Educator Workforce Research in Vietnam

• In Event: Redesigning the education workforce: findings from the education commission's educator workforce report

Proposal

In order for Vietnam to develop its economy and meet its Socio-Economic Development Plan, the country needs more graduates with highly developed and relevant STEM skills, as well as education in other disciplines. The Vietnamese administration is aware of the limitations of the current system and has started to invest in changes. In 2017 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued Instruction No. 16/CT-TTG directing a focus on strategies to develop human resources and talents. Historically, Vietnamese education has largely focused on rote skills aligned with standardized tests; however, the Prime Minister’s 2017 instruction has encouraged investment in learning experiences that enhance problem solving, creative thinking and adaptability. The general education system in Vietnam is poised to be reimagined and revitalized and for this reason, Vietnam was chosen as a location to inform its Education Workforce redesign.

The study in Ghana was replicated in the Vietnam context to allow for comparisons between the two countries and to inform the EWR across a broader context. For this reason, the methodological and analysis overview below is replicated to demonstrate consistency across studies.

This study was guided by constructivist grounded theory as a methodological and analytical framework. Grounded theory acknowledges that existing theories/models are not always appropriate for different contexts or research topics that have been under-explored. Thus, constructivist grounded theory allowed for “a context relevant model to be generated” (Mlambo, 2017, p. 67) as grounded in the lived experiences of the participants, that is, the educators, leaders and beneficiaries of education systems at the district, cluster and school levels in specific EWI countries. Purposive sampling was used to identify study participants and allowed for a deliberate selection of individuals who provided rich information on topics (Mlambo, 2017). For this study, emphasis was placed on recruiting individuals at the district, cluster and school levels in in two different educational districts within Vietnam. These broad criteria allowed for inclusion of both formal and informal roles as well as other roles that may be discovered within the field. Given the possibility that educators may not always occupy formal roles, snowball sampling was used to identify and recruit individuals who are part of the overall educator workforce. Qualitative data was collected using a combination of in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus groups, photovoice methods and daily written diaries. Initial desktop and case study research was conducted to inform the development of the fieldwork protocols.

Following analysis of the qualitative data, different scenarios were created as prompts during a one-day redesign workshop held in each district. Data from initial analysis and the redesign workshop will be shared and discussed in relation to the overall EWR and the comparison country, Ghana.

This research, along with the study undertaken in Ghana, inform a set of principles and considerations for analyzing education workforce issues and moving towards improvements and implementation. Questions around political economy and financing have also been explored by other members of the research team and build on the findings from Ghana and Vietnam.

Authors

• Ann Walker Nielsen, Center for Advanced Studies in Global Education, Arizona State University

• Yeukai Mlambo, Arizona State University