Perspectives on principal instructional leadership in Vietnam: a preliminary model
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-11-2015-0106 |
| Pages | 222-239 |
| Published date | 10 April 2017 |
| Date | 10 April 2017 |
| Author | Philip Hallinger,Allan Walker,Dao Thi Hong Nguyen,Thang Truong,Thi Thinh Nguyen |
| Subject Matter | Education,Administration & policy in education,School administration/policy,Educational administration,Leadership in education |
Perspectives on principal
instructional leadership in
Vietnam: a preliminary model
Philip Hallinger
College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand and
Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Allan Walker
Faculty of Education and Human Development,
The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Dao Thi Hong Nguyen
Institute for Research on Educational Development, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Thang Truong
Quang Tri Teacher Training Institute,
Faculty of Educational Management and Joint Training, Quang Tri, Vietnam, and
Thi Thinh Nguyen
Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change,
The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose –Worldwide interest in principal instructional leadership has led to global dissemination of related
research findings despite their concentration in a limited set of western cultural contexts. An urgent challenge
in educational leadership and management lies in expanding the range of national settings for investigations
of instructional leadership. The current study addressed this challenge in the context of Vietnam, a nation
with a very limited formal knowledge base in school leadership (Hallinger and Bryant, 2013b; Hallinger and
Truong, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to describe the perspectives of Vietnamese primary school
principals toward their role as instructional leaders, illuminate instructional leadership practices perceived as
important by the principals, and develop a preliminary model of instructional leadership within the
Vietnamese education context.
Design/methodology/approach –This study was a qualitative inquiry that sought to illuminate the
perspectives of Vietnamese principals toward their role as instructional leaders. The research employed semi-
structured interviews with 27 primary school principals. Data analysis employed grounded theory in order to
synthesize results gathered from the principals into a preliminary conceptual model.
Findings –The study yielded a preliminary model of principal instructional leadership in Vietnam.
The authors’model evidences similarities to western models of instructional leadership by including
dimensions focusing on setting direction, managing curriculum and instruction and developing the school
learning climate. Differences also emerged in terms of two additional constructs, building solidarity and
managing external relationships. Other distinctive practices of Vietnameseinstructional leaders also emerged
in the findings which the authors suggest can be linked to the institutional, political and socio-cultural context
of education in this society.
Research limitations/implications –Key limitations arise from the focus on primary schools, small size
of the sample, absence of data from the Northern region of Vietnam, and lack of verification of principals’
perspectives with data from other stakeholders.
Originality/value –This study is one of the first empirical studies of Vietnamese school leadership
submitted for publication in international refereed journals and the first study that has that sought to
conceptualize the instructional leadership role of principals in Vietnam. Moreover, the study illustrates how
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 55 No. 2, 2017
pp. 222-239
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/JEA-11-2015-0106
Received 28 November 2015
Revised 7 May 2016
Accepted 12 May 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
The authors wish to acknowledge the funding support of the Research Grant Council (RGC) of Hong
Kong for its support through the General Research Fund (GRF 841512). The authors also wish to
acknowledge the contributions of Dr La Thi
˙Thanh Thủy, Mr Gian Tu Trung and the Institute for
Research on Educational Development to this study.
222
JEA
55,2
conceptualizations of school leadership are shaped by features of specific societies. This lends credence to
scholarly admonitions concerning the lack of universality of leadership theories.
Keywords Principals, Vietnam, School leadership, Asia, Instructional leadership
Paper type Research paper
The principal occupies a key position that bridges the gaps between context and school, policy and
program, and means and ends. The principal’s importance emerges from that position. He or she
has the greatest access to the wishes and needs of district leaders, parents and community
members, school staff, and students. With experience and training, he or she has the best
opportunity to formulate an image of schooling that is relevant and responsive to those groups and
to begin to bring that image into being (Dwyer, 1986, p. 16).
This quotation reflects findings and assumptions that framed early empirical research on
instructional leadership conducted in the USA during the 1980s. After several decades of
prescription and critique (e.g. Bossert et al., 1982; Bridges, 1967, 1982), researchers for the first
time began to conduct systematic empirical research on principal instructional leadership (Dwyer,
1986; Hallinger et al., 1996; Hallinger and Murphy, 1985; Heck et al., 1990). During the ensuing
decades, scholars have fleshed out and refined conceptual frameworks that seek to describe the
paths and practices by which school leadership impacts teaching and learning in schools
(Goldring et al., 2009; Hallinger, 2011; Hallinger and Murphy, 1985; Leithwood et al., 2010).
In total, 25 years later, an urgent challenge lies in expanding the range of national contexts
for theoretical and empirical investigations of instructional leadership (Bajunid, 1996; Day and
Leithwood, 2007; Hallinger and Bryant, 2013b; Hallinger and Leithwood, 1996; Walker and
Hallinger, 2015). The current study addressed this challenge in the context of Vietnam, a nation
with a limited formal knowledge base on school leadership (Hallinger and Bryant, 2013b).
Building upon findings from recent systematic reviews of research (Hallinger and Truong,
2014; Hallinger et al., 2015), the authors undertook this inquiry into the perspectives of
Vietnamese principals toward their role as instructional leaders. More specifically, the study
employed open-ended interviews with a sample of 27 successful primary school principals from
Central and Southern Vietnam. Our goals in this i nvestigation were to:
(1) describe the perspectives of Vietnamese primary school principals toward their role
as instructional leaders;
(2) illuminate instructional leadership practices perceived as important by the
principals; and
(3) develop a preliminary model of instructional leadership within the Vietnamese
education context.
Theoretical perspective
Evolving perspectives on principal instructional leadership
In the five decades since Bridges’(1967) initial theoretical inquiry into the instructional
leadership role, western scholars have sought to describe both the nature and impact of
school leadership that makes a difference for the quality of teaching and learning (Hallinger,
2011). Leithwood et al. (2010) recently asserted that the field has made progress in
identifying a “core set of leadership practices”that foster student learning. Nonetheless, this
conclusion was qualified with the caveat that the enactment of these “core leadership
practices”varies across different socio-cultural contexts (Day and Leithwood, 2007;
Hallinger, 2011; Hallinger and Bryant, 2013a; Leithwood et al., 2010; Walker and Hallinger,
2015). Thus, the same leadership practice (e.g. communication of vision and goals) enacted
in one societal context could be interpreted and applied quite differently in another, and
produce different effects on people and the organization.
223
Principal
instructional
leadership in
Vietnam
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