Mapping the professional learning of primary teachers in Vietnam: a multi-method case study

ABSTRACT Over the past 20 years, teacher professional learning as been reconceptualised as a process that is initiated during pre-service preparation but which continues in the form of job-embedded and collaborative learning activities. Researchers ave mapped the range of professional learning activities employed in selected Western and Asian societies. The current case study used a variety of qualitative data sources including open-ended interviews with the principal and teachers, observations of meetings and documents analysis, to identify model practices used to foster teacher learning in one primary school in a central province of Vietnam. The research identified nine professional learning activities for teachers, comprised of both external and school-based activities. These activities are described in detail and also linked to features of the Vietnamese social, political and cultural context under the lens of phenomenological analysis.


Introduction
Over the past 20 years, four significant trends have emerged in the global literature on teacher professional learning.First, the role of teacher 'professional learning' as assumed equal status in relation to pre-service preparation (Lieberman and Pointer Mace 2008;Ping, Schellings, and Beijaard 2018).Second, the traditional view of teacher professional learning as consisting of 'inservice workshops where teachers are trained by experts (Joyce and Showers 1988) and degree upgrading programs as expanded to include a more diverse set of school-based learning activities from which teachers gain their daily teaching experience and professional skills (Borko 2004;Harris and Jones 2019;Kwakman 2003;Lai and Wong 2016;Opfer and Pedder 2011;Webster-Wright 2009).Third, teacher professional learning is increasingly conceptualised as taking place within and among 'communities of learners' and 'networked professional learning communities' (Barth 1990;Little 2012;Prenger et al. 2017;Sergiovani 2013;Vescio et al. 2008).Finally, teacher capacity building and professional learning have come to assume a central place in the discourse on sustainable reform in education (Fullan 2001;Harris and Jones 2019;Lieberman and Pointer Mace 2008;Louis 2007;Ping et al. 2018;Sergiovani 2013;Authors 2018Authors , 2019Authors , 2020)).
These research trends ave also sparked interest among scholars and policymakers in the developing societies of East Asia where the quality and scope of pre-service teacher education often lag behind Western standards (Morris and Williamson 2013;Authors 2018Authors , 2019)).Although this is changing in some societies including Singapore and Hong Kong where pre-service teacher education is said to be 'Western standards' but professional learning communities ave been featured prominently (Hairon and Dimmock 2012;Hairon and Tan 2017;Sun-Keung Pang et al. 2016), East Asian education systems have tended to rely more heavily on in-service professional learning, than pre-service teacher education, to foster the professional development of their teachers for students' achievements and school improvements.From a practical perspective, school-based professional learning activities offer a potentially less expensive and more accessible form of capacity-building than restructuring or upgrading a pre-service teacher education system.Thus, scholars in East Asia ave identified indigenous teacher learning practices that, in some cases, go beyond those reported in Western research (Author et al. 2017;Paine and Fang 2006;Qian and Walker 2013;Qian et al. 2017;Somprach et al. 2016;Wang 2016).This emerging body of research validates the assertion that knowledge sharing and development of education practices are not a one-way street from the West to the East, as a kind of default thinking.
Our research was carried out, in the spirit of these developments in the international literature on teacher professional learning, in Vietnam where scholarly academic contributions to the global literature in teacher education ave been scarce.Nonetheless, Vietnam's surprisingly strong performance on PISA has attracted global attention.The central research question addressed in this research report is 'How are professional learning activities for primary school teachers carried out and deployed in a Vietnamese primary school?'Although the research project employed a multiplesite case study design, this paper presents a case study of a single Vietnamese 'premier' primary school in Central Vietnam.Qualitative data were collected from the open-ended interviews with the principal and teachers, direct observations and document analysis.The paper seeks to add to the growing knowledge of teacher professional learning outside of mainstream Western societies and could act as a useful 'mirror' for reflection among policymakers and practitioners in Vietnam.

Theoretical perspective
Over the past 30 years, the focus in studies and realistic practices on teacher education has moved towards teacher learning that is multi-faceted, job-embedded, contextualised, and sustained over time (Borko 2004;Author et al. 2018;Qian et al. 2017;Authors 2018Authors , 2019Authors , 2020;;Vescio et al. 2008;Webster-Wright 2009).Consequently, these days, teacher education is increasingly considered a continuous process that is initiated from pre-service teacher preparation at tertiary education institutions and proceeds throughout the teacher's teaching career at workplace (Kwakman 2003;Krupp 1987;Little 2012;Timperley 2011).Research on teacher professional learning has come to a conclusion that it is an ongoing, developmental process by which teachers acquire new subject knowledge, attitudes towards their role, and pedagogical skills (Borko 2004;Kwakman 2003;Lai et al. 2016;Opfer and Pedder 2011).When the process target is successfully achieved, teacher professional development not only promotes improved capacities for teaching and learning, but also creates new teaching identities among teachers.Lieberman and Mace (2008) summarised the rationale for teacher professional learning: The teacher communities described here exhibit the best we know so far about effective professional development.They focus on instruction; are sustained and continuous, rather than short term and episodic; provide opportunities for teachers to learn from one another both inside and outside the school; make it possible for teachers to influence how and what they learn; and engage teachers in thinking about what they need to know.(p.233) Opfer and Pedder (2011) and other researchers have sought to 'map' the range of professional learning activities of teachers.Typologies of teacher professional learning have differentiated activities that occur inside (e.g.school-based workshops, observations of other teachers) as well as outside of the school (e.g.district-sponsored workshops, university-based degree upgrading programs, visits to other schools).Scholars have also differentiated professional learning that is enacted on an individual basis (e.g.self-study, online learning) versus in a group or 'community' setting (e.g.teacher research group, curriculum study team, team observation and discussion of a model lesson).Finally, teacher professional learning has been classified by whether engagement in the activity is initiated by the teacher(s) voluntarily or by an external source such as the principal, district/ provincial administration leaders or Ministry of Education and Training, as well as whether it is mandated or voluntary.These typologies, resulting from the literature reviewed, are summarised in Figure 1.The teacher professional learning includes its nature (individual or group-based activities), location (inside or outside the school), the initiator (the principal or administrators and the teachers themselves) and kinds of teacher participation (voluntary or mandated).These factors will have obvious impacts on the quality, scope and effectiveness of teacher professional learning.
As suggested earlier, this differentiated perspective towards teacher professional learning has led scholars and practitioners to explore opportunities by which teachers learn 'inside the schoolhouse' (Barth 1990;Borko 2004;Krupp 1987;Timperley 2011;Authors 2018Authors 2020)).The professional learning of teachers can take place via formal structures such as professional development programs, teacher research groups, observations of other teachers, mentoring, and coaching (Krupp 1987;Little 2012;Timperley 2011;Tonna and Shanks 2017;Webster-Wright 2009).Teachers also learn through informal interactions that occur engaged in collaborative planning, shared assessment, and discussions in learning communities (Krupp 1987;Little 2012;Tonna and Shanks 2017).
Thirty one years ago, Rosenholtz (1989) called attention to ways in which 'workplace norms' promote teacher supportive collaboration in schools.Research conducted in several East Asian countries including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand have also highlighted the impact of socio-cultural norms on understanding teacher attitudes towards collaboration and professional development.Confucian norms, which are infused through most East Asian countries including Vietnam, predispose teachers towards a belief in the 'goodness' of learning.For example, in Vietnamese culture, a good or perfect person is not only professionally competent but also displays moral qualities that are in harmony with Confucian ideals (Dalton et al. 2005;Authors 2020Authors , 2016;;Vasavakul 2019).This carries over to the 'identity' of the 'good teacher' which entails continued learning and development both with respect to moral character (Duc) and subject knowledge and teaching skills (Tai) (Mai 2007;Nguyen 2003;Authors 2018Authors , 2019)).Thus, as scholars have also observed this in Hong Kong (Lai et al. 2016), Singapore (Hairon and Dimmock 2012;Author et al. 2017), and mainland China (Author 2016;Paine and Fang 2006), in Vietnam continued learning on-the-job is interpreted as a part of the teacher's professional identity, improvement and reputation (Authors 2018(Authors , 2019)).From what has been discussed, we could propose an assumption that professional learning activities should be examined in the light of political, socio-cultural contexts.

Methodology
We used phenomenological inquiry as a research approach that emphasises the use of qualitative research methods aiming at 'thick description' capable of connecting the thinking and practices/ behaviours of people within their social context (Denzin and Lincoln 2000).The qualitative case study was employed as a suitable approach for examining and exploring the characteristics of teacher professional learning in the Vietnamese context as it provided in-depth description of the case (Yin 2014).A case study also helps gather enough information about teacher professional learning activities of a selected school to permit the researchers to explore effectively ow something operates and functions (Berg 2009).Triangulation was seriously taken into consideration in the process of data collection as a means of improving internal validity (Burn 2000;Denzin and Lincoln 2000).Three methods including interviews, observations and documents were used for data collection.
In this section, sample, methods of data collection and data analysis will be described in detail.

Sample
In this study, purposeful sampling was employed to yield 'information-rich cases whose study will illuminate the questions under study' (Patton 2015, p. 169).A primary school identified to be effective and successful in school achievements by the district and provincial education authorities was selected for the research purposes.A case study rather than a large sample size 'allows sufficient in-depth engagement with each individual case but also allows a detailed examination of similarity and difference, convergence and divergence' (Smith and Osborn 2003, p. 57).Small sample size is a factor of phenomenological research.The aim of the phenomenological study is to seek 'thick description' of teacher professional learning at a premier primary school in Central Vietnam, rather than trying to claim generalisation of a phenomenon.The small sample was also due to the limitation of time, resources, and other factors that impinge upon the research enterprise (Patton 2015).
BaHa Primary School 1 serving 700 students in 20 classes in grades 1-5.The principal, Mrs. Nguyen (a pseudonym), leads 25 staff including two deputy principals which 22 staff are female.The majority of the students' parents are State officials and businesspeople.The average income is generally higher than that of the other wards in the city.The parents are aware of the importance of their children's learning and they also have the opportunity to support their children better than inhabitants in many other areas.BaHa Primary School has been recognised for excellence in academic and moral achievements at the provincial level.Twenty-four teachers old three-year and four-year bachelor's degrees, and the principal as 10 years of experience as a principal including twelve years at this school.Before being appointed to this post, she had been a teacher for three years and deputy-principal for seven years.

Data collection
Data reported in this paper were drawn from semi-structured interviews with the principal and teachers, direct observations of professional development activities and analysis of school-related documents.The semi-structured interview (Patton 2015) with the principal (see Appendix A) aimed at gaining information about the principal's perspectives and leadership practices, as well as and the nature of professional learning activities in their school.
Teachers' interviews focused on teachers' needs and motivations as well as professional development activities used in their school (see Appendix B).Twenty five teachers were invited for individual interviews, 23 teachers accepted to participate and 2 refused as they were busy.Each interview lasted an average of 30-45 minutes.All interviews were recorded with the permission of participants and subsequently transcribed and sent to the participants for the interview contents checking.Then, they were translated from Vietnamese into English.The researchers read, checked and resolved discrepancies of the English versions.Teachers' names were coded as numbers to protect their confidentiality.
In order to gain further details and check on what had been reported in the interviews, we also observed teacher professional development activities in the school over a period of three months such as meetings or groups or class observations.A total number of 12 sessions were observed during that period.These observations offered multiple perspectives and enabled the use of triangulation as a means of checking the credibility, reliability and validity of different perceptions (Patton 2015).Triangulation is seen as a way to confirm the validity of the processes and strengthen the credibility of research findings (Lincoln and Guba1985;Patton 2015).Triangulation can also 'highlight differences, introduce layers of understanding and reveal multiple interpretations' (Denzin and Lincoln 2000, p. 124).
Documents related to professional learning activities were also collected with the permission from the school principal.These selected documents were collected in conjunction with other above-mentioned data collection methods.

Data analysis
Because this study adopted phenomenological inquiry as a research framework, phenomenological analysis was undertaken to elucidate the meanings and essence of the phenomenon of the case.A case database was initially constructed which allowed for case data to be organised, classified, edited, and coded into a manageable and accessible file with the help of the NVivo 11 software program.In this way, we were able to gather comprehensive, systematic and in-depth information about the case.Once a complete case database ad been loaded into Nvivo 11, the data were then coded under two themes and nine different nodes which are described in results.
The four primary steps of phenomenological analysis adopted from Patton (2015) and Moustakas (1994) were undertaken as follows: 1. Epoche: The case database was repeatedly read to achieve a sense of the whole, then two themes (external and school-based activities) were identified and categorised; 2. Phenomenological reduction: the case data was coded into free nodes; 3. Imaginative variation: the free nodes were re-examined to identify the 'units of significance', and then coding into tree nodes via the two themes; 4. Synthesis of texture and structure: This process involved an integration of structural descriptions, providing a synthesis of the meanings and essences of the case.This paper was primarily reported on the data that emerged from the step 4 of the data synthesis.

Background
Having collected many achievements and awards over a long period of time, BaHa Primary School as maintained a continuing focus on improving the quality of its teaching staff.According to the principal, teachers' professional learning is considered an integral part of the school's success.Principal Nguyen said that she and er teachers ave invested time and effort in the promotion of teacher professional learning, especially in this era of educational reforms.
We were able to identify nine professional development activities in which teacher engaged at BaHa Primary School.These were divided into two themes: external and school-based activities.

Degree upgrading courses
A common learning activity chosen voluntarily by younger teachers was 'degree upgrading'.Although the pre-service preparation standard for primary school teachers set by Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is now a three-year training program, many younger teachers were eager to engage in three or four year part-time degree courses at a participating university.After completing these courses, they were awarded a three-year (bang cao dang) or four-year (bang dai oc) bachelor's degree.According to school records, 24 of the 25 teachers ad attained at least a three-year degree.
Although teachers were motivated to engage in these courses, they were time consuming and costly.One teacher noted, 'The course took me about fifty or seventy million VND, while my monthly salary was 7000,000 VND.I had to use my husband's salary and our savings and we suffered many difficulties during that time' (Teacher No 7 -T7).
Attitudes towards the utility of these courses varied.One teacher mentioned: Although it was very, very ard to do both full-time teaching and part-time learning at weekends, I felt satisfied with the completion of the course.After finishing the course, I feel safer and more confident with my knowledge.And now I don't ave to think about degree upgrading in the future, just other kinds of professional development in the school.(T3) Because of the duration and cost, older teachers were not interested in this kind of professional development.One 50 year-old teacher disclosed, 'For older teachers like me, our memory is bad, and we do not want to have long-term, costly courses.We don't have so many years ahead to work 2 and it's very tiring for us to sit in class for hours on the weekend and for two months in the summer for three or four years' (T1).

Short courses and workshops
These professional learning activities were sponsored externally by universities or by district or provincial offices.In all cases, these in-serviceworkshops and short courses offered curricula that were vetted, pre-approved, and eligible for credits used by the teachers to validate their continued certification.Participation could be voluntary, suggested (e.g. by the principal), or mandatory (e. 'Good teacher' title competitions 'Good Teacher' Title Competitions (thi giao vien gioi) were considered by most teachers as one of the most challenging and desirable strategies of professional development.In order to be recognised at the district, provincial and national level, teachers had to overcome a number of difficult stages in the competition.After several years of being recognised as 'good teachers' at the school level, teachers could register to be recognised as 'good teachers' by higher level authorities.
The decision to register for these competitions was voluntary.Nonetheless, our interviews did suggest that there was social pressure inside the school for teachers to participate.This was because assessment the school's performance was tied, in part, to the number of teachers who had been recognised as 'good teachers' at the District, Provincial, and National levels.
At these competitions, candidates already recognised as 'good teachers' by their schools gathered at one or two schools that had been selected by the relevant Office of Education.A test of subject knowledge was administered to the candidates.Candidates with a passing mark would continue to the next phase where they would two lessons.A board of judges comprised experienced teachers would assess the lessons.All teachers who pass this stage receive a preliminary certificate and award.
At the next stage of the competition candidates are assessed on two additional criteria.First, the teacher must have a certain number of pupils who ave been recognised as 'good pupils' at the district (DET) or provincial (PET) level, equivalent to the title.Second, the teacher must present a research study or experience initiative for assessment by the panel.Only after passing these two additional assessments does the teacher receive the full certificate and award as a 'good teacher' at the particular level of the competition.
Most teachers wrote of the pressures, stresses, and worries that accompany participation in these competitions.The comments supported these such as 'To prepare for the title competition, I had to prepare for a long time including the subject knowledge revision, teaching method, lesson plans and even a challenging task of a research study and these drove me crazy' (T3), 'deciding to register for the good teacher title competition was a tough and stressful time for a school year for me and it deserved the best efforts' (T6).Although the principal encouraged teachers to participate, she was also aware of the toll it took on er teachers.
It is really very ard with a lot of pressures, stresses and challenges for teachers to decide to participate in the 'good teacher competitions'.It is not a one-shot attempt.Rather, it is a year-long attempt.owever, the title gives good recognition and the prestige that almost all of our teachers strive for.(Principal Nguyen) Teachers registered for these competitions for both personal and professional reasons.For all teachers, these titles represented symbols of their professional knowledge and teaching skills achievements.This earned them more prestige both within the school, the community and their profession as some teachers stated 'the title as a kind of great recognition of my professional achievement that made me happy and proud of.' (T2), 'the good teacher title helps me earn reputation and respect in the senior leaders, my colleagues, my students and their parents as well' (T22).For some teachers the process of becoming a 'good teacher' was also a means to achieving a bigger target of becoming a member of the Communist Party.Finally, as noted above, these titles were also a means of contributing to the 'prestige' of their school whose performance depended on having a critical mass of teachers with these titles.

Hosting 'Good teacher' title competitions
Unlike other schools, BaHa Primary School frequently volunteered to ost competitions.Both district and provincial 'good teacher competitions' were organised in this school.Although this consumed time and resources, the staff took advantages of these opportunities so they could learn.Principal Nguyen stated: We always volunteer to be the ost of all competitions if possible.Although there are many costs, we can learn a lot, from teachers in other parts of the district or province.The competition is a good opportunity to observe and learn from the best teachers in the province.(Principal Nguyen) This was confirmed by most teachers such as 'a good chance for me to learn from the best primary teachers of the province' (T9), 'a lot of things like well-prepared lesson plans, teaching in the class are the hands-on experiences for me to learn' (T5), 'valuable knowledge and experience for me from those great teachers of other schools' (T12).

Classroom observations of other teachers
Classroom observations of colleagues' lessons were regarded as one of the effective professional development strategies in terms of teachers' real learning and improvements by the principal and the teachers.School's regulations required each teacher to observe at least one lesson per week.Teachers with less than two years' experience were required to observe at least two lessons per week.Although this was a mandatory activity, the observation was initiated by the observing teacher who had to ask for permission from the colleague.
Observations provide opportunities for the observer and the observed teacher to learn from one another.Principal Nguyen stated, When observations are conducted, the observed teacher as to prepare the lesson quite carefully, perhaps more carefully than usual.After the observation, the teachers will discuss the lesson.They pull out the good points as well as things that can be done better next time.This is really good for both teachers.
Teachers offered many positive comments on these observations.As a young teacher noted, 'I ave learned much from more experienced teachers through observing their lessons . . .For example, I've learned how to manage my class better' (T6).An obligatory part of each teacher's professional file is a notebook of their learning points gained from lesson observations.Lessons were also observed and assessed by teacher leaders, the deputy-principal and the principal as part of the annual appraisal process.After discussion of strong points and weak points, the lesson was graded as A (distinction), B (credit), or C (average).Each teacher ad at least two lessons assessed each school year.
It should be noted that despite the acknowledged utility of these observations, not all teachers wanted to be observed.As one young teacher shared: I prefer observing other teachers rather than being observed myself.I'm not very confident and often feel nervous when seeing other teachers, especially senior teachers, or the principal sitting at the back of the classroom.(T14) Other teachers offered comments reflecting mixed emotions about classroom observations: I ave to prepare much more carefully for the lesson and sometimes ave to spend more money on visual aids.(T15) Frankly, although we don't really like to be observed by others, we're thrilled to receive feedback from colleagues and especially to be graded.(T23) In order to address these feelings of anxiety, the principal encouraged all observers to be conscious of presenting a smiling and friendly rather than a serious face.Teachers were advised to 'give constructive feedback, not criticism' (Principal Nguyen).In fact, the school's guidelines emphasised that their role was to mention as many good points of the lesson as possible and give just one piece of constructive advice.
One researcher ad a few chances of observing those teachers' teaching after having the permission of the Principal and teaching teachers.The constructive feedbacks after the lesson were given by observers and the researcher found them useful for the teaching teachers and other observers as well.

Weekly professional meetings
Another activity was the school-wide Weekly Professional Meeting (sinh oat chuyen mon ang tuan).At this school, the meetings were mandatory and initiated by the administrators.Indeed, the principal always took part in the school-level meetings.One teacher stated, 'Our principal understands the curriculum, the textbooks and teaching techniques rather well.She as good ideas about those things as shown during professional meetings or observations.'(T20).
The Weekly Professional Meeting is a forum for discussing curriculum, instructional and moral issues that arise in the life of the school.Principal Nguyen was conscious of the need to keep these meetings focused on issues of importance to the teachers.
Professional meetings must be realistic, scientific, and regular.If professional meetings do not meet these requirements, they will not be effective because teachers find them boring and unnecessary.(Principal Nguyen).
The teachers concurred with this view.Most of the teachers were explicit in their responses in the interviews, pointing out the usefulness of these meetings as a forum for the exchange of perspectives and techniques: 'These meetings are really realistic and applicable to my teaching' (T14), 'I can learn the hands-on activities from the meetings from other teachers' sharing' (T19), 'I like these weekly professional meetings for their benefits for my teaching and collaboration with my peers' (T20)We confirmed this in our observations of several Weekly Professional meetings in which we witnessed constructive discussions on school issues including parent participation, the new curriculum, and student behaviour.

Mentoring
Mentoring was used as a means of fostering the learning of younger teachers and keeping older teachers engaged in reflection and learning as well.Mentoring was a mandatory, administrators initiated activity for new teachers.However, its success depended on relationships between the participating teachers.In Principal Nguyen's view, mentoring was a potentially powerful way of complementing the other strategies.
For me, in the teaching profession, the experienced and 'old' teachers are very significant.Pupils are young, but teachers must be 'old'.By word 'old', I mean that 'old' ere does not refer to 'old' in age.On the contrary, teachers are 'old' in professional knowledge and abilities . . .Old and experienced teachers elp novice ones.This is a good solution for all.(Principal Nguyen) When a novice teacher started working at this school, s/he was assigned an experienced teacher as a mentor.The novice could ask the experienced teacher about lesson plans, academic and teaching issues, or about school procedures and practices.This is illustrated in a novice teacher's comments with one year teaching experience, 'I am lucky to get mentoring from one of the best teachers of my school so I have learnt a lot of useful and practical things that were not taught at university including teaching techniques, students management and professional knowledge' (T.23).
We observed that it was evident at Baha Primary School and teachers appeared ready and eager to exchange experiences and share their knowledge with one another when they ad an opportunity.

Seminars and speeches from famous people
Monthly seminars were organised on selected topics related to teaching skills, curriculum, or moral issues in society.Although participation was mandatory, the seminars were organised by the teachers.Though e was always 'serious', the seminars were often organised as light-hearted competitions among the teachers.Thus, instead of being dreaded, they were a source of enjoyment and amusement as well as learning among the teachers.
Topics usually relate closely to teaching situations that teachers are facing.For example, we may ask the teachers to write specific classroom situations on strips of papers . . .Then teachers take turns reading those situations . . .thinking for a while and suggesting solutions.Teachers with good solutions receive small rewards such as a notebook or a pen.(Principal Nguyen) Young teachers, in particular, seemed to find these school-based seminars helpful.The playfulness seemed to reduce the 'distance' between them and the older staff.The games offered a chance to share and teaching techniques and solutions in a non-threatening environment.For example, one teacher with three years of experience stated: Actually, it's [the seminar] fun, interesting, and elpful . . .Many situations are similar to difficult ones I'm facing in my own class.So it's a good opportunity for me to learn from my colleagues, especially the older ones, without aving to feel incompetent or admit that I don't know what to do.(T13) Seminars were sometimes organised to coincide with speeches by famous people from society (e.g.professors, scientists, writers, politicians, actors) who were invited to address the staff by the school management board.As a result, new ideas were shared and 'teachers' general knowledge is updated by interacting with people who might otherwise be from outside of their experience' (Principal Nguyen).

Experience initiatives and self-study
At BaHa Primary School, it was obligatory for every teacher to undertake either a research study or 'lesson from experience' (experience initiatives).They could conduct a research study on a topic such as classroom management, student thinking, or student moral development.Alternatively, they could write a report describing classroom experiences, issues or problems and how they solved them.As noted above, these studies were a co-requisite qualification for receiving the title of 'good teacher' in the award competitions.Thus, teachers tended to take these studies/initiatives quite seriously.
Teachers typically registered the topics of their studies at the beginning of the academic year.Then, towards the end of the school year, they handed their studies in to the management board of the school which was responsible for assessment.Studies that received high marks were sent to the DET or PET for further assessment.Teachers whose projects passed these evaluations received a 'Recognition Certificate' signed by the DET and/or PET Director(s).In the principal's view, this activity was a 'form of self-learning that stimulated the teachers' continued interest in the job.Because all teachers take on these projects annually and share their results with each other, there is collective improvement for the school' (Principal Nguyen).
Teachers were also encouraged to spend time reading books and finding information from newspapers, TV, and the research studies and 'lessons from experienced' of other teachers.Indeed, each teacher was required to keep a notebook, titled 'Cumulative Experiences', which was a reflective record what the teacher learned during the year.Although this notebook was shared with the principal, Principal Nguyen, emphasised that the requirement to keep the log was really for the teacher, not for er.
Either my deputy principals or I will check each teacher's Cumulative Experiences Notebook periodically.But, in my opinion, our inspection of the Notebooks is not correct.It should be the teachers' sense of responsibility and personal accountability to study for them, not to do it for me.(Principal Nguyen) Although all teachers were conscious of the importance of self-study, many teachers found it difficult to find time, 'We are too busy to ave time for self-studying at home because of the lesson plans and housework taking up our time' (T15 and T19).The female teachers, in particular, were busy caring for their families.Thus, the extent of self-study among teachers seemed highly variable.

Discussion
This study identified and elaborated the range of activities employed in BaHa Primary School to promote its teachers' professional learning.Both the scope and depth of learning activities seemed notable to the researchers.What also became apparent during the course of this research was the differentiated nature of these activities.More specifically, different activities appealed to these primary teachers based on their gender, age, experience, intellectual abilities and family situations.Hence, Principal Nguyen was quite explicit about the wishes to employ different strategies to motivate different teachers in their professional learning (see Krupp 1987;Qian and Walker 2013;Tonna and Shanks 2017).
Teachers' needs depend on their intellectual abilities, family circumstances, gender, experience, and especially age.Older teachers do not really like to upgrade their certification.They prefer professional meetings inside the school where they can discuss practical ongoing classroom issues . . .The reality is that female teachers, like Vietnamese women in general, are consumed by household chores and responsibilities.Thus, they have more difficulty finding the time to participate in professional development activities outside of the school and school day than their male counterparts.(Principal Nguyen) Generally, school-based activities outnumbered external learning ones for teachers at the BaHa Primary School.Moreover, these primary school teachers seemed to participate in external activities such as Degree Upgrading and Good Teacher Title Competitions for different reasons than the school-based activities.They took part in these activities to achieve 'qualifications' and enhance their 'professional identity' or the self reputation in the community.'Vietnamese thinking' equates a higher certificate, or a degree, or 'title' of a teacher with visible evidence of that teacher's capacities.Thus, the degree or certificate becomes a tangible source of 'prestige' in the eyes of the school, community, and profession.Of course, the downside, especially for the Good Teacher Title Competition, was the possibility of 'failure' and subsequent loss of face.The sense of 'losing face' (Borton 2000;Earley and Erez 1997;Vasavakul 2019) would make teachers who failed in their efforts to feel ashamed and lose confidence in the community.Fullan (2011) emphasised the benefits of 'positive pressure' as a source of motivation for learning and change.Nonetheless, our interview with the principal suggested that in some cases 'positive' is in the mind of the beholder.It was clear from the interviews with the teachers and observations that a number of teachers had participated in the competitions for the 'face' and/or compulsory requirements of the school, themselves or the family rather than for the sake of their professional learning improvements.This could be influenced by the cultural aspect of a community-based hierarchical society (Borton 2000;Vasavakul 2019).
In contrast, school-based activities seemed to focus more squarely on shaping subject knowledge, transferrable teaching skills and realistic applicable matters.Whether it is mandatory or voluntary, administrator-or teacher-initiated, the activities including Classroom Observations, Mentoring, Weekly Professional Meetings, School-Based Seminars, Experience Initiatives and Self-Study offered an ongoing and differentiated platform of professional learning activities.From an administrative perspective, the platform provided a good environment for all the teachers to engage in continued learning that both the school and the teachers could get the benefits.Thus, all teachers participated in a core set of school-based activities that included Weekly Professional Meetings, Classroom Observations, and Seminars.However, within this framework of the whole primary school expectations, its teachers were afforded the choice of where to focus their professional learning.For example, during their early years, teachers might devote their discretionary learning time to Degree Upgrading, Classroom Observation, and Mentoring activities.Conversely, more experienced teachers might devote more time to leading staff Seminars, Mentoring new teachers, Good Teacher Title Competitions, Research Study, and Self-Study.This differentiated approach to adult learning reflects a mature and effective approach to adult professional learning (Krupp 1987;Qian et al. 2017;Tonna and Shanks 2017).
Our research also aimed to determine if there were 'indigenous' approaches that characterised professional learning in this Vietnamese primary school.For example, scholars have identified 'teacher research groups' as a common characteristic of teacher professional learning in Chinese schools (Paine and Fang 2008), the activities at this Vietnamese primary school such as 'Good Teacher' Title Competitions, Weekly Professional Meetings, and Speeches by Famous People can qualify as 'indigenous practices', in our thinking.These teacher learning practices are 'indigenous' in the sense that they appear to emerge from and reflect the cultural-social-political context of Vietnamese society.For example, as noted earlier, the honour that Vietnamese culture accords to status clearly motivates teachers to strive for higher certificates, degrees, and 'good teacher titles'.This also explains the importance accorded to bringing in 'Famous Speakers' from society.In addition, one could also argue that the manner in which Classroom Observations, School-Based Seminars, and Self-Study are employed in this primary school is distinctive.
Similarly, the 'collectivist' character of Vietnamese people (Borton 2000;Earley and Erez 1997;Vasavakul 2019) can be discerned in the number of group-based learning activities in which teachers are expected to engage in.These consist of the mandatory external Workshops, School-Based Seminars, and Weekly Professional Meetings.These activities as well as Mentoring and Classroom Observations provided opportunities for teachers to share and learn values and norms of the professional community, even as they enhanced their knowledge, attitudes and skills in their teaching and living.
The fact that these 'indigenous practices' emerge from the socio-cultural context of the Vietnamese society is not to suggest that everything works in perfect harmony.As noted in the presentation of results, teachers who willingly chose to register for 'Good Teacher' Title Competitions or Degree Upgrading reported feeling considerably stressed and in some cases, fear of failure.Even while teachers acknowledged the value of Classroom Observations, some also reported feeling fearful and anxious.Thus, our characterisation of these activities as 'indigenous' does not mean to suggest that they are all necessarily 'effective'.Furthermore, not all practices identified in this research will necessarily transfer to other societies where socio-cultural-political values and norms differ.

Limitations of the study
The key limitation of this empirical report arises from its design as a single site case study.While this allowed the authors to study one particular primary school in depth, the results cannot be generalised to other schools in Vietnam.Although similar practices were also found in the other three schools that participated in the larger study, future research will need to affirm the extent to which BaHa School is typical within the Vietnamese school system.

Conclusion
This research was undertaken both to fill the gap in knowledge about the professional learning of primary teachers in the Vietnamese context which as been scare in publications and add to a growing global literature.The study reprises earlier descriptive efforts to 'map' the landscape of teacher professional learning in Western countries (e.g.Borko 2004; Vescio et al. 2008) and East Asian nations (Paine and Fang 2006;Qian and Walker 2013;Qian et al.2018).
The need for teachers to grow, adapt and develop new attitudes, subject knowledge and pedagogical skills over the course of their teaching careers as elevated the importance of professional learning as a school improvement strategy.While the range of professional learning activities as been mapped in some societies (e.g.Borko 2004; Paine and Fang 2006;Qian et al. 2017), this study aimed to map teacher professional learning practices in a premier primary school in Central Vietnam.

Notes
1. Fictitious names are used for both the school and the principal.2. In Vietnam, female officials retire at the age of 55 and male counterparts retire at the age of 60.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Typology of teacher professional learning activities.
g. training courses required by the MOET, Provincial Department of Education and Training -PET, or District Department of Education and Training -DET).Moreover, in the principal's and many teachers' views, these courses often fell short of teachers' expectations.Knowledge learned from these courses was 'sometimes abstract, unrealistic and not appropriate for use in our classrooms' (T4), 'impractical for my teaching at school' (T9), ' not what I ad expected to solve my real teaching obstacles' (T17).