Teachers as moral guides: a case study of Vietnamese pre service teachers of english in contemporary Vietnam

Abstract

The idea of ‘teacher as moral guide’ (TMG) is a core motif among teachers in Vietnam. However, what counts as morality and the moral role of teachers in contemporary Vietnam is constantly challenged and reconstructed by processes of globalisation, the international status of English, the country’s exposure to different values brought about by its open-door policy, and its ambition to integrate globally. Employing a qualitative case study research approach with nineteen student teachers and ten teacher educators of English at three different English language teacher education institutions in Vietnam, this study has attempted to re-examine the notion of ‘morality as an identity filter’ and the conception of ‘teachers as moral guide’ (Phan, 2008; Phan & Phan, 2006; Phan, Phan, & McPherron, 2011) as the ‘core’ identity of Vietnamese teachers through the participants’ social positioning of self and others and through interactions. In other words, it focuses on examining the reconstructed meaning of this professional/national identity in relation to English as an international language (EIL) in the context of globalisation. More specifically, the study looks deeply into the way EIL might influence the development of teacher identities within the boundaries of English language education. The data collection process involved three stages proceeding from guided journal writing/semi structured individual interviews (before the practicum), through 4-6 weekly diaries collected through email correspondence (during the practicum) to in-depth individual interviews (after the practicum). Individual in-depth interviews were carried out both with teacher educators and student teachers at the final stage. The findings have illuminated the translation in meaning of TMG and ‘teacher morality’ firstly through dialectic positioning of self and others, and secondly through the conflicts and negotiation of morals and values associated with the informants’ experiences during English language learning and teaching (ELLT). The meaning of TMG in relation to EIL and globalisation has been identified in recognition of several influential factors. It is found that the pragmatic issues of teaching professions such as low pay, work and life balance, the vision of being perfect, overloaded professional requirements, the senior teachers’ models (both negative and positive images), and experiences of ELLT have contributed to the negotiation of teacher morals, moral roles and related values leading to the transformation of subjectivity among the participants. The complex interplay of factors and reasons created dilemmas which student teachers navigated as they developed their particular understandings of TMG and the formation of their professional identity. The meaning of teacher morality and TMG has been extended from being good in conduct and knowledge, to also being an inspiring model. The study has portrayed a shifting image of Vietnamese teachers, focusing on teachers being ‘moral’ in a less conventional way. The ELT teachers are suggested as being a model of modern teachers who own a typically distinctive image without having to wear the image of a ‘classic’ teacher. Wearing a new look and practising their own styles, ELT teachers have been perceived as setting an example for their students with their knowledge, their enthusiasm, their open-heartedness, their inspirational spirit, and most importantly their embodiment of morality of Vietnamese teachers. The findings have also contributed some universal characteristics of ELT professionals and the tensions that they engender. ELLT has more or less acted as a driver of shaping and reshaping the personal and professional identities of ELT teachers. The concept of TMG as a ‘core’ identity of Vietnamese teachers, while retaining its currency and significance, has been socially and linguistically reconstructed in relation to universal ELT professionalism, in which teachers should perform their moral roles as ELT professionals while demonstrating themselves to be moral educators for issues that matter locally, nationally and globally. The perceptions of ELT Vietnamese teachers’ image/teacher identity have confirmed the usefulness of the underlying socio-cultural approach (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005) that informs this study, and which shows that identity is (re)constructed through positioning and interactions. The study also reinforces the scholarship about professional identity as constructed through identification and negotiation of personal, local and universal values and beliefs. This project puts forward issues for teacher education, urging the explicit encouragement of TEs to enact their moral guiding roles through a caring relationship while enhancing STs’ understanding of morality and development of moral identity.