Becoming a Twenty-First-Century Educator in Vietnam

In Vietnam, much is being made of the twenty-first-century skills that students require to flourish in today’s world. But how do university educators equip students to learn? What methods do they use and what support and resources are required? Drawing on key education theorists and other literature, I argue that bottom-up approaches and educator professional integrity play a key role in transformations in university education that equip students to learn. The Vietnamese higher education sector is syncretic and future-oriented, aligning its goals with those of global education and twenty-first-century skills development. Not only are these skills relevant but already apparent in universities in Vietnam. However, additional support and resourcing are required for educators to meet the needs of a changing society with a relevant, authentic education that equips students to excel in their future employment and contribute to Vietnam’s social development. Moreover, the higher education reforms in Vietnam implicitly call for educators to radically rethink their roles and redesign their practices to facilitate the new student-centered approaches.