participants felt more comfortable when having various ways to communicate to the interviewer and express exactly what they thought. For example, some participants admitted that they were not sure how to say this information or that idea in Vietnamese. As a Vietnamese international student himself, the researcher shared similar experiences of communicating in another language and the difficulties this can cause. Therefore, the combination of using English and Vietnamese in the interviews was believed to bring rich and deep information to the study.

All the interviews were transcribed and translated into English for data analysis and discussion of the results. Initially, the researcher sent some transcripts to a professional translation company in Vietnam for translation in order to ensure objectivity. However, when the researcher reviewed the translation in consultation with the participants, there were many points of confusion, especially in relation to participants’ learning

67

experiences in Australia. This issue might have resulted from a lack of understanding of the context and conceptual equivalence across the two cultures.

The translations were then conducted by the researcher, with a focus on meaning-based, rather than word by word translation (Hebbrecht, 2013; Larson, 1997). Each transcript was sent back to the participants for member checking (Cohen, et al., 2011) to confirm the accuracy of the information and the translation. Thus, the preparation of the transcripts for analysis took a long time, but it ensured the validity of the interview data and also assisted the researcher’s engagement with the data (C. Marshall & Rossman, 2011).