The 2013 policy of ‘fundamental and comprehensive’ renovations introduced by the Vietnam Government is an ambitious programme to modernise all aspects of Vietnam school education — the curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, professional development, and school leadership and management, as well as secure greater equity.

This Policy Brief recognises the importance for both the Vietnam Government and schools of establishing momentum behind the renovations in the first few years, enabling some measure of success to be claimed in implementation of new practices, roles and relationships in order to maintain initiative and impetus for long-term sustainability.

Based on research evidence, this Policy Brief strongly argues that to achieve such momentum and drive, there is an urgent need for high quality and relevant capacity building of human resources in Vietnam schools, especially focusing on quality professional development of teachers and principals covering the multiple areas of renovation. This claim is highly significant: the future quality of Vietnam schooling depends on building capacity of human resources (talent, skills and expertise) — particularly in teaching and leadership.

About this Policy Brief

The Policy Brief was written by Professor Clive Dimmock, Professor of Professional Learning and Leadership, University of Glasgow who was also the Principal Investigator. This document has arisen from a research study on the implementation of educational policy reform in Vietnam led by Prof Clive Dimmock and funded by The HEAD Foundation; the British Council, Vietnam; and The University of Glasgow.