Teacher readiness for curriculum reform in Vietnam: understanding, attitudes, and self-efficacy

Abstract

In the context of the 2018 General Education Curriculum (GEC 2018) implementation in Vietnam, this study investigates lower secondary school teachers’ understanding (UND), attitudes (ATT), and self-efficacy (SE). The research developed a survey instrument grounded in social cognitive theory (SCT). Drawing from a large-scale survey of 1,444 teachers, descriptive statistics indicate that levels of UND, ATT, and SE all significantly exceed the theoretical midpoint (M>2.5). While teachers demonstrate the highest confidence in UND of periodic assessment techniques (M=3.98, SD=1.17), they exhibit the lowest UND of foundational legal documents (M=3.74, SD=1.31). Geographically, teachers in mountainous and Northern regions demonstrated a higher self-perceived UND and more positive ATT than their urban and Southern counterparts. Additionally, multiple linear regression analysis finds that UND and ATT are significant positive predictors, jointly explaining 37.2% of the variance in teachers’ SE. Notably, UND emerged as the stronger predictor (β=0.371) compared to ATT (β=0.268). These findings suggest the importance of pivoting pedagogical transformation from technical training only toward aligning with the curriculum’s core philosophy. Simultaneously, synchronized infrastructure investment is required to bridge the implementation gap between intended curriculum expectations and enacted curriculum realities.