This paper presents an initial case study assessment of cross-border capacity building approaches to educational reform in Vietnam. Three educational projects will be profiled, each linking Portland State University to the tertiary educational system in Vietnam. Two case studies center on the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, and address the challenges of urban environmental education and computer science curriculum reform; the third is an effort led by Intel Corporation that links tertiary education in Vietnam to workforce development. As part of its review of the history and current status of each project, the paper assesses the challenges and opportunities inherent to each. Market forces related to globalization, industrialization and urbanization are clearly at work in each cross-border capacity building effort to reform higher education in Vietnam. Yet, the diffusion process under review represents initiatives with different definitions of educational reform, accountability standards, and measures of success.
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