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Kieu, Huyen Tram (2025) Teacher change through professional development: an embedded case study of Vietnamese tertiary EFL teachers adopting blended learning. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

This thesis presents a PhD project conducted in the context of blended learning (BL), which is emerging as a significant educational reform globally and in Vietnam. It investigates the adoption of BL by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers at a Vietnamese university, focusing on teacher change resulting from a tailored professional development (PD) program.

The research project builds on a preliminary pre-PhD study that identified a disconnect between institutional goals and teachers' experiences. Accordingly, it aimed to support EFL teachers in adopting BL through a structured PD intervention. Furthermore, it seeks to address critical gaps in the literature, including the limited exploration of teachers’ perspectives on BL adoption, the inadequate evaluation of PD initiatives, and the insufficient understanding of the mechanisms driving teacher change.

Framed by the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) (Hall, 1979) and the Dynamic Model of Teacher Change (adapted from Clarke and Hollingsworth, 2002), this research utilized a qualitative embedded single-case study design. Multiple data sources were employed, including teacher Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) responses, interviews with teachers and administrators, and teacher reflections. The research was structured around three units of analysis: the problem, the intervention, and the context, which were investigated through three sequential studies.

Study 1 explored the initial concerns and experiences of six EFL teachers who volunteered for the PD program. Pre-program findings revealed their significant informational and personal concerns, a limited understanding of BL principles, and superficial integration of online components. These insights informed the design of a tailored, long-term PD program structured as a community of practice (CoP), encompassing learning, designing, and teaching phases.

Study 2 evaluated the program’s effectiveness and examined the process of teacher change. Teachers reported that the program effectively alleviated initial concerns, enhanced their knowledge, skills, and instructional practices, and initiated shifts in their peripheral beliefs about BL. From the teachers’ perspectives, these changes improved student engagement and fostered greater learning autonomy. Furthermore, the study revealed that teacher change was a negotiated process between the program’s intended content and teachers’ established routines, mediated by resonance—an active and ongoing engagement influenced by individual teacher profiles and contextual factors.

Despite these positive changes reported by teachers, Study 2 also identified lingering challenges beyond the teachers’ capacity to resolve, prompting Study 3, which escalated unresolved concerns to five administrators at the school (departmental) and university levels. This study situated teachers’ BL adoption within an ecological framework, emphasizing how contextual factors operating at multiple levels influenced professional growth. In the case of the university under investigation, the system demonstrated limited proactiveness at each layer, coupled with a tendency to shift blame upward. Three contextual pillars were identified as critical for creating a supportive environment for teachers’ BL adoption: leadership buy-in, expert involvement, and open communication.

This research potentially offers valuable contributions to designing and evaluating PD initiatives for BL in EFL contexts. Its key contributions are distilled into a PD guiding framework for BL and a refined Dynamic Model of Teacher Change. The former provides a structured approach to aligning bottom-up teacher initiatives with systemic top-down educational reforms. At the same time, the latter captures the complex interplay of teacher agency and contextual influences, which are often overlooked in existing models. Practical implications extend to PD designers, administrators, and teachers, offering actionable strategies for sustainable BL adoption and a nuanced understanding of teacher change.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Lee, Kean Wah Sivapalan, Subarna Tiong, Ngee Derk
Keywords:	professional development; blended learning; teacher change; EFL; Vietnamese higher education
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
Faculties/Schools:	University of Nottingham, Malaysia > Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > School of Education
Item ID:	81471
Depositing User:	Kieu, Huyen-Tram
Date Deposited:	26 Jul 2025 04:40
Last Modified:	26 Jul 2025 04:40
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/81471

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