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TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2

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Tiêu đề Primary school English teacher agency enactment in implementing the English curriculum
Tác giả Tran Thi Thao
Người hướng dẫn Dr Le Thi Thanh Thu, Dr Nguyen Huy Cuong
Trường học Ho Chi Minh City Open University
Chuyên ngành Philosophy in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Thể loại Doctoral Dissertation
Năm xuất bản 2024
Thành phố Ho Chi Minh City
Định dạng
Số trang 294
Dung lượng 1,47 MB

Cấu trúc

  • CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION (16)
    • 1.1. Background to the study (0)
      • 1.1.1. The curriculum reform (16)
      • 1.1.2. The Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 2 (17)
      • 1.1.3. The issues of teachers in implementing the Getting-to-know-English (19)
    • 1.2. Research rationale (21)
    • 1.3. Aims of the study (23)
    • 1.4. Research questions (23)
    • 1.5. Scope of the study (23)
    • 1.6. Significance of the study (24)
    • 1.7. The organization of the thesis (25)
  • CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW (27)
    • 2.1. Agency (27)
      • 2.1.1. Agency from the sociological approach (28)
      • 2.1.2. Agency from the social cognitive approach (29)
      • 2.1.3. Agency from the positioning approach (30)
      • 2.1.4. Agency from the sociocultural approach (32)
    • 2.2. Teacher agency and teacher agency enactment (34)
      • 2.2.1. Definition of teacher agency enactment (34)
      • 2.2.2. Types of teacher agency enactment (35)
      • 2.2.3. Ecological approach to teacher agency (37)
        • 2.2.3.1. The iterational dimension (37)
        • 2.2.3.2. The practical-evaluative dimension of agency (38)
        • 2.2.3.3. The projective dimension of agency (39)
      • 2.2.4. Types of agencies (40)
        • 2.2.4.1. Individual agency (41)
        • 2.2.4.2. Collective agency (41)
    • 2.3. The Getting-to-know-English curriculum (42)
      • 2.3.1. The design approach of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum (43)
      • 2.3.2. The Getting-to-know-English curriculum objectives (43)
      • 2.3.3. Learning outcomes (43)
      • 2.3.4. The Getting-to-know-English curriculum content (43)
      • 2.3.5. Assessment methods (44)
    • 2.5. Teaching English to young learners (46)
      • 2.5.1. Definition of young learners (46)
      • 2.5.2. Characteristics of young learners and teaching methodology (46)
    • 2.6. Previous studies (47)
      • 2.6.1. Teachers’ individual agency enactment (48)
      • 2.6.2. Factors affecting individual agency enactment (53)
      • 2.6.3. Teachers’ collective agency enactment (54)
      • 2.6.4. Factors affecting teachers’ collective agency enactment (57)
      • 2.6.5. The interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency (57)
    • 2.7. Research gaps (62)
    • 2.8. The conceptual framework of the study (65)
    • 2.9. Summary of Chapter 2 (69)
  • CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (70)
    • 3.1. Research philosophy (70)
    • 3.2. Research design (70)
    • 3.3. Research setting (73)
      • 3.3.1. Tran Hung Dao primary school (74)
      • 3.3.2. Bong Sao primary school (75)
    • 3.4. Participants of the study (76)
      • 3.4.1. Selection (76)
    • 3.5. Data collection instruments for the main study (79)
      • 3.5.1. Documents (79)
      • 3.5.2. Interviews (82)
        • 3.5.2.1. Preliminary interviews (83)
        • 3.5.2.2. Pilot interviews (83)
        • 3.5.2.3. Actual interviews (85)
      • 3.5.3. Observations (89)
        • 3.5.3.1. Observations of teachers’ individual teaching practices (90)
        • 3.5.3.2. Observations of teachers’ collective actions and individual teachers’ (91)
    • 3.6. Data collection procedures (92)
    • 3.7. Data analysis methodology (96)
      • 3.7.1. Thematic analysis (97)
    • 3.8. Validity and reliability (99)
    • 3.9. The role of the researcher in the study (102)
    • 3.10. Ethical considerations (102)
    • 3.11. Summary (103)
  • CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS (104)
    • 4.1. Case Hoa (104)
      • 4.1.1. The iterational dimension for Hoa (104)
        • 4.1.1.1. Hoa – a trained teacher with a three-year BA by a local college and two (104)
        • 4.1.1.2. Hoa – an experienced communication teacher (105)
      • 4.1.2. The practical-evaluative dimension for Hoa (105)
        • 4.1.2.1. A school culture of creativity and performativity (105)
        • 4.1.2.2. Good relationship between teachers (106)
        • 4.1.2.3. A school with insufficient teaching facilities (106)
      • 4.1.3. The projective dimension for Hoa (106)
        • 4.1.3.1. Hoa’s expectation of her students’ communication skills (106)
      • 4.1.4. Hoa’s compliance with the curriculum mandated teaching methods, (107)
        • 4.1.4.1. Hoa’s common teaching methods: TPR and experiential learning (107)
        • 4.1.4.2 Hoa’s assessment method: communicative activities (110)
        • 4.1.4.3. Hoa’s lesson plan: follow the prescribed lesson plans (111)
      • 4.1.5. Hoa’s adaptation to teaching content and her colleagues’ ideas (112)
        • 4.1.5.1. Hoa’s agency in teaching content: concentration on vocabulary and (112)
        • 4.1.5.2. Hoa’s colleagues’ ideas impacted her teaching methods, error correction techniques, teaching materials and feedback giving (113)
      • 4.1.6. Hoa’s contribution to the collective actions: a leader (115)
      • 4.1.7. Hoa’s overall agency enactment (118)
    • 4.2. Case Hang (118)
      • 4.2.1. The iterational dimension for Hang (118)
        • 4.2.1.1. Hang – a trained teacher with a three-year BA by a local college and two (118)
        • 4.2.1.2. Hang – a communication teacher (119)
      • 4.2.2. The practical-evaluative dimension for Hang (120)
        • 4.2.2.1. Hang works under a culture of creativity and accountability outcomes (120)
        • 4.2.2.2. Good relationship between teachers and students’ parents (120)
      • 4.2.3. The projective dimension for Hang (121)
      • 4.2.4. Hang’s compliance with the prescribed teaching methods (121)
      • 4.2.5. Hang’s resistance to the prescribed lesson planning (123)
      • 4.2.6. Hang’s adaptation to teaching content, assessment methods, and her colleagues’ ideas (124)
        • 4.2.6.1. Hang’s teaching content: focused on vocabulary and communication skills 109 4.2.6.2. Hang’s assessment methods: communication and writing activities (124)
        • 4.2.6.3. Hang’s colleagues’ ideas impacted her teaching methods, assessment methods, and mistake correction (127)
      • 4.2.7. Hang’s individual contribution to the collective actions: a supporter (129)
      • 4.2.8. Hang’s overall agency enactment (131)
    • 4.3. Case Huong (132)
      • 4.3.1. The iterational dimension for Huong (132)
        • 4.3.1.1. Huong – a trained teacher with BA degree from a local college (132)
        • 4.3.1.2. Previous professional experience (133)
      • 4.3.2. The practical-evaluative dimension for Huong (133)
        • 4.3.2.1. Huong – worked under the culture of open-mindedness and collaboration 118 4.3.2.2. Good relationship between teachers, teachers and students’ parents (133)
        • 4.3.2.3. Insufficient teaching materials (134)
      • 4.3.3. The projective dimension for Huong (134)
      • 4.3.4. Huong’s irregular teaching methods: TPR and experiential learning (134)
      • 4.3.5. Huong’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods, assessment methods, (135)
        • 4.3.5.1. Huong’s common teaching methods: grammar-translation and audio- (135)
        • 4.3.5.3. Huong’s lesson plan: traditional (139)
        • 4.3.5.4. Huong’s colleagues’ ideas on her teaching methods, teaching activities, (139)
      • 4.3.6. Huong’s adaptation to the textbook content: focusing on vocabulary (141)
      • 4.3.7. Huong’s individual contribution to the collective actions: a follower (143)
      • 4.3.8. Huong’s overall agency enactment (145)
    • 4.4. Case Nhi (145)
      • 4.4.1. The iterational dimension for Nhi (145)
        • 4.4.1.1. Nhi – a novice teacher (145)
        • 4.4.1.2. Nhi – an unexperienced teacher (146)
      • 4.4.2. The practical-evaluative dimension for Nhi (147)
        • 4.4.2.1. Nhi – working under a culture of sharing and traditionalism (147)
        • 4.4.2.2. Supportive structure (147)
        • 4.4.2.3. Inadequate but felt satisfied (148)
      • 4.4.3. The projective dimension for Nhi (148)
      • 4.4.4. Nhi’s compliance with the textbook content (149)
        • 4.4.4.1. Nhi’s teaching content: covering the textbook content (149)
      • 4.4.5. Nhi’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods, assessment methods, (149)
        • 4.4.5.1. Nhi’s common teaching methods: grammar-translation and audio-lingual 134 4.4.5.2. Nhi’s assessment methods: repetition and translation activities, workbook (0)
        • 4.4.5.3. Nhi’s lesson plan: traditional (153)
        • 4.4.5.4. Nhi’s colleagues’ ideas on her classroom management and teaching (153)
      • 4.4.6. Nhi’s contribution to the collective actions: a follower (154)
      • 4.4.7. Nhi’s overall agency enactment (156)
    • 4.5. Summary of cases (157)
  • CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION (159)
  • Theme 1: Teachers’ individual agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English (159)
    • 5.1. Teachers’ compliance with the prescribed teaching methods (159)
    • 5.2. Teacher’ s compliance with the prescribed assessment methods and lesson plan 147 5.3. Teacher’s compliance with the textbook content (162)
    • 5.4. Teachers’ resistance to the prescribed teaching methods (165)
    • 5.5. Teachers’ resistance to lesson planning (169)
    • 5.6. Teachers’ resistance to the prescribed assessment methods (170)
    • 5.7. Teachers’ adaptation to the textbook content (173)
    • 5.8. Teacher’s adaptation to the prescribed assessment methods (175)
    • 5.9. The influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions on teachers’ individual agency (176)
      • 5.9.1. The influence of the iterational and practical-evaluative dimension on teachers’ enactment in teaching methods (176)
      • 5.9.3. The influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective (181)
      • 5.9.4. The influence of the iterational and practical-evaluative dimension of agency (183)
  • Theme 2: The influence of collective actions on individual agency (185)
    • 5.2.1. Teachers’ adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas (185)
    • 5.2.2. The influence of teachers’ iterational dimension on their adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas (188)
    • 5.2.3. Teachers’ resistance to their colleagues’ ideas (190)
    • 5.2.4. The influence of teachers’ iterational and practical-evaluative dimensions of (192)
  • Theme 3: Individual contribution to the collective actions (195)
    • 5.3.1. Teacher as a leader (195)
    • 5.3.2. Teacher as a supporter (196)
    • 5.3.3. Teachers as followers (198)
  • CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION (200)
    • 6.1. Findings (200)
      • 6.1.1. Findings from the research question 1 (200)
        • 6.1.1.1. Teachers’ frequent acceptance to the prescribed teaching methods, (0)
        • 6.1.1.2. Teacher’s frequent acceptance to the textbook content (0)
        • 6.1.1.3. Teachers’ resistance to the prescribed teaching methods and assessment (0)
        • 6.1.1.4. Teachers’ adaptation to the textbook content (0)
        • 6.1.1.5. Teachers’ adaptation to the prescribed assessment methods (0)
        • 6.1.1.6. Teachers’ hidden resistance to the prescribed lesson planning (0)
      • 6.1.2. Findings from the research question 2 (0)
      • 6.1.3. Findings from the research question 3 (0)
        • 6.1.3.1. The influence of collective actions on individual agency (0)
        • 6.1.3.2. Individual contribution to the collective actions (0)
    • 6.2. Contributions of the study (0)
    • 6.3. Implications of the study (0)
    • 6.4. Limitations (0)
    • 6.5. Recommendations for future research (0)
  • APPENDIX 1: Circular 32 (2018) (0)
  • APPENDIX 2: Directive 681 (2020) (0)
  • APPENDIX 3: Preliminary interviews (0)
  • APPENDIX 4: Pilot interviews (0)
  • APPENDIX 5: Interview 1: demographic information (before conducting observations) (0)
  • APPENDIX 6: Interview 2: (after conducting observation 1) (0)
  • APPENDIX 7: Interview 3: (after conducting observation 2) (0)
  • APPENDIX 8: Interview 4: (after conducting observation 3) (0)
  • APPENDIX 9: Interview 5 (after peer observation discussion 1) (0)
  • APPENDIX 10: Interview 6 (after peer observation discussion 2) (0)
  • APPENDIX 11: Interview 7 (after peer observation discussion 3) (0)
  • APPENDIX 12: Observation: Teachers’ individual agency (0)
  • APPENDIX 13: Observation: Teachers’ collective agency (peer observation discussion) (0)
  • APPENDIX 14: Observation: Individual teachers’ contribution to the collective (0)

Nội dung

TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2TÍNH CHỦ ĐỘNG CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TRONG VIỆC THỰC HIỆN CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO LỚP 1 VÀ 2

INTRODUCTION

Research rationale

In 2018, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) initiated the implementation of the new general education curriculum reform via Circular 32 (Appendix 1) This circular has also introduced the optional English curriculum known as the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 2 (referred to as the Getting-to-know-English curriculum) to address the growing need for English language study at the elementary level The role of the teacher is crucial for the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Empirical research in the field of education policy has shown that teachers have the ability to play transformative roles in implementing curriculum changes Several scholars have argued that the teacher's active participation is essential in carrying out the curriculum in the classroom (Graves, 2008) Menken (2010) argues that teachers hold significant decision- making power in implementing policy mandates They are regarded as key actors in the execution of the curriculum modification According to Fullan (2007), educational changes are influenced by the actions and thoughts of teachers This highlights the need for further research on teacher agency in implementing the curriculum To implement the curriculum effectively, academics prioritize doing a comprehensive examination of teacher agency within their classroom environments Thus, additional empirical research is required to construct a theoretical framework for teacher agency in the implementation of the curriculum This case study is undertaken in answer to the aforementioned request The objective is to examine teacher agency in classroom contexts in response to the the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

In addition, there has been a recent uptick in study on teacher agency, but most of it has focused on secondary, high school, or university settings; elementary school settings have garnered comparatively little attention In addition, studies examining teachers' agency tended to take place in industrialized nations rather than developing ones, such as Vietnam and other Asian nations (Ngo, 2021) Although Le et al (2020) undertook a study examining teacher agency in Vietnamese context, they focused on the pilot English program under the National Foreign Language Project 2020 Little research has been conducted into teacher agency within the new general education curriculum, particularly the Getting-to-know-English curriculum in the Vietnamese context with the focus on primary school English teachers As the consequence, the way primary school English teachers enact their agency to correspond with the requirements of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and adapt to it within the local institutional conditions examined in this study

Furthermore, most research on teacher agency during the curriculum enactment attends to individual teacher agency, while very few studies focus on collective agency Research on teacher’s collective agency, which means teachers mobilize knowledge, resources, and skills to achieve a communal goal, is scarce Further research needs to be conducted to examine the ways teachers enact their individual agency, collective agency, and the interactions between individual teacher agency and collective teacher agency to give impetus or constrain their agency enactment within the context of curriculum enactment Therefore, it echoes the need for further exploration of teacher agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum under the new general education curriculum at primary schools.

Aims of the study

The study was an endeavor to examine the enactment of primary school English teacher agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum To be specific, this study strived to explore how primary school English teachers enact their own individual agency and collective agency as well as the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency as the impetus or constrain to their teacher agency enactment as a whole while they implement the Getting-to-know-English curriculum.

Research questions

In order to fulfill the aforementioned objectives, the study pursues answers to the following three questions:

1 How do the primary school English teachers enact their individual agency while implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum?

2 How do the primary school English teachers enact their collective agency while implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum?

3 How do the bilateral interactions between individual teacher agency and collective teacher agency give impetus or hindrance to the teacher agency enactment as a whole?

These research questions function as guidelines for theoretical and analytical frameworks as well as data collection activities.

Scope of the study

The field of educational research has experienced a significant increase in literature focused on different facets of teacher agency Within the scope of the study, only aspects related to teacher agency enactment are presented based on the ecological model proposed by Priestley et al (2015) However, this study only focused on how teachers enacted their agency in the classroom setting as different types of the manifestations of teacher agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum can be clearly seen through their actions in the classroom In terms of implementation, classroom settings are considered as the locations where the curriculum reform is put into action More specifically, this study focused exclusively on the elements pertaining to teachers’ individual agency, collective agency and the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency to give impetus or constrain teacher agency enactment as a whole The research was conducted at two primary schools located in the southern region of Vietnam, with a particular emphasis on the sociocultural attributes that distinguish this region from others The scope was limited to those who were teaching primary students of Grades 1 and 2 and had certain previous professional experiences of this age group.

Significance of the study

Obtaining the insights into primary school English teacher agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum at primary schools in Vietnam might be useful for teachers of English for Grades 1 and 2, school administrators, teacher educators and policy makers

For teachers of English for Grades 1 and 2, gaining a thorough grasp of how primary school English teachers exercise their individual and collective agency will provide them a clearer picture of the problems involved in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and anticipate the obstructions they might encounter in their local school contexts Additionally, such understandings will empower teachers to make the most use of their individual agency and collective agency to make a difference to the Getting-to-know-English curriculum implementation in their school settings Moreover, this study holds significant significance as it enables teachers to acknowledge the pivotal responsibility they possess in executing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum to enhance their linguistic competence and employ suitable pedagogical approaches for young learners, thereby establishing ideal learning settings for them

For school administrators, the insight into the enactment of teachers’ individual agency and collective agency in enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum together with the bilateral interactions between the two above- mentioned forms of agency will help the school administrators to enhance their empathy and support of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum implementation It is crucial for school administrators to establish chances for teachers to engage in reflective practices regarding the challenges they encounter in their respective schools Teachers can discern individuals who possess a congruent perspective on teaching and are capable of providing assistance in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum In addition, such insights into the nature of teacher agency in primary schools will help the school administrators’ selections of measures to enhance teachers’ professional development To assist teachers in improving the overall quality of English instruction and learning, particularly the functioning of the Getting- to-know-English curriculum, administrators are encouraged to foster their school, a culture of creativity and flexibility

For teacher educators, such comprehensions will increase teacher educators' awareness of English teacher agency implementation in elementary schools Teacher educators will equip teachers with ways of dealing with challenges while enacting the Getting-to-know- English curriculum in different local school contexts Teachers to be are additionally equipped to engage with the curriculum reform, resist it effectively if they choose, and mediate between the curriculum reform and their sociocultural characteristics Additionally, insights that are valuable into the enactment of teacher agency will inform the training methodologies that teacher educators employ to well equip teachers-to-be in enacting their individual agency and collective agency in the current teaching practice

For policy makers, insights into teacher agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum will enable the policy makers to envisage and enhance curriculum operation models to suit the local institutional contexts, eliminate the lack of clarity concerning the content, requirements, and instructions of implementing the Getting- to-know-English curriculum In addition, understanding teacher agency enactment will enable them to develop policies to foster teacher engagement and motivation to the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum, and to apply teachers’ innovations into the curriculum operation.

The organization of the thesis

The thesis consists of six chapters Chapter 1 gives a general description of the background and the rationale of the study and presents the purpose of the study, the research questions, its scope, significance and organization In Chapter 2, the literature review elaborates the definition of teacher agency under the sociological, social cognitive, positioning, and sociocultural approaches Then the study continues to give a detailed definition of teacher agency, types of teacher agency enactment, and the approach towards teacher agency The study proceeds with a detailed description of the two concepts namely individual agency and collective agency The Getting-to-know-English curriculum, textbooks for Grades 1 and 2, and teaching English for young learners are then discussed Previous studies related to this issue are clearly mentioned, particularly research in the field of teachers’ individual agency and collective agency in the curriculum enactment, factors influencing teachers’ individual agency and collective agency and the interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency The gap of the study and the conceptual framework of the study are finally constructed The research philosophy, research design, research setting, participants of the study, data collection instruments, data collection procedure, data analysis methodology, validity and reliability, the role of the researcher, ethical considerations, and summary of chapter 3 are included in Chapter 3 Chapter 4 shows data analysis with a focus on description of four case study participants Chapter 5 presents discussion of the study with a focus on three main themes Chapter 6 provides a comprehensive overview of the main findings, points out the contributions of the study, outlines several implications that arise from the study, emphasizes its constraints, and suggests potential areas for further research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Agency

The concept of agency has been approached mainly in sociology, psychology, post- structuralism, and sociocultural areas (Table 2.1) The first approach conceptualized agency as individuals’ capacities which is driven from the sociology developed by Giddens (1984) Social cognitive was the second approach to human agency which was developed by Bandura (2001) who proposed the definition of agency as intentional action The third approach which was rooted from post-structural theory considered agency as individuals’ authority that was formed with reference to their admission to the subject positions accessible to them (Davies, 2000) Agency was defined as an emergent phenomenon in the final approach which was based on the sociocultural theory (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998; Etelapelto, 2013)

Table 2.1 Main definitions of agency

Authors Approaches Definitions of agency

(1984) Sociological Individuals’ capabilities to bring about changes to the existing conditions and led to consequences from the conscious actions

Individuals’ intentional actions to exert control over one’s functioning and life situations

Davies (2000) Positioning Individuals’ discursive constituted phenomenon revealed in various subject positions

Mische (1998) Sociocultural Individuals’ engagement with the temporal-relational contexts

2.1.1 Agency from the sociological approach

The notion of agency has a long history in sociology, which put an emphasis on the debate between structure and agency as to whether structure or agency is more essential in forming human behavior In other words, individuals’ agentic capacities, external forces or the blending between the two should be viewed as the source of human action (Priestley et al., 2015) Agency was considered as individuals’ capacities in this approach The debate was divided into two views: macro view of agency or external or objectivity and micro view of agency or internal or subjectivity The precedent view of agency focused on the structural conditions and paid little attention to individuals’ capacities in enacting human action The antecedent view of agency, however, emphasized the personal’s capability in motivating human action and structural conditions were neglected in this perspective (Priestley et al., 2015)

This notion of agency was further supported by Archer (1998), who proposed two tendencies of agency namely upwards conflation and downwards conflation The former referred to the individuals’ attempts to take action, while the latter mentioned the contextual conditions forming human agency In order to reframe the structure-agency debate, Giddens (1984) who was considered as the outstanding figure in conceiving the notion of agency as well as the connections between human action and structure suggested a Structuration theory

In this theory, agency entailed individuals’ capabilities to bring about changes to the existing conditions and led to consequences from the conscious actions (Giddens, 1984) More specifically, Giddens’ theory paid attention to individuals’ capacities to make a difference to courses of events Additionally, structure and agency were two different concepts that were interrelated and named as “duality” according to Giddens (1984) Specifically, structure served as a hindrance and facilitator of human behavior and it did not exist independently of human action

Giddens (1984) received fierce criticisms for his structuration theory Firstly, it brought only the individuals’ capacities into central focus (Etelapelto et al., 2013) Secondly, the connection between individuals and social structures was inseparable facing censure because it weakened human presence to exclusively individual action (Archer, 2003) He added further comments concerning this issue that the temporal distinction between the individual and social structures went unnoticed because of the inseparability of the individual and social structures (Archer, 2003) According to Archer (2003), it was of great significance if people would like to provide a contrast between individuals’ course of life and their communal situations Emirbayer and Mische (1998) also blasted the scarcity of temporal element in the conception of agency Apart from the scarcity of temporal element, Giddens (1984)’s notion of agency might not present the abstract tools to direct, namely working environments and discussions, their influences on human action

2.1.2 Agency from the social cognitive approach

The second approach to agency was proposed by Bandura (2001), who considered agency as individuals’ intentional actions That is to say, based on the view of psychology, Bandura (2001) put forward the social cognitive approach, which considered agency as individuals’ intentional actions to exert control over one’s functioning and life situations (Bandura, 2001) He also added that environment, individual factors, and behavioral patterns impact one another to influence human agency as illustrated in the model of interactive triadic causation

Bandura (2001) suggested five essential components of agency including intentionality, fore-thought, self-reactiveness, self-reflectiveness and perceived efficacy Of the five aspects of agency above, perceived efficacy was regarded as the key component of agency which exerted influence on human aims, actions, inspirations, and outcomes The first element of agency referred to individuals’ intentional course of action which was dependent on their active dedication and self-control The second element of agency was fore-thought which mentioned the ability of an individual to aim for the target, predict the possible outcomes of their behaviors and come up with solutions that might result in the positive results Their choices and course of action were guided by their prediction of future prospects The third aspect of agency, self-reactiveness related to the potential of an individual agent to self-control, direct, and respond to connect their thoughts and actions The fourth component of agency was self-reflectiveness which was relevant to individuals’ ability to reflect their incentives, acts and alternatives The last category of agency, perceived efficacy, influenced the way individuals acted, set targets, expressed real desire, and explored future possibilities

To sum up, drawing on the social cognitive approach, agency was conceptualized as an individual’s intentional actions to produce change to the structural conditions, which included five components: intentionality, fore-thought, self-reactiveness, self-reflectiveness, and perceived agency Individuals had intentions to take actions depending on their commitment, they predicted future prospects to give choices and take actions, they reacted through linking their thoughts and actions, reflected on their choices and actions, and their self-confidence affected their actions

Proposed by Bandura (2001), the social cognitive theory has received certain criticisms as illustrated in Charteris and Smardon (2015) They suggested that agency as individuals’ intentional actions to influence human functioning diminished structural constraints In other words, agency was rooted from individuals’ intentional actions and the role of structural conditions was neglected To broaden this view, Tao and Gao (2016) suggested that agency under the social cognitive theory was unable to devise methods to ascertain agentic actions Van de Putte et al (2017) added that the social cognitive theory risked the possibility of attributing individuals or groups to poor student outcomes and existing policy failures

2.1.3 Agency from the positioning approach

The third approach, based on the positioning theory drawn from the post-structural perspective, viewed agency as discursive phenomenon (Davies, 2000) Positioning pertained to the way individuals position themselves and direct their positions as well as the way other people position them The notion of agency might be understood through positioning

According to Davies (2000), agency was not individuals’ inner property or capacity to act, the positioning theory regarded agency as individuals’ discursive constituted phenomenon revealed in various subject positions

Davies (2000) further explained that the connections between positioning theory and agency were complicated and hard to predict Specifically, individuals might exercise a variety of agentic actions even though they were allocated similar positions Individuals could enact their agency as a result of their positions Particular positions might allow or restrict individuals from exercising agency in particular situations Additionally, particular positions might be allocated to agentic individuals themselves or other individuals

The potential of agency might be developed or hindered thanks to the way individuals conceived the discursive positioning It can be said that agency could be conceptualized as individuals’ authorship to exercise agentic actions when they allocated particular positions themselves or were allocated particular positions by other individuals To conclude, the post- structural approach gave prominence to positioning and authorship

Moral order, rights and duties and position triangles were three main components of positioning theory Moral order related to a set of rules that a social structure established for people’s actions Van Langenhove (2017) believed that actors had the capability to reject or modify the social structure which showed the agency-structure relationships in the positioning theory That is to say, moral orders given by the social structures could hamper people’s actions and as a result, people could take actions to fit the moral orders or go against these orders and generate new orders The second construct of positioning theory was rights and duties Davis and Harré (1999) said that some agents might have more dominant positions than other agents Consequently, acceptance could be recognized in some situations in which agents acquired the rights and duties However, agents could challenge these rights and duties in other circumstances The last category of positioning theory was position triangles Position, actions and story lines were three aspects forming the position triangles (Slocum & Van Langenhove, 2004) Position referred to how people perceived themselves or how other people perceived them And the possibility for action would be opened as an individual took up a position The last component of position triangles was story lines which laid the ground for actions and gave the descriptions of the circumstances that actors got involved in

The notion of agency under the positioning theory proposed by Davies (2000) came under fierce criticism for its theory As suggested by Etelapelto et al (2013), little agency could be recognized in individuals if they were perceived as featured only through discourses

To put it simply, limitation could be easily identified in the probability for personal agency as agency was manifested merely through discourses In addition, individuals were assigned specific positions or they positioned specific positions themselves which meant they were not given freedom to do anything they desire

2.1.4 Agency from the sociocultural approach

Teacher agency and teacher agency enactment

2.2.1 Definition of teacher agency enactment

As agency referred to the dynamic interaction between an individual's life trajectory and the social circumstances they are situated in The notion of enactment demonstrated the ways teachers interpreted the curriculum texts and how teachers transformed their interpretation of the curriculum texts into practice Walford, 2001) It is also in line with the conception of enactment proposed by Ball et al (2012), who stated that enactment referred to how the school teachers interpreted the curriculum texts into contextualized practices The term "interpretation" referred to the act of reading and decoding curriculum texts in order to make sense of them The language of curriculum documents was transformed into the language of practice, with words transformed into actions and abstract concepts transformed into processes The notion of enactment put an emphasis on the teachers’ proactive role Ball et al (2012) suggested that teachers might play various roles in enacting the curriculum such as reliance, criticism, or mediation on the curriculum policy

In general, teacher agency enactment refers to the process by which teachers interpret and comprehend the curriculum mandates in a manner that is practical and meaningful in their everyday teaching They attempt to manage the curriculum mandates based on their existing teaching practices From that standpoint, the curriculum mandates are shaped by the individuals who implement it, leading to a comprehensive comprehension of the curriculum mandates

2.2.2 Types of teacher agency enactment

Walford (2001) identified three patterns of teacher agency enactment namely resistance, acceptance, and accommodation In a study carried out by Lasky (2005), three ways teachers implemented the curriculum change were ignorance, adoption, and adaptation Teachers could accept, resist, or renegotiate their involvement within the policy enactment (Cross, 2010) Teachers in Robinson’s study (2012) demonstrated two types of agencies in response to the policy reform: compliance and negotiation Petrovic and Kuntz (2013) identified three categories of agency exhibited by university lecturers while utilizing English as a medium of instruction: respond to the existing frame, reinterpreting the existing frame, and reframe it Mellegard and Pettersen’s (2016) study revealed that teachers adapted and bargained with the curriculum rather than becoming change agents during policy implementation Teachers in Severance’s study (2016) demonstrated three ways of enacting the curriculum change, that is, resistance, adoption, and adaptation Nguyen and Bui (2016) revealed that teachers resisted to the new language policy implementation due to the fact that their cognition of the English language policy is indifferent to the concerns of the students Teachers in Jenkins’ study (2019) manifested three main types of agencies: proactive, reactive, and passive In a study conducted by Peskova et al (2019), the result illustrated that teachers demonstrated two forms of agency towards the curriculum change: acceptance and resistance The result of the study proposed by Harris and Graham (2019) also illustrated that resistance and acceptance were two types of agencies teachers implemented in enacting the curriculum change Le et al (2020)’s study showed that teachers made adaptations to the policy reform driven by their interpretations, interests, choices, and local teaching contexts

Based on the results of the previous studies, the researcher categorized teacher agency enactment into three types of manifestation: acceptance, resistance, and adaptation (Walford, 2001; Lasky, 2005; Cross, 2010; Robinson, 2012; Pestrovic & Kuntz, 2013; Mellegard & Pettersen, 2016; Severance et al., 2016; Nguyen, 2016; Jenkins, 2019; Harris & Graham, 2019; Peskova et al., 2019; Le et al., 2020) The enactment classifications are summarized in Table 2.2 with the notions developed by the previous researchers Acceptance was relevant to teachers’ capabilities to implement the curricular change Acceptance employed in studies carried out by Walford (2001), Cross (2010), Harris and Graham (2019, Peskova (2019) means adoption in Lasky (2005), compliance in Robinson (2012), responding to the existing frame in Petrovic and Kuntz (2013), adoption in Severance (2016), and proactive agency by Jenkins (2019)

Resistance was concerned with teachers’ abilities to resist or oppose the change Resistance deployed in previous research conducted by Walford (2001), Cross (2010), Severance (2016), Nguyen and Bui (2016), Harris and Graham (2019), Peskova (2019) means ignorance in Lasky (2005), passive agency in Jenkins (2019), and reframing in Petrovic and Kuntz (2013)

Adaptation was relevant to teachers’ capabilities to made modification to the curriculum change taking into consideration their local teaching and learning conditions Adaptation employed by Lasky (2005), Mellegard and Pettersen (2016), Severance (2016),

Le et al (2020) means accommodation in Walford’s study (2001), renegotiation in Cross (2010), negotiation in Robinson (2012), reinterpret the existing frame in Petrovic and Kuntz (2013) In general, three main forms of teacher agency enactment in putting the curriculum texts into practice in their sociocultural settings are acceptance, resistance, and adaptation The afore-mentioned types of teacher agency enactment were served as a guideline to collect data concerning teachers’ manifestations of agencies in putting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice

Table 2.2 Summary of types of teacher agency enactment

Types of teacher agency enactment Used terms Research

Acceptance Adoption Lasky (2005), Severance et al

Responding to the existing frame Petrovic and Kuntz

(2013) Active resistance Jenkins (2019) Passive resistance Jenkins (2019) Adaptation

Interpreting the existing frame Petrovic and Kuntz

2.2.3 Ecological approach to teacher agency

Based on the conception of agency under the sociocultural approach, the theory of teacher agency which is relevant to teachers’ activities in their institutional setting was further developed (Priestley et al., 2015) Priestley et al (2015) give further description of teacher agency as teachers’ ability to shape their responses to the challenging situations The disparity between the sociocultural approach and ecological approach lied in the fact that the former referred to human agency in general while the latter was based on the components of forming human agency, but paid particular attention to teacher agency which was defined in relation to teachers’ activities in their school settings Teacher agency is defined as the temporal phenomenon which can be attained through the interplay of three dimension of agency namely iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective (Priestley et al., 2015) In other words, teachers’ choice making and action taking was influenced by the three above-mentioned dimensions

The iterational dimension included teachers’ individual and professional profiles Agency might be drawn from teachers’ previous personal and professional experiences (Priestley et al., 2015) Teachers’ life histories and professional histories shared the past experiences in common Teachers’ life histories were related to teachers’ personal skills and knowledge while teachers’ professional histories were concerned with teachers’ professional experience in their prior education and training More specifically, teachers’ professional histories were pertinent to their experience as student teachers and experienced teachers

In addition to professional education, engagement with other professional activities seemed to be essential in shaping teachers’ professional experience such as exchanges with their colleagues and familiarity with the school culture Teachers who worked in innovative school had the tendency to enact agentic actions towards dilemmas compared to their colleagues in less supported ones Priestley et al (2015) suggested that it was fascinating to consider what kinds of experience might help teachers in enhancing their positive attributes and potentials that were demanded of agents of change

2.2.3.2 The practical-evaluative dimension of agency

The practical-evaluative dimension of agency includes three main components: cultural (ideas, values, beliefs, discourses, and language), materials (resources and physical environment) and structural (relationships, roles, power, and trust) Cultural dimension was connected with the internal and external dialogue, that is to say, dealt with the system of speaking as well as thinking which included ideas, values, beliefs, discourses and language Materials was related to the physic resources that might facilitate or inhibit teacher agency The structural dimension was concerned with the social structures namely relationships, roles, power, and trust that made contribution to the achievement of teacher agency Relationships referred to the connections between teachers and their colleagues, teachers and school leaders, teachers and students Roles meant teachers’ roles in the school contexts, power pertained to the types of school structures in which the teachers worked in, might be the school that teachers had little power and needed to follow the instructions from the school leaders or the schools that teachers had their own right and duties to enact agentic actions to provide students with better learning opportunities Trust could be based on the relationships between teachers and other agents in the school contexts

The practical-evaluative was relevant to teachers’ capabilities to make comprehensive evaluation among possibilities concerning the present situation situated in environmental contexts The practical-evaluative dimension of agency was connected with the daily working settings of teachers Teachers might be forced to make choices that was not in harmony with their aspirations In addition, teachers usually carried out these actions on the ground of inadequate time to give a reflection of their own experience and exchange ideas with their colleagues Therefore, agency was considerably impacted by the practical-evaluative dimension Teachers’ capability of making choices and taking actions was shaped by this dimension In other words, the daily working environments of teachers could facilitate or inhibit their agency For example, in a study conducted by Reeves (2008), the results indicated that teacher agency might be inhibited by their tensions when enacting the new curriculum due to the fact that they had to deal with the inspections and evaluations However, teacher agency might be enhanced thanks to the supportive culture of the schools and the good collegial relationships In these environments, teachers were encouraged to enact agentic actions to carry out the new curriculum (Coburn & Russel, 2008)

2.2.3.3 The projective dimension of agency

The projective dimension contains teachers’ short-term and long-term future orientations Teachers’ future orientations stemmed from their previous experiences (values and beliefs) Lasky (2005) proposed that such constructive orientations were supportive of students’ benefits and development In addition, teachers’ future aspirations were dependable on their motivations to provide students with the best quality of teaching Teachers’ motivations or aspirations might be brought by their previous professional experiences Teachers’ prior experiences would shape their positive or negative forms of future aspirations For example, teachers having negative experience of a school scrutiny might be afraid of taking risks, as a result, their agency might be hindered The school culture of heavy responsibility and maintaining a high level of performance might limit teacher agency Priestley et al (2015) suggested that previous educational administration might exert great influence on the present form of teacher agency

To summarize, the ecological approach proposed by Priestley et al (2015) considered teacher agency as the emergent phenomenon and achieved through the interplay of three dimensions of agency namely iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective and conceptualized teacher agency as actions which means something people do (Biesta et al., 2015) (Figure 2.1) The practical-evaluative aspect of agency underscored the achievement of agency through the daily working environments with three main aspects: cultural, structural, and materials To put it in another way, the present school contexts including the cultural (values, beliefs, ideas, discourses, language), structural (relationships, roles, power, and trust), materials (resources and physical environment) might have great impact on teacher agency The iterational dimension of agency was pertinent to teachers’ personal and professional histories which contributed significantly to shaping teacher agency The projective aspect of agency involved teachers’ short-term and long-term aspirations This model shed light on individual teacher agency in their school environments shaped by three dimensions of agency namely iterational (past), practical-evaluative (present), projective (future) which served as a guideline for the researcher to constitute the conceptual framework for the study to discover not only teachers’ individual agency but also collective agency and the bilateral interactions between them The iterational and projective dimensions of agency could be integrated into individual factors while the practical-evaluative was considered as contextual factors which had direct impacts on teacher agency (Priestley et al., 2015)

Figure 2.1 Teacher agency in the ecological model (Priestley et al., 2015)

Agency is divided into three types namely individual, proxy, and collective agency (Bandura, 2001) An individual's ability to make decisions and perform actions on their own was defined as individual agency Collective agency is the act of a group of people or a community exercising their agency Their goal was to build future prospects by sharing information, skills, and resources Proxy agency depends on others to perform on one’s behalf in order to achieve the intended results To examine teachers’ individual agency and collective agency together with the bilateral interactions between them, the current study only focused on individual agency and collective agency Proxy agency was not selected as it was based on others to perform on one’s behalf in order to achieve the intended results

 Cultural: ideas, beliefs, values, discourses, language

The Getting-to-know-English curriculum

Having provided the information relevant to teacher agency enactment, the literature review went on to present details about the Getting-to-know-English curriculum to shed light on the ways teachers enacted their agency in putting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

In 2018, the new general education curriculum issued the Getting-to-know-English for Grade

1 and Grade 2 (hereafter called the Getting-to-know-English curriculum) (Appendix 1) Based on the Tyler and Taba’s model of curriculum development, the study presented five aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum: design approach, objectives, learning outcomes, learning content, and assessment methods which will be explained in detail in 2.3.1 to 2.3.5

2.3.1 The design approach of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

The Getting-to-know-English curriculum is built based on the communicative orientation (Moet, 2018) Drawing on this orientation, communicative competence is the aim of the teaching process, language knowledge is one of the means to form and develop communicative skills In Grade 1 and 2, an emphasis is put on listening comprehension skill, speaking skill can be developed according to students’ willingness

2.3.2 The Getting-to-know-English curriculum objectives

English is considered as the optional object for students of Grades 1 and 2 The objectives of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum are to help students develop a basic understanding of the language, investigate and experience the development of English skills in contexts that are appropriate for their thinking, emotion, and psychology, give students greater confidence when they enter Grade 3, and foster a love of the language

The Getting-to-know-English curriculum encompasses the subsequent learning outcomes: recognition and comprehension of English alphabetic sounds and letters, recognition and understanding of numbers less than twenty, comprehension and identification of commonly known words and phases, ability to provide nonverbal responses in straightforward communicative scenarios, comprehension and adherence to English classroom instructions, ability to respond in English to straightforward and familiar communicative situations, and ability to answer basic inquiries

2.3.4 The Getting-to-know-English curriculum content

Three categories—language knowledge, language skills, and topics—are considered by MOET when determining the content Language knowledge, which includes phonetics, vocabulary, and structures, comprises the first category Students are required to obtain a certain set of fundamental sounds and letters in the English alphabets with respect to phonetics In relation to vocabulary, students associate familiar concepts and phenomena with everyday situations and basic words and phrases The minimum word count that pupils are expected to master varies between 40 and 140 Concerning structures, pupils must acquire knowledge of a few elementary structures that are prevalent in everyday communication contexts (Moet, 2018) The second category comprises language skills, which consist of the following four components: reading, writing, speaking, and listening In the first place, with regard to listening proficiency, students should be capable of the following: (1) comprehending and providing simple word-level responses or nonverbal reactions in straightforward classroom discussions, situations, or subjects; (2) listening, comprehending and responding to straightforward classroom directives; and (3) listening, understanding and responding to familiar words, phrases, and topics within the range of 70 to 140 words Furthermore, with respect to oral communication proficiency, students should: (1) respond to question-and-answer scenarios involving familiar subjects using straightforward language; (2) participate in classroom exercises and games while providing guidance; (3) listen to and replicate age-appropriate songs, phrases, chants, and phrases; and (4) use familiar, simple words within appropriate contexts Students can additionally develop the following reading skills: (1) read basic sentences and words accompanied by illustrative images; (2) listen and repeat, recognize, and comprehend the meanings of words pertinent to the topics being studied In conclusion, with regard to writing, pupils may develop the ability to trace, compose words, and substitute words within specific contexts

The topics constitute the final category Colors, animals, toys, places, daily activities, classroom activities, body parts, days of the week, fundamental shapes, clothing, modes of transportation, enjoyable activities, rooms in the house, fruits, food, emotions, senses, and games are among the twenty-one familiar topics included in the new English curriculum

Teachers need to attend to the following requirements: testing and assessment activities should be conducted to provide information about students’ communicative competence in the learning process for the purpose of giving assistance to teachers’ assessment of students’ progress, guiding students and laying the foundation for adjustments in terms of teaching methods, learning materials, and learning planning Besides, testing and assessment should be frequently carried out to promote the quality and effectiveness of the learning process For students of initial age of learning, testing and assessment activities focus on building students’ confidence in learning English (Moet, 2018)

Furthermore, the content of testing and assessment should be in consistent with the objectives and requirements of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Plus, testing and assessment activities should concentrate on students’ communicative competence, particularly listening comprehension skills In addition, teachers bear the main responsibilities conducting testing and assessment activities, showing students’ strengths and weaknesses, writing detailed suggestions, and giving suitable solutions for their students More importantly, these activities should be carried out in a friendly way during the learning process (Moet, 2018)

2.4 Textbooks “Family and Friends” for Grades 1 and 2

MOET issued the Directive 681 (2020) (Appendix 2) to provide clarification on the selection of teaching materials for Grades 1 and 2 in order to implement the Getting-to-know- English curriculum (Moet, 2020a) According to the list of textbooks provided by MOET, the Division of Education and Training (DET) is working together with the publishing house to offer the new textbook to instructors Subsequently, teachers engage in discussions to select their preferred textbook While teachers have the authority to choose the textbook, it is ultimately the responsibility of the DET to make the final decision on which textbook to select In Ba Ria Vung Tau province, the textbook “Family and Friends” for Grades 1 and 2 are selected by the DET

The textbook “Family and Friends” for Grades 1 and 2 has 6 units and a starter section for 35 weeks, with 70 periods Teachers have to teach two teaching periods each week Each unit has 6 lessons including vocabulary, grammar and song, sounds and letters, numbers, sounds and letters, and story A culture section is also included at the end of the textbook to help the students to further understand about the cultural activities of some countries In lesson

1, students are required to listen the new lexical items, which make contributions to the speaking skill Lesson 2 provides students with grammatical structures through songs and chants and enables students to use these structures in speaking and writing Lessons 3 and 5 offer students sounds and letter relevant to topic of each unit There are lively and colorful pictures of objects or animals with the first letter of each word to enable teachers to organize speaking activities and stimulate students’ interest into the new lesson about sound and letters Lesson 4 is about numbers presented through beautiful pictures Lesson 6 is about a story for students to practice listening and story telling skills, observation skills, prediction skills about the content of the story through reading the name of the story and looking at the pictures

There are 2 lessons: “Everyday English” and “CLIL” after 3 units Students make improvements on their listening and speaking skills through “Everyday English” They also enhance their language skills integrating with other subjects such as mathematics, science, art, etc The culture section is included at the bottom of the textbook to help students comprehend about cultural activities of certain countries and compare with those in Vietnam, for example, food, sports, clothes, etc Along with the textbook, teachers are equipped with teaching materials such as teachers’ guide, workbook, study materials, and online printable resources The study materials include phonics cards, flashcards, e-book,

Teaching English to young learners

Young learners were defined based on their chronological age span ranging from the age of 3 to 15 which cover the target students of this study Grade 1 and 2 (Nunan, 2011) Learners’ age is of great significance due to the fact that it drives the process of teaching content and teaching methods As a result, it is necessary to discover young learners’ characteristics for the purpose of enabling teachers’ teaching practices Young learners possess various features which are shown as follows:

2.5.2 Characteristics of young learners and teaching methodology

Short attention span, cognitive development, limited literacy skills, engagement in experiencing with the world, language perception are the characteristics of young learners (Nunan, 2011; Cameron, 2001) Firstly, young learners had short attention span which meant

10 or 15 minutes is the maximum time for young learners to stay focused on a particular topic (Mc Kay, 2005) Sharing the similar view with Mc Kay (2005), Slattery and Willis (2001) stated that enjoyable activities should be incorporated into teaching as young learners had limited concentration span and got bored easily Therefore, it is advisable that various teaching activities should be integrated into the teaching lessons to foster learner engagement and catch learners’ attention Secondly, young learners’ understanding could be fostered through their senses instead of explaining abstract concepts such as grammatical system as young learners were developing their cognitive development (Piaget, 1936) In other words, young learners’ knowledge could be constructed through concrete things rather than abstract things (Piaget, 1936; Clark, 1990) In addition, inductive educational activities should not be introduced to young learners before the age of seven to eleven (Nunan, 2011)

Thirdly, young learners have limited literacy skills That is to say, they were dependent on spoken language and inclined to make use of English and their mother tongue in a straightforward manner (Cameron, 2003) Fourthly, they had the tendency to develop their language acquisition through experiencing with the world in which their knowledge was constructed through active engagement with the physical surroundings In this notion, various activities should be incorporated into the teaching lessons in order to assist young learners in enhancing their language through experiences For the above-mentioned reasons, young learners’ listening comprehension should be developed through simple daily conversations, stories, chants, and songs and their spoken language should be strengthened through their readiness (Moet, 2020a)

Lastly, young children learnt best by paying attention to meanings instead of forms of language That is, the way language was used in natural contexts rather than providing them forms (Cameron, 2003) It is in line with Ellis (2005), who stated that activities should focus on building meanings with an aim to motivate learners For this reason, grammar-translation approach was not effective in teaching young learners as they did not acquire grammatical rules through new language repetition and recycling Other teaching methods such as Total Physical Response, Experimental Learning, Task-based learning, Project-based learning are more conducive to developing young learners’ language acquisition in natural settings (Moet, 2020a).

Previous studies

Teacher agency has received attention from researchers recently, as a result, few studies have been undertaken into this field, particularly in the context of the agency enactment (Tao & Gao, 2017) For the purpose of this study, these studies are reviewed and grouped into five main themes: (1) teachers’ individual agency enactment, (2) factors affecting teachers’ individual agency, (3) teachers’ collective agency enactment, (4) factors affecting teachers’ collective agency, and (5) the interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency

Mellegard and Pettersen (2016) carried out a study with 20 primary and secondary English teachers in Eastern Norway on their responses to the curriculum change Data were gained through focus group interviews The results revealed that teachers showed their frustration and reluctance towards the new curriculum as inadequate instructions were given to teachers on the way to teach and what to teach Moreover, conflicts could be clearly identified in the ideal expectations of the new curriculum and teachers’ real teaching practices

As a consequence, these teachers adapted and negotiated with the curriculum In addition, these teachers did not receive support from their principals The weakness was that this study only employed focus group interviews to collect teachers’ reported experiences in the curriculum change, so it was difficult to gain an in-depth understanding of teaching practices

Le (2018) carried out a study exploring teacher agency towards the new language policy entitled “Teaching Foreign Languages in the National Education System 2008-2020” Six elementary school English teachers participated in the study Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate the problems teachers encountered during the process of implementing the policy and their agentic responses to these obstacles The results of the study demonstrated that the teachers followed all of the textbook content mandated by the curriculum policy, but they paid much attention to aspects they considered important for students and went through unnecessary sections

Due to limited training content, the study revealed that instructors used a variety of resources, including digital resources, teacher guidebooks, colleagues, prior professional experiences, and student observations, to advance their professional learning By adding, removing, modifying, or rearrangement, teachers demonstrate their ability to adapt instructional material Due to a lack of teaching materials in their institutions, they sought out external teaching resources Due to a lack of classroom space, teachers conducted different activities despite the protests of subject teachers and organized flexible group activities to increase student participation in the lessons The limitation of the study is that the study collected data only through semi-structured interviews instead of employing multiple resources of data Policy documents and observations should be used to ensure the reliability and accuracy of teacher agency This would be addressed in this research

Peskova et al (2019) surveyed 701 primary and secondary teachers about their attitudes and factors impacted their attitudes towards the curriculum change The result showed that two forms of agency towards the curriculum change were acceptance and resistance Teachers’ attitudes were influenced by their self-efficacy and curriculum documents Teachers with more uses of curriculum documents and stronger sense of self- efficacy tended to accept the change compared to those with lower self-efficacy and less employment of documents The research used surveys to collect teachers’ opinions of their attitudes to the curriculum change, however, as suggested by Ngo (2021), qualitative methods should be used to examine the dynamic nature and complexity of teacher agency instead of quantitative methods such as surveys

The study of Harris and Graham (2019) explored secondary history teachers’ reported responses and factors that influenced their senses of agency towards the curriculum change Survey was the only tool in this study The results suggested that teachers were reluctant to implement the policy, they made serious complaints about the vagueness and general instructions of the exam expectations along with the shortage of materials Specifically, teacher agency enactment in teaching content and methods concerning examination course were constrained by accountability outcomes They tended to maintain their tested teaching methods and focused on familiar topics The shortcoming is that this study only used survey to obtain teachers’ opinions of the curriculum change Ngo (2021) stated that the complicated, dynamic and context-dependent nature of agency should be discovered with the qualitative methods instead of using the quantitative methods (survey) which cannot give further insight into the dynamic nature of agency

Jenkins (2019) conducted a case study on twelve high school teachers to explore their perceptions of agency and influence of contextual factors on them The study employed interviews to investigate teachers’ opinions of their roles in the curriculum change The result indicated that teachers manifested three main types of agency: proactive, reactive and passive which was influenced by contextual factors Proactive agency was shown through teachers’ motivation to implement the changes in the class setting to meet the school’s needs and students’ desired outcomes and required support from their colleagues, reactive agency was demonstrated through the required changes from their leader decisions concerning the lesson content and class time Teacher enacted their passive agency to avoid initiating changes to their teaching practices which was rooted from their limited knowledge of the school procedures and negative relationships with school leaders and colleagues Teacher effectiveness of implementing the policy could be achieved by teachers’ individual motivation, good leadership and positive collegial relationship

In this study, only interviews were used to examine teachers’ opinions of their agency towards the curriculum change, as a result, it did not give enough persuasive evidence to investigate teacher agency enactment in the classroom settings and further research should deploy observations to reflect teacher agency in the classroom conditions towards the new curriculum change Furthermore, Jenkins’ (2019) study only focused on teachers’ enactment of agency towards the policy without looking into teachers’ individual factors which are believed to have direct impacts on their agency enactment towards the reform This echoes more attention to the ways teachers enact their individual agency towards the policy shaped by individual and contextual factors which would be addressed in this research

More recently, in Connors and Bengtson’ s (2020) study, they explored two beginning English teacher agency and the effects of the mandated curriculum and the school culture on teacher agency enactment under the policy enactment context Ethnography approach was utilized in the study, in which the researchers deployed two main tools to collect data: interviews and observations

The result of the study highlighted that teacher agency enactment in implementing the curriculum change might be supported or constrained by the curriculum mandates One teacher reported that complying with the curriculum map mandated by the curriculum limited her visions of teaching Specifically, she had the tendency to cover content delivered by the curriculum mandates instead of following her own vision of teaching However, another teacher argued that he adapted teaching materials, controlled the curriculum pace, designed methods of assessment himself to cater for students’ needs, and enacted his vision of teaching despite the control of the curriculum map and assessment

The findings also indicated that teachers’ sense of agency was facilitated or hindered by the school culture in the curriculum implementation A teacher opined that her school culture put an emphasis on students’ test scores and used their scores to measure teachers’ effectiveness As a result, she focused on teaching content that would be dictated in the curriculum map, employed traditional teaching methods, and corrected students’ mistakes rather than building their knowledge In general, she accepted her school vision of teaching on account of being a beginning teacher and wanting to be considered as a reliable teacher at her school

On the other hand, another teacher illustrated that the school culture could support teacher agency through building trust, sharing opinions, and decision-making Specifically, his school leaders gave opportunities for teachers to reflect on their teaching practices and share their thoughts of teaching with their colleagues to receive suggestions from them Therefore, he had great opportunities to operate on his work, freedom to enact his agentic actions, and adapted the curriculum mandates for the sakes of students The limitation of the study was that documents were not used in this study As a consequence, the gap would be filled in further studies

Le et al (2020) studied teacher agency with a focus on teaching methodology in relation to the pilot primary English curriculum under the National Foreign Language Project

2020 Two English teachers at a primary school in a remote area of Vietnam took part in this study Data were gained through interviews and observations Compared to other studies looked into teacher agency towards reform contexts that deployed sociocultural perspective, this study employed positioning theory as a model to analyze teacher agency The finding indicated that teachers positioned themselves as policy negotiators instead of policy followers in teaching methodology implementation and their agency was impacted by individual and contextual factors

Specifically, three emergent positions were identified in the study, that is to say, strugglers in the deployment of teaching methods, implementers and resisters to employing teaching activities Firstly, teachers positioned themselves as strugglers in utilizing teaching methods for primary students for several reasons First, they were trained to teach students at middle schools rather than primary schools Consequently, a lack of self-efficacy seemed to be recognized in these teachers’ uses of teaching methods Another reason that resulted in their failure in exploiting teaching methods was that the practical aspects of teaching and learning, particularly considering the local context, were not the center of attention in training workshops Third, low sense of self-efficacy might be realized in these teachers because of their professional competence They reported that they graduated from university 20 years ago and the school contexts seemed not to provide them with chances to enhance their language abilities Finally, the scrutiny of professional documents such as lesson plans and teaching reports caused great emotional stress for teachers Although several obstacles they faced with teaching methods, not any support was given to teachers by the school leaders and supervisors In order to make improvements on their teaching methods, teachers observed their colleagues’ classes to learn teaching techniques, consulted online teaching resources along with teachers’ guide

Research gaps

Teacher agency has been carried out in previous studies with a focus on (1) teacher agency enactment, and (2) factors influencing teacher agency

Firstly, previous studies paid attention to teacher agency enactment with a focus on the ways teachers enacted their individual agency in response to the curriculum change (Mellegard & Pettersen, 2016; Le, 2018; Peskova et al., 2019;), teaching content (Le, 2018; Harris & Graham, 2019; Connors & Bengtson, 2020), teaching methods (Harris & Graham, 2019; Le et al., 2020), assessment methods (Connors & Bengtson, 2020) Additionally, teachers showed various types of manifestations in response to the curriculum change namely acceptance (Walford, 2001; Severance, 2016), resistance (Walford, 2001; Severance, 2016), and adaptation (Walford, 2001; Lasky, 2005; Cross, 2010; Severance, 2016; Le et al., 2020) Plus, how teachers enacted their collective agency in the implementation of the curriculum reform (Spicer, 2011; Forte & Flores, 2013; Nguyen & Bui, 2015; Severance et al., 2016; Fu

& Clarke, 2018; Ryder et al., 2018; Tran, 2019; Lipponen & Kumpulainen, 2019; Poulton, 2020), the influence of collective agency on individual agency (Johnson, 2003; Nguyen & Bui, 2015; Tran, 2019; Desmaizayatri, 2020) In addition, the ways to develop teacher agency has been identified in studies through the professional development program and self- reflection Seminars or training sessions are two possible formats for the professional development program that participants can participate in In addition to the professional development program, teachers reflected their teaching practices in order to foster their agency through watching the videos (Jensen, 2019; Vu, 2020) Plus, studies have been undertaken to look into the trajectory of teacher agency over time Teachers’ beliefs and professional identities were identified to exert direct influence on teacher agency trajectory and agency is considered as a developmental phenomenon (Spicer, 2011; Wagner et al., 2019)

Secondly, factors influencing teacher agency draw worldwide researchers’ interests which can be divided into individual and contextual factors Individual factors include teachers’ prior knowledge (Tao & Gao, 2019), previous professional experience (Desmaizayatri, 2020), short-term and long-term goals (Priestley et al., 2015), identities (Kayi-Aydar, 2019) Contextual factors consist of the school culture (Daly, 2009; Priestley et al., 2015; Connors & Bengtson, 2020), the school structure (Imants, 2002; Priestley et al., 2015; Tao & Gao, 2017), material resources (Tran, 2019), the school policy (Oolbekkink- Marchand et al., 2017), students’ backgrounds (Altinyelken, 2010; Desmaizayatri, 2020), the curriculum map (Connors & Bengtson, 2020), curriculum assessment (Ryder et al., 2018), students’ learning outcomes (Ryder et al., 2018; Le et al., 2020)

As can be seen from studies on teacher agency enactment, first they focused on individual teacher agency enactment in high school and university contexts, not primary level (Le et al., 2020) In addition, primary level constitutes a large proportion in Vietnam’s education system but under-examined Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a study to look into teacher agency enactment in primary schools Second, studies that highlighted teacher agency enactment in Vietnamese contexts are under-examined (Le et al., 2020) In fact, few reviewed studies that examined individual teacher agency enactment in primary schools in Vietnamese contexts within the new general education curriculum, particularly discussed the Getting-to-know-English curriculum which is a clear gap for this study to fill in In general, the majority of the previous studies conducted in Vietnamese context paid attention to the ways teachers enacted their individual agency towards the language policy under the National Foreign Language Project 2020 or the transition from teaching Chinese, French, Russian to teaching English instead of centering on the new general education curriculum, particularly the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Additionally, these studies employed the sociocultural and positioning theory as the model to analyze teacher agency except for the study made by Vu (2021), which employed the ecological approach to teacher agency and defined agency as the emergent phenomenon Few studies have been conducted to look into teachers’ collective agency as well as the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency in the curriculum enactment, particularly the Getting-to-know- English curriculum under the ecological perspective

As a consequence, conducting a study on teacher agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum which is newly applied countrywide for Grades 1 and 2 provides deep insights into the theory as well as the practice of teacher agency in an area of English education instead of teacher agency in other areas As a result, there is an urgent need to carry out a study that addresses the enactment of teachers’ individual agency towards the Getting-to-know-English curriculum in Vietnamese settings It is in congruence with Braun et el (2011) who raised the concern about the complexity of individual agency enactment following the hierarchical policy system in the specific local contexts

In addition, most previous studies looked into teachers’ individual agency while few examined teachers’ collective agency (Hokka et al., 2017) As suggested by Zhao and Baldauf (2012), there is a real need to examine not only teachers’ individual agency but also collective agency amid the curriculum change Gaining a deep understanding of teachers’ collective agency helps the researcher to obtain useful information about how teachers working in the community of practice to deploy the resources to enact their senses of agency (Toom et al., 2015) The previous studies paid attention to how teachers enacted their collective agency through collective actions Although these studies put a focus on the collaboration, interactions of teachers to enact their agency in different contexts, school structures, and cultures, few studies addressed the way individual teachers enact their collective agency More specifically, the study focuses on how individual teachers enact their collective agency through working in the community of practice in which professional communities make choices, exert influence and take instances in ways that affect individual teachers’ professional work which is in line with Etelapelto et al (2013)

According to Sannino (2015), there is a close connection between individual agency and collective agency which can be clearly shown in the way individual actors do sorts of transformative activities and these ideas might be shared among the community of practice Despite the fact that the previous studies put an emphasis on the relationship between individual agency and collective agency, it is not clear how the aforementioned types of agencies interact with each other Kayi-Aydar et al (2019) also supported that the way individual and collective agency interact or motivate with each other remained under- examined More specifically, how teachers enact their individual agency and collective agency and the bilateral interactions between individual agency and collective agency to give impetus or hindrance to their agency enactment as a whole under the context of policy enactment were not examined in the previous studies

In this study, the researcher makes attempts to explore teachers’ individual agency and collective agency enactment and the relationships between them to give impetus or hindrance to their agency enactment as a whole in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum In order to examine primary school English teacher agency enactment within the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, the following conceptual framework for the study is diverged.

The conceptual framework of the study

This study employed the ecological approach as the framework for the study for the purpose of exploring primary school English teacher agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum This approach has been considered as the useful framework to discuss agency as agency is seen as temporal process driven by the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions of agency (Priestley et al., 2015) The iterational dimension of agency consisted of two main factors namely teachers’ life histories and professional histories The practical-evaluative dimension of agency included three main factors, that is to say, cultural, structural, and materials The projective dimension of agency contained teachers’ short-term and long-term orientations

Teacher agency enactment was clearly manifested through acceptance, resistance, and adaptation proposed by Walford (2001) Therefore, they were added into the conceptual framework to serve as a guideline with the intention of examining the ways teachers enacted their individual agency in putting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice Individual agency of teachers in teaching methods can be seen in a study carried out by Harris and Graham (2019) and Le et al (2020), teaching content can be found in Le (2018), Harris and Graham (2019), and Connors and Bengtson (2020), assessment methods were identified in Connors and Bengtson’s study (2020) The previous studies did not mention how individual teachers enacted their lesson planning although it is of great importance in the implementation of the curriculum Therefore, the researcher added lesson planning into the framework to help the researcher investigate teachers’ individual agency in planning the lesson The individual agency of teachers was investigated through its manifestations in four aspects in the Getting- to-know-English curriculum implementation namely teaching methods, teaching content, assessment methods, and lesson planning

Although the ecological framework given by Priestley et al (2015) shed light on individual teacher agency enactment, it does not concentrate on teachers’ collective agency enactment According to Giddens (1979) and Soini et al (2015), teacher agency might be enacted not only at the individual level but also at the community level Understanding teachers’ individual agency is insufficient without discussing about their collective agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Consequently, primary school English teacher agency should entail not only teachers’ individual agency but also teachers’ collective agency The previous studies carried out teachers’ collective agency with a focus on lesson planning, teaching materials, creating students’ guidebooks and learning activities within the professional development program Therefore, the researcher added the professional development programs into the ecological model proposed by Priestley et al (2015) to examine teachers’ collective agency In addition, teachers participated in the peer observation discussion to learn from their colleagues, receive feedback from them and make adaptation to their individual teaching practices and apply the useful things into their own classes As a result, the researcher integrated peer observation discussions into the ecological model suggested by Priestley et al (2015) to look into teachers’ collective agency Also, the collective agency of teachers was shaped by the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions of agency by Priestley et al (2015)

Although the influence of collective agency on individual agency has been mentioned in the previous studies, whether it facilitated or hindered individual agency enactment in two forms of collective agency namely the professional development program and peer observation discussions remains neglected They brought about the changes in individual teachers’ teaching methods, teaching content, assessment methods, and lesson planning (Turnbull, 2005; Priestley et al., 2011; Fu & Nashon, 2014, Ryder et al., 2016; Nguyen & Bui, 2016; Poulton, 2020) Additionally, although the previous studies did examine the impact of teachers’ collective agency on individual agency in the curriculum reform mandates, the individual teachers’ participation in the collective actions was not looked into, the ways individual teachers participated in the collective actions in enacting the Getting-to-know- English curriculum were identified Their participation in such collective activities was observed through the peer observation discussions concerning their lessons and their peers’ lessons for Grades 1 and 2 Therefore, the ways individual teachers contributed to the collective actions particularly the peer observation discussions were integrated into the conceptual framework of the study

In general, the present study is necessary to gain deeper understanding of the teachers’ collective agency enactment and individual teachers’ contributions to the collective actions along with the bilateral interactions between them to give impetus or hindrance to teacher agency enactment as a whole reflected in contribute to hinder or support

Figure 2.2 Teacher agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

• Cultural: ideas, beliefs, values, discourses, language

Individual level collec�ve level acceptance adapta�on resistance

Summary of Chapter 2

Studies that look into teacher agency under the ecological approach have received attention from researchers recently which allows the researcher to explore teacher agency as the temporal process in the midst of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Within the framework, the present study underscores teachers’ individual and collective agency enactment when enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum as well as the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency to give impetus or hindrance to teacher agency enactment as a whole.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research philosophy

Research philosophy serves as the theoretical foundation for any study providing the researcher clarity concerning the research design and the appropriate research methods (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002) Mertens (2005) outlines four distinct paradigms for conducting research, including positivist/post-positivist, constructivist, transformative, and pragmatic paradigms It is understood that the process of generating meaning is inherently social, as it arises from the interactions between individuals within their respective communities This perspective asserts that meaning is not something that is simply discovered, but rather it is actively constructed through the dynamic interplay between individuals and their environment This viewpoint is consistent with the constructivist stance, as supported by Gray (2009) and Patton (2002) In accordance with this theoretical paradigm, the researcher investigated the manners in which teachers exercised their personal agency, collective agency, and the dynamics of their interactions within the specific contexts of their schools In order to accomplish this, the researcher actively interacted with the participants' respective domains, taking into account their individual experiences and viewpoints Moreover, the study's conceptual framework was established around the ecological model put out by Priestley et al (2015), which effectively showcased the impact of contextual factors on the actual teaching practices of teachers.

Research design

Qualitative case study research was utilized in the study to investigate the enactment of teachers’ individual agency and collective agency and the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency to give impetus or hindrance to their agency at primary schools when implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum The aim of this research is to gain an insight into the topic with a group of four primary school English teachers within specific contexts rather than with a representative sample to generalize According to Merriam (1998), the characteristics of a case study include being particularistic, descriptive, heuristic, and inductive This study has distinct qualities, specifically being descriptive and heuristic in nature The study can be classified as descriptive in nature, as it provides additional insights into the manner in which teachers exercise their individual agency, collective agency, and the dynamics of their interactions The description is derived from three primary sources, namely documents, semi-structured interviews, and observations The data obtained from the aforementioned sources facilitates a more profound understanding of teacher agency in the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum The study can be characterized as heuristic due to its ability to offer a more profound understanding of teacher agency This understanding is derived from an analysis of several sources of data, including teachers' viewpoints and their actual teaching practices within their respective school environments In addition to the descriptive nature, the study employed an interpretivist ontology which permits a more comprehensive examination of the subjective significance derived from the participants' individual experiences and perspectives For instance, interpretivism could potentially provide an explanation for the divergent responses exhibited by educators when confronted with a specific technical issue Furthermoere, interpretivism is a research approach that aims to interpret and comprehend the classroom environment and academic life in primary schools in BRVT Province This is done by conducting qualitative investigations into the experiences and viewpoints of teachers By employing this methodology, it becomes feasible to record the verbal and behavioral actions of participants inside their respective domains, so gaining a more profound comprehension of the phenomenon at hand This enables researchers to address their study inquiries and achieve their research goals Hence, the research study would be most effectively conducted by employing the qualitative strategy, which relies on inductive reasoning

Case study was defined as an empirical method that explored a temporary phenomenon thoroughly in the real-world setting (Yin, 1981) Conducting a case study helped researchers to deepen their comprehension of an issue and the contextual factors may have a deep involvement with their understanding of a case (Yin & Davis, 2007) Case study allowed researchers to carry out deep exploration of an individual, activity or event through rich data collection (Creswell, 2007) Yin (2008) shared the same view with Creswell (2007) that researchers could seek to explore deeply into the case by collecting multiple resources of data Merriam (1998) was in agreement with Creswell (2007) and Yin (2008)’s views that case study could be considered as an exploration process in which it could offer a profound insight into the case Case study in education often studied teachers or students to obtain information in order to draw meaningful comparisons across the cases (Creswell, 2014) According to Huberman and Miles (1994), a case can be defined as a phenomenon that takes place inside a specific and limited environment A case can be a thing, a person, a particular policy, etc (Merriam, 2001) Therefore, the case in this study is four primary English teachers of Grades

1 and 2 from two primary schools in BRVT province

The ability to look at the same phenomenon from many perspectives is made possible by triangulating data from various sources A case study entails lengthy explanations and triangulation of data Thick description enables in-depth examination of case profiles, for example, by building case histories of participants' personal backgrounds, education, and work experience (Duff, 2008) Therefore, a large data should be collected through main tools such as documents, interviews, and observations

In the current study, case study shed light on the ways teachers enacted their individual agency and collective agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Every teacher demonstrated his or her own ways of enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, their collective agency as well their individual participation in collective actions in the Getting-to-know-English curriculum implementation together with the interplay between their individual agency and collective agency Nevertheless, the multifaceted and changing nature of teacher agency enactment may not be adequately depicted in a single case study (Yin, 2012) In-depth research is typically conducted on individual cases in order to gain a better understanding of individuals' experiences, obstacles, insights, developmental trajectories, or performance in a natural setting

As a result, this study makes use of four case studies, each of which contributes to the development of an understanding of the phenomenon being researched from a variety of viewpoints within the context of its sociocultural setting In other words, teacher agency enactment is examined from many perspectives in this study, which employs multiple case studies to capture a wide range of perspectives (Yin, 2012) Additionally, the research encompassed many data collection techniques, which were employed to triangulate the data for a more robust and comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon Triangulation serves as a methodological approach to enhance the comprehensiveness and depth of the description of a given phenomenon

Specifically, the analysis procedure for multiple cases is that each case would be analyzed separately, followed by the cross-case analysis to pinpoint the typical and dissimilar themes across the cases (Stake, 1995) According to Duff (2014), four to six cases are adequate for Ph.D dissertation with the multi-case method Therefore, the study examined four cases at two primary schools to look into their agency in the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum More specifically, the case for this study is primary English teachers of Grades 1 and 2 The study examined the life and professional histories of teachers, the present working environment of teachers (cultural, structural, and materials), and their short-term and long-term orientations to gain further insight into the influence of the aforementioned factors on how they implemented the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Also, the ways they enacted their individual agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, collective agency, and the bilateral interactions between individual agency and collective agency were also investigated.

Research setting

The study was carried out at two primary schools in Ba Ria Vung Tau province (BRVT) The researcher utilized purposive sampling as a method to carefully pick a sample that would be most effective in addressing the research questions Two research sites were chosen as it helped the researcher to examine how English for Grades 1 and 2 was taught across the province Choosing different schools enabled the researcher to examine the difference between the ways teachers enacted the Getting-to-know-English curriculum at a top school and a rather new school The reason for choosing two primary schools in BRVT province is because the researcher is a local resident in this area which is helpful in understanding the cultural and structural values that are present in the local school contexts

In addition, being a local researcher enables her to make contact with the local Department of Education and Training (DOET) and ask for their research approval to the elementary schools Because of this, the researcher is able to more easily gain access to the research locations and research participants, which greatly facilitates the procedure of data collecting In addition to this, being a local researcher makes it easier for her to gain the trust of the school administrators and the participating teachers To be more specific, the researcher generally has casual chats with the participating teachers during the break periods in order to acquire an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of the students, the special aspects of the schools, and how they implemented the Getting-to-know-English curriculum In addition, the researcher opens up to the participating teachers about her personal life, as well as her previous experiences in the classroom with the goal of developing a close relationship with them

Being a resident of the area as well as a researcher comes with a number of advantages; nevertheless, it also has some disadvantages To begin, it was extremely difficult to conduct in-depth interviews because the participating teachers were not accustomed to discussing their experiences with the researcher This created a significant barrier to communication between the two parties Second, because the participating teachers only had a short amount of time after each teaching period, it was challenging for the researcher to schedule interviews with them and ask them additional questions concerning their teaching practices The subsequent section provides a depiction of the research sites

3.3.1 Tran Hung Dao primary school

Tran Hung Dao primary school (THD) (pseudonym) is located in Ward 8, which is in Vung Tau city, BRVT province It is a relatively new school with twelve-year establishment history In the school year 2014-2015, the school met the National Standard Primary School at the second level The school has five full-time teachers of English and two part-time ones are employed from a foreign language center to deliver the lessons to students of Grades 1 and 2, with 2 periods per week Every class has an average of 40 to 45 students Each classroom is equipped with a smart television and a speaker Teachers are self-equipped with personal laptops, flashcards, realia, etc due to the insufficient teaching resources Teachers are recommended to organize flexible teaching activities due to the limited classroom space Teachers are encouraged to apply technological information into the English lessons to evoke students’ engagement into the lessons and help students achieve their learning outcomes

Bong Sao primary school (BS) (pseudonym) is ranked among the top schools within the province It is one of the largest schools within the city limit This school has been awarded Certificate of Merit for excellent results in teaching and learning, especially in the academic year 2001-2002, the school was recognized as National Standard Primary School In addition, the school was honored to receive Third-Class Labor Order in the academic year 2008-2009 awarded by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Additionally, the school has a great number of students achieving the flying colors in Grade 6 entrance test and has provincial and national excellent students in Maths In the school year 2014-2015, the school met the National Standard Primary School at the first level and Education Quality Standard at the third level

In 2015-2016, the school was recognized as the top performing school of BRVT province and awarded the Government's Emulation Flag All of the teachers reached the national standard requirements and 98% of the teachers has higher level of teachers’ quality standards The school has outstanding achievements in Outstanding Teachers’ Competition and many teachers won the title of Excellent Teachers at the city, provincial and national levels The school is well equipped Each classroom is provided with interactive television, Bluetooth speakers and interactive whiteboards Teachers of English are provided with various teaching resources such as flashcards, realia, pictures, etc to facilitate their teaching Teachers are encouraged to bring a fun and interesting learning environments for their students to foster students’ communicative competence and to develop the curriculum reform

The inclusion of two primary schools from distinct locations within the BRVT province is crucial for this research, as it allows for an examination of how the Getting-to- know-English curriculum is executed throughout the entire province Furthermore, the choice of a prestigious educational institution yielded insights into the optimal execution of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, whilst a typical school gave valuable data pertaining to the potential obstacles encountered by teachers in the process of implementing this curriculum The examination of administrative regions facilitates the exploration of distinct leadership responsibilities based on geographical distinctions The schools that have been chosen are depicted in the following manner:

Table 3.1 Description of the schools Pseudonym Full- time English teachers

Part- time English teachers of Grades

- In the school year 2014-2015, the school met the National Standard Primary School at the second level

Pseudonym English teachers Part- time English teachers of Grades

Bong Sao primary school 10 2 30 - one of the top schools

-2001-2002: Certificate of Merit for excellent results in teaching and learning

- 2014-2015: the school met the National Standard Primary School at the first level and Education Quality Standard at the third level

-2015-2016: the top performing school of BRVT province and awarded the Government's Emulation Flag

Participants of the study

Purposive sampling was utilized in the current study to choose the participating teachers Creswell (2014) defined purposive sampling as a strategy in which a group of people was intentionally chosen for the purpose of examining the research problem In line with Creswell (2014), Patton (1990) proposed that purposive sampling was deployed to gain rich data and chose cases that met the predetermined criterion Purposive sampling gave opportunities for the researchers to choose the participants that possessed certain characteristics or processes that they were interested in (Silverman, 2013) For the purpose of the study, four English teachers of Grades 1 or 2 at two primary schools in BRVT province were purposively selected to participate in the study In order to choose the sample, the researcher based on certain criteria: They were English teachers of Grades 1 and 2 who: (1) had one-year teaching experience of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, (2) went through the textbook training for Grades 1 and 2, (3) participated in the professional training program provided by the DOET These criteria reflect the purpose of the study The first criterion shows the intention of exploring the reflection of the teachers who put the Getting- to-know-English curriculum into practice as these teachers could provide further information relevant to the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum compared to those who have never taught it before The second criterion illustrates teachers’ knowledge of the objectives, learning outcomes, and the new aspects of the textbook for Grades 1 and 2 The third criterion demonstrates teachers’ theoretical and practical knowledge of the new general education curriculum in general, the Getting-to-know-English curriculum in particular, and their collaboration with colleagues at the inter-school level to design lesson plans for Grades

Therefore, the researcher contacted the official of the Graduate School of HCMC Open University (HCMC OU) to require their assistance by asking them to provide a letter of recommendation to collect data at these primary schools Besides, the researcher met the official of the DET and made efforts to explain the aims, significance of the study, contribution of the study, and kinds of participating teachers involved in the study After receiving the approval note from the DET official, the researcher contacted two school principals of primary schools in BRVT province to ask for their permission to get into their schools and acquire data for the study Four participating teachers of the two primary school in BRVT province were chosen by the researcher and came to an agreement to take part in the research (Table 3.2) The researcher then approached them in person and gave detailed explanations of the aims of the study, the importance of the study, and its contributions to their teaching practices and made essential attempts to establish a good rapport with the participating teachers Setting up an excellent relationship with the participants helped the researcher to have better understanding of the world of the participants (Kawulich, 2004)

3.4.2 Participants’ demographic information and qualifications

Table 3.2 Description of participants Pseudonym Gender Age Years of teaching experience

1 Hoa Female 34 10 1, 2 College degree BS

2 Hang Female 27 5 1 to 5 College degree BS

3 Huong Female 36 14 1, 2 College degree THD

4 Nhi Female 25 2 1, 2 College degree THD

Hoa (pseudonym) is working as a part-time teacher at Vietnamese American school (VAS) and a full-time teacher at Natural English school (NES) – a foreign language center She has worked full-time at NES for 8 years and become a part-time teacher at VAS for 2 years NES collaborates with BS to teach young learners of Grades 1 and 2, therefore, NES sent its teachers to BS to deliver the English lessons for young learners She graduated from

Ba Ria Vung Tau College of Education (BVCE) majoring in teaching English to secondary school students and achieved the certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages from Ba Ria Vung Tau University (BVU) At the age of 34, Hoa has ten-year experience in teaching adults and teenagers at NES, and two-year experience in teaching primary school students at VAS and NES

Hang (pseudonym) is a very active and young teacher working full-time at a foreign language center called Natural English school (NES) Similar to Hoa, she has been sent to Bong Sao primary school to teach young learners of Grades 1 and 2 since 2020 She completed the college degree in teaching English at BVCE At the time of the interview, she was 27 and had varied teaching experience, starting from teenagers and adults at NES to primary school students at BS At the age of 27, she was eager to find a stable job in a public secondary school, but her college degree hindered her capability of applying for the full-time teacher position She really enjoys teaching communication English to adults and teenagers

Huong (pseudonym) earned the college degree at BVCE in 2009 and taught secondary school students from that time until now She used to participate in the education officer exam as she believed that working for a public secondary school would give her much time to take care of her children and the whole family Having failed the exam, she applied for a full-time teaching position at a foreign language center called “Fansipan” and has worked here for 8 years and the center sent her to work as a part-time teacher and taught students of Grades 1 and 2 at THD She had worked at this primary schools for 3 years

Nhi (pseudonym) is the youngest of the four participating teachers who have just graduated from the BRVT College of Education in 2020, and then applied for a full-time job at Fansipan and has two-year teaching experience for young learners of Grades 1 and 2 at THD, starting from the introduction of the Getting-to-know-English for Grades 1 and 2 As a very young and inexperienced teacher teaching English for students at a public primary school, she followed the school administration and tried her best to observe other English teachers’ classes to gain hands-on teaching experience in English and homeroom teacher to acquire classroom management skills.

Data collection instruments for the main study

The main instruments to gain data for the study are observations and interviews Interviews and observations are used in conjunction with one another to supply further information and explanation for the participants' talk In addition, documents were also employed to provide the background information for the current study Multiple sources of data should be obtained for the purpose of validating data and ensure the reliability of data (Richards et al., 2011) The details of each instrument are described as follows:

Documents were used to lay the basic foundation for the current study Documents referred to a sort of data containing visible, real and written materials which are not difficult to get access to, ready to use and closely connected with the study (Merriam, 1998) Documents could be classified into two main types: private and public documents (Creswell, 2014) The former referred to individual journals, diaries, notes, letters, etc The latter included official memos, meeting reports, etc Examples of public and private records were website data and email comments The purpose of documents is to enable researchers to further understand the issue in qualitative research

Documents can serve as a tool to help researchers have a better understanding of an issue and make substantial contributions to the facets of the study in the beginning stages of the study (Lampard & Pole, 2002) There is no doubt that documents lay the basic foundation for identifying the gaps between what is required in the documents delivered by the government, MOET, DOET, DET and what is implemented in the classrooms Based on the theoretical framework of the study, teachers’ individual agency may be shown through their acceptance, adaptation or resistance to the mandated curriculum of the Getting-to-know- English curriculum for Grade 1 and 2

Documents help the researcher to gain better insight into the mandated policies of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum, teaching and learning materials, teachers’ teaching practices in their own classrooms Additionally, along with interviews and observations, documents provide background information about the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for the researcher to answer the research questions

The study analyzed the public and private documents The public documents contain documents released by the government, MOET, DOET, and DET The private documents include teaching procedure (curriculum map, teachers’ lesson plans, textbooks, and teaching materials Documents given by MOET consisting of the circulars, decrees, decisions which provide descriptions about the guidelines for implementing the new general education curriculum, textbook selection, teaching resources, assessment methods, educational plan, classrooms, external teaching materials In terms of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grades 1 and 2, MOET offers documents concerning textbooks, teaching facilities, plan for preparing English teachers, training sessions, and the guidelines for the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Additionally, documents regarding the guidelines for textbook selection of the Getting-to-know-English for Grade 1 and Grade 2 given by the DOET were also analyzed in this study In addition, the implementation guidelines for

Getting-to-know-English for Grade 1 and Grade 2 were also issued by the DET Last but not least, individual documents included copies of teachers’ lesson plans, their teaching materials of each primary school, the syllabus, and English textbooks were acquired in the study

Table 3.3: Vietnamese documents relevant to this study

H13 The renovation of curriculum and textbook in general education Government

H14 The adjustment in the process of curriculum and textbook implementation according to Resolution 88/2014/QH13

T-BGDDT The new general education curriculum MOET

The guidelines for implementation of the new general education curriculum MOET

DT-GDTH The guidelines for implementation of the Getting- to-know-English for Grade 1 and Grade 2 MOET 371/BGD ĐT-NGCBQL

Guidelines for preparing teachers of English and information technology at primary school starting from 2022-2023

The guidelines for teaching English for Grade 1 and Information Technology in the new general education curriculum at primary level

Textbooks for English Grade 1 MOET

DDT Teaching facilities for Grade 1 MOET

The instructions for buying, using and protecting teaching facilities for foreign language in general education

GDDT Instructions on textbook selection in general education MOET

T-BGDDT The rules of using teaching resources in pre- school, high school, and vocational education MOET 27/2020/T

T-BGDDT The guidelines for assessing primary students MOET

The guidelines for implementing the educational plan of primary schools MOET

T-BGDĐT Regulation on classrooms in general education MOET

BGDĐT Plan for training sessions for teachers of English in general education MOET

3401/BGD ĐT-GDTH Textbooks and external teaching materials at primary school MOET

SGDĐT The guidelines for selecting English textbooks for

SGDĐT English textbooks for Grade 1 of primary schools across BRVT province DOET

SGDĐT The guidelines for selecting English textbooks for

Table 3.4 Private documents examined in the study

Interviews enabled people to express their perspectives and speak in their own voices (Berg, 2007) Three main types of interviews are structured, unstructured, and semi- structured interviews Data collected from semi-structured interviews are commonly used in the qualitative research, particularly in case study research (Creswell, 2014) Additionally, semi-structured interviews were used in the present study due to the fact that semi-structured interviews offer greater flexibility than the other two forms as the researcher can refer to a list of pre-prepared questions According to Rubin and Rubin (2012), semi-structured interviews offered chances for the researcher to propose necessary modifications to the respondents’ responses and ask further questions to answer the research questions Semi-structured interviews facilitate researchers in expanding upon participants' responses by posing follow- up questions that are crucial for addressing the research questions and for promptly clarifying meanings Furthermore, semi-structured interviews facilitate the researcher in obtaining profound and thorough insights from the participants In the current study, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Vietnamese to avoid any ambiguities that may occur during the interview process and help the participants to feel at ease and confident when responding to questions from the researchers in their mother language There were three types of interviews used in the study: preliminary interviews, pilot interviews, and actual interviews

Preliminary interviews with two primary school English teachers were conducted first to collect teachers’ ideas concerning the way they enacted their individual agency and collective agency as well as the interplay between individual agency and collective agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Two primary school English teachers from two primary schools in BRVT province were selected to participate in the preliminary interviews They were teaching Grades 1 and 2 The first preliminary interviews were conducted in July and August 2021 The interviews laid the basic foundation to collect teachers’ ideas concerning (1) the ways individual teachers implemented the Getting-to- know-English curriculum in six aspects namely teaching methods, teaching activities, teaching content, teaching materials, assessment methods, and lesson planning, and the influence of the iterational (life histories, professional histories), practical-evaluative (cultural, structural, and materials), and projective dimensions of agency (short-term and long-term orientation) on how teachers enacted their individual agency of implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, (2) the forms and content of teachers in the collective actions, and the influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions of agency on teacher collaboration in putting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice, (3) the influence of collective actions on individual teachers’ teaching practices, and (4) the content and frequency of individual teachers’ contribution to the collective actions The participating teachers in the preliminary interviews did not participate in the official study Preliminary interviews (Appendix 3) were carried out in Vietnamese to make sure that teachers easily express themselves concerning the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Teachers’ ideas were carefully recorded for the future investigation

The pilot interviews were then conducted to examine primary school English teachers’ reflections on their implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum The interviews were recorded to assist the researcher in paying close attention to the participants' perspectives, soliciting more responses from the participants, and assuring the accuracy of the data The questions in the pilot interviews were developed based on the literature review and the result of preliminary interviews (Appendix 4) Patton (2002) suggested six types of questions that are commonly used in the qualitative research: behavior/experience, opinion/value, feeling, knowledge, sensory, and demographic/background The question types deployed in the current study were mainly two types: demographic/background (focusing on teachers’ personal information and their general knowledge towards the Getting- to-know-English curriculum) and behavior/experience (focusing on teachers’ individual and collective agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and the interplay between them)

The pilot interview questions were conducted with two primary school English teachers of different primary schools from the main sample They were not the teachers who participated in the preliminary interviews These teachers would not participate in the official study Additionally, the pilot interview questions were shared and checked with the supervisors Constructive suggestions from the primary school English teachers and supervisors with regard to the clarity and content of the interview questions were carefully noted, and the researcher made adjustments to the interview questions before they were officially delivered The interview questions used in this pilot study were the same ones that would be used in the actual interviews before conducting observations

The pilot interviews provided further information about aspects or questions that needed to be changed For example, the ways teachers enacted their individual agency in six aspects namely teaching methods, teaching activities, teaching content, teaching materials, assessment methods, and lesson planning integrated into four aspects namely teaching methods, teaching content, assessment methods, and lesson planning as teaching methods were shown through teaching activities and teachers’ teaching materials could be observed through teaching content There were three other factors reviewed in the literature review and found in the preliminary interviews impacting how teachers enacted their individual agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, that is, students’ backgrounds, curriculum policies, and the professional development program Additionally, the ways teachers participated in the collective actions were also examined This study also examined the impact of teacher cooperation with colleagues on their individual agency enactment, as well as the factors that drove teacher collaboration The study also examined teachers' individual contributions to the collective actions, as well as factors that affected these individual contributions The frequency of individual teachers’ contribution was replaced by the role due to its essential part in the collective actions while the frequency paid minor role in such actions Additionally, several changes were made to the word choice of certain questions to clarify the content of the interview questions

The purpose of actual interviews is to examine primary school English teachers’ individual agency, collective agency enactment towards the Getting-to-know-English curriculum as well as the bilateral interactions between them There were four interviews to examine teachers’ individual agency enactment conducted in the study: interview 1 (before observation), interview 2 to 4 (after observations) Each interview lasted more than an hour and took place at the office during the break time due to the teachers’ busy schedule The researcher recorded the interviews by using audio tapes so that she could watch again to look for the main themes of the study.

3.5.2.3.1 Interviews before observing teachers’ individual agency in enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

At the onset of the study, the researcher introduced information about herself, the purpose of the study, and the contribution of the participating teachers to the study In the next stage, the first individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participating teachers before the researcher carried out observations with the aim of gaining their demographic/background information (Appendix 5) The prepared questions utilized in the semi-structured interviews were created from the pilot interviews and literature review to lay the basic foundation for the researcher’s knowledge of the ways teachers enacted individual agency, collective agency as well as the bilateral interactions between them

In interview 1, there were three main sections: the participating teachers’ personal information, their knowledge of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, teachers’ collective agency and their individual participation in the collective activities in enacting the Getting- to-know-English curriculum, with 25 questions The first section required the participating teachers to provide their demographic/background information including age, years of teaching English, teaching experience for Grades 1 and 2, their knowledge of the Getting-to- know-English curriculum in order to create a relaxing atmosphere for the participating teachers and gain certain information about teachers (Questions 1 to 6)

The second section aimed at probing the teachers’ experience on their individual agency enactment of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum with a focus on four aspects namely teaching methods, teaching content, assessment methods, and lesson planning and factors impacted their individual agency (Questions 7 to 16) The third section aimed to elicit teachers’ reflections on their collective actions in enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum (Questions 17 to 20) The teacher respondents also provided information concerning the influence of collective actions on their individual teaching practices in enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum (Questions 21 to 23) Lastly, they were asked to recall their individual contributions to the collective actions in enacting the Getting- to-know-English curriculum (Questions 24 and 25) All of the items in the first semi- structured interviews were open-ended questions

3.5.2.3.2 Interviews after observing teachers’ individual agency in enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

Data collection procedures

The data was collected in five stages, from March 2021 to November 2022 The data collection procedure is presented in Figure 3.1 The first stage lasted from March 2021 to June

2021 Policy documents were obtained from the government to the DET These decisions, decrees, circular, guidelines on the Getting-to-know-English curriculum can be found in the official websites of the government, MOET, the DOET, and the DET The majority of the policy documents was in Vietnamese, some were in English The four circulars are of pivotal importance with regard to the Getting-to-know-English curriculum within the new general education curriculum namely: Circular 32, directive 681 given by MOET on guidelines of implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grades 1 and 2 and two other Circulars (Circulars 27 and 816) delivered by the MOET concerning the instructions of enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grade 1 in the local school contexts (Table 3.3)

The second stage lasted one month, from July 2021 to August 2021 Along with information from the literature review, preliminary interviews with two teachers from BRVT province was organized to collect teachers’ ideas which were used to formulate the pilot interview questions The third stage lasted one month, from September 2021 to October 2021 The researcher conducted pilot interviews with two primary school English teachers These participating teachers did not involve in the official study

The fourth stage lasted one month, from May 2022 to June 2022 The researcher carried out the first individual semi-structured interviews with four primary school English teachers before the researcher conducted observations in their classrooms to examine teachers’ demographic information including their age, educational backgrounds, teaching experiences, short-term and long-term goals In addition, teachers were asked to reflect on their collective experiences in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency to give impetus or hindrance to teacher agency enactment as a whole

The fifth stage lasted three months, from September 2022 to November 2022 There were twelve classroom observations of teachers’ individual agency in their classes Each participating teacher was observed three times with a total of twelve observations of four teachers Firstly, the researcher conducted observations of teachers’ individual agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum focusing on three main aspects namely teaching methods, teaching content, and assessment methods three times The participating teachers were then asked to watch the videos of their teaching sessions and reflect on their individual practices, and answer questions related to the emerging issues arising from the researcher’s prior observations in their own classrooms The purpose of this stage is to help the researcher to gain a deep insight into teachers’ individual agency enactment Information about lesson planning was taken from the participating teachers after the researcher made observation of their own classes Teachers’ lesson planning was not observed as the researcher could only see the teaching procedure of the lesson through observing teachers’ classes Therefore, the participating teachers were asked to provide their lesson planning after they taught the lessons

The first observations were taken in September 2022 (at the start of the semester) and note-taking was deployed in this case to note down the significant problems arising from the teachers’ teaching lessons in their own classroom contexts and enabled the researcher to conduct the second interview with the participating teachers concerning the emerging issues in their real teaching practices Questions in the third and fourth follow-up interviews were based on issues identified in the second and third observations and focus on the emerging issues originated from the observations with an aim to examine the way teachers enacted their individual agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum The second observations were made in October 2022, then the third interviews were conducted to examine the emerging issues arising from the second observations The last observations were conducted in November 2022 to investigate the enactment of individual teacher agency towards the Getting-to-know-English curriculum over a semester which was followed by the fourth follow-up interviews with regard to problems in their real teaching practices

Secondly, teachers in the collective actions and individual teachers’ participation in the collective actions in the peer observation discussions concerning lessons of Grades 1 and

2 were observed during a semester ranging from September 2022 to November 2022 via the three rounds of observations in each school (6 observations in total) There was a monthly peer observation discussion at the primary school in which teachers shared their ideas, thoughts, and received feedback from their peers concerning the participating teachers’ lessons as well as their peers’ lessons Unlike the classroom observations of teachers’ individual teaching practices, the peer observation discussions were organized after the participating teachers made observation of their colleagues’ lessons as well as the participating teachers’ peers observed their lessons with the intention of enhancing the quality of the teaching lessons for teachers Through the peer observation discussions, the researcher could identify the content of teacher collaboration in exchanging feedback about the lessons of Grades 1 and 2 such as teaching content, teaching methods, teaching activities, assessment methods, teaching materials, and lesson planning Plus, the ways teachers made contribution to the collective actions, particularly the peer observation discussions were also noted down More specifically, teachers might contribute their individual ideas concerning their peers’ lessons with a focus on certain aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum namely teaching content, teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson planning Additionally, the participating teachers could exchange information about interesting issues to them

The first round of observation was conducted in September 2022, noted down to examine the content of teachers in the collective actions and individual teachers’ contribution to the collective actions in exchanging feedback with their colleagues relevant to the lessons of Grades 1 and 2 and enabled the researcher to undertake the first interview concerning issues arising from the first round of observation The second round of observation was conducted in October of 2022, followed by the second interviews aimed at exploring the emergent issues that arose from the second round of observation In November 2022, the third round of observation was held to examine the implementation of collective agency among teachers and the individual contributions made by teachers to collective actions This was followed by a third round of interview aimed at identifying the emergent issues from the third round of observation

More specifically, the content of teachers in the collective actions and individual teachers’ contributions to the collective actions were observed through their collaboration with their colleagues in the peer observation discussions for the purpose of discovering the content of teachers’ collective actions, the role and content of individual teachers’ participation in the collective actions in the Getting-to-know-English curriculum operation Individual semi-structured interviews were also carried out after the researcher’s prior observations with the intention of probing teachers’ opinions on issues arising from the observations in the peer observation discussions

In order to explore the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency to give impetus or hindrance to teacher agency enactment as a whole, videos of individual teachers’ teaching practices were shown to the participating teachers and the interview round 2, 3, 4 were conducted on three aspects of teachers’ individual agency enactment namely teaching methods, teaching content, and assessment methods to determine the influence of teachers’ collective actions on teachers’ individual agency enactment in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum The researcher did not make observation of teachers’ lesson planning as the researcher could only see teachers’ teaching procedure through their lessons The interviews were also conducted after the observations in the peer observation discussions to discover the contribution of individual teachers to the collective actions

Data analysis methodology

With the aim of analyzing data collected from documents, interviews, and observations, the current study employed thematic analysis It was used to examine teachers’

- Twelve interviews with four participating teachers after classroom observations

Preliminary interviews with primary school English teachers

Pilot interviews with two primary school English teachers

First individual interviews with four primary school English teachers before observations

- Six interviews with teachers after peer observation discussions

Collective agency individual agency and collective agency as well as the interplay between them in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

Thematic analysis is an effective method for analyzing data gained from documents, interview transcriptions, and observation field notes Data collected from these sources could be narrowed down into themes based on the conceptual framework of the current study Essentially, the practice of analyzing obtained data by categorizing (coding) data into themes is referred to as thematic analysis Thematic coding aids in the organization of data at a finer level (Creswell, 2014) In the present study, data were coded into themes provided by the conceptual framework presented in Chapter two and derived from the data acquired through documents, interviews and observations

As suggested by Creswell (2014), thematic analysis is a form of content analysis which enables the researcher to delve deeply into the meaning of data According to Brawn and Clarke (2006), thematic analysis is regarded as one of the most common tools to provide data in a comprehensive way which helps the researcher to identify, analyze, and report themes within data In order to analyze data, Brawn and Clarke (2006) suggested six phases of thematic analysis including: familiarizing with data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report

In the first phase of thematic analysis, the researcher read the documents related to implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum to have the general overview about the content for interviews and observations Then, the researcher listened to the interviews many times and the interviews were carefully transcribed After that, only the Vietnamese transcripts were sent to the participating teachers for member checking so that the researcher could make sure that the information was not misunderstood and ensure the trustworthiness of the qualitative findings (Creswell, 2014) Then, the participating teachers gave comments on the transcripts and the researcher continued to read the transcripts many times The transcripts were translated into English and were checked again with two lecturers of English majoring in Translation and Interpretation of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education (HCMC UE) to ensure the accurate translation of the English version

Then, the transcriptions of interviews and notes of observations were carefully read to help the researcher get familiar with the data and take note initial ideas The themes were based on the conceptual framework of the study which involved the enactment of teachers’ individual agency and collective agency, and the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency To put in another way, patterns of the enactment of teachers’ individual agency (acceptance, resistance, and adaptation) were adequately shown in four main aspects namely teaching methods, teaching content, assessment methods, and lesson planning The ways individual teachers enacted their agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum were shaped by the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions of agency In addition, the influence of collective actions on individual agency were also examined More specifically, the ways teacher collaboration facilitated or hindered teachers’ individual teaching practices were also examined Finally, The role and content of individual teachers’ participation in the collective actions was looked into Individual teachers’ participation in the collective actions was demonstrated through peer observation discussions which was driven by the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions of agency

In the second phase, the researcher generated initial codes Specifically, the codes were generated and interesting aspects in the data were identified which aimed to form the patterns across the entire data set and assisted in collating data related to each code In the third phase of thematic analysis, codes were collated into potential themes and themes could be classified into the overarching themes and sub-themes Teachers’ individual agency and collective agency as well as the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency were recognized as the main themes in the current study Other themes related to the enactment of teachers’ individual agency in four aspects namely teaching methods, teaching content, assessment methods, and lesson planning and teachers’ collective agency in peer observation discussions was organized into sub-themes These themes were based on the conceptual framework of the study Thematic analysis was also used to examine individual teachers’ participation in the collective actions in the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Data gained from thematic analysis enabled the researcher to gain a deeper understanding of the role and content of individual teachers’ participation in the collective actions in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum

In the next phase of analysis, the researcher reviewed the themes to make sure that these themes form a coherent pattern across the entire data set Phase five began when the researcher defined and named the themes The themes were carefully analyzed and the connections between the themes were also taken into consideration to answer the research questions In the last phase of analysis, the researcher created the report with the selected extracts, relating the themes with the research questions and literature review.

Validity and reliability

In this study, the qualitative validity and reliability is of pivotal importance in qualitative research to ensure the credibility and accuracy of research findings (Creswell, 2014) Validity refers to the accuracy of findings (Gibbs, 2007) In order to assess the accuracy of findings and convince the readers of that findings, the current study employed two strategies: triangulation and member checking (Creswell, 2014) In addition to the two afore-mentioned strategies, thick description of the findings can be identified in the study to ensure its validity

Triangulation refers to a method which multiple resources of data are deployed to form coherent explanations for themes (Creswell, 2014) He added that the researcher looked for evidence from multiple sources of data to form themes or patterns which enabled them to triangulate the data set and confirm validity to the findings As proposed by Bogdan and Biklen (2007), triangulation helped the researcher to acquire better understanding of the phenomenon compared to a single source of data Different methods of data collection were employed in the current study containing policy documents, semi-structured interviews, and observations These types of data complemented each other to highlight teacher agency enactment towards the Getting-to-know-English curriculum across different primary schools For instance, analysis of policy documents provided background information concerning the curriculum policies, semi-structured interviews conducted before the observations equipped the researcher with teachers’ demographic information and their collective experiences of enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Additionally, semi-structured interviews were carried out after the researcher’s prior observations to gain in-depth insights into the ways individual teachers enacted their agency in their classrooms Plus, semi-structured interviews were also made after the researcher’s observations of teachers’ meetings to identify the influence of collective actions on teachers’ individual agency enactment

In addition to triangulation, member checking was also used to ensure the accuracy of findings It is regarded as the most essential technique to provide validity to the findings as proposed by Lincoln and Guba (1985) The notion of member checking means data, analysis, interpretations and conclusions were sent back to the participants for the purpose of enabling them to assess the credibility and accuracy of the account (Creswell, 2014) The participants should play an active part in the case study research and should be given opportunities to examine drafts of data and show critical reflections about the credibility of the account

In this current study, the interview transcripts were given to the participating teachers to check and give comments After receiving the feedback and suggestions from these teachers, the researcher translated the interview transcripts into English Then, the English version of the interview transcripts were delivered to two lecturers of English majoring in Translation and Interpretation of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education (HCMC UE) who had extensive experiences in translation to assess the exactness of the English version The researcher took into consideration their suggestions and comments and made necessary alterations if necessary with the interview transcripts and the two lecturers agreed that the English version of the transcripts was suitable to address the research questions Additionally, the findings were shared with the participating teachers to call for their comprehensive explanations which aimed to interpret the data from the participants’ perspectives and promote the validity of the findings Furthermore, sharing the findings with the participants helped the researcher to fully understand their views in the interviews

Further elaboration on the study's findings (thick description) may be included to bolster the study’s validity, in conjunction with the aforementioned two strategies Researchers have shown a growing preference for thick description It enables them to produce detailed and thorough explanations of intricate social processes The primary advantage of qualitative inquiry lies in its ability to provide in-depth understanding of a specific phenomenon through the examination of a limited number of cases Qualitative researchers aim to comprehend the world via the viewpoints of its participants Furthermore, qualitative inquiry prioritizes the manner in which research is carried out within study contexts, rather than the specific methodologies employed Its main objective is to capture and analyze the comprehensive, multifaceted, and dynamic aspect of reality In other words, context in which their research takes place A detailed description provides a thorough comprehension of the sociocultural context in which the research is carried out Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the wider framework of the research and ensuring accuracy in presenting the results without any distortions or inaccuracies in the context is of utmost importance, therefore rendering this information highly significant

Along with validity, reliability referred to the researcher's use of acceptable and dependable research methods and processes in case study research (Scapens, 2004) More specifically, in order to answer the research questions how primary school English teachers enacted their individual agency and collective agency in implementing the Getting-to-know- English curriculum together with the bilateral interactions between teachers’ individual agency and collective agency to give impetus or hindrance to teacher agency enactment as a whole, the current study used case study design There should be alignment between the research questions and the study design (Yin, 2014) Additionally, data collection procedures were clearly presented in the study in which all evidence was collected in consistent and thorough field notes As a result, the reliability of the study’s findings was established and another individual could at least theoretically analyze what was done

Translation is also a factor that enhances the reliability of the research An important aspect to be examined in this study is the methodology used for translation More specifically, the direct expressions of the participants from the interview data varied from one another The majority of the expressions were informal and incorporated Vietnamese dialectal characteristics The researcher consistently endeavored to ensure that the original message was given the appropriate consideration when translating the quotations to ensure that the two languages maintained the same level of meaning Where lexical equivalency between the two languages could not be established, the message's meaning was considered over lexis or sentence form To guarantee the accuracy of the English translation, the transcripts were translated into English and subsequently reviewed by two English academics at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education (HCMC UE) who specialize in Translation and Interpretation.

The role of the researcher in the study

Researchers have the option to adopt either the perspective of insiders or outsiders Insiders are researchers who are already part of the community, whereas outsiders are researchers who are unfamiliar with that group and may need a considerable amount of time to understand it (Adler & Adler, 1994) In this study, the researcher adopted the position of an insider

As a local resident and teacher of English at BRVT province, the researcher has possessed extensive firsthand knowledge as an insider in the field of English education, which is the focus of my research project The researcher possesses direct personal experience about many benefits and drawbacks associated with teaching in BRVT Province, which is the location of this research study Due to this, the researcher is able to ask well-informed and focused questions related to the field of English teaching The insider position gives the researcher chances to control the whole data collecting procedure Given the researcher's minimal experience instructing English at the elementary level, her perspective can be categorized as that of a semi-insider rather than a complete insider However, being an insider also has drawbacks, such as the potential loss of objectivity, which can lead to biased assumptions during interviews (Hewitt-Taylor, 2002) The researcher was motivated to create a semi-structured interview format and include a series of open-ended questions, as a result of the identification of personal bias Subsequently, the researcher employed these open- ended queries to collect a variety of viewpoints in the most impartial manner.

Ethical considerations

Corbin and Morse (2003) emphasize the significance of ensuring that research participants encounter favorable results while facing low emotional and social hazards The data collection approach for this research was to create a friendly and non-threatening environment to promote a fair and collaborative relationship between the researcher and the teachers involved The congenial ambiance promotes a culture of transparency, enabling individuals to openly articulate their feelings and share information The exploration of power dynamics aims to reduce the perceived gap and aloofness between researchers and participants, by establishing an inclusive and non-threatening atmosphere All ethical considerations arising from existing power dynamics have been comprehensively assessed

With regard to data protection and privacy, pseudonyms were allocated to the research participants and the school setting to safeguard the privacy and anonymity of the research participants and the school Anonymity is regarded as the mechanism via which privacy and secrecy are maintained (Vainio, 2013) Moreover, the participating teachers were provided with complete information regarding the objectives and methodology of the study Furthermore, they were informed that the unprocessed data gathered would just be available to the researcher and her supervisors In addition to upholding the research's credibility, the participating teachers were given the opportunity to review the transcription of the semi- structured interviews that were recorded This allowed them to decide whether they wanted to retain or exclude certain pieces of information for the purpose of data analysis.

Summary

The qualitative case study was used to research teachers’ individual agency and collective agency together with the interplay between them in implementing the Getting-to- know-English curriculum Data collection was gained through policy documents, interviews and observations The employment of multiple resources of data gave the researcher deep insight into teacher agency enactment as each type of data complemented for each other Two main strategies were deployed in the study to ensure the validity of the findings namely triangulation and member checking Reliability of the findings was established through the alignment of the case study design and the research questions along with consistent data collection procedures Thematic analysis was used to discover the themes of the entire data set and deployed to answer the research questions The next chapter proceeds with the findings of the study with reference to the research questions.

DATA ANALYSIS

Case Hoa

Based on the ecological model of teacher agency by Priestley et al (2015), Hoa’s agency was driven by the iterational dimension (life histories and professional histories), practical-evaluative (cultural, structural, and materials), and projective dimension (short-term and long-term)

4.1.1 The iterational dimension for Hoa

The iterational dimension of agency encompasses two primary facets, namely the pre- existing knowledge and past professional experience

4.1.1.1 Hoa – a trained teacher with a three-year BA by a local college and two professional training programs

The interview data showed that Hoa obtained a bachelor's degree from Ba Ria Vung Tau College of Education (BVCE) with a specialization in the instruction of English to secondary school students Additionally, she acquired a certificate in teaching English to individuals who speak other languages from Ba Ria Vung Tau University (BVU) Working as a part-time teacher for Grades 1 and 2 at a primary school, Hoa was required to take part in professional training programs to be eligible for teaching them Hoa participated in two training programs namely textbook and pedagogical training The former focused on textbook training for Grades 1 and 2 which afforded her with an understanding of the recently published textbook, including its notable strengths, accompanying resources, and methods of evaluation The later concentrated on pedagogical training organized by BRVT Division of Education and Training which provided teachers with Modules 1 and 4 Module 1 provided her with an understanding of the new general education curriculum, the Getting-to-know- English program for students in Grades 1 and 2, the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for students in Grades 3 to 12, instructional strategies, evaluation methods for students in Grades

1 and 2, students in Grades 3 to 12, and lesson planning Module 4 provides an in-depth understanding of lesson planning, specifically emphasizing a competence-based approach tailored to primary level students Through the pedagogical training, Hoa developed her understanding of the new format of lesson planning which served as a detailed guideline for her to deliver the lesson effectively More importantly, she witnessed the detailed and clear format of the new lesson plan according to the official dispatch 5512 dictated by the curriculum mandates

4.1.1.2 Hoa – an experienced communication teacher

Hoa has held a full-time teaching position at Natural English School (NES), a foreign language center, for a duration of 10 years Additionally, Hoa has also served as a part-time teacher at Vietnamese American School (VAS) for a period of 2 years Hoa possesses a decade of teaching experience, primarily focused on instructing adults and adolescent learners at NES Additionally, she has accumulated two years of teaching experience specifically catering to primary school students at both VAS, NES, and BS NES deployed its teachers to Bong Sao primary school with the objective of providing instruction to students in Grades 1 and 2 She reported that she has accumulated teaching experience for young learners, especially Grades 1 and 2 from exchanging experience with her colleagues, observing her colleagues’ lessons, and participating in seminar and training

4.1.2 The practical-evaluative dimension for Hoa

4.1.2.1 A school culture of creativity and performativity

The interview data showed that Hoa worked under the culture of creativity The school culture encourages teachers to create interesting lessons for students Additionally, the school put an emphasis on students’ academic performance They assess teachers’ accountability outcomes through students’ performance In other words, students’ scores become an essential part to assess teachers’ performativity

With regards to the structural aspect of agency, the school structure is based on trust Teachers are willing to share their perspectives concerning the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, difficulties in enacting the curriculum, and seek for solutions from their colleagues In addition, the school encourages teachers to expand their knowledge by extend their relationships with colleagues outside the school context

4.1.2.3 A school with insufficient teaching facilities

In relation to materials, the school provides teachers with basic teaching facilities such as smart TV, black board, and chalks However, these teaching facilities are not enough to help teachers of English to deliver the lesson effectively Hoa suggested that teachers should have more colorful flashcards to teach vocabulary, an interactive TV with larger size, and more spacing for learning activities More specifically, there should be special rooms for teaching English for young learners to suit their characteristics, create interest for students, and evoke their engagement into the English lessons There should be 15 to 20 students per class instead of more than 40 students in each class as teaching English for a very crowded class is not effective Teaching English for a small size class helps teachers to organize various learning activities and apply suitable teaching methods for young learners like Total Physical Response as students have more space to move and take part in dynamic and fun activities

4.1.3 The projective dimension for Hoa

4.1.3.1 Hoa’s expectation of her students’ communication skills

The projective aspect of agency refers to a teacher's short-term and long-term orientation In terms of short-term objectives for young learners in Grades 1 and 2, Hoa would like her students to be able to use the vocabulary they have learned to ask and respond in basic daily communication situations Regarding long-term objectives, she anticipates that her students will be able to use English in a natural manner, thereby laying the groundwork for attaining the level of English proficiency necessary to study abroad and collaborate with coworkers in international companies in the future She explained that because we are currently living in an era of industrialization and modernization, mastering English paves the way for pursuing employment opportunities and elevating quality of life Students should therefore be endowed with proficient English communication skills

The iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimension of agency exert direct influence on the ways individual teachers enacted their teaching content, teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson planning The result of data showed that Hoa followed the prescribed teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson planning

4.1.4 Hoa’s compliance with the curriculum mandated teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson planning

4.1.4.1 Hoa’s common teaching methods: TPR and experiential learning

The researcher based on Hoa’s lesson plan and semi-structured interviews to analyze the ways she planed her lessons Classroom observation was not employed to obtain data concerning Hoa’s lesson plans as they provided the researcher with the teaching procedures only

The observational data revealed that Hoa made use of Total Physical Response (TPR) in vocabulary instruction TPR is a method that employ physical movements to teach the language input for students

Hoa’s compliance with the curriculum mandate could be clearly shown through the first aspect, that is, teaching methods From the classroom observations, she complied with utilizing TPR in vocabulary instruction For example, in the lesson 4 of unit 1 of Grade 1 about number, she used her fingers to teach the students numbers She also asked the students to demonstrate numbers by using their fingers In addition, Hoa used TPR to review vocabulary, generate students’ interests, and lead in the listening task in the following phase For example, she played music, students were asked to pass the flashcards Then she stopped the music, students who were holding the flashcard stood up and said the words

When the researcher asked what teaching methods Hoa used in her class, she confirmed in the second interview extract that she used her actions to describe the new lexical items for her students as follows:

“I made use of TPR to demonstrate new words from the previous lessons and called individual students to make guesses of those words I went on with resorting to TPR to illustrate the new lexical items namely “cat” and “car” or “numbers” for the whole class to guess Additionally, I asked the students to play a game in which two students competed with each other using their fingers to show the numbers based on the teachers’ instructions”

The way Hoa made use of TPR in delivering the new lexical items was in accordance with the curriculum policy Teachers are recommended to employ TPR to suit their students and the local teaching conditions (Moet, 2018)

Case Hang

4.2.1 The iterational dimension for Hang

4.2.1.1 Hang – a trained teacher with a three-year BA by a local college and two professional training programs

Concerning prior knowledge, Hang reported that her English teachers at high school did not teach communication skills as effectively as the foreign language center She explained that teachers working at the foreign language center would be fired if they could not teach effectively She would like to make improvement on pronunciation, listening, and speaking skills Hang graduated from BRVT College of Education majoring in Teaching English to speakers of other languages She was trained to become an English teacher to teach secondary students from Grades 6 to 9 During the process of learning at the college, she was provided knowledge of teaching methods for secondary students, psychological and physical characteristics of secondary students

She took part in textbook training programs held by Phuong Nam Education Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, which offered her multiple resources of teaching, teaching methods for young learners, teaching activities, classroom management activities, lesson planning, and a lesson model with the orientation to the new general education curriculum Additionally, she took part in pedagogical training offered by BRVT Division of Education and Training, in which she was trained the ways to plan lessons according to the official dispatch 5512 She was introduced the new features of lesson plan compared to the old one and cooperated with colleagues from other schools to plan a lesson for Grades 1 or 2 She reported that teachers were suggested planning their lessons based on the official dispatch 5512 However, she felt confused to plan the lesson due to the policy documents’ ambiguous instructions In addition, she reported that the prescribed assessment methods were hard to follow as teachers needed to made observation of students’ learning process and gave detailed comments on this process to inform their homeroom teachers and their parents with a class of 40 students There should be 20 or 25 students in each English class so that teachers could deliver the lesson effectively and it can facilitate the process of assessing students

In terms of previous professional experience, she has worked at NES for 5 years as a full-time teacher She is in charge of communication classes for adults, teenagers Additionally, she is sent to Bong Sao primary school to deliver the English lessons for young learners of Grades 1 and 2 for 2 years She made observation of young teachers at the foreign language center to learn teaching methods and teaching activities from these teachers Additionally, she taught a model lesson for Grades 1 and 2 at the center She shared experience with her colleagues at the foreign language center about teaching materials She also participated in teaching forums to exchange experience, teaching materials, job opportunities, and assessment methods

4.2.2 The practical-evaluative dimension for Hang

4.2.2.1 Hang works under a culture of creativity and accountability outcomes

With reference to the cultural dimension of agency, the school put priority on teachers’ accountability outcomes and teachers are assessed through students’ results Additionally, communication barriers might happen between full-time and part-time teachers of English within the school setting, as part-time teachers are afraid of evaluating the English lessons of full-time teachers when they made observation of full-time teachers It is not comfortable for teachers to exchange viewpoints and give feedback She also stated that the school encourages teachers to create innovative and creative ideas and bring into their own classes to help the students achieve their learning outcomes

4.2.2.2 Good relationship between teachers and students’ parents

With regards to the structural aspect of agency, the relationship between teachers and students’ parents is good which is built on the basis of trust Teachers set up a close relationship with students’ parents to inform them about their children’s learning progress and issues arising from their learning at the school Teachers gave homework for students to complete at home and their parents take responsibility for motivating them to study and work with teachers to help their children achieve their learning outcomes Although the school leaders push teachers to set up a good relationship with each other, teachers work in isolation from each other

In relation to materials, Hang reported that the school did not provide sufficient teaching materials for the teacher in teaching English She had to make the best use of teaching resources at her school to make preparation of the lessons and it would be convenient for her to use the available school materials She brought into the classroom other teaching resources such as fly swatters, plastic hammers, handbells, sticky balls, flashcards, games, etc with the intention of engage students into the lessons and make the lessons more attractive to the students

4.2.3 The projective dimension for Hang

In terms of the projective dimension of agency, Hang would like to build students’ confidence and enhance their communication skills on the basis of fostering vocabulary She believed that vocabulary is an essential part to build other skills and helps students achieve their long-term orientation Students can only develop their full potential if they have solid foundation of vocabulary Additionally, she focuses on making improvements on students’ pronunciation by identifying students’ mistakes and correcting these mistakes to enable the students to develop their pronunciation like a native speaker and facilitate the process of listening and speaking

4.2.4 Hang’s compliance with the prescribed teaching methods

Hang showed her frequency in following the teaching methods suggested by the curriculum policy She complied with utilizing TPR and Experiential learning in teaching and reviewing lexical items For instance, in the lesson about the school things, she reviewed vocabulary such as: “red”, “green”, “yellow”, “black”, and “blue” She assigned each student a vocabulary word: “red”, “green”, “yellow”, “black”, and “blue” Students were given instructions: “red and green”: jump; “yellow, black, and blue”: stand up Students who had that word assigned to them do the action

Another example was that in the lesson 5 of unit 1 of Grade 1, having translated new lexical items into Vietnamese, she used her hand movements to review the new words of the previous lessons such as as “apple”, “Annie”, “ball”, “Billy”, “cat” She also asked the students to do actions based on the teacher’s actions and read the new words Hang’s compliance with the curriculum mandated teaching method such as TPR was also confirmed in the second interview:

“I used my hands to review new lexical items in the previous lessons such as “apple”,

“Annie”, “ball”, “Billy”, “cat” and teach the new words such as “dog” and “duck” Or in the lesson 3 of unit 2 of Grade 1, I used my hands to draw the word “egg” and asked the whole class of that word”

In addition to complying with employing TPR, Hang used Experiential learning in vocabulary instructions as well In the lesson 3 of unit 2 of Grade 1, real objects such as

“pencils”, “crayons”, and “notebooks” were brought into the class by Hang in order to help the students review vocabulary of the previous lesson She then pointed to the school objects such as “chair” and “desk” to demonstrate those words Similarly, in the lesson 6 of unit 2 of Grade 1, Hang read the new words in the story and students were required to bring into her desk objects such as “pencils”, “crayons”, and “notebooks” For other new words such as

“chair” and “desk”, she asked the whole class to point to these objects in the classroom She stated clearly in the third interview extract that:

“Touching real objects helps the students to visualize and remember the new words better compared to explaining in Vietnamese their meanings”

The way Hang employed two teaching methods, that is to say, TPR and Experiential learning was in line with the policy documents As stated in Circular 32 and Directive 681, teachers should apply the afore-mentioned teaching methods to suit students’ characteristics and the local learning conditions

Hang’s compliance with using TPR and Experiential learning in vocabulary instructions proposed by the curriculum mandates was dominated by her prior knowledge at her college and previous professional experience acquired from her colleagues at the center She would like to apply the method she learned from her lecturer and colleagues into her real teaching practices with the intention of helping the students learn new lexical items as effectively as her lecturer and colleagues As she reminded in the second and third interview extract that:

“My colleagues often teach the new words through using their body language or using real objects Through these methods, the students can remember the lessons longer and can use these new words in answering and responding to daily situations”

However, Hang occasionally showed her resistance to teaching methods in vocabulary instructions dictated by the curriculum policy to remain in the traditional teaching method, that is to say, grammar-translation As seen through the observational data, particularly in the lesson 6 of unit 2 of Grade 1, the new words “pencil”, “crayon”, and “notebook” were translated into Vietnamese In addition to grammar-translation approach, the audio-lingual method was also utilized in vocabulary instructions In the lesson 5 of unit 1 of Grade 1, the whole class and individuals were asked to repeat the letter “d” Besides, the whole class, individuals, and groups were required to read again the new words such as “dog” and “duck” respectively In addition, she used the audio-lingual teaching method to teach pronunciation For instance, in the lesson 3 of unit 3 of Grade 1, students were asked to sound letter “G” in Vietnamese

Hang’s irregular employment of grammar-translation and audio-lingual teaching methods was also confirmed in the second and third interview extract:

“I often use body language and real objects to describe the new words for students I only translate the complex words into Vietnamese”

Case Huong

4.3.1 The iterational dimension for Huong

4.3.1.1 Huong – a trained teacher with BA degree from a local college

Concerning prior knowledge, she paid attention to mastering vocabulary, grammatical structures and reading comprehension when she was at a high school to pass the university entrance examination Her teacher focused much on what was tested in the examination, asked the students to do many exercises concerning these aspects while listening, speaking, pronunciation sections were neglected in the class Huong gained a college degree from BRVT College of Education majoring in Teaching English to speakers of other languages At the college, she was exposed to the psychological and teaching methods for secondary students She stated that knowledge she gained from high school and college has a direct impact on the ways she teaches the students She also participated in a one-day textbook training program delivered by a textbook company and pedagogical training offered by BRVT Division of Education and Training She said that training program provided insufficient knowledge for teachers of English about teaching methods for young learners, teaching activity arrangement, lesson plan, and assessment methods Through the training program, she could not plan the lesson according to the official dispatch 5512 and could not know the ways to assess young learners of Grades 1 and 2 effectively as the trainers just gave the sample for teachers and asked them to cooperate with each other to plan a lesson and presented the lesson plan to teachers at other school settings Concerning assessment methods, the policy documents gave general information concerning this aspect and she could not clearly understand the ways to implement them into the class to assess students’ communicative competence Moreover, assessing each student’ learning progress through detailed comments was a tough task for teachers as they needed to note down this process into their notebooks which was time- consuming

In terms of previous professional experience, she has worked as a full-time teacher at a foreign language center teaching students from Grades 6 to 9 and adults with the lesson plan provided by the language center She was also sent to a primary school to work as a part-time teacher for students of Grades 1 and 2 She has been teaching young learners of this age for 4 years She made observations of her colleagues’ lesson at the primary school and participated in peer observation discussion to exchange viewpoints concerning the Getting-to-know- English curriculum, teaching methods, teaching activities, classroom management, etc

4.3.2 The practical-evaluative dimension for Huong

4.3.2.1 Huong – worked under the culture of open-mindedness and collaboration

Concerning the cultural aspect of the practical-evaluative dimension of agency, Huong reported that she worked under the culture of open-mindedness and collaboration Teachers are encouraged to share their perspectives, teaching materials, teaching methods, teaching activities, etc in order to bring the favorable learning conditions for the students There is a monthly meeting where teachers gather together to have a discussion about issues arising from the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and ways to make improvement on students’ communicative competence Close connections can be identified in the school where teachers are willing to exchange experience with their colleagues

4.3.2.2 Good relationship between teachers, teachers and students’ parents

Regarding the structural aspect of agency, the school encourages teachers to set up a good relationship with each other When one teacher is absent, other teachers take responsibility for teaching that teacher’ classes which clearly show mutual support in Tran Hung Dao primary school Students’ parents have informal interactions with the school through the termly meeting where the teachers inform students’ parents of their learning outcomes Huong establishes a close relationship with students’ parents in which they exchange their perspectives about students’ issues in learning English Students’ parents are also responsible for checking their children’s homework and correct their mistakes Additionally, the school leaders organize monthly meetings to develop the relationship between teachers at the school

With regards to material resources, the school had small classroom size of forty students per class with the table arrangement in the traditional way and provided the teachers with necessary teaching resources namely a smart Television, a loudspeaker, a black board, and chalks Additionally, teachers were provided with students’ book, teacher’s book, workbook, audio files, and flashcards for teaching students of Grades 1 and 2 Due to the limited teaching materials, Huong utilized other teaching materials such as making use of songs on Youtube to commence the lessons These songs were not relevant to the content of the new lesson Additionally, in order to practice the pronunciation of new lexical items, Huong opened a song containing the new words students had learned from previous activities She also brought into the class other teaching materials such as plastic hammers, sticky balls, fly swatters, pictures, etc so that the students could use these resources to participate in a game

4.3.3 The projective dimension for Huong

In terms of the projective dimension of agency, Huong would like the students to understand the meaning and pronunciation of the new lexical items and apply it into the daily conversation contexts More specifically, students can have the ability to ask and answer simple questions by using the basic new words they have learned in the class She put an emphasis that only comprehending vocabulary can help students listen, speak and read Vocabulary is the basic foundation for developing other skills, therefore, students should practice the new lexical items so that they can remember them in their long-term memory

4.3.4 Huong’s irregular teaching methods: TPR and experiential learning

Huong demonstrated her compliance with the employment of TPR in vocabulary instructions In the lesson 4 of the starter section of Grade 1, she used her hands to teach the students about numbers She confirmed the ways she employed her body language to describe the new words in the second interview extract:

“Using body language to teach the new lexical items helps to catch the students’ attention and convey the meaning of the new words clearly Teachers can use body language to teach vocabulary about animals, clothes, feelings, jobs, transports, etc.”

She also followed the application of Experiential learning in teaching vocabulary To demonstrate this, in the lesson 1 and 2 of unit 2 of Grade 1, Huong brought into the class objects such as pencil, notebook, and crayon to teach the students She pointed to the school objects in the classroom such as desk and chair to help the students learn new words as well She gave further example to clarify the essential role of Experiential learning in vocabulary instruction in the third interview extract:

“I ask the students to take different roles and act out characters in the conversation For example, students are asked to play the role of mom, dad, and Rosy to help them practice the new words about family member such as mom and dad”

Huong’s compliance with the teaching methods proposed by the curriculum mandates was rooted from her previous professional experience When she made use of her body language and real objects to give a description of the new lexical items, it enabled the students’ comprehension of the new input Conducting the classroom rules by using TPR conveyed the meaning better compared to using words

4.3.5 Huong’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson planning, her colleagues’ ideas

4.3.5.1 Huong’s common teaching methods: grammar-translation and audio-lingual

However, the observational data also demonstrated that Huong resisted to use teaching methods namely TPR and Experiential learning to sustain in the traditional methods of vocabulary instruction, that is, grammar-translation more frequently For example, in the lesson 4 of the starter section of Grade 1, when teaching about the grammatical structure

“There is” and “There are”, Huong wrote on the board “There is an apple”, “There are two apples” and translated these sentences into Vietnamese

Huong’s resistance to follow the prescribed teaching methods to maintain the traditional teaching methods namely grammar-translation was also confirmed in the second interview extract:

“Students learn best through understanding the meaning of the new words in their mother language When they are back home, their parents will ask about the new words and the meaning of these words and assess teachers’ effectiveness through their children’s comprehension of the new input”

The audio-lingual method was also employed for teaching vocabulary pronunciation in Huong’s classes Huong made common use of audio-lingual method in vocabulary instruction In the lesson 5 of unit 3 of Grade 2, Huong asked the whole class, groups, and individuals to repeat after her pronunciation of the two letters “t” and “u” and new vocabulary

“towel, turtle, umbrella, and up” and spoke out words starting with letters “t” and “u”, for example, “tiger, tomato, under, uncle, etc.” Or in the lesson 3 of unit 3 of Grade 2, having reviewed the new letter and lexical items such as “v”, “violin”, and “vase”, students worked as individuals, groups, or whole class to say the new words again after the teacher’s demonstration of those words and read out words beginning with letter “v”, for example,

Case Nhi

4.4.1 The iterational dimension for Nhi

In terms of prior knowledge, Nhi has just graduated from BRVT College of Education in 2020 She was trained to become a teacher of English for secondary students Therefore, she was provided with knowledge of linguistics, grammar, semantics, translation, and teaching methods The knowledge she gained from the college is inadequate for her to teach English, especially primary students She also took part in a one-day textbook training program which introduced the new textbook, the new features of the textbook, teaching methods, assessment methods, and teaching materials for students of Grades 1 and 2 The training was short and paid attention to teaching materials while other afore-mentioned aspects received little attention The program provided her with the textbook, teacher’s book, workbook, audio files, and flashcards and she relied on these teaching materials introduced in the program to deliver the English lesson for the students

She has also gone through the pedagogical training provided by BRVT Division of Education and Training in which she was offered ways to manage the class effectively and plan a lesson However, she reported that the professional training program provided insufficient knowledge in terms of teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson plan for her to teach young learners as they paid attention to the theory instead of letting the teachers practice the afore-mentioned aspects She highlighted that she was introduced a lot of teaching methods, but confused to apply these teaching methods into her own teaching situations She also put an emphasis that evaluating students based on the prescribed curriculum assessment was impractical and hard to implement as there were 40 students in each class It was challenging for teachers to assess all of the students’ learning progress with such a class There should be more training for teachers to help them assess their students effectively

Concerning previous professional experience, Nhi completed one-month internship at a secondary school where she had practical chances to work with secondary students and made observation of teachers’ lessons and learned from them She had a supervisor who supported her in planning English lessons and gave feedback for her after making observation of her lesson Nhi reported that she followed lesson plan proposed by her supervisor and learned teaching methods, teaching activities, and teaching materials from her

Additionally, after graduating from college, she worked as a full-time teacher of English and a teaching assistant for foreign teachers at a foreign language center and had a part-time job at Tran Hung Dao primary school to teach students of Grades 1 and 2 She found out that there is a distinct difference between Vietnamese and foreign teachers in teaching English While the former pays attention to teaching grammatical structures, the latter focuses on speaking instruction Working as a full-time teacher at a foreign language center and a teaching assistant for foreign teachers gave her practical experience in teaching young learners and solutions to deal with challenges they might have during the process of learning English She made observation of foreign teachers’ lessons and learned teaching activities, teaching methods, teaching procedure, and classroom management techniques from them

4.4.2 The practical-evaluative dimension for Nhi

4.4.2.1 Nhi – working under a culture of sharing and traditionalism

With reference to the cultural aspect of agency, there are full-time teachers of English who are in charge of teaching students of Grades 3 to 5 and part-time teachers taking responsibility for instructing young learners of Grades 1 and 2 There was a little bit stressful for part-time teachers as they needed to get acquaintance with the school regulations and follow these rules The school did not expect the teachers to experience new thing and take risks, but follow the mainstream way of teaching In addition, Nhi was working under the culture of sharing in which teachers of English are willing to share their perspectives concerning teaching methods, teaching activities, teaching materials, etc Even teachers of other school subjects share their experience about classroom management, assessment methods, lesson plan, etc Additionally, Nhi highlighted that she worked under the culture of attainment which put an emphasis on students’ learning outcomes through their scores

In terms of the structural aspect of agency, the formal structures include monthly meeting between teachers of English at the school The focus of monthly meeting centered on teaching methods, teaching activities, assessment methods, issues in implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, etc There are also peer observation discussions for teachers to exchange feedback with each other about the English lessons Teachers have chances to give feedback to their colleagues’ lessons and receive comments from their colleagues, especially the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum However, part-time teachers are unwilling to share their viewpoints as they are afraid of being judged by other teachers at the school Nhi highlighted that she was inexperienced and shy, therefore, such discussion is uncomfortable for her to share her perspectives Additionally, the school leaders are the ones who are very supportive in developing the relationship between teachers at the school Nhi reported that she received support from the school leaders and other colleagues at the school She could exchange her perspectives with other teachers and learn from them due to the comfortable environment created by the school leaders They encouraged teachers of English and homeroom teachers to cooperate well with each other to support the students in the process of learning English

Concerning the school’s physical environment, there are about 40 students in each class which made it hard for her to teach and take care of them Additionally, the school has small classroom size which was quite challenging for teachers of English to organize teaching activities, especially movement activities Plus, the chairs and tables were not appropriate for young learners as these things were too big for them to sit and move around so it prevented them from participating in learning activities organized by the teachers

Regarding the school materials, Nhi felt satisfied with the teaching materials at her schools as the school provided teachers with a smart television, speakers, a black board, and chalks She believed that teachers could made the best use of these teaching resources to bring enjoyable lessons to their students She also emphasized that the teaching resources of this school were more convenient in comparison with other schools in the area She stated in the interview that:

“Nguyen Thai Hoc primary school does not have smart televisions The school only has black boards and chalks Teachers need to prepare their own teaching materials to bring into their own classes”

4.4.3 The projective dimension for Nhi

With regards to the projective dimension of agency, Nhi expects her students to communicate effectively in simple daily conversations Students can listen and understand the instructions of teacher such as “stand up, sit down, keep silent, open your book, give me a book, etc For young learners of this age, she paid attention to create interest for learning English, build confidence for them and lay the basic foundation for them to continue their study at Grade 3

4.4.4 Nhi’s compliance with the textbook content

4.4.4.1 Nhi’s teaching content: covering the textbook content

The observational data illustrated that Nhi covered all of the textbook teaching content by following the textbook activities and teaching resources In the lesson 3 of the Starter section of Grade 1, Nhi followed the textbook activities as follows: she started the lessons with activity 1 in the textbook: “listen, point and repeat” More specifically, she pointed to

“apple” and pronounced “apple”, students listened and pointed to the picture of “apple” Then she asked her students to repeat the word “apple” individually After that, she continued with the second activity, “listen and chant” Finally, she followed the third textbook activity “point to letter A and stick” In addition to following the textbook activities, Nhi made use of the audio file, pictures in the textbook, vocabulary, and the textbook content to deliver the lesson Nhi also confirmed her compliance with the textbook content in the second interview extract:

“I followed strictly the textbook content as they were reliable resources and were thoroughly researched based on the students’ characteristics”

Her compliance with the textbook content was driven by the curriculum map and the textbook’s reliability She stated that following the textbook content enabled her to stay on track with the curriculum map and catch up with her colleagues’ teaching process Additionally, she complied with textbook content due to its reliability As she highlighted in the second interview that:

“Textbook has been thoroughly studied by a great number of researchers, so it is a reliable source for teachers to reply on and teachers’ teaching content should adhere to the textbook mandated by the curriculum policy Plus, all of the students have the textbooks, therefore, teaching the textbook content helps students to have something to look at and review at home”

4.4.5 Nhi’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods, assessment methods, lesson planning, and her colleagues’ ideas

4.4.5.1 Nhi’s common teaching methods: grammar-transla�on and audio-lingual

The observational data indicated that Nhi demonstrated her frequency in resisting to the prescribed teaching methods to follow grammar-translation teaching method in vocabulary instruction For example, in lesson 3 of unit 2 of Grade 2, Nhi translated the new words in this lesson such as “queen”, “quiet”, “river”, and “rainbow” into Vietnamese She stated in the third interview extract that:

“Translation activities are of significance for students as they fully understand the meaning of the new lexical items Plus, I do not need to make preparation for teaching vocabulary lessons”

Summary of cases

It is stated that teacher agency is directly shaped by the context (Lasky, 2005) This section delineates the similarities and differences derived from the present study

In terms of similarities, the majority of teachers demonstrated their adaptation to the textbook content by focusing on teaching vocabulary pronunciation, vocabulary spelling, and communication skills, rather than attempting to cover all of the textbook content Teachers’ prior knowledge, teachers’ accountability outcomes, students' learning outcomes, students' English proficiency level, and students' parents' expectations were revealed to exert direct influence on how teachers adapted the textbook content

Most of the participating teachers reported that they resisted the prescribed lesson planning according to the official dispatch 5512, influenced by their previous professional experience They feigned adherence to the curriculum mandates by submitting lesson plans in accordance with the Dispatch 5512 when their colleagues observed their lessons Indeed, they adhered to their conventional methods of designing lesson plans in their real teaching practices due to its practicality and straightforwardness while the new format proved to be unnecessary and consumed a significant amount of time to adhere to Additionally, most of the teachers made adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas which was shaped by their previous professional experience

Concerning the differences, the participating teachers from one of the top schools in BRVT province accepted the prescribed teaching methods through the deployment of TPR and Experiential learning in delivering vocabulary and grammatical structures which was shaped by their prior knowledge, previous professional experience, and the professional development program In contrast, teachers from a rather new school demonstrated their frequent resistance to the prescribed teaching methods through employing translation and repetition activities which was driven by their prior knowledge, habits, and time constraints Additionally, teachers from the top school accepted or adapted the prescribed assessment methods driven by the curriculum assessment, students’ parents’ expectations, and their previous professional experience while their colleagues from the new school resisted the prescribed assessment methods due to the influence of teachers’ previous professional experience, teachers’ colleagues, students’ learning outcomes, and the school policy Plus, while the participating teachers of one of the top schools showed their adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas, teachers from a rather new school showed their resistance to their colleagues’ ideas which was informed by their prior knowledge, habits, isolation with colleagues and time constraints

Last but not least, teachers at different schools showed different roles in the discussion They played the role of leader, supporter and follower The teacher who played the role of the leader tended to be active and try to provoke other teachers’ ideas in the discussion while the follower had the tendency to be passive and follow their colleagues in the discussion The supporter, on the other hand, supported their colleagues through building on their ideas and engaging them into the discussion.

DISCUSSION

This chapter gives detailed information on the ways teachers enacted their agencies in putting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice Based on the theoretical framework of the study, data will be presented in three overarching themes in response to the three research questions The first section presents information about how teachers enacted their individual agencies in the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum with a focus on four main aspects namely teaching content, teaching methods, assessment methods, and lesson planning The second section highlights the influence of the collective actions on individual agency The third section provides data on the ways teachers make individual contributions to the collective actions.

Teachers’ individual agency in implementing the Getting-to-know-English

Teachers’ compliance with the prescribed teaching methods

The observational data revealed that two out of the four participating teachers demonstrated their conformity with the prescribed teaching methods through certain activities, that is to say, physical movements, experiencing with objects, pair work, group work, games, and songs The highest frequency of using the above-mentioned activities could be identified in Hang’ classes, followed by Hoa On the other hand, Huong and Nhi witnessed an infrequent employment of these activities in their own classes with a higher infrequency could be identified in Nhi’s classes compared to Huong

Activities Hoa Hang Huong Nhi

The observational data illustrated that the participating teachers followed teaching methods dictated by the curriculum mandates The compliance of teachers with the prescribed teaching methods provides them with the assistance necessary to bring about optimal learning environments for their students Enever (2015) also stated that suitable teaching methods were of significance for students to help them achieve their learning goals It can be seen in Hoa and Hang’s classes in which they made use of the prescribed teaching methods to help the students achieve their learning potentials The finding of the study is consistent with the curriculum policy which highlights the role of employing suitable teaching methods in alignment with young learners’ characteristics It is suggested that teachers should employ certain teaching methods in their classes namely Total Physical Response, Experiential Learning, Task-based learning, and Project-based learning to be suitable for the characteristics of young learners such as having a short attention span, learning better through experiencing the world, and acquiring grammatical points through contextual learning rather than having the rules explained to them (Moet, 2018)

The interview extracts demonstrated that the participating teachers’ conformity with teaching methods dictated by the curriculum mandates was driven by their previous professional experience, professional development program, and prior knowledge First, teachers’ previous professional experience affected their acceptance to teaching methods proposed by the curriculum mandates Hoa stated that the prescribed teaching methods enabled students to comprehend the new input The interview data also revealed that knowledge from the professional development program shaped the way Hoa conformed to the prescribed teaching methods Through the professional training program, she was introduced several teaching methods for young learners, the ways to apply them into the classroom and have valuable opportunities to exchange ideas with the colleagues at the intra and inter-school levels Therefore, knowledge of teaching methods for young learners gaining from the training program is used in her classroom This finding was in incongruent with that of Phan (2017), who reported that teachers’ teaching practices did not change after they had gone through the professional training programs In addition to previous professional experience and knowledge from the professional development program, teacher’s prior knowledge shaped Hang’s compliance with using TPR and experiential learning in vocabulary instruction She would like to apply the method she learned from her lecturers into her real teaching practices with the intention of helping the students learn new lexical items as effectively as her lecturer This finding was in alignment with the viewpoints presented by

Woodward and Freeman (2018), who argued that teachers tended to reproduce their own past experience in pre-service training program

Priestley et al (2015)’s ecological model on teacher agency is deployed in this study to look into factors impacting the ways teachers conformed to teaching methods suggested by the curriculum mandates It is abundantly obvious that teachers’ previous professional experience, prior knowledge, and the professional development program were the primary motivating factors behind their adoption of the teaching methods indicated by the curriculum policy The data revealed that the iterational dimension (teachers’ previous professional experience, their prior knowledge), and the professional development program were attributed for teachers’ conformity with teaching methods (Priestley et al., 2015) Teachers’ previous professional experience and knowledge gaining from the professional development program could be seen in Hoa’s case It can be clearly seen that Hoa accumulated teaching experience for young learners of Grades 1 and 2 through exchanging perspectives with her colleagues and making observations of their classes It is of critical importance for teachers to observe their colleagues’ lessons and learn from them More importantly, having through discussion with her colleagues about the lessons deepens Hoa’s understanding of appropriate teaching methods for young learners Knowledge acquiring from the professional development program enabled her to get practical chances to exchange viewpoints with her colleagues at the intra- and inter-school level and this changed her mindset from a shy teacher being fear of making mistakes to a teacher of welcoming innovative ideas brought into the class However, the professional development program was not mentioned in the ecological model proposed by Priestley et al (2015) Therefore, it should be added into the iterational dimension of agency due to its relevance to teacher’s prior knowledge and critical importance in shaping teacher’s conformity with the prescribed teaching methods

In addition to previous professional experience and the professional development program, teacher’s prior knowledge impacted the way Hang follow teaching methods suggested by the curriculum mandates She applied effective teaching methods she learned from her lecturers at college into her real teaching practices She participated in training program held by a textbook publisher providing textbook training, particularly teaching methods for young learners Although she was trained to become an English teacher of secondary students with inadequate teaching methods for young learners of Grades 1 and 2, she made improvement on teaching methods based on her prior knowledge and knowledge from the textbook training Teachers’ insufficient knowledge of teaching methods for young learners was attributed to the professional training program (Le, 2018) However, this study, discovered that knowledge from the training program supported teachers in using appropriate teaching methods to develop students’ communicative competence Teachers’ acceptance to the mandated teaching methods might be rooted from their motivation They have taught English at a foreign language center and sent to the public school to teach primary students, especially learners of Grades 1 and 2 Teachers tend to make the most use of games, songs, pair work, group work, etc to generate a fun learning environment for learners and create a dynamic teaching air at the foreign language center Therefore, when these teachers worked part-time at the public school, they brought with them the active spirit of teachers at the center This could be explained in Nguyen (2011)’s study, who reported the overemphasis of grammatical structures instead of creating communicative situations for students at primary public schools.

Teacher’ s compliance with the prescribed assessment methods and lesson plan 147 5.3 Teacher’s compliance with the textbook content

Hoa showed her conformity with assessment methods and lesson planning With regard to assessment methods, Hoa assessed students’ learning progress by monitoring their communicative activities through the use of teaching diaries and wrote detailed comments for them The way Hoa followed the prescribed assessment methods was in accordance with the curriculum documents As suggested in the curriculum mandates, teachers should use formative assessment and write detailed comments to evaluate young learners’ communicative competence with a focus on listening comprehension (Moet, 2018) Students’ strengths and weaknesses are also identified to enable teachers to make adjustments to their teaching methods, teaching materials, and lesson plan It is also confirmed in Circular 27 in which students are assessed throughout the lesson and progress tests are not obligatory for students of Grades 1 and 2 and teachers are required not to use the scores from progress tests to evaluate students (Moet, 2020b) Additionally, assessment activities should be in line with the lesson objectives and conducted in a friendly way to build up students’ confidence This can be identified in Hoa’s case, who carried out communicative activities to evaluate students’ communicative competence based on the aims of the lesson Adhering to assessment methods of their pupils across diverse learning modalities According to Nguyen and Bui (2016), failure to comply with the assessment techniques mandated by the educational curriculum may result in inadequate measurement of students' learning progress

Hoa’s compliance with the prescribed assessment methods was driven by the prescribed curriculum assessment and students’ parents’ expectations Although the study conducted by Ryder et al (2018) found out the influence of teachers’ personal objectives, previous professional experience and the local learning condition on teacher agency enactment in assessment methods The finding of the study revealed that the assessment matrices provided in the national curriculum papers influenced the design of assessment by teachers Teachers used assessment matrices into their instructional design, making various modifications to emphasize the content assessed in the examination, aligning them with the specific needs of their classrooms and personal objectives This study, however, explored another factor impacted how teachers followed the prescribed assessment methods, that is to say, students’ parents’ expectations Parents would like their students make improvement on their learning progress and they could support their children based on teachers’ detailed comments Consequently, students’ parents’ expectations should be integrated into the projective dimension of agency as it is connected to the future orientations and essential in orienting teachers’ acceptance to the prescribed assessment methods

With respect to lesson planning, Hoa was the only one who follow the format of the curriculum-mandated lesson planning It can be clearly seen that complying with the new format enables her to avoid the school’s scrutiny and show her proactive agency towards implementing the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Her adherence to the prescribed lesson planning was motivated by previous professional experience and her expertise gained through participation in a professional training program Through the training program and her previous experience, Hoa gained deeper insights into the differences between the old and new type of lesson plans and the reasons why they needed to change from the traditional type into the novel one The new format of lesson plan put an emphasis on developing students’ communicative competence for young learners serving as a detailed guideline for her to deliver the English lessons effectively The finding of the study was not in accordance with that of Do et al (2022), which highlighted the ineffective training programs for teachers to teach young learners, especially primary students

5.3 Teacher’s compliance with the textbook content

The observational data illustrated that Nhi followed the textbook content More specifically, she followed the textbook activities and made use of the mandated teaching materials such as students’ book, audio files, flashcards, Powerpoint slides, etc to deliver the lesson More specifically, she made little adjustment to the textbook activities, followed the order of the textbook activities, the textbook content, and deployed the available teaching resources to apply into her daily teaching practices Her acceptance to the textbook content reflected her passive agency to enact the changes towards the curriculum Teachers are suggested teaching all of the four skills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills with a focus on communicative skills, that is, listening and speaking (Moet, 2020a) Nhi, nevertheless, was not aware of her responsibility to prioritize communicative skills She instead taught all of the textbook content without paying attention to enhance students’ communicative competence Nhi sticked closely to the textbook content without making changes to the content to suit her students’ interest as well as the local learning conditions Le (2018) stated that teachers in his study made adaptation the the textbook content due to its inappropriateness and information overload Moon (2005) put an emphasis on the uninteresting content and colorful pictures with short text of the textbook, as a result, supporting materials should be enhanced by teachers to facilitate students’ learning progress

With the aim of examining the forces behind Nhi’s acceptance to the textbook content, the ecological model of teacher agency suggested by Prestley et al (2015) was employed The interview data demonstrated that her compliance with the textbook content was informed by the curriculum map and the textbook’s reliability During the interview, she indicated that adhering to the curriculum map facilitated her alignment with the textbook teaching content and facilitated her synchronization with her colleagues' instructional progress Furthermore, she adhered to the substance of the textbook in her teaching approach, as it is widely regarded as a reliable source of information Nhi’s adherence to the textbook content could be confirmed through her lesson plan in which she followed exactly the textbook activities and conducted the textbook activities in the order in the textbook She complied with the textbook content due to the influence of curriculum map and the textbook’s reliability, not based on students’ benefits Nguyen (2011) attributed teachers’ reliance on the textbook content to their acceptance to the textbook content might be driven by her lack of knowledge and experience as she was a novice teacher with little experience in teaching young learners of Grades 1 and

2 Nguyen (2011) also added that no training at the school and time-consuming training programs resulted in teachers’ adherence to the textbook content Therefore, more training program should be integrated to enhance teachers’ ability to make the best use of the textbook and observation of teachers’ colleagues at the school should be conducted for the purpose of helping teachers learn from their colleagues the ways to use the textbook content Additionally, Nguyen (2011) added that teachers’ beliefs influenced their adherence to the textbook as it was the main source for teaching English for the students More importantly, Nguyen (2011) added that clear instructions on the use of the textbook should be introduced to teachers so that they could have better awareness of the textbook usage Pham (2001) stated that teachers’ heavy workload resulted in teachers’ adherence to the textbook content and activities as making adaptations to the textbook content was considered as risky for teachers.

Teachers’ resistance to the prescribed teaching methods

The results of data demonstrated that teachers displayed their resistance to the prescribed teaching methods with a higher level of resistance could be identified in Huong and Nhi’s classes while a less frequency was seen in Hoa and Hang’s classes They made use of grammar-translation and audio-teaching methods in vocabulary and grammar instruction

As suggested in Circular 32, contextual learning should be applied in order to teach grammatical structures instead of utilizing traditional teaching methods like grammar translation and audio-lingual methods More specifically, linguistic content namely phonetics, words, and grammatical structures should not be taught out of context (Moet, 2018) The overuse of repetition and translation activities as well as limited employment of pair and group work activities could be frequently seen in their classes Teacher tended to follow the presentation – practice- production procedure in delivering the lesson to the students

The finding of the study is in accordance with that of Moon (2009), who found out the deployment of teaching approaches for adults applying to primary students namely drilling, repetition, concentrating on linguistic features, limited employment of pair and group work

Le (2020) also stated that teachers employed traditional teaching methods such as translation, repetition, substitution, etc in their classrooms It is also in alignment with Connor and Bengston (2020)’s study which illustrated that teachers changed from the innovative approach proposed by the curriculum mandates into the traditional approach Similarly, Harris and Graham (2019) demonstrated that teachers had the tendency to sustain in the tested teaching methods as they were trained to teach secondary students Moon (2009) highlighted that little change has been witnessed in teaching methodology for primary students with a focus on choral drills, rote learning, and teacher-fronted classes since English was introduced to primary students in the 1990s Therefore, teaching methods for primary students were not in line with the proposed ones in the curriculum mandates (Nguyen, 2011)

Priestley et al (2015)’s ecological model of teacher agency is employed to discover the resources for teachers’ resistance to follow the curriculum mandates’ teaching methods The interview data revealed certain motives related to the participating teachers’ resistance to follow teaching methods dictated by the curriculum mandates to maintain in their traditional teaching methods: habits, time constraints, and teacher’s prior knowledge Harris and Graham (2019), Le (2020) also demonstrated that teachers had the tendency to sustain in the tested teaching methods as they were trained to teach secondary students, therefore, they lacked proficiency in teaching methods for elementary pupils This phenomenon can be attributed, in part, to the instructional methods employed by instructors, which are typically influenced by their own training It is worth noting that a limited number of teachers have received specialized training in pedagogy specifically tailored to children (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2007) This argument can be clearly seen in Nhi’s case, who sustained in the employment of traditional methods shaped by the iterational dimension (her knowledge at the local college) equipping Nhi with teaching methods for secondary students This study, however, found out that Nhi’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods was also informed by her insufficient knowledge from the professional training program Nhi was not given detailed instructions of teaching pronunciation, grammar, receptive and productive skills Pham (2001) also added that the short-term training workshops had not provided teachers with sufficient knowledge of communicative teaching methods to deliver English lessons to students The finding of the study is consistent with that of Do et al (2020), who pointed out Vietnamese teachers received inappropriate training programs, as a result, they were unqualified and lack self-efficacy to teach primary students

Habits and time constraints could be recognized in Huong’s case Firstly, Huong’s ones Huong frequently deployed audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods in teaching vocabulary and grammatical structures She stated in an interview that she was accustomed to these teaching methods and they were applicable to students in recognizing and understanding new lexical items as well as grammatical structures Secondly, time constraints were another factor influencing Huong’s resistance to follow the curriculum policy’s teaching methods She reported that each lesson lasts about 50 minutes, therefore, translating the new words into Vietnamese is time-saving and enables the students to comprehend the meaning of these lexical items, especially complicated items such as violin and vase Despite the significant role time constraints played in the implementation of the curriculum, it is ignored in the ecological model of teacher agency proposed by Priestley et al (2015) Therefore, it should be added into the practical-evaluative dimension of agency due to its direct relevance to teachers’ current teaching curriculum

Teachers’ resistance to follow the prescribed teaching methods to maintain their traditional ones such as repetition, translation, limited deployment of pair and group work

On the one hand, they were trained to teach secondary students, therefore, they had inadequate knowledge and experience in teaching at primary schools Therefore, more professional training programs should be organized to provide teachers with appropriate teaching methods for primary students Teachers should make observations of their peers’ lessons and exchange viewpoints with their colleagues to deeper their knowledge of teaching methods and apply these ones into their real teaching practices

Nguyen (2011) also added that the college program did not include a specific subject for teaching primary students As mentioned in Huong’s case, she was introduced knowledge of psychology and teaching methods for secondary students, not primary ones In a similar vein, Nhi stated that she was equipped with knowledge of linguistics features and teaching methods for secondary students This can be clearly seen in Huong and Nhi’s cases, who reported that they made use of irrelevant songs to stimulate the students and review the previous lessons Songs and games were deployed by primary teachers, but they facilitated students’ rote learning rather than supporting their development of communicative competence (Moon, 2009) This might exert direct influence on students’ attitudes towards learning English Fullan (2007) also added that teachers’ proficiency level of English, teaching methods for primary students, and their knowledge of young learners’ mental development is of significance in putting the curriculum into practice

On the other hand, teachers sticked to the traditional teaching methods to avoid making changes to enacting the teaching methods, which showed their unwillingness to accept the new change from the Getting-to-know-English curriculum When teachers rely on familiar teaching methods, they have very limited room to exercise their agency in the classroom in order to cultivate conducive learning environments for their pupils Additionally, limited interactions could be recognized in such class as students had limited exposure to the authentic circumstances (Nguyen, 2011)

Other factors leading to teachers’ resistance to the prescribed teaching methods were insufficient teaching resources and small classroom size for organizing learning activities, even in advantageous local conditions (Hayes, 2008b) Sharing similar viewpoints with Hayes (2018b), Nguyen and Nguyen (2013) stated that the organization and class size within a classroom setting might present challenges when implementing novel teaching approaches for primary-aged children It can be clearly identified in Huong and Nhi’s cases, who reported that the classroom had small size with a capacity of 45 students per class which hindered teachers’ capabilities to develop appropriate teaching methods for young learners Nhi added that the traditional arrangement of tables and chairs in the classroom inhibiting students’ participation in the learning activities Additionally, in Huong’s case, she mentioned that she needed to consult other teaching materials due to the limited teaching materials of the primary school Additionally, the participating teachers reported that their resistance to the curriculum-mandated teaching methods was due to the insufficient training program Nguyen (2011) emphasized that teachers lacked their motivation to participate in such training program as it was time-consuming and not suitable for their time Observation of their colleagues’ lessons and training at the school cannot be identified in primary setting Therefore, it is understandable that they sticked to their habits of traditional teaching methods instead of adopting the new approach towards teaching methods for students’ benefits Therefore, there is a real need for integrating teaching English for primary students into the undergraduate programs Additionally, teaching methods for young learners are different from those for adults, therefore, there should be more training programs for primary school English teachers to meet the increasing demands of teachers at primary schools (Phan, 2017).

Teachers’ resistance to lesson planning

Data collected from teachers’ lesson plan showed that three out of four participating teachers resisted to follow the new format of lesson plan dictated by the curriculum mandates to maintain in their traditional way of planning lessons However, when their colleagues made observation of their lessons, the participating teachers submitted the lesson plan according to the dispatch 5512 proposed by the MOET More specifically, Huong maintained her traditional method of lesson planning Her lesson plan consisted of three main objectives, that is to say, knowledge, skills, and attitudes with three main contents namely time, teacher’s activities, and students’ activities Similarly, Nhi followed the traditional form of lesson planning and refused to comply with the new format of planning lessons proposed by the curriculum policy Her lesson plan often had three main columns: time, teachers’ activities, and students’ activities Hang shared similar viewpoints with Huong and Nhi in resisting to use the new format of lesson planning dictated by the curriculum mandates

The results of the interview extracts demonstrated the driving forces impacting teachers’ resistance to follow the new format of lesson plan to sustain in their traditional way of planning the lessons namely their previous professional experience and prior knowledge Huong stated in an interview extract that her resistance to lesson plan dictated by the curriculum mandates was driven by her previous professional experience In reference to the old format of lesson plan, the new type had longer and more detailed information If teachers follow the new format, they will run out of their time in delivering the lessons to their students She complained that this format would take five periods to apply rather than one period Nhi’s resistance to planning lessons was impacted by her previous professional experience as she followed her supervisor’s lesson plan when she had the internship at a secondary school It can be clearly seen that Nhi's comprehension of specific pedagogical knowledge, such as their grasp of lesson planning in the context of teaching English, is heavily influenced by the instructional methods employed by their mentors in educating them about this aspect of pedagogy Hang also reported that when teachers looked at the lessons, all of them could predict teaching activities and objectives of these activities Only teachers who did not go through pedagogical training needed such lesson plans

Most of the participating teachers showed their resistance to follow the new format of lesson plan to sustain in the traditional format which was influenced by their prior knowledge and previous professional experience It can be clearly seen that they got accustomed to the ways of planning lesson due to its simplicity and practicality while complying with the new format was time-consuming and unnecessary as they had a little experience in teaching primary students and lesson plan just served as a guideline for them to follow The teachers showed hidden resistance to planning lessons in which they expressed their conformity with lesson plan according to the dispatch 5512 when their colleagues made observations of their lessons However, they resisted to follow the new format of lesson plan to sustain in the old one in their normal teaching practices Resistance to change could be considered as negative agency, which was shaped by teachers’ lack of motivation to enact changes to implement the curriculum reform (Priestley et al., 2012) This study, on the other hand, discovered that resistance to follow the lesson plan according to the dispatch 5512 was based on teachers’ prior knowledge and previous professional experience, and insufficient training program In addition, Le et al (2020) added that teachers’ enactment in planning lessons was influenced by the school culture The enactment of teacher in lesson planning could be enhanced if the school culture gave the teachers opportunities to enact their own decisions and take novel activities to make improvements on students’ communicative competence However, if the lesson plan was scrutinized by the school administrators, teachers would feel stressful.

Teachers’ resistance to the prescribed assessment methods

The observational and document data revealed that the participating teachers showed their resistance to the prescribed assessment methods by observing students’ learning activities without noting down students’ learning progress in teachers’ teaching diaries, scoring students’ workbook exercises, and scoring their final tests at the end of each semester

Firstly, the participating teachers resisted to assessment methods dictated by the curriculum mandates by assessing students through repetition and translation of the new lexical items without noting down students’ learning progress in teachers’ teaching diaries Huong confirmed the way of measuring students’ learning progress through the afore- mentioned way in the interview However, in the interview, Nhi stated that she evaluated her students through communicative activities, but she evaluated her students through translation and repetition activities in reality This showed her external conformity with the curriculum mandates but internal resistance to the prescribed assessment methods in her daily teaching practices Students in Huong and Nhi’s classes were assessed through repetition and translation activities rather than communication activities which was incongruent with the curriculum mandates Teachers are advised to conduct assessment activities throughout students’ learning progress with a focus on communicative competence, particularly listening comprehension (Moet, 2018) Furthermore, although teachers shared their same perspectives in assessing students through learning activities, they did not note down students’ learning progress into their notebooks As illustrated in the curriculum policy, teachers should write detailed suggestions and give suitable solutions for students (Moet, 2018)

In addition to assessing students’ learning progress through in-class repetition and translation activities, students in Huong and Nhi’s classes were evaluated through their completion of workbook exercises Scoring students’ final tests at the end of the semester was also identified in their classes This can be confirmed in a study carried out by Do et al (2022), who pointed out that test would be used to assess students as its direct relevance to teachers’ reputation, professional advancement, and time management

While assessment for young learners of Grades 1 and 2 should be fun and conducted to build their confidence and develop their love for learning English, the final test seemed to be the focus of assessment in Huong and Nhi’s classes However, it is not obligatory for teachers to assess young learners of Grades 1 and 2 through tests (Moet, 2020b) As suggested in Circular 27 (Moet, 2020b), it is unnecessary for students to take the final test at the end of the semester as English is the optional subject for students of Grades 1 and 2 The government expects the students at this level to be assessed through ongoing process rather than summative test, which might not show their strengths and weaknesses throughout the semester

In order to look into the motives behind teachers’ resistance to assessment methods dictated by the curriculum mandates, the ecological model of teacher agency proposed by Priestley et al (2015) was used in the study The interview data showed that teachers’ previous professional experience, students’ learning outcomes, the school policy, and teachers’ colleagues exerted direct influence on their resistance to assessment methods proposed by the curriculum mandates The previous professional experience served as the iterational dimension which exerted direct influence on Huong’s resistance to the prescribed assessment methods She resisted to follow the assessment methods mandated by the curriculum mandates due to its impracticality and unfeasibility

Students’ learning outcomes, teachers’ colleagues, and the school policy served as the practical-evaluative dimension for teachers’ resistance to the prescribed assessment methods Students’ learning outcomes and teachers’ colleagues impacted the ways teachers resisted to the prescribed assessment methods, which could be identified in Nhi’s case, who would like to see the results of the tests to compare the students’ learning progress at the start and end of the semester so that she could identify students’ weaknesses and find out solutions to issues arising from the test for the next semester In addition, she followed her colleagues’ assessment methods by assessing the students through written and spoken tests The school policy can be revealed in Huong’s case, who emphasized the importance of students’ scores of the tests to inform the homeroom teachers and students’ parents about their learning progress and their parents might base on teachers’ comments to give suitable support for their children Studies carried out by Ryder et al (2018) and Connor and Bengtson (2020) also revealed the influence of students’ learning outcomes on the ways teachers enacted their individual agency in assessment methods

The data from mini-biography of Huong and Nhi revealed that their resistance to the prescribed assessment methods might be rooted from their lack of knowledge of the ways to evaluate students from the training program The program offered teachers with ambiguous documents which constrained teachers’ capabilities of conducting assessment in their real teaching practices Resistance based on students’ learning outcomes and students’ parents’ expectations, not their habits or individual interest The content of assessment must be in line with the objectives and requirements of the curriculum (Moet, 2018) However, scoring students’ exercises and marking their final tests as seen in Huong and Nhi’s cases were incongruence with the objectives and requirements of the curriculum, which put an emphasis on students’ communicative competence and put priority on listening comprehension Vietnamese policy documents adopted the top-down approach, which showed few interactions among policy makers, teachers, and parents There is a mismatch between the curriculum policy and teachers in terms of assessment methods It might be the ambiguous documents delivered by the MOET and few discussions among the macro- and micro-level of putting the English into practice.

Teachers’ adaptation to the textbook content

The observational data showed that the participating teachers show their adaptation to the textbook content by (1) focusing on teaching vocabulary pronunciation and vocabulary spelling, and (2) paying attention to teaching listening and speaking skills instead of covering all of the textbook content They made modification to the textbook content by eliminating, adding, and modifying the textbook activities Hoa adapted the textbook teaching content most frequently, which was followed by Hang, Huong respectively Huong paid attention to vocabulary pronunciation and spelling while other teachers such as Hoa and Hang concentrated on not only vocabulary pronunciation and spelling but also listening and speaking skills

The interview extracts gave further explanation on the driving forces behind their adaptations to the textbook content such as their prior knowledge, their accountability outcomes, students’ learning outcomes, students’ parents’ expectations, and students’ English proficiency level Teachers’ prior knowledge had direct influence on the ways they adapted the textbook teaching content by paying attention to teaching vocabulary and communication skills Huong reported that her high school teacher focuses much on teaching lexical items and doing exercises to review these words Therefore, she focused much on lexical items and made attempts to help students get to know and understand basic vocabulary Hang highlighted that she focused on communication skills as they were ineffectively taught at her high school As a communication teacher, she would like to make improvement on students’ communicative competence so that students could use learned vocabulary in daily communication setting

Another factor influencing teachers’ adaptation to the textbook teaching content was students’ learning outcomes Students in Hoa and Hang’s classes are expected to acquire some simple words or phrases, listen and answer simple questions in daily activities and follow teachers’ instructions in the classroom contexts while students in Huong’s classes are expected to get to know basic vocabulary and use them in daily context as lexical items laid the basic foundation to develop other skills

Accountability outcomes and students’ parents’ expectations are also revealed to exert direct influence on the ways Huong and Hoa adapted the textbook teaching content Teacher’s accountability outcomes would be measured through students’ vocabulary acquisition and communication skills in Huong and Hoa’s classes respectively Students’ parents in Hoa’s class would be satisfied if their children could use simple words in English in daily communication situations Hang also demonstrated that the English proficiency of her students affected her textbook adaptation She stated in an interview that she adapted her teaching material to the level of each student, elaborating on speaking concepts, vocabulary, and grammatical structures for higher-level students while providing fundamental material for lower-level students The content of each class was tailored to the students' English proficiency

It can be clearly seen from the interview and observational data that teachers’ adaptation to teaching content proposed by the curriculum mandates Teachers’ adaptation to teaching content was in line with the instruction guidelines which demonstrated teachers were given rights to make flexible modifications to the teaching content to ensure its suitability with the curriculum, the lesson objectives, students and local learning conditions (Moet, 2020a, p 2) It is also in accordance with the results of the study conducted by Desmaizayatri (2020) and Tao and Gao (2019), who showed teachers’ adaptation to teaching content mandated by the curriculum policy Teachers should be active in proposing the content that needs to be modified or supplemented (Moet, 2021) In addition, the content that they had difficulties in enacting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and they felt satisfied with should be noted down by the teachers for the purpose of helping them exchange ideas with their colleagues at the monthly exchange (Moet, 2021)

The ecological model of teacher agency proposed by Priestley et al (2015) was deployed in this study to discover motives behind teachers’ adaptation to the textbook content The data revealed that teachers’ adaptation to the teaching content was influenced by their prior knowledge, accountability outcomes, students’ parents’ expectations, and students’ learning outcomes, and students’ proficiency English level Desmaizayatri (2020) and Tao and Gao (2017) revealed that teachers adapted their teaching content which was driven by the iterational dimension of agency (teachers’ prior knowledge) The influence of teachers’ prior knowledge was identified in Huong and Hang’s cases Huong reported that her high school teacher focuses much on teaching lexical items and doing exercises to review these words as they would be tested in the examination Therefore, she also paid attention to building up ineffectively taught at her high school, consequently, she would like to develop students’ communicative competence effectively

Another factor influencing teachers’ adaptation to the textbook content was teachers’ accountability outcomes, which was also identified in Harris and Graham (2019)’s study Teachers in their study focused on teaching familiar topics to help the students achieve flying colors in the examination, which was driven by their accountability outcomes The assessment of teacher accountability would involve evaluating the progress of students' vocabulary acquisition and communication skills in the classes taught by Huong and Hoa, respectively

Although the studies conducted by Desmaizayatri (2020), Tao and Gao (2019), Harris and Graham (2019) did mention the impacts of teachers’ prior knowledge, accountability outcomes, they did not reveal that students’ parents’ expectations, students’ learning outcomes, and students’ proficiency English level also exerted their direct influence on teachers’ adaptation to the textbook teaching content which could be shown in the results of this study

Due to the fact that English is considered the optional subject for Grades 1 and 2, the Getting-to-know-English curriculum is taught in the form of socialization Primary schools will be in collaboration with foreign language center to teach English for Grades 1 and 2 with the financial contribution from students’ parents This study revealed that all of the participating teachers were full-time teachers at foreign language centers and they taught as part-time primary school English teachers for Grades 1 and 2 As a result, students’ learning outcomes, students’ parents’ expectations, students’ proficiency English level, and teachers’ accountabilities were the main driving forces impacting their agency enactment in teaching content and should be integrated into the practical-evaluative dimension of agency in the ecological model by Priestley et al (2015).

Teacher’s adaptation to the prescribed assessment methods

The observational data revealed that Hang, one of the four teachers involved, modified the mandated assessment methods by incorporating communicative and writing tasks and evaluating their workbook exercises Nevertheless, she neglected to record the children' learning progress in her notebook In the study conducted by Ryder et al (2018), instructors incorporated assessment matrices into their lesson plans, making adjustments to focus on the specific content assessed in the examination These adaptations were made to align with the needs of their classes and their own objectives Connor and Bengtson (2020) found that teachers tend to adhere to the evaluation techniques prescribed by curriculum regulations Hang's utilization of assessment methodologies was motivated by her prior professional expertise The findings of the study are inconsistent with those of Ryder et al (2018) and Connor and Bentson (2020), who asserted that the curriculum assessment influenced the assessment designs of teachers

Hang modified the recommended assessment methodologies to align with her prior professional expertise She previously employed certain evaluation techniques in her classes and saw the efficacy of those techniques in assessing students' understanding of the lesson

On the other hand, the process of creating exams was laborious and inexperienced students lacked familiarity with the test structure, rendering these assessments ineffective in accurately assessing their English language proficiency Hang's adaption to the specified assessment methods was mostly influenced by her prior professional experience, rather than the curriculum assessment This was done with the intention of benefiting the pupils.

The influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions on teachers’ individual agency

5.9.1 The influence of the iterational and practical-evaluative dimension on teachers’ enactment in teaching methods

The data revealed that teachers’ current enactment in teaching methods was influenced by the iterational and practical-evaluative dimension of agency while the role of the projective dimension was not found in this study

Based on Priestley et al.'s (2015) concept of the temporal dimension of agency, Hang and Nhi's life histories, namely their prior knowledge from college, may be seen as the iterational dimension of agency They recalled this knowledge when it was beneficial for their current situation Hang stated that she would follow the positive things from her lecturers to facilitate students’ vocabulary acquisition Therefore, she showed her acceptance to the prescribed teaching methods through certain activities such as physical movements, experiencing with other objects, pair work, group work, etc However, there were also weaknesses of the initial education program, as experienced by Nhi She argued that her primary ones She, as a result, demonstrated her resistance to the prescribed teaching methods to sustain in the traditional teaching ones namely translation, repetition, and substitution From what Hang and Nhi stated, their current enactment in teaching methods have developed while they went through the process of becoming a student teacher As suggested in Borg (2003), teachers’ prior knowledge in the initial education program laid the basic foundation for teachers’ future teaching practices and shaped their beliefs, attitudes, and perspectives

Nhi also revealed that her current enactment in teaching methods was influenced by the insufficient knowledge from the professional development program in which she was not given adequate instructions of teaching pronunciation, grammar, receptive and productive skills Nonetheless, strengths of the professional development program could be identified in Hoa’s case The prior knowledge Hoa gained through the professional development program impacted her current teaching methods Through the professional development program, she was introduced several teaching methods for young learners and the ways to apply them into the classroom and had valuable opportunities to exchange ideas with the colleagues at the intra and inter-school levels Therefore, knowledge of teaching methods for young learners gaining from training was used in her classroom Additionally, experience exchanging with her colleagues changed her mind from a teacher being shy of using body language into practicing them in the classroom contexts She emphasized that mindset changing brought favorable outcomes for the students

In accord with the knowledge of the professional training program, Hoa also stated that she relied on her previous professional history (previous professional experience) to enact her current teaching methods There were valuable opportunities for her to exchange ideas with her colleagues at the foreign language center about different issues of the Getting-to- know-English curriculum, especially teaching methods for young learners of Grades 1 and 2 Sharing similar vein with Hoa, Huong stated that her current teaching methods was influenced by her previous professional experience She was accustomed to the traditional teaching methods, that is to say, translation, repetition, and substitution which were applicable to her students in recognizing and understanding new lexical items as well as grammatical structures From what Hoa and Huong reported, their current teaching methods were developed when they have gone through the process of becoming an experienced teacher The previous professional experience gaining from the process of becoming an experienced teacher shaped Hoa’s acceptance to the prescribed teaching methods while it led to Huong’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods It can be seen that experienced teachers had the tendency to follow their traditional methods instead of adopting innovative ones which were less demanding, as illustrated in Huong’s case Hoa, on the other hand, although being an experienced teacher, she took agentic actions in response to the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, particularly teaching methods through the employment of the prescribed teaching methods for students namely Total physical response, experiential learning, etc to create fun and interesting lessons for her students Hoa’s acceptance to the prescribed teaching methods might be rooted from her current school context where she worked under the culture of creativity The school culture encourages teachers to create interesting lessons for students

Huong’s mini-biography also added that knowledge from the professional training program provided insufficient knowledge of teaching methods for young learners for her In addition to the iterational dimension (the previous professional experience and inadequate knowledge of the professional development program) to enact teaching methods, contemporary factor, that is, time constraints also impacted Huong’s current enactment in teaching methods She reported that each lesson lasted about 50 minutes, therefore, translating the new lexical items into Vietnamese is time-saving and enabled students to comprehend the meaning of these lexical items, especially complicated items It can be clearly seen that Huong’s resistance to the prescribed teaching methods was attributed to her previous professional experience of an experienced teacher and the contemporary factor of the Getting- to-know-English curriculum, that is, time constraints

5.9.2 The influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions on teachers’ enactment in teaching content

The data unveiled that teachers’ current enactment in teaching content was influenced by the iterational and practical-evaluative, and projective dimension of agency

It was revealed that teacher agency enactment in teaching content was shaped by the iterational dimension (teachers’ life histories and professional histories) As illustrated in Hang and Huong’s cases, it is seen that their adaptation to the textbook content was driven by their life histories (prior knowledge) and professional histories (previous professional experience) Teachers’ prior knowledge serves as the iterational dimension impacting their current enactment in teaching content Huong stated that she paid attention to vocabulary pronunciation and vocabulary spelling as her high school teacher put an emphasis on these linguistic components Hang, however, focused on teaching communicative skills due to her high school teacher’s insufficient capability in teaching those skills, therefore, she would like to make improvement on teaching communication skills It is clearly seen that two teachers were influenced by their iterational dimension, however, their prior knowledge of teaching content was different from each other Huong followed her high school teacher’s teaching content with a focus on vocabulary pronunciation and spelling instruction while Hang focused on teaching communication skills as her teacher’s inability to deliver them to the students Along with prior knowledge from the education program, previous professional experience from the foreign language center also influenced Huong and Hang’s teaching content From Huong’s statement, she paid attention to teaching vocabulary pronunciation and spelling as vocabulary laid the basic foundation for fostering other skills Hang, on the other hand, focused on teaching communication skills with an emphasis on vocabulary enhancement due to her role as a communication teacher at a foreign language center It is evident that the focus of teachers’ teaching content was influenced by their experience in teaching at the foreign language center

The findings also confirmed that teachers’ prior knowledge from their education program and previous professional experience from the foreign language center had considerably contributed to their current teaching content They made adaptation to the textbook content they believed was right for the classroom setting given their previous knowledge and experience However, teachers felt that their prior knowledge and previous professional experience were inadequate for them to facilitate them in teaching due to certain factors relevant to the current curriculum mandates From the cases of the participating teachers, it is revealed that they relied on their accountability outcomes, students’ learning outcomes, and students’ English proficiency level to make adaptation to the textbook content They paid attention to teaching vocabulary pronunciation, vocabulary spelling, listening and speaking skills instead of covering all of the textbook content They made modification to the textbook content by eliminating, adding, and modifying the textbook activities

The participating teachers revealed that they could not heavily rely on their prior knowledge gained during the education program and previous experience at the foreign language center They believed that they needed to concentrate on teaching vocabulary as their accountability outcomes were measured through students’ vocabulary acquisition as illustrated in Huong’s case Another factor was students’ learning outcomes highlighted in Hoa’s case She stated that students were expected to acquire some simple words or phrases, listen and answer simple questions in daily activities and follow teachers’ instructions in the classroom setting Hang, however, adapted the textbook content to suit her students’ proficiency level with a focus on providing fundamental material for lower-level students while students with higher level were equipped deeper content It is seen that teachers based on the current requirements of the curriculum mandates namely teachers’ accountability outcomes, students’ learning outcomes, and students’ English proficiency level to make adaptation to the textbook content to suit students’ interests and levels, not just follow the textbook content in accord with the curriculum mandates Sharing similar perspective with other teachers, Nhi also highlighted the influence of the curriculum map and textbook’s reliability which served as a practical-evaluative dimension on her current enactment in teaching content She would like to keep up with her colleagues’ progress and textbook was a reliable source for her to follow, therefore, she accepted the textbook content through following the textbook activities and the order of the textbook activities It is seen that the participating teachers did not follow the instructions of the curriculum mandates unquestioningly but make adaptation to the textbook content according to certain factors relevant to the practical-evaluative dimension of agency

The study also provided evidence that teachers’ expectation and students’ parents’ expectation served as a strong motivator of teacher agency enactment in teaching content Their future expectations assisted them in making current decision in teaching students with a focus on teaching vocabulary and communication skills as illustrated in Hoa and Huong’s cases Although the result from the interview data revealed that teachers’ adaptation to the textbook content was driven by their expectations, it was challenging to draw conclusion about whether the enactment of agency is short-term or long-term In addition to teachers’ expectations, their enactment in teaching content was also influenced by students’ parents’ the influence of teachers’ expectations on the current agency enactment of teachers, it neglected the role of students’ parents’ expectations With these expectations, teachers made attempts to focus on teaching communication skills to meet students’ parents’ expectations Parents expected their children to communicate effectively in simple daily conversations

In general, the available textbook required the teachers to make adaptation to the textbook content to suit students’ interests and their English proficiency level but still took into consideration the instructions from the curriculum mandates When viewed from the curriculum mandates, it is not clear what teaching content the teachers should focus on to develop students’ communication skills It is teachers’ prior knowledge, previous professional experience, teachers’ accountability outcomes, students’ learning outcomes, and students’ English proficiency level, the curriculum map, the textbook’s reliability, teachers’ expectations, and students’ parents’ expectations that exerted direct influence on the agency enactment of teachers in teaching content

5.9.3 The influence of the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions on teachers’ enactment in assessment methods

The data revealed that the iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimension of agency impacted the ways teachers enacted their current assessment methods

In assessment methods, teachers showed their acceptance, resistance, and adaptation to the prescribed assessment methods Teachers drew upon their prior professional experience and the knowledge gained from their professional training program serving as the iterational dimension to inform their current assessment methods How the teachers adapted their assessment methods can be seen in Hang’s case, who reactivated the experience she had at a primary school to employ communicative activities and workbook exercises to evaluate students’ learning progress without noting students’ learning progress into her notebook Sharing similar perspective with Hang, Huong also based on her previous professional experience to enact her agency in assessment methods, however, she resisted to follow the prescribed assessment methods due to its impracticality and unfeasibility

In addition to basing on the previous professional experience, teachers relied on their knowledge gained from the professional development program to enact their assessment methods as mentioned in the mini-biography of Huong and Nhi’s cases They did not follow the instructions of the curriculum mandates in assessing young learners, but resisted to follow them by making use of repetition and translation activities, workbook exercises and final tests The data from mini-biography of two teachers Huong and Nhi, revealed that the insufficient knowledge from the professional development program inhibited them from following the prescribed assessment methods As suggested by Do et al (2020), teachers received insufficient knowledge of conducting formative assessment throughout their teaching process This can be seen in Huong and Nhi’s cases, who pointed out their lack of knowledge of assessment methods for young learners from the training program The policy documents might be ambiguous and teachers do not know how to evaluate students’ learning progress based on these documents as can be seen in Huong’s case The issue was getting worse as teachers needed to evaluate the students and deliver the lesson simultaneously as mentioned in Nhi’s case Pham (2013) also confirmed the ineffectiveness of the professional training program which delivered inadequate knowledge for teachers in terms of assessment methods for young learners Teacher training might be theoretical rather than practice orientation which inhibited teachers’ ability to conduct suitable methods of assessment into their classrooms

The data also revealed that teachers not only reactivated their iterational dimension but also based on certain current factors of the curriculum mandates namely the school policy, students’ learning outcomes, the curriculum assessment, and their colleagues to assess their students in the current context Although the afore-mentioned factors exerted direct influence on teachers’ enactment in assessment methods, they were not mentioned in the ecological model by Priestley et al (2015) These factors can facilitate or constrain teachers’ capability to exercise their current agencies From the cases of Huong and Nhi, they resisted the prescribed assessment methods to follow the school policy and their colleagues The school policy required the teachers to inform the homeroom teachers and students’ parents about students’ scores of the final tests as in the case of Huong

In addition, teacher’ colleagues evaluated their students through written and spoken test, as seen in Nhi’s case, she followed her colleagues’ assessment methods In her case, students’ learning outcomes also impacted her current assessment methods She did not follow the instructions of the curriculum mandates in which students should be assessed through communicate activities, but evaluated students through repetition and translation activities Her agency in assessment methods might be driven by her belief The data revealed that she sticked to the belief that students’ learning progress could be assessed through her familiar ways of teaching namely repetition and translation activities Reflecting from the above cases, the participating teachers blindly followed the school policy and their colleagues without questioning about whether they should exercise their agency in that way or not Their resistance to the prescribed assessment methods was not for the sake of the students Teachers’ capability in enacting their current assessment methods might be constrained by the school policy which they were required to follow the rigid guidelines proposed by the school and had little freedom to enact their own agency to bring benefits to the students In this case, they needed to ensure their accountability outcomes by following the school policy and their colleagues

However, in the case of Hoa, the curriculum assessment serving as the practical- evaluative dimension facilitated her current enactment in assessment methods She followed the prescribed assessment methods by assessing students through formative assessment throughout the semester The data from her mini-biography also confirmed that she got familiar with assessment methods proposed by the curriculum mandates through her participation in the professional training program She did not blindly follow the instructions of the curriculum mandates, but identified the strengths and weaknesses of evaluating students throughout the semester rather than at the end of the semester Hoa did not choose the assessment methods she learned from her colleagues or followed the school policy, but took into consideration the current classroom setting Hoa’s acceptance to the prescribed assessment methods was in accordance with the current curriculum guidelines The data also revealed that students’ parents’ expectations, which served as the projective dimension supported Hoa in her enactment in assessment methods in the current context Parents want teachers to assist their children in enhancing their learning and resolving any concerns that may arise throughout the current teaching and learning process However, it is difficult to determine whether the expectations of the students' parents are short-term or long-term

5.9.4 The influence of the iterational and practical-evaluative dimension of agency on teachers’ enactment in lesson planning

The data showed that the ways teachers enacted their current enactment in lesson planning was driven by the iterational and practical-evaluative dimension of agency

The influence of collective actions on individual agency

Teachers’ adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas

The data revealed that teachers made adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas Teacher collaboration impacted individual teacher agency in which teachers modified their individual agency in certain aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Hoa made adaptation to teaching methods, mistake correction techniques, teaching materials, feedback giving, and classroom management Hang modified teaching methods, assessment methods, and mistake correction techniques

The participating teachers, Hoa and Hang shared their similar perspectives in making adaptation to teaching methods The researcher conducted an initial observation of Hoa's instructional session and determined that Hoa employed the traditional teaching methods through repetition and translation activities Hang, on the other hand, used flashcards as a pedagogical tool for introducing and instructing the new lexical items However, the observational data of the second and third observations conducted on October and November

2022 confirmed that Hoa made adaptation to teaching methods by integrating more enjoyable activities rather than following the repetitive and boring textbook ones Hang utilized flashcards and physical gestures as instructional tools for delivering vocabulary lessons Teachers’ adaptation to teaching methods was due to the influence of peer observation discussion after their first teaching sessions

In addition to teaching methods, Hoa adapted her colleagues’ ideas in teaching materials and classroom management Regarding teaching materials, Hoa made use of the available teaching materials in the first observation of her teaching without using other teaching materials Nevertheless, Hoa consulted other teaching materials in order to align them with the students' proficiency levels, their educational goals, and the specific contextual factors of the learning environment in the second and third observations of her teaching practices after exchanging ideas with her colleagues in the first observation

Concerning classroom management, Hoa was recommended to seek assistance from the monitor and group leaders of the class to ensure the maintenance of classroom discipline throughout the whole lesson after her colleagues’ observation of her first lesson The results of the second and third observations showed that Hoa made adaptation to her colleagues’ ideas by requesting students’ assistance just in the review and practice sections, rather than the entire section She emphasized that assigning them the task of monitoring other pupils for the entire section would impede their ability to fully grasp the lesson

Besides having similar standpoints in teaching materials and classroom management, techniques The first observation showed that Hoa corrected her students’ mistakes immediately Having discussion with colleagues at the foreign language center enabled Hoa to make adaptation to her mistake correction techniques after her first teaching session Hoa’s colleagues at the foreign language center suggested that she should correct her students’ mistakes immediately or ignored it However, she emphasized that the correction of students' mistakes should be contingent upon the specific instructional contexts Mistakes made by students in isolated words or basic sentences should be addressed promptly, but mistakes made during presentations should be handled at a later time to prevent students from feeling embarrassed In a similar vein, Hang made adaptation to her colleagues’ ideas of mistake correction Having discussed with colleagues after her first teaching session, she made adaptation to her colleagues’ ideas of mistake correction The proposition put up by her colleagues posits that it is more effective to promptly rectify students' faults during the learning process, as opposed to addressing them at a later stage Nevertheless, Hang asserted that the fast correction of students' errors by teachers could potentially induce feelings of embarrassment and impede students’ rate of learning Consequently, she employed a strategy of addressing students' errors during a subsequent phase of their learning process in order to enhance their self-assurance and expedite their development of oral fluency Furthermore, she held the belief that the act of creating errors is an inherent part of the learning process Consequently, instructors of the English language ought not to excessively prioritize the correction of students' errors

In addition to the afore-mentioned aspects, Hoa also made adaptation to her colleagues’ feedback giving while Hang adapted assessment methods from her colleagues Concerning feedback giving, Hoa frequently gave feedback by offering praises, followed by subsequent unpleasant remarks in her first teaching session According to her colleagues’ suggestions, she made adaptation to giving feedback in the following manner: positive compliments, negative comments, and positive compliments Compliments are utilized in an educational context to provide motivation to pupils without causing any harm to their emotional well-being With reference to assessment methods, Hang acquired knowledge of assessment methods for students through interactions with colleagues This allowed for the identification and selection of effective assessment strategies to be used within her classroom, facilitating the identification of students' strengths and shortcomings Conversely, inadequate assessment methods were recognized and excluded from use In the first observation of Hang’s teaching, she assessed the students through repetition activities, however, the second and third observations illustrated that students in her class were assessed through communicative learning activities

The results of data revealed the positive impact of collective agency on individual teachers’ teaching practices in certain aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum such as teaching methods, mistake correction techniques, teaching materials, feedback giving, and classroom management, and assessment methods (Xie et al., 2023), which can be seen in Hang’s case She adapted her colleagues’ ideas of assessment methods via evaluating students through communicative learning activities Additionally, teachers developed their teaching materials through the collective actions (Yang, 2015), which was clearly shown in Hoa’s case Hoa deployed additional teaching materials in alignment with her students’ level, goal, and present learning conditions

It is imperative for teachers to actively participate in innovative pedagogical practices, effectively respond to diverse demands within their professional environment, effectively communicate and collaborate with their colleagues and the multifaceted implications of policies, exercise autonomy in decision-making, and strike a harmonious equilibrium between individual inclinations and collective collegial consensus (Tom et al., 2015) Teacher collaboration is of great importance in facilitating teachers’ ability to navigate their individual agency This includes their capacity to make adaptation and acceptance to the prescribed curriculum documents to align with certain practices (Robinson, 2012) Boyle et al (2005) also added that teachers’ collaborative activities could lead to the changes in certain aspects of teachers’ individual teaching practices While teacher collaboration may not directly provide ways to address challenges individuals encounter, they have a significant impact on teachers' endeavors to enhance their real teaching practices This is achieved through the creative utilization of personal experience and current knowledge.

The influence of teachers’ iterational dimension on their adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas

The driving forces shaped teachers’ adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas were based on the ecological model of teacher agency proposed by Priestley et al (2015) The results of the data showed that teachers made adaptation to their colleagues’ ideas due to the iterational dimension From the iterational dimension, teachers’ previous professional experience exerted direct influence on the ways teachers adapted their colleagues’ ideas Hoa’s previous experience and her active collaboration with her colleagues at the primary school and the foreign language center enabled her to criticize the notion of adopting colleagues’ ideas She argued that adopting ideas proposed by the colleagues without making modifications to them would lead to the failure in the process of teaching Therefore, she made adaptation to her colleagues’ ideas taking into account students’ psychological characteristics and cognitions The collaboration process with her colleagues led to her individual adaptation to her teaching methods, error correction techniques, teaching materials, feedback giving, and classroom management Hoa made adaptation to the afore-mentioned aspects while giving higher consideration to the instructions of the curriculum guidelines to suit students’ levels, interests, and the local learning conditions The extent to which Hoa mediated between her collaboration with her colleagues inside and outside the school setting and interpretation of the curriculum guidelines enabled her to make independent choices and balance between her individual interests with her colleagues’ ideas

Sharing similar perspective with Hoa, Hang made adaptation to her colleagues’ ideas due to the influence of the iterational dimension From the iterational dimension, the previous professional experience impacted her adaptation her colleagues’ ideas Hang reported that each teacher possessed his or her own teaching style and they knew the ways to deliver the English lessons effectively Therefore, she listened to ideas proposed by her colleagues and made adaptation to her own individual teaching methods, assessment methods, and mistake correction techniques to help the students achieve their full potential of learning English and bring favorable learning conditions for them From the case of Hang, she did not blindly follow her colleagues’ ideas in certain aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, but she considered their ideas by utilizing her iterational dimension (previous professional experience) to make improvement on her current teaching practices It is seen that she based not only on her the iterational dimension (previous professional experience) gained from her colleagues at the intra- and inter-school levels but also took into consideration the practical- evaluative dimension (students’ learning outcomes) in the current context

The data revealed from the mini-biography also confirmed that teachers had little interactions with their colleagues at the primary school where they worked as a part-time teacher for students of Grades 1 and 2 as illustrated in Hang’ case Therefore, she mainly gained fruitful ideas from her colleagues through the monthly meeting at the foreign language center Similarly, Hoa stated that her collective actions were mainly through her collaboration with her colleagues at the foreign language center From the cases of Hang and Hoa, it is seen that teacher collaboration with their colleagues was mainly through the foreign language center, not the primary school where they worked part-time The participating teachers had the contract with the primary schools to teach young learners of Grades 1 and 2 It is in line with the result of the study by Moon (2009), who stated that English teachers were hired on contract by the majority of the primary school It might be their role as part-time teachers that they had little interactions with their colleagues at the primary school

As suggested by Nguyen (2011), contractual teachers had low commitment to the school, motivation, and status which inhibited them from enhancing the process of teaching English However, from the cases of Hang and Hoa, although working as contractual teachers at primary schools, they made attempts to make improvement on their current teaching practices through collaborating with their colleagues at the foreign language center to make adaptation to certain aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for the sake of the students It might be accountability outcomes that led to their agentic actions in putting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice The data from Hang’s mini-biography also revealed that fierce competition among teachers could be seen at the foreign language center in which teachers would be fired if they could not teach effectively Therefore, teachers like Hoa and Hang needed to make effort to enhance their current teaching practices individually and collectively to secure their job.

Teachers’ resistance to their colleagues’ ideas

The interview data illustrated that Huong and Nhi participated in the collective actions to put the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice through the peer observation discussion, the professional development program, and informal interactions at the foreign language center The positive influence of teacher collaboration on individual teacher agency could be identified in studies by Turnbull (2005), Priestley et al (2015), Poulton (2020), Fu (2014), Ryder et al (2016), Nguyen and Bui (2016), who stated that teachers’ engagement in the school communities facilitated their individual ways of designing materials, comprehending policy documents, tackling challenges relevant to their teaching, making preparation for the test, and limiting the influence of the summative tasks Additionally, the participation of teachers in the collective actions enables them to develop and implement more flexible and applicable resources for the teaching and learning process, taking into account their own sociocultural contexts (Spicer, 2011) This study, however, revealed teacher’s resistance to follow colleagues’ ideas In other words, collective actions had little impact on teacher’s individual agency of putting the Getting-to-know-English curriculum into practice in certain aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum namely teaching methods, assessment methods, teaching materials, and classroom management

The researcher conducted the first observation of Huong and Nhi’s classes on September 2022 and witnessed that they made frequent use of repetition and translation activities, sticked to the textbook content, evaluated students through repetition and translation activities rather than communicative ones After the first observation, the researcher asked what teaching methods they had applied in their classes, they reported that they applied communicative teaching methods to suit young learners’ characteristics They were also asked what their teaching content was, what assessment methods, what classroom management techniques they had employed in their classes They reported that they consulted other teaching materials in addition to the textbook and evaluated students through communicative activities throughout the lesson Additionally, they made use of the suggested classroom management techniques proposed by their colleagues and applied in their classes Nhi also added that having discussion with colleagues after peer observations would help her teach difficult lessons, update teaching methods, renew teaching materials, innovate methods of assessment, and select suitable teaching activities in line with the local teaching and learning conditions However, the observational data of the second and third observations conducted on October and September 2022 revealed that they maintained the traditional teaching methods, that is to say, repetition and translation in their classes, adhered to the textbook without consulting other teaching materials, assessed students through repetition and translation activities, and was unable to control the class This concurred with Desmaizayatri (2020), who reported that teacher’s collective agency encompassed more than just the exchange of teaching methodologies; they also afforded teachers the chance to glean valuable ideas from their peers regarding effective classroom management strategies.

The influence of teachers’ iterational and practical-evaluative dimensions of

The data revealed that teachers’ resistance to follow their colleagues’ ideas was informed by their habits, prior knowledge, time constraints, and isolation with colleagues Teachers' habits functioned as the iterational dimension that teachers returned to when it was beneficial for their present situation As a part-time teacher, Nhi was not obligatory to participate in monthly meetings at the primary school Her colleagues at the educational institution tended to have a greater level of expertise in instructing elementary school pupils Consequently, their insights and perspectives proved to be pragmatic and highly beneficial in the realm of pedagogy Additionally, she participated in peer observation discussion, she received constructive criticism regarding their teaching methods, including guidance on classroom management techniques, strategies for delivering engaging and captivating lessons, methods for effectively involving students in the learning process, and approaches for interacting with both high-performing and struggling students Furthermore, her colleagues put forth suggestions for creative pedagogical approaches, relevant instructional practices, and appropriate evaluation strategies Desmaizayatri (2020) also stated that the favorable comments from teachers’ colleagues were not always linked to their teaching progress, the negative comments they got clearly helped them to reconstruct their current teaching practices However, Nhi maintained her familiar way of teaching rather than adopting innovative ones proposed by her colleagues

Sharing similar perspective with Nhi, Huong resisted to follow her colleagues’ ideas due to the iterational dimension (her prior knowledge) She maintained her own teaching methods, teaching activities, classroom management, and use of game due to her lack of knowledge of the afore-mentioned aspects according to the prescribed curriculum mandates The result of the study was in alignment with that of a study by Desmaizayatri (2020), who found out that teacher collaboration with colleagues might not be able to help individual teachers find solutions to their issues because they each have their own views on what constitutes an effective teaching method for their students, prefer one method of instruction over another, and have a limited understanding of how to use a variety of teaching methods Additionally, experienced teachers demonstrated an inability to address less experienced ones’ inquiries or provide appropriate guidance according to their instructional obligations

In addition to the iterational dimension, time constraints and isolation with colleagues served as the practical-evaluative dimension which the participating teachers considered when they resisted to follow their colleagues’ ideas to enact their own individual agency Huong resisted to follow her colleagues’ ideas due to the time constraints She had insufficient time to deal with family issues and maintain her own teaching methods was time-saving Huong’s colleagues suggested that she should ask the monitor to maintain the classroom disciplines, however, Huong resisted to her colleagues’ ideas by asking four group leaders of the class control the class and regarded them as leading supporters for her to conduct the teaching activities smoothly The data from Huong’s mini-biography revealed that she worked under the culture of open-mindedness and collaboration The school held the monthly meeting to help teachers exchange their ideas about issues arising from the implementation of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum and ways to make improvement on students’ communicative competence However, Huong stated in an interview extract that she put priority on her family issues and sticked to her familiar ways of teaching to save time

Another factor influenced teachers’ resistance to their colleagues’ ideas was isolation with their colleagues as can be seen in Nhi’s case It is seen that the relationship with her colleagues in the current context led to her resistance to her colleagues’ ideas to sustain in her traditional ways of teaching Instead of collaborating with her colleagues to gain fruitful ideas from them and apply into her current teaching context, she had little interactions with her colleagues inside and outside the school setting The finding of the study was in line with that of Pham (2001), who stated that collective actions were not enhanced and practiced among EFL teachers In a similar vein, Le (2007) mentioned the concept of acquiring knowledge from fellow professionals through professional development endeavors, such as the exchange of ideas, introspection, and cooperative efforts among peers, is noticeably absent in the experiences of a majority of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors, who appear to operate in seclusion from one another Teachers who operate in isolation frequently rely on familiar techniques instead of adopting a problem-solving approach when addressing the different instructional requirements of contemporary students (Gemmell, 2003)

From the case of Nhi, although she reported in an interview that she adopted her colleagues’ ideas in terms of teaching methods and applied into her class, the observational data showed that she made use of her familiar ways of teaching namely repetition and translation activities, limited use of pair and group work, and few communicative activities Similarly, Bao (2003) also suggested that novice teachers had limited interactions in socializing with their colleagues at the secondary school From the case of Nhi, she has just graduated from the college and had about two-year teaching experience of students of Grades

1 and 2 at the primary school She highlighted that part-time teachers like her were unwilling to share their viewpoints as they were afraid of being judged by other teachers at the primary school Poulton (2000) also confirmed that teacher collaboration may be harmed if there is a lack of trust between teachers and their colleagues, such that they are unable to offer their perspectives and accept their peers' views As a result, cooperation with colleagues in their institutional setting had little beneficial effect on teachers' individual agency in adopting the curriculum change

From the cases of Huong and Nhi, the iterational dimension (teachers’ habits and their prior knowledge) and the practical-evaluative dimension (time constraints and isolation with their colleagues) contributed significantly to their resistance to their colleagues’ ideas From the iterational dimension, teachers’ habits and their prior knowledge informed teachers’ resistance to their colleagues’ ideas It is clearly seen that Nhi’s resistance to her colleagues’ ideas might be her insufficient knowledge of enhancing teaching materials on her own Therefore, textbook is regarded as the primary effective instructional material According to

Do et al (2022), teachers often exhibit a tendency to adhere to textbook orders rather than making modifications to unneeded areas This behavior stems from their insufficient knowledge and skills in producing instructional materials independently Similarly, Huong stated that she had insufficient knowledge in certain aspects of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum, therefore, she sticked to her own familiar ways of teaching instead of adopting innovative ideas from her colleagues

In addition to relying on the iterational dimension, teachers based on the practical- evaluative dimension to resist their colleagues’ ideas Busy schedules and few interactions with their colleagues led to teachers’ resistance to their colleagues’ ideas to maintain their own individual ways of teaching In addition to time constraints and isolation with colleagues which served as the practical-evaluative dimension for teachers leading to their resistance to their colleagues’ ideas, another factor namely insufficient professional training program was identified in a study conducted by Nguyen (2011) Teachers had few opportunities to participate in professional training programs Additionally, teachers were not interested in the training programs delivered by the MOET or the DOET as they sticked to the belief that these programs were irrelevant and ineffective in their real teaching practices (Nguyen, 2011) Therefore, little interactions among teachers within and outside the school setting can be recognized which made contribution to teachers’ resistance to their colleagues’ ideas to sustain in their traditional ways of teaching Desmaizayatri (2020) further highlighted that due to their varied teaching schedules, individual teachers would not find support from interactions with peers in their school environments, making it challenging for them to get together in a meeting to share their teaching experiences connected to the policy.

Individual contribution to the collective actions

Teacher as a leader

As suggested by Eggins and Slade (2004), the speaker can take the role of the leader, the supporter and the follower The speakers producing more opening moves have the tendency to take control of the talk and play the role of the leader while some speakers just followed the talk or support their peers in the interaction According to the observational data, Hoa was the most powerful speaker who made the most moves Hoa took the initiative role in the discussion by asking the majority of questions such as assessment methods, teaching materials, classroom management, difficulties in pronunciation instruction, and the whole lesson in general She made use of open questions to ask for their colleagues’ opinions, introduced new information for the discussion by expressing her views on the talks, invited other teachers to get involved in the discussion, and checked whether other teachers were following her talk Hoa was also an active supporter in peer observation discussion She had the tendency to support her colleagues through building on their ideas Her colleagues had difficulties in providing ideas for the peer observation discussion, therefore, she provided assistance for her colleagues through building on their ideas with a focus on certain interesting aspects such as assessment methods, teaching materials, classroom management, challenges in pronunciation instruction, and the whole lesson in general as these categories were of great importance in enabling the students to achieve their expected learning outcomes as prescribed by the curriculum mandates

The empirical evidence indicated that Hoa had the highest frequency of initiating the discussion among the three peer observation discussions, therefore demonstrating her significant influence over the discussion by guiding the course of the discussion The interview transcripts revealed that Hoa assumed the role of the leader in the conversation, firmly adhering to her idea that she represented the teacher of the previous generation Consequently, she was required to assume the task of guiding the discussion and providing support to the younger cohort of teachers Furthermore, she aims to stimulate the thoughts of other teachers and cultivate a comprehensive comprehension of the various facets of the Getting-to-know-English curriculum Evidently, Hoa demonstrated a keen awareness of her leadership role in the discussion She possessed the requisite abilities to launch the conversation, motivate her colleagues to contribute ideas, provide constructive feedback to her colleagues, and maintain the group harmony The consistent harmony between Hoa and her colleagues led to their conversations being characterized by regular agreements and infrequent disputes This aligns with previous research that discovered Vietnamese teachers prefer working in a harmonious environment and are hesitant to offer criticism or engage in reflection (Park, 2002) These findings indicate that the cultural background of Vietnamese teachers of English had an impact on the collective actions Additionally, Hoa made her attempts to engage her colleagues into the discussions, which showed the exploratory feature of the talk Exploratory is the most preferred approach in which teachers actively and analytically interact with their colleagues’ ideas (Mercer, 2004) Hoa also actively facilitated opportunities for her colleagues to contribute to the discussions This suggests that the participating teachers exhibited a high level of cooperation during the encounter, as the effectiveness of the discussions rely heavily on the participation of all individuals involved (Oxford, 1997).

Teacher as a supporter

The results of data demonstrated that Hang played the role of supporter in peer observation discussions She provided support for her colleagues through building on their ideas in which she incorporated causal or conditional qualifications into the discussion She had the tendency to give support to other teachers instead of developing her own ideas Demonstrating consensus with colleagues and acknowledging her colleagues’ ideas were the most prevalent kind of support between Hang and her colleagues Hang was seen to participate in the discussion by making supportive responses to the thoughts of their peers This showed the harmonious atmosphere among the teachers which illustrated group work activities in Vietnamese culture Additionally, Tran (2019) added that teacher collaboration enhanced a sense of belonging among teachers under the traditional Vietnamese beliefs In other words, driven by the Confucian values, teachers promoted a sense of unity within the school community with the intention of supporting their colleagues in facing the challenges and achieving the communal goals Additionally, the data also revealed that Hang helped one another more frequently than they confronted one another The fact that there were far more pro-actions than against-actions suggests that teachers are quite congruent and cooperative

Besides providing support for her colleagues through building on their ideas, Hang also challenge her colleagues Hang was the one who showed her disagreement with ideas provided by her colleagues concerning mistake correction for young learners Although challenging each other may be not desirable for the participating teachers, it will result in the through discussion of the topic and deeper understanding of the content As suggested by Janis (1982), disagreement is of great benefits if they take place with reasoning and evidence and frequent agreement can result in low quality discussions Knight and Mercer (2015) put an emphasis that frequent consensus among teachers can lead to unsuccessful learning due to the lack of essential challenges Additionally, further explanation and clarification was developed among teachers to give constructive feedback rather than damaging other teachers’ ideas The result of the study was in line with that of Mercer (2004), who reported that peer observation discussions featured explanation instead of disputational talk

Hang confronted the ideas with her colleagues for the purpose of helping the colleagues gain deeper insight into the issue and make practical contribution to improving the quality of teaching young learners of Grades 1 and 2 based on her previous professional teaching experience Hang’s agency in challenging ideas with her colleagues was influenced by her previous professional teaching experience and personality She reported that she worked as a full-time teacher at a foreign language center which had the culture welcoming innovative ideas As a result, confronting ideas with her colleagues was a normal thing in her workplace and this was supposed to be one of the best ways to innovate the teaching and learning progress In addition, personality influenced Hang’s ways of challenging other teachers She was an extroverted person who was willing to welcome innovative and risky ideas in teaching English Therefore, confronting other teachers was supposed to help her gain deeper insight into an issue and support her in the process of teaching English to young learners Challenging others’ ideas provided her colleagues with opportunities to contribute their ideas to the peer observation discussion and build better quality ideas.

Teachers as followers

The observational data showed that Huong and Nhi took the role of followers in the peer observation discussions They tended to accept their colleagues’ ideas of the lessons Huong and Nhi also made comparable number of responses to inquiries, as they were frequently selected by their peers for this task They made use of extension ideas in order to continue their previous ideas The data showed that teachers tended to develop their own ideas if they find the topic of discussion interesting to them More specifically, Huong focused her attention on teaching materials, teacher-student interactions, and teaching methods Nhi, on the other hand, paid close attention to her colleagues' teaching activities and classroom management The afore-mentioned categories were considered critical in the process of teaching the Getting-to-know-English curriculum for Grades 1 and 2 due to its direct impact on the teaching process and should be integrated into the practical-evaluative dimension of agency proposed by Priestley et al (2015)

It can be clearly seen that teaching activities and classroom management were the center of attention in Huong and Nhi’s classes The result of the interview reported that classroom management was identified to be significant for teachers as the they could not deliver the lesson effectively if the class was so noisy or chaotic Therefore, the teachers should remind their students of the classroom rules on a daily basis in advance of starting the lessons so that the students could maintain the classroom disciplines This would facilitate teachers’ teaching process and enhance students’ learning capability

The interview transcripts indicated that Huong and Nhi assumed the role of respondents, thereby adopting a passive attitude in the discussion Huong stated that she lacked attentiveness towards her colleagues' lessons, thereby leading to her reluctance in engaging in discussions with them This suggests that careful observations of Huong’s colleagues’ lessons could help her to make more valuable contributions to the group discussions In contrast to Huong, Nhi stated that she lacked the necessary expertise and experience in instructing elementary school kids In addition, she expressed her discomfort in sharing her experiences with her colleagues due to her introverted nature Instead, she preferred to listen to suggestions put forth by experienced teachers This finding suggests that one reason why she took a passive role in the discussion was due to her previous knowledge, experience, and personality During the three peer observation discussions, the participating teachers, Huong and Nhi, showed their acceptance towards others’ ideas Research has indicated that frequent agreement in group discussions might result in poor quality conversations, whereas conflicts, supported by argument and evidence, can be advantageous (Janis, 1982) Hence, it is imperative to consider employing a measured level of conflict in order to enhance the quality of the discussion Furthermore, inexperienced teachers harbored apprehensions regarding providing feedback to their colleagues for fear of antagonizing others, appearing impolite, or being evaluated negatively by others When articulating novel concepts, some teachers feared that doing so would expose their weaknesses or foolishness (Duong, 2017) Giving feedback to their colleagues was also considered as a challenging task for teachers in the results of the study carried out by Le and Nguyen (2012) This is evident in the instance of Nhi, who was hesitant to engage in feedback exchanges with her colleagues due to her limited knowledge and lack of experience in teaching elementary school students

It can be clearly seen that the participating teachers worked as part-time teachers at the primary school where an absence of faith and collaboration could be seen between part-time and full-time teachers There seems to be a lack of close relationship between them as part- time ones had limited commitment and motivation to the school Saito et al (2008) highlighted that teachers might encounter difficulties such as a dearth of professional interactions between teachers.

CONCLUSION

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