A Tertiary Level Course and Students’ Attitude toward Being ASEAN Citizens

The establishment of ASEAN Socio Cultural Community (ASCC) and ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as two of the three pillars of ASEAN integration has entailed both opportunities and challenges for Vietnamese current and future workforce as ASEAN citizens and workers. To prepare well for the free flow of skilled workers, Vietnamese graduates need to be informed of the Southeast Asia (SEA) region in general, our neighboring nations and the comparison between our nation and other member states. This paper investigates the effects of the course called Cultures of ASEAN Countries on learners’ understanding of and mindset toward the Southeast Asian region and countries, using survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with more than 200 current students and alumni who used to attend this part of their tertiary curriculum. The results of the study showed that the senses of connectivity and citizenship had been formed among those students. Specifically, (1) around 50% of the respondents was totally first exposed to the knowledge of SEA, and they found it useful in different ways, (2) nearly 90% of them believed they were better informed of the social and cultural aspects of SEA and felt more connected, (3) 60% revealed that they would be more confident to seize the chances of studying or working in other ASEAN countries if there was one available. What is more noticeable is that (4) some of the alumni were inspired to join student exchange programs within the region, or work overseas in one of the countries.