Implementing Formative Assessment in Vietnamese Classrooms: Strategies to Navigate Cultural and Structural Obstacles

Abstract

Western-based pedagogical practices have become favourite pedagogies in Asian classrooms. However, the success of these Western-based pedagogies largely depends on how local teachers and students create transformed practices, so that they could navigate local cultural and structural barriers. This one-semester study aimed to uncover the complexities of the implementation process of formative assessment in a Vietnamese higher education classroom. The study used activity theory as the theoretical framework. Participants were a lecturer and 100 students of a class at a Vietnamese university. The results showed that there were various structural and cultural obstacles, especially existing rules and norms in Vietnamese classrooms, that hindered the implementation of formative assessment practices. However, the initiative was implemented successfully because the stakeholders involved in the implementation process knew how to cooperate and negotiate their roles effectively in a community.KeywordsFormative assessmentVietnamAsiaPedagogiesReformActivity theory