Professional development, teacher community and agency in the international school context: the trajectory of a Vietnamese case

ABSTRACT

This article explores theories and ideas in the field of professional learning among teacher communities in a reflective lens of my practical experience working in secondary education in an international school in Đông Nam Bộ (Southeast region) in Vietnam. I seek to present observations about professional development (PD) in this Vietnamese case. Specifically discussed are the teacher communities and how they intersect with teachers’ inclinations to work and develop professional abilities. In this reflective account, teacher diversity is also discussed to address the phenomena occurring in this international school. Provided are the theoretical frameworks that guide this reflective piece and teachers’ agencies in PD progresses. The article ends with disentangling the ‘parallel’ school culture of the Vietnamese international school from the insights of PD communities in literature.

KEYWORDS:

• professional development
• teacher community
• teacher agency
• Vietnam

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sheng-Hsiang Lance Peng

Sheng-Hsiang Lance Peng is a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Education of the University of Cambridge.