This book gathers a diverse set of empirical research chapters from practitioners in the higher education sector in Vietnam to explore the effects of higher education reform on university learning and teaching from the point of view of the classroom educators. Through action research, reflective practice, and other qualitative methods, the book investigates the transformations of learning and teaching practice from top-down to bottom-up, teacher-centred to student-centred, curriculum-oriented to skills-based, institutionally directed to partner integrated, and co-designed approaches. In doing so, the book challenges a rethinking of Vietnamese higher education. It reveals the ingredients for transformative education and calls for educators to be empowered with support, resources, and trust. Drawing on a broad range of disciplinary backgrounds about Vietnam’s university reforms, it is highly relevant to social anthropologists, educational specialists, and policymakers working in higher education reform, not only in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian contexts, but globally.

Catherine Earl, Ph.D., is a social anthropologist, policy analyst, and community educator. Her research areas are gender equity, decent work, reducing social inequalities, and urban futures. She has published ten books and more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She is an editor of Comparative Migration Studies (Springer), Ageing, Work and Welfare series (Edward Elgar), and Global Vietnam series (Springer). She is a senior lecturer at RMIT Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City.