Digital transformation to enhance the quality of political theory instruction at provincial and municipal political academies in the current context
(PTJ) - Digital transformation in political theory instruction at provincial/municipal political academies constitutes an imperative trend for enhancing training quality and international integration. Nevertheless, numerous institutions still lack modern ICT infrastructure, while the uneven distribution of digital competencies among lecturers and learners impedes interactive lesson design. The predominant reliance on traditional in-person teaching models further demonstrates underutilization of flexible online formats. Consequently, prioritized measures should include: enhancing investments in infrastructure modernization and provincial-level digital repositories; strengthening digital literacy training for faculty; implementing blended learning models that integrate in-person and online instruction with critical thinking pedagogy; and establishing institutional mechanisms to incentivize technological innovation. These coordinated actions will ensure meaningful and sustainable digital transformation.
Dr. NGUYEN VAN SY
Academy of Politics Region IV
1. Introduction
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital transformation is profoundly impacting all social domains, including the training of leadership and management cadre. For provincial/municipal political academies, the application of digital technologies in political theory instruction represents an urgent imperative to enhance training quality and develop cadres capable of meeting contemporary demands.
Digital transformation in political theory instruction helps modernize knowledge transmission methods, expands learner accessibility, and strengthens interactive engagement, creative thinking, and critical analysis. Online platforms, learning management systems, and digital technologies effectively support the updating of knowledge, data analysis, and forecasting of socio-political trends - thereby cultivating a generation of leaders with modern, dynamic thinking and adaptability to new developmental requirements.
many difficulties and challenges, particularly with regard to technical infrastructure and the digital capacity of lecturers, issues that require comprehensive solutions.
2. Content
2.1. Perspectives, guidelines and policies on digital transformation in political theory instruction
Digital transformation in political academies constitutes the application of digital technologies - encompassing digital platforms, tools, and resources - to comprehensively innovate teaching content, methodologies, and organizational formats. This process enhances instructional quality, efficacy, and interactivity while establishing a modern pedagogical environment that fosters learner autonomy, creativity, and critical thinking. Simultaneously, it addresses contemporary demands for cadre development within digital economic and societal contexts.
The integration of digital technologies extends beyond pedagogical enhancement to broaden learner accessibility, cultivate interactive and flexible learning ecosystems. Learning management systems (LMS), online videos, and webinars facilitate resource sharing, real-time engagement, progress monitoring, and enabling continuous curriculum updates that maintain practical relevance. Furthermore, digital transformation stimulates creative cognition through modern pedagogical approaches, developing learners’ capacities for critical analysis, innovation, and independent decision-making beyond theoretical mastery. Enhanced instructor-learner collaboration via digital platforms establishes effective knowledge-exchange environments.
Transparency and efficacy are strengthened through continuous, publicly verifiable learning assessment mechanisms. This enables timely curricular refinements responsive to socioeconomic transformations and national development imperatives. Within political theory instruction specifically, digital transformation serves as the pivotal catalyst for quality enhancement in the new era. Information technologies, social media, and online platforms empower flexible knowledge delivery while creating interactive learning spaces that stimulate proactive discourse and critical engagement. LMS platforms, web conferences, and instructional videos expedite the update of content, ensuring learners access cutting-edge knowledge. Concurrently, data-driven learning analytics support evidence-based curriculum adjustments, equipping cadres with both theoretical proficiency and applied competencies for leadership challenges within global integration contexts. Consequently, this cultivates a modern leadership cohort characterized by dynamism, innovative thinking, and critical cognition.
Structurally, digital transformation enables: (1) information integration and retrieval for theoretical innovation; (2) fundamental pedagogical restructuring; and (3) transformative enhancement of instructors’ professional capacities.
Digital transformation in education - particularly political theory training – has received close attention and direct from the central to local levels. The Party and Government have established comprehensive policy frameworks, including Politburo Resolution 52-NQ/TW (27 September 2019) mandating proactive engagement with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and holistic digital transformation. Subsequently, Prime Minister’s Decision 749/QĐ-TTg (3 June 2020) approved the National Digital Transformation Program through 2025 (with a vision to 2030), designating education as the second-highest priority sector after healthcare(1).
Secretariat Regulation 11-QĐ/TW (19 May 2021) established standardized criteria for provincial political academies, driving IT integration in political theory instruction management. Recent developments include Politburo Resolution 57-NQ/TW (22 December 2024) on breakthrough scientific-technological development and national digital transformation, enabling initiatives like the "Mass Digital Literacy Campaign" launched nationally in March 2025. The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics has operationalized these directives through its Party Committee’s Resolution 43-NQ/ĐU (July 2022), which outlines digital transformation targets through 2030 (with a vision to 2045) for its central, regional, and provincial institutions.
At the local level, provincial Party Committees and People’s Committees have promulgated digital transformation proposals, providing political academies with infrastructural and budgetary support while establishing compliance monitoring mechanisms. Notably, many academy directors participate in provincial digital transformation committees, directly advising Party Committees. Implementation guidance documents include the National Academy’s Directive (13 May 2021) on pandemic-era online teaching pilots and training materials co-developed with the Central Propaganda Department on IT applications in political theory instruction (e.g., digital teaching software manuals, transformation handbooks). Thus, digital transformation efforts at schools of politics are clearly guided and well-supported in terms of resources.
2.2. The current status of digital transformation in political theory instruction at provincial political academies
First, regarding the implementation of online learning and teaching management systems in political schools.
In recent years, provincial and municipal political schools have actively implemented online training modalities to adapt to digital transformation trends and practical demands. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and regional political schools transitioned to online platforms for instructional delivery and training management from mid-2021. Most institutions rapidly shifted from in-person classes to internet-based teaching using tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Several schools deployed specialized Learning Management Systems (LMS). For instance, Tran Phu Political School (Ha Tinh Province) collaborated with Viettel to install and conduct training for Smart LMS - a platform specifically designed for political academies that integrates teaching-learning management, examination administration, and allowing embedded quiz functionality within lectures(2). This proactive approach enabled institutions to fulfill cadre training and development mandates amid pandemic prevention conditions. Online pedagogy has yielded positive preliminary outcomes.
Numerous courses have been conducted either fully online or through hybrid online-offline formats. For example, as of August 2023, the Nguyen Van Cu School of Cadre Training (Quang Ninh) had delivered over 70 intermediate political theory programs and cadre development courses via online or blended modalities - though with in-person examinations(3). Other political schools have progressively established online training regulations to standardize instructional practices. By 2023, most schools had the capacity to conduct online instruction when necessary, from intermediate political theory courses to short-term refresher training. Although Learning Management System (LMS) adoption remains inconsistent, many institutions have prioritized investments in or leveraged available platforms to manage learning. This development lays the groundwork for open-classroom models offering spatiotemporal flexibility, enabling learners to access course materials with genuine "anytime, anywhere" accessibility.
Second the level of technological infrastructure investment for digital transformation.
Provincial political schools have prioritized technological infrastructure modernization. Most institutions have equipped with broadband internet, upgraded official websites, and established online classrooms and meeting facilities with advanced equipment. The Nguyen Van Cu School and district-level political centers in Quang Ninh operate dedicated videoconferencing lines utilizing licensed Microsoft Teams software, integrated with standardized security cameras, audio systems, and lighting for virtual instruction. In 2023, the institution established 10 specialized e-teaching rooms equipped with computers, stable Wi-Fi, noise-cancelling microphones, and other tools to effectively implement its "smart classroom" model.
In Phu Tho province, the school upgraded its virtual conference facilities in late 2021 while concurrently implementing multiple initiatives: enhancing its digital portal, conducting e-learning pedagogy training, adopting digital signatures for documentation, deploying financial accounting software, and establishing the four-tier interlinked VNPT-iOffice document management system. Similarly, Binh Dinh Political School collaborated with VNPT to implement an Electronic Office platform for personnel management and fully digitized document exchange(4).
To date, most institutions are equipped with computer labs, projectors, and interactive displays for instructional purposes; many have installed cameras in lecture halls to enhance administrative oversight. Notably, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics inaugurated its smart campus governance model and launched a digital education platform for nationwide cadres and instructors in April 2025(5). These developments demonstrate the progressive maturation of digital infrastructure across political schools, thus establishing a robust foundation for deploying teaching-learning activities and management systems in digital environments.
Third, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data in political theory teaching
Within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the robust advancement of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and cloud computing is profoundly transforming education and training(6). Presently, big data applications primarily focus on establishing digital databases for administrative and learning management. The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics has outlined objectives to develop an intelligent academy governance system, digitize internal data repositories, and integrate external data sources to create Big Data reservoirs for political theory education and research. Measures under implementation include: digitizing curricula and instructional materials; establishing online examination and question banks; and deploying learning analytics software to personalize instruction. This infrastructure enables the progressive implementation of big data analytics to support learning process assessment, curriculum enhancement, and pedagogical innovation in the teaching of political theory.
Regarding artificial intelligence, next-generation AI tools such as ChatGPT have gained traction among instructors and students in political theory courses. Empirical evidence indicates AI's potential as a pedagogical aid: for instance, ChatGPT assists faculty in summarizing lecture content, explicating concepts, rapidly sourcing materials, and generating illustrative visuals for historical events. A late-2023 survey at the University of Finance - Marketing (Ho Chi Minh City) revealed that 85.7% of instructors and 97.3% of students were awareness of or experience using ChatGPT for teaching/learning, with approximately 46.4% of faculty acknowledging its efficacy in enhancing political theory teaching(7). Nevertheless, AI integration in political theory pedagogy remains nascent and faces significant challenges. Experts caution that ChatGPT usage requires stringent oversight to prevent overreliance, as effective political theory education necessitates contextualizing theoretical frameworks within practical realities - a nuanced capability currently beyond AI systems without instructor guidance. Overall, political schools have become aware of the potential of AI and big data and are gradually experimenting with their use, from building electronic data repositories to leveraging AI as a virtual assistant, in an effort to innovate teaching and learning methods in line with the digital age.
Fourth, the information technology proficiency of lecturers at schools of politics is improving through digital transformation
A majority of faculty actively integrate technology into their professional practice. Currently, 100% of instructors have transitioned from traditional paper-based lesson plans to digital formats. Many effectively leverage online repositories - including videos, archival imagery, website links, and YouTube content - to enhance the dynamism of lectures and visual pedagogy. Technical proficiency in virtual teaching platforms has also improved substantially. For instance, in Quang Ninh province, training initiatives have enabled 92% of faculty (including adjunct instructors) to utilize digital teaching tools proficiently; approximately 82% demonstrate moderate to high proficiency in adaptively employing technology-integrated pedagogical methods.
Faculty members actively participate in training programs to enhance digital pedagogy competencies. In July 2021, over 755 lecturers from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics system and political schools attended a new curriculum training workshop. This session was delivered via a nationwide interactive videoconference broadcast from the Academy to all 63 provinces and centrally-run cities, enabling participants to simultaneously master videoconferencing platforms and remote interactive teaching methodologies. Furthermore, numerous instructors have conducted scientific research on digital transformation in education, developed e-learning lectures, and shared specialized expertise in applying information technology within their disciplines.
As a result of these initiatives, the vast majority of lecturers at political training institutions now demonstrate confidence in utilizing technology and regard it as an indispensable tool for enhancing the quality of their lectures. However, a small minority (under 10 percent) - primarily senior faculty or those with limited prior exposure to digital tools - require additional support to keep pace with prevailing trends. Overall, political theory instructors have shown marked improvement in information-technology competencies and stand ready to adopt and integrate the advances of digital transformation into both their teaching and research activities.
Difficulties and challenges in the digital transformation of political theory instruction
Despite considerable achievements, the process of digital transformation in political theory instruction at political academies continues to face significant institutional and policy-related challenges requiring resolution.
Firstly, regarding institutional mechanisms and policy frameworks
The legal infrastructure for online political theory instruction remains incomplete and fragmented. Current regulatory documents contain generalized provisions that lack specific guidelines for this specialized training modality. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the abrupt transition to online delivery occurred haphazardly, with inconsistent implementation across institutions due to the absence of standardized guidelines. Following the pandemic's subsidence, formal regulations governing sustained online education within the political academy system remain ambiguous. The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics directed constituent institutions to discontinue online instruction post-pandemic, underscoring the provisional nature of earlier solutions. Presently, despite a strong institutional commitment to digital transformation, revisions to training regulations encompassing online learning modalities, digital examinations, and accreditation of e-learning outcomes proceed incrementally. Critical support mechanisms - including incentives for faculty developing digital curricula, remuneration structures for virtual instruction, intellectual property protocols for e-learning materials, and digital proctoring regulations - remain either underdeveloped or uncoordinated. Expediting comprehensive legal framework development thus constitutes an essential yet formidable prerequisite for sustainable, systematized digital transformation.
Secondly, regarding technological infrastructure
Despite targeted investments, material conditions across political academies remain unevenly developed. Several institutions lack modern equipment, with classrooms not yet comprehensively digitized. The pandemic period revealed a fragmented proliferation of instructional platforms - where individual academies adopted disparate software solutions (e.g., Zoom, Teams, Google Meet) - resulting in systemic inconsistencies, operational discontinuities, and latent cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Crucially, the absence of a unified learning management system for the entire political academy network continues to impede cross-institutional digital resource management and sharing. Funding constraints further exacerbate these challenges: limited state budget allocations render some provincial institutions incapable of substantial digital infrastructure investments. Moreover, the implementation of e-learning systems necessitates sustained expenditure for long-term maintenance and upgrades - a requirement that poses significant operational difficulties. Consequently, many academies resort to participating in provincial-level digital transformation initiatives or leveraging telecommunications corporate projects, thereby becoming dependent on external timelines and scoped deliverables.
Thirdly, regarding human capital and cognitive readiness
While most faculty members demonstrated rapid adaptability, a significant cohort of senior instructors and those with limited digital literacy encounter substantial difficulties in transitioning pedagogical methodologies. Individuals struggling to adopt emergent technologies exhibit resistance to innovation, delaying engagement with instructional software, and operational hesitancy during virtual instruction. Professional development for this demographic necessitates sustained temporal investment and persistent support - resources often constrained by the characteristically heavy workload within political academies, thereby exacerbating occupational overload. Furthermore, psychological barriers to change persist: initial skepticism regarding online pedagogical efficacy, concerns over learner monitoring limitations, and apprehension that AI-assisted instruction might diminish educator agency. Concurrently, not all learners possess technological proficiency; mature cadres enrolled in intermediate political theory programs similarly experienced disorientation within digital learning environments, adversely impacting knowledge assimilation. Consequently, a phased approach is imperative to cultivate uniform cognitive shifts and elevate digital competencies across all stakeholders.
Fourthly, regarding curricular content and pedagogical methodologies
Digital transformation necessitates comprehensive curricular and instructional material reforms to align with digital learning ecosystems. However, the digitization of political theory content presents distinct pedagogical complexities. Existing lecture-centric formats require fundamental redesign to incorporate interactive elements, modularize content into logically sequenced online units, and develop integrated assessment repositories within LMS frameworks. Merely transplanting traditional curricula into virtual environments yields suboptimal learning outcomes. Further complications arise in assessment protocols: administering online examinations demands robust academic integrity safeguards, while conventional written tests necessitate replacement with reconfigured evaluation modalities, such as enhanced e-portfolios, collaborative digital projects, and scaffolded online discussions. Faculty consistently report diminished assessment validity in virtual settings without AI-proctoring tools or learning analytics systems. Moreover, specialized digital repositories for political theory remain underdeveloped with nascent cross-institutional e-resource sharing mechanisms. Independent e-lecture development imposes prohibitive temporal and technical demands on individual instructors, frequently exceeding feasible capacity without dedicated technical support personnel.
Fifthly, regarding quality assurance and cybersecurity imperatives
The pedagogical efficacy of political theory instruction remains fundamentally contingent upon dynamic instructor-learner interaction and substantive discourse - elements vulnerable to degradation through passive learning tendencies when online modalities are sub optimally designed. Concurrently, institutional cyberspaces present latent vulnerabilities; inadequate cybersecurity infrastructure heightens risks of academic data breaches and informational compromise. Effective virtual classroom management necessitates integrated technological solutions, including biometric attendance verification, algorithmic proctoring systems, and behavioral analytics tools to mitigate academic misconduct risks such as proxy attendance or assignment fraud. Empirical implementation evidence further indicates the exigency of revising regulatory frameworks to establish: (i) minimum synchronous participation thresholds, (ii) sanction mechanisms for pedagogical non-compliance, and (iii) standardized disciplinary protocols. Additionally, generative AI integration introduces novel quality control challenges. ChatGPT-derived content occasionally manifests inaccuracies or embedded biases, posing contamination risks to curricular integrity when inadequately vetted. Consequently, instructors must develop selective exploitation competencies - exercising cognitive agility to critically evaluate, adapt, and ethically deploy AI outputs - a metacognitive skill demanding sustained professional development beyond technical literacy alone.
2.3. Proposed solutions for digital transformation to enhance the quality of political theory instruction
First, political training institutions should prioritize raising both awareness of - and capacity for - digital transformation among their administrative staff and teaching corps. Regularly held workshops, seminars and intensive training programs will enable lecturers to promptly familiarize themselves with cutting-edge technologies and pedagogical methodologies, thereby ensuring their effective application in day-to-day instruction.
Second, sustained investment in a modern, integrated IT infrastructure is essential for successful digital transformation. Institutions must upgrade network architectures, enhance internet bandwidth and stability, and equip “smart” classrooms with state-of-the-art hardware. Such measures will provide the technical bedrock needed to deploy advanced, technology-driven teaching approaches.
Third, the creation and expansion of comprehensive digital-resource systems and e-learning materials must be regarded as a core institutional mission. By digitizing curricula and multimedia lecture content and building an electronic repository, both students and faculty will gain seamless access to rich teaching and learning resources - thereby catalyzing self-directed study, research endeavors and interactive instruction.
Fourth, teaching methodologies should be proactively reformed through the application of digital technologies. The implementation of advanced instructional models - such as the flipped-classroom approach, blended online and face-to-face learning, and the use of big-data analytics and AI in assessing student performance, will serve to elevate the quality of political-theory training at political schools.
Fifth, institutions must establish and refine policy frameworks that underpin the digital transformation process. Concrete incentive and reward mechanisms for innovative digital teaching initiatives should be articulated, thereby motivating faculty and accelerating pedagogical innovation. Simultaneously, strengthening collaboration and systematic experience sharing among political training institutions will further support this evolution.
Sixth, to sustain long‐term gains from digital transformation, it is vital to foster and embed a culture of digital innovation within the political theory teaching environment. Cultivating a heightened sense of responsibility, initiative, creativity, and active engagement with digital tools among administrators, lecturers, and learners will drive comprehensive reform in training practices, ensuring alignment with the imperatives of today’s digital economy and society.
3. Conclusion
Digital transformation serves as a catalyst for fundamental changes in the delivery of political theory instruction at provincial and municipal political schools, driving the adoption of modern, interactive, and practice‐oriented pedagogies. The deployment of cutting‐edge technologies not only improves the efficiency of knowledge transmission but also redefines how learners cultivate critical thinking, creativity, and leadership skills.
Nonetheless, fully harnessing the benefits of digital transformation requires overcoming infrastructural shortcomings, elevating the technological proficiency of teaching staff, and fostering a flexible, adaptive teaching - learning environment. Digital transformation must be regarded not merely as an auxiliary tool but as the central engine for the comprehensive modernization of cadre training and development, thereby producing managerial and political leaders equipped to integrate, innovate, and steer sustainable national progress.
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Received: May 2, 2025; Revised: May 8, 2025; Approved for publication: May 10, 2025.
Author’s e-mail: thanhsy3979@gmail.com
(1) Decision No. 749/QĐ-TTg of 3 June 2020 approving the National Digital Transformation Program through 2025 (with orientation towards 2030), which designates education as the second‐highest priority sector after healthcare.
(2) Tran Phu School of Politics in cooperation with Viettel Ha Tinh: “Application of Online Teaching Software”, Ha Tinh Newspaper, https://baohatinh.vn, May 19, 2021.
(3) Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy: “Nguyen Van Cu School of Politics strengthens online training.” Quang Ninh Newspaper, September 7, 2023. https://baoquangninh.vn
(4) Phan Thi Hoa: “Digital Transformation at Binh Dinh Provincial School of Politics in recent period.” Binh Dinh Provincial School of Politics, February 13, 2023. https://truongchinhtri.binhdinh.gov.vn
(5), (6) “Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics launches digital education platform”, Vietnam.vn, 2025.
(7) Thu Hoai: “Applying ChatGPT in teaching and learning political theory subjects”, https://www.sggp.org.vn, November 22, 2024.