





































  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

55 
 

A DECADE OF RESEARCHING ON PROFESSIONAL 
DEVELOPMENT IN A GRADUATE PROGRAM 

A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW 
 

Le Xuan Mai1*, Le Thanh Thao2 
1,2 Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam 

 

lxmai@ctu.edu.vn 
 

ABSTRACT 

This paper aims to provide a logical and comprehensive systematic review of MA students’ 
theses related to professional development (PD) in an educational institution in the Mekong 
Delta of Vietnam. This systematic review used a qualitative method to analyze 28 
unpublished PD theses (2010 – 2020) in a graduate program of a public tertiary institution 
in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. There were four main research concerns, including (1) 
research aims, (2) research methodology, (3) findings, and (4) limitations of the theses. After 
the review, a list of strengths and weaknesses of these studies is found, evaluated, and 
presented in this article. The review shows that these studies did contribute diverse 
knowledge and practices of PD in the educational system of Vietnam, particularly in the 
Mekong Delta. On the other hand, the data collection instruments and research designs 
needed improvement to a certain extent. Specifically, observations were not used much in 
the theses. Besides, the candidate researchers overused a descriptive research design for 
their theses. Thanks to the analysis, some implications and new ideas for further research in 
PD are discussed at the end of this paper. 

Keywords: EFL Teachers, Master Theses, Mekong Delta, Professional Development, 
Systematic Review 

INTRODUCTION 

First and foremost, English has become obligatory in many Asian countries, including 
Vietnam. English plays the role as the working language of the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) nations to support this group to interact efficiently and get more 
possibilities to cooperate with the more cosmopolitan global ones (ASEAN Secretariat, 
2009). However, most of them have not had sufficient resources or high-quality EFL 
teachers. As a result, professional development (PD) in English teaching and learning has 
gotten much attention from Vietnam educators. The conceptualizations of PD have been 
explored in-depth and width by researchers from all corners of the world (e.g., Friend & 
Cook, 1992; Hargreaves & Fullan, 1992; Guskey, 2000; Bailey, 2001; and so on). In brief, 
teacher PD are those activities enabling them to enhance pedagogical knowledge and 
empower them to help promote their students’ achievements in learning. Along with the 
history of research in this field, many PD activities enhancing teachers’ professionals have 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
mailto:lxmai@ctu.edu.vn


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

56 
 

been explored in previous articles (e.g., Ganser, 2000; Guskey, 2000; Garet et al., 2001; 
Villegas-Reimers, 2003; Boyle et al., 2004; Diaz-Maggioli, 2004; Richards & Farrell, 2005; 
Murray, 2010; and so on). Based on these studies, there are six main groups of PD activities, 
namely (1) training/ qualification programs, (2) observations, (3) collaborations/ 
interactions, (4) scientific work, (5) reflective teaching, and (6) participating in workshops 
and conferences. However, many factors hinder the impact of PD activities, such as lack of 
funding (Smith & Gillespie, 2007), limited-time (Darling-Hammond, 1999), daily activities 
(Cochran-Smith, 2004), teachers’ hesitance of failure and avoidance to get much attention 
(Duke, 2004), and a few others. As observed in these studies, both internal and external 
factors can affect the impact of teachers’ PD on their teaching practices. 

In the Vietnamese context, many reforms in curriculum design, development, revision, 
and review have been made by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) to help EFL 
teachers develop their teaching (Le et al., 2019). Notwithstanding, the proactive government 
interruption based on the one-size-fits-all approach faced a counterproductive effect that 
Vietnamese EFL teachers were unable to catch up with the changes and neglected to meet 
the expectations of their superiors (Le et al., 2019; Author, 2020). Less qualified teachers 
who are struggling with changes need to have chances to develop their professionals.  

Furthermore, it seemed to be formidable when the Vietnamese government approved 
Vietnam’s National Foreign Languages 2020 Project (NFLP 2020) with a fund of millions of 
dollars to heighten the number of opportunities for Vietnamese people in the universal race 
(Le et al., 2019). Many English language teaching (ELT) pedagogical reforms were offered in 
this project, such as teaching English as a mandatory subject in the school curriculum, 
employing either untrained or partially trained English native speakers as EFL teachers, 
increasing instructional ampere-hours, using new textbooks, applying the learner-centred 
task-based method, or maximizing learners’ exposure to English in-and-outside of the 
classrooms. However, after the intervention, the results of English in the annual national 
graduation examination of Vietnamese high school students are still far from the 
expectations and teachers’ competence is the foremost reason for these setbacks (Le et al., 
2019). 

Consequently, numerous studies have been conducted to explore the impact of 
professional development (PD) on EFL teaching and learning. Remarkably, the researched 
institution has been consistently encouraging their students, bachelors, masters, or 
doctorates, to conduct their research for their graduation theses in this field. In respect of 
this dedication, PD has been understood at a certain level. However, after a decade of 
learning about this field, some shortcomings were explored as duplicated topics, unbalanced 
research designs, lack of in-depth investigations of current issues, and so on. Consequently, 
the findings of these theses seem to be not as significant well as expected. Related to the 
abovementioned issues, this systematic review addressed four main research concerns, 
including (1) research aims, (2) research methodology, (3) findings, and (4) limitations of 
the theses. Consistently, the review addressed four main research questions: 

1. In the theses, what did the candidate researchers aimed to investigate? 
2. How did the candidate researchers design their theses? 
3. What did the candidate research find in their theses? 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

57 
 

4. What limitations could be observed in the theses? 

METHODS 

A qualitative method was used to conduct this review on 28 unpublished PD theses in 
a graduate program of a public tertiary institution in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The 
analysis was conducted according to the following themes: research topics, research 
objectives, research designs, frameworks, research instruments, participants, research 
contexts, key results, and research limitations. From the theses review, the reviewers 
discussed and suggested comprehensive ideas for further investigations.  

These MA theses were conducted on EFL teachers’ PD in a decade (2010-2020). They 
were selected according to these criteria: (1) they are currently stored in the main library of 
the institution and have e-versions, or (2) the theses were supervised by one of the 
researchers. The researchers made a list of all the theses and then read through them to note 
down and comment on the information. The notes and comments were made according to 
the content of the main parts of theses. 

There are twenty-eight theses about the PD research area. They were written between 
2010 and 2020. The number of theses in each year is summarized in Table 1.  

Table 1. Summary of theses information reviewed, 2010 – 2020 

Year Number of theses 

2020 3.00 

2019 8.00 

2018 3.00 

2017 2.00 

2016 3.00 

2015 1.00 

2014 - 

2013 3.00 

2012 3.00 

2011 - 

2010 2.00 

Total 28.00 

Except for 2011 and 2014, PD was selected as the field that graduate students in the 
program desire to learn about. Significantly, eight theses about PD were conducted in 2019. 
Related to this year, throughout educational legislation, the Vietnamese government 
removed lifelong payroll for teachers. As a result, Vietnamese teachers need to develop their 
profession, or they can be eliminated by the external or objective selection in which the 
better will survive, and the worse will be left. It is inferred as one of the reasons for the 
highest number of research in relevance with PD in 2019. On the other hand, the projects of 
textbook renewal in 2011 and changes from summative assessment to formative one in 2014 
might distract the graduate students’ attention to PD issues. 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

58 
 

The researched institution is located in a central city in the Mekong Delta in Southwest 
Vietnam. Those who do not know about the Mekong Delta are known as the Western Region 
of the South or South-Western Region in Vietnam. This region comprises Can Tho as a central 
city in the South of Vietnam and twelve other provinces, namely Long An, Tien Giang, Ben 
Tre, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Dong Thap, An Giang, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, 
and Ca Mau. In Vietnam, the Mekong Delta is considered a “low-land” in education; as a result, 
it becomes a potential research site to explore the issues related to PD for teachers with the 
hope that students’ academic performance and competence will be enhanced. 

The analysis procedures followed the following steps. First, the researchers used an 
online management system containing the theses provided by the institution in order to read 
the theses related to PD. Then, the researchers created a table including five columns, namely 
title, year, aims, methodology, findings, and limitations. After that, the researchers read 
through the theses and summarized the necessary information for the review in the above-
mentioned table. Finally, the researchers cross-checked and compared the summaries. The 
similarities would be kept, but the differences would be rechecked and debated for making 
decisions between keeping or deleting.   

RESULTS 

Research Aims 

Compared to the proposed frameworks, despite an unequal number of theses, they 
have covered all issues in PD activities. Table 2 displays the summary of investigated themes 
according to PD activities. 

Table 2. Summary of investigated themes according to PD activities 

PD activities Number of theses 

General views 10.00 

Collaborations/ interactions 5.00 

Observations 4.00 

Reflective teaching 4.00 

Inquiry/ action research 3.00 

Mentoring/ coaching 1.00 

Workshops/ conferences 1.00 

Total 28.00 

Among 28 theses, ten of them did not focus on a particular PD genre (N=10). In terms 
of theses on a specific type of PD activities, the most concerning topics related to PD activities 
are collaborations/ interactions (N=5), observations (N=4), reflective teaching (N=4), 
and inquiry/action research (N=3). On the other hand, although the topics including peer 
mentoring/ coaching (N=1) and attending workshops and conferences (N=1) have been 
examined, at an inadequate level.  

Related to specific concerns of the researched papers, none of them focused on a 
particular issue. It could enrich the findings on PD issues in general; however, the reviewing 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

59 
 

process showed that these theses did not investigate an in-depth understanding of the 
impact of specific PD activities on EFL teaching and learning in Vietnam. Table 3 illustrates 
the summary of researched themes according particular interests of MA students. 

Table 3: Summary of researched themes according to particular issues 

Researched themes Number of theses 

Impact and factors 14.00 

Impact and suggestions 4.00 

Expectation and satisfaction 3.00 

Impact and satisfaction 3.00 

Satisfaction and suggestion 2.00 

Impact and expectation 2.00 

Total 28.00 

Specifically, the combination of the impact of and factors affecting PD in teaching 
practice was well-investigated (N=14). Other combinations did not attract the researchers 
at that high level. Specifically, they included impacts of and suggestions for other 
PD (N=4), expectations of and satisfaction with PD (N=3), the impact of PD and satisfactions 
with PD (N=3), satisfactions with and suggestions for other PD (N=2), and impact and 
expectations of PD (N=2). 

Besides, it is effortless to figure out that the researchers were interested in the impact 
of PD on teaching and learning practice the most (N=23). On the other side, 
participants’ satisfaction with PD (N=8), suggestions for other PD (N=6), and expectations of 
PD activities (N=5) are not received much attention from the researchers.  

METHODS 

Participants 

The reviewed theses focused on investigating EFL teachers’ perceptions of PD rather 
than other stakeholders in terms of participants. The summary of participant information is 
summarized in Table 4. 

Table 4. Participant information 

Participants Number of theses 

K12 teachers 16.00 

High education lecturers 4.00 

Private language centre teachers 4.00 

Novice teachers 3.00 

School administrators 1.00 

Total 28.00 

Specifically, K12 teachers were paid attention to the most (N=16), followed by higher 
education lecturers (N=4), private language centered teachers (N=4), and novice teachers 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

60 
 

(N=3). Another one conducted their study to investigate administrators’ perceptions (N=1). 
Other stakeholders’ ideas were not observed in these theses (N=0).  

Research Contexts 

What was observed is that not all cities or provinces were selected as the research sites 
by the MA students of this educational institution a decade ago. Table 5 summarizes the 
research contexts in the theses. 

Table 5. Summary of research contexts 

Research context Number of theses 

Can Tho City 11.00 

Ca Mau Province 2.00 

Soc Trang Province 2.00 

Ben Tre Province 2.00 

Vinh Long Province 2.00 

Tien Giang Province 1.00 

Kien Giang Province 1.00 

Bac Lieu Province 1.00 

No specific context 6.00 

Total 28.00 

Specifically, Can Tho city is the most concerned venue (N=11), followed by the 
provinces such as Ca Mau (N=2), Soc Trang (N=2), Ben Tre (N=2), Vinh Long (N=2), Tien 
Giang (N=1), Kien Giang (N=1), and Bac Lieu (N=1). Meanwhile, the other provinces as An 
Giang, Dong Thap, Tra Vinh, and Long An, were not significantly paid adequate attention to 
(N=0). Besides, some theses collected data from EFL teachers in general, not those working 
in a specific city or province (N=6). 

Research Designs 

Research designs in these theses were analyzed to state that almost all studies were 
conducted as a descriptive research design (N=27), and only one study was administered as 
a case study (N=1). The others, such as action research, casual design, cohort design, cross-
sectional design, experimental design, exploratory design, historical design, longitudinal 
design, observational design, philosophical design, and sequential design, were not used.  

Data Collection Instruments 

Besides the research designs, data collection instruments also differ studies from each 
other. The summary of data collection instruments is illustrated in Table 6. 

Table 6. Summary of data collection instruments  

Instruments Number of theses 

Questionnaire only 1.00 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

61 
 

Questionnaire and interview 21.00 

Questionnaire, interview, and content analysis 3.00 

Interview, content analysis, and observation 1.00 

Questionnaire, interview, and observation 1.00 

Interview and content analysis 1.00 

Total 28.00 

Most of the studies used mixed-method approaches to collect data, except a study using 
a single questionnaire (N=1). Specifically, the most used mixture is the combination of 
questionnaires and interviews (N=21), followed by the combination of three different 
instruments, questionnaires, interviews, and content analysis (N=3), the combination of 
trios, including interviews, content analysis, and classroom observations (N=1), the 
combination of interviews and content analysis (N=1), and the combination of 
questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations (N=1).   

Prominent Findings in the Theses 

Related to the contributions of the previous studies to the literature, their prominent 
findings are divided into four main categories, including the impact of existing PD on 
teaching practice, participants’ satisfactions with PD, their expectations from PD, and factors 
hindering PD. 

First, PD activities bring many benefits to EFL teachers. Specifically, PD activities help 
them perform well in the classrooms and bring better students’ learning outcomes (N=5); 
broaden academic and pedagogical knowledge (N=4); understand teaching values, 
classroom and students (N=3); establish a trusting relationship with colleagues (N=3); 
improve teachers’ professional identities related to developing English teaching 
competences (N=3); enhance cooperation and interaction between students and teachers 
(N=2); change the teaching beliefs, use the materials and apply technology more effectively 
(N=1); understand more about high school contexts, and adjust pedagogical behaviours 
(N=1); realize their colleagues’ strengths, increase staff relationships, and improve 
communicative skills (N=1); increase students’ engagement, and motivate students’ self-
study (N=1); and be more self-confident, determine self-efficacy (N=1).  

Second, despite many beneficial features that PD brings to teachers’ teaching practice, 
some studies found that teachers were not satisfied with the PD activities they used to have. 
Compared to the mentioned reasons above, some reviewed theses showed that EFL teachers 
were satisfied with their trainers (N=4). However, another remarkable finding in the 
reviewed theses stated that some PD activities were not practical (N=3).  

Third, to meet teachers’ expectations, understanding their needs or expectations is 
essential. Here are some teachers’ expectations that they want to gain after participating in 
PD activities: developing instructional strategies, teaching skills, and academic knowledge 
(N=5); planning practical lessons, creating a meaningful and supportive learning 
environment, designing practical assignments and activities (N=3); developing technology 
for teaching (N=3); organizing workshops taken place in their province in summer by 
qualified university teachers as trainers (N=2); acknowledging additional testing and 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

62 
 

assessment types, syllabus design, ICT, and classroom management (N=2); gaining a deep 
understanding of learners (N=1); and promoting resource adaptation and selection and 
having training courses (N=1). 

Finally, many factors hindering PD have been found in the reviewed theses. However, 
time constraints, excessive workload (N=8), and lack of institutional support (N=5) were 
highly prominent.  

Common Limitations 

The most common limitation of the previous MA theses related to PD in this institution 
was small samples. Two possible explanations were provided for this limitation. First, the 
MA students, researchers of the previous studies, did not have sufficient financial and 
political power to enlarge their research samples. The other possible explanation is that 
these MA students did not fully understand the concept of a small sample, so they just 
mentioned it as one of the limitations.  

Additionally, most authors agreed that it was disappointed to conduct their studies 
without using observations or other instruments for the data collection. An empathetic 
response has been made to explain this limitation that the researchers might not have 
enough time to conduct observations.  

DISCUSSION 

The number of theses that did not focus on one type of PD is overwhelming compared 
to those investigating each category separately. It has helped provide a general picture of PD 
in the region; however, the picture just covered the surface of the issue, not in-depth 
understanding. Besides, this also proved that Vietnamese educators had been confused 
about which type of PD activities can foster EFL teaching in practice the most; as a result, 
research on PD is just in a repetitive cycle. 

K12 teachers were overpaid attention to by these theses. On the other hand, the PD of 
Vietnamese teachers for higher education and private language centres, novice teachers, or 
educational administrators was not understood clearly because of the lack of investigations. 
Furthermore, other stakeholders, consisting of parents, media, community representatives, 
students, and so on, have not had chances to raise their voices yet. The findings did not align 
with Leisyte and Westerheijden's (2014) beliefs, who indicated that all stakeholders play 
their specific and essential roles in teaching and learning development. Therefore, without 
their perspectives, understanding the PD issues in these reviewed theses seemed to be 
unfulfilled. 

Understandably, the researchers paid much attention to the impact of PD on teaching 
and learning practice because it is the best way to measure PD's effect. Regarding these 
measurements, the impact of PD has been well-explained in the Vietnamese educational 
context. However, other issues, including EFL teachers’ satisfactions, suggestions, or 
expectations, also play a remarkable role in increasing the quality of PD activities. As 
explained by Guskey (2002), evaluation is an intentional process to collect and analyse the 
information through appropriate methods and techniques to determine its value. Besides, 
Timmermans et al. (2016) added that the measurements of teachers’ expectations of a 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

63 
 

particular PD activity also prove its value on their teaching in practice. Otherwise, more 
research is needed on the impact or effects of particular PD activities such as reflective 
teaching, action research, attending conferences, the community of practice, and classroom 
observations. 

The PD issues in a particular city, such as Can Tho, could be well-studied within itself. 
On the other hand, these issues in the other provinces have been little researched. Therefore, 
it lacks a comparison among PD activities implemented in different places. Besides, six 
reviewed theses collected data from the teachers working in the Mekong Delta in general, 
but the sample size could not generalize their results. To ensure the reliability of results in a 
study, the sample should satisfy the criteria for the sampling technique proposed by Parel et 
al. (1973). As a result, the understanding of PD in this region is not as depth as expected. 

According to Anastas (1999), although descriptive studies can collect a large amount 
of data for analysis in detail, the results from a descriptive study cannot answer a hypothesis 
thoroughly or convincingly. Therefore, the reviewed theses might provide a potential 
number of participants to draw a general view of PD in the Mekong Delta. However, the 
results should be rechecked by employing other types of research design. 

While quantitative data from the questionnaires provide information on a large sample 
and yields results on frequency and magnitude of trends, qualitative data from the 
interviews offer insightful perspectives on the research topics and explain the issues in 
detail. However, to measure the impact of PD on teaching and learning in practice, the results 
from those instruments seemed to be unconvincing. For example, as stated in Eddy et al. 
(2015), the classroom observation tools can identify implementing elements that have been 
shown to increase student outcomes related to achievement, logic development, or other 
relevant learning goals. Moreover, the tool can clarify the research-supported elements of 
best practices for classroom interactions in practice. 

The most prominent findings were that PD activities help improve teaching 
performance, professional knowledge, and students’ learning outcomes. In general, the 
findings related to the impacts of PD found in those theses were in line with several previous 
studies (e.g., Buczynski & Hansen, 2010; Piasta et al., 2012; Earley & Porritt, 2014; and so 
on). 

Besides, the findings regarding teachers’ satisfactions with PD were aligned with Bayar 
and Kösterelioğlu (2014), who listed five main reasons for teachers’ low satisfaction with 
PD, namely offering only traditional PD activities, not involving teachers in the design of PD 
activities, ignoring teachers’ needs during the process of planning of PD activities, offering 
activities unrelated to authentic classroom situations, and having low quality of instructors 
in PD activities. Additionally, attested as a more complicated role rather than an effective 
teacher, teacher educator has to categorize for affective needs, coach a large number of 
participants, interpret unexpected situations and provide appropriate feedback, point out 
particular needs of trainees, and so on (O’Dwyer & Atli, 2015). Then, it was indicated as a 
reason failing PD in the study by Helterbran and Fennimore (2004) which asserted that PD 
sometimes was irrelevant, ineffective, and unrelated to participants’ needs. 

In terms of institutional support, it is in line with Opfer and Pedder (2011), who found 
that the absence of institutional supports strongly decreased EFL teachers’ willingness to 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

64 
 

participate in PD. Regarding time constraints and excessive workload, teachers in the study 
by Teig et al. (2019) complain that time constraints from the excessive workload and social 
life had prevented them from implementing cognitive-activation strategies to enhance their 
self-efficacy, although they strongly believed in the values of those strategies. 

CONCLUSION 

Research aims of the theses have been well-achieved. The researchers of the theses 
explored most of the themes efficiently even though they did not much provide in-depth 
understanding of the issues. In the general terms, the theses completed their missions 
answering the research questions. Therefore, the literature in the field has been strongly 
enriched thanks to the remarkable efforts of the researchers. 

In terms of research design, the unbalance is shown. Remarkably, most theses focused 
on descriptive research rather than experimental research. Previous research has shown 
that EFL teachers’ perceptions of PD can be significantly different from how they practice in 
real classrooms. Then, regarding the participants, most theses investigated K12 EFL 
teachers, rather than EFL lecturers in tertiary education or those at vocational institutions, 
and among K12 teachers, few were teaching at primary schools. Also, most of these theses 
studied the teachers rather than the administrators, PD organizers or coordinators, PD 
trainers, and other stakeholders. As a result, potential graduate students and researchers 
can focus on these categories of participants. Additionally, researchers are emboldened to 
invite teachers working in private language centres and freelancers or novices to partake in 
their studies. Regarding research contexts, the sample should be chosen in those provinces 
without any previous investigation, such as An Giang, Dong Thap, Tra Vinh, and Long An. 
These research sites may provide more significant findings in order to enhance the PD 
quality in Vietnam. Related to data collection instruments, it is undeniable that 
questionnaires and interviews, mainly semi-structured interviews or the like, are extremely 
useful to collect data to understand human beings. Nonetheless, they have been overused.  

After reviewing the MA theses towards PD in this tertiary institution in the Mekong 
Delta, Vietnam, for ten years (2010-2020), some strengths and weaknesses were found. In 
general, twenty-eight theses are not an impressive quantity. Much evidence shows how PD 
is necessary for an educational system; therefore, it is difficult to determine that Vietnamese 
EFL teachers are much concerned about PD. Nevertheless, all of them have shown a sufficient 
augmentation to promoting PD in practice. Regarding the findings of the theses, they have 
contributed to the development of literature on PD activities in Vietnam. Moreover, they 
provided informative data for school administrators worldwide on how they can meet EFL 
teachers’ demands or avoid the hindering factors for PD, especially institution supports.  

There are three remarkable common limitations found in the theses, including small n-
size, time constraints, and lacking the use of appropriate collecting data instruments. 
Because of the mentioned above limitations, the theses just explored the issues on the 
surface, not in-depth understanding. 

In short, the candidate researchers significantly contributed to the enrichment of the 
field. Most of the theses profoundly found interesting and useful results for enhancing the 
quality of PD events in the Vietnamese context. However, there was space for them to 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

65 
 

improve. For instance, research design, collecting data instruments, and research sites 
should be taken into careful considerations. 

IMPLICATIONS 

Overusing descriptive research design leads to a doubt whether PD training in Vietnam 
has a significant impact on teachers’ practice. To find the answer, no other choice except to 
conduct more classroom observations with good checklists. Therefore, future theses can 
experiment and report the effects of PD programs or activities on EFL teachers. Besides, 
Prediger et al. (2019) also proposed three interesting strategies for setting research agendas 
dealing with the multi-level structure of PD activities, including lifting strategy, nesting 
strategy, and unpacking strategy. Researchers interested in conducting PD studies can use 
these three practical strategies to employ their work. 

The diversity of types participants who play different roles in EFL teaching and 
learning in the theses drew a general picture of PD in the Southwest of Vietnam. One more 
idea is that English-native speakers or second language speakers should be selected as 
participants for further research in the Vietnam context. 

Additionally, it could be fascinating to differentiate teachers’ responses to PD in 
separate research sites that were not obvious in the previous studies. If possible, other parts 
of Vietnam should be elected as the research site for the comparison. The differences 
between the North and the South of Vietnam in terms of education may exist. In this 
knowledge economy era, it could be worthy of checking which area has trained the human 
resources better throughout the quality of PD training. 

Moreover, for PD investigations in the future, more data collection methods should be 
utilized. For example, observations should be used to research the impact of PD on teaching 
practices. Instead of only semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews can also be 
employed. Also, researchers should use more research methods to collect data related to 
content and documents like journals and official document analysis. 

Despite these significant benefits, potential ideas and directions for future research are 
suggested as follows. In terms of PD research topics, future PD theses can be administered 
to investigate the impact of specific PD activities, such as training or attending workshops 
and conferences, the community of practice, reflective journals, and the like, on teachers’ 
professional growth. Also, more research should investigate the follow-up activities that the 
teachers implement after their training programs. Moreover, just a few studies on teachers’ 
satisfaction or evaluation of PD activities were conducted. Notwithstanding, without 
shortcoming recognitions, the quality of PD activities seems to be far from expectations. It 
has indirectly explained the learning outcomes of Vietnamese students, which were 
unsatisfactory. Therefore, administering more studies to investigate all issues surrounding 
PD is essential to produce more qualified teachers and meet the expectations of the 
Vietnamese government. 

For the deficiencies admitted by the MA scholars, to solve the problem of small sample 
size, it is crucial to help promote their power through addressing cover letters to research 
sites, establishing a partnership with other institutions to expand the research objects, or 
making a tight connection with MOET to accommodate researchers sufficient support. In 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

66 
 

another assumption, researchers were not aware of what a small sample is. As a piece of 
evidence, none of them cited a framework for a small sample. To help beginning researchers, 
the research team introduced Parel et al. (1973) to advise them on ways of determining 
sample size. Besides the sample size issue, MA students also face trouble with the time 
constraints for the motive of accompanying observations in their studies. According to 
Zohrabi (2013), despite the many benefits that observations can make, an observational 
process takes a tremendous amount of time. Accordingly, researchers should not be under 
high pressure of on-time submission.  

This theses review hopes to provide readers helpful literature and inputs for their 
future research in the Mekong Delta contexts. This review summarizes what has been done 
in the field of EFL teachers’ PD by graduate students in the Mekong Delta between 2010 and 
2020. It also includes suggestions and recommendations for future research in the field. The 
reviewers look forward to more new research, thanks to their work. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

Thanks to all researchers who are the authors of the twenty-eight reviewed papers. 
These studies have significantly contributed to enhancing the quality of PD training in 
Vietnam and worldwide. Furthermore, without the support of these researchers, the writers 
were not able to finish their work and proposed this valuable review to people who need. 
Hopefully, this article can be published in a reliable publication to spread its impact. 

REFERENCES 

Anastas, J. (2000). Research Design for Social Work and the Human Services. Columbia 
University Press. 

ASEAN Secretariat. (2009). ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint. Jakarta: Author. 

Author (2020) 

Bailey, K. M. (2001). Twenty Questions about Action Research. PASAA: A Journal of Language 
Teaching and Learning in Thailand, 32, 1-18. 

Bayar, A. & Kösterelioğlu, İ. (2014). Satisfaction Levels of Teachers in Professional 
Development Activities in Turkey. Turkish Studies, 9(2), 321-333. 

Boyle, B., While, D., & Boyle, T. (2004). A Longitudinal Study of Teacher Change: What Makes 
Professional Development Effective?. Curriculum Journal, 15(1), 45-68. 

Buczynski, S., & Hansen, C. B. (2010). Impact of Professional Development on Teacher 
Practice: Uncovering Connections. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 599-607. 

Cochran-Smith, M. (2004). The Problem of Teacher Education. Journal of Teacher 
Education, 55(4), 295-300. 

Darling-Hammond, L. (1999). Target Time Toward Teachers. Journal of Staff 
Development, 20(2), 31-36. 

Duke, D. L. (2004). The Challenges of Educational Change. Allyn & Bacon. 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

67 
 

Earley, P., & Porritt, V. (2014). Evaluating the Impact of Professional Development: The Need 
for a Student-Focused Approach. Professional Development in Education, 40(1), 112-
129. 

Eddy, S. L., Converse, M., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2015). PORTAAL: A Classroom Observation 
Tool Assessing Evidence-Based Teaching Practices for Active Learning in Large 
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Classes. CBE Life Sciences 
Education, 14(2), 14-23. 

Friend, M., & Cook, L. (1992). Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals. 
Longman Publishing Group, 95 Church Street, White Plains, NY 10601. 

Ganser, T. (2000). An Ambitious Vision of Professional Development for Teachers. NASSP 
Bulletin, 84(618), 6-12. 

Garet, M. S., Porter, A. C., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F., & Yoon, K. S. (2001). What Makes 
Professional Development Effective? Results from a National Sample of 
Teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 915-945. 

Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating Professional Development. Corwin press. 

Guskey, T. R. (2002). Professional Development and Teacher Change. Teachers and 
Teaching, 8(3), 381-391. 

Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. G. (1992). Understanding Teacher Development. Teachers College 
Press, 1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027. 

Helterbran, V. R., & Fennimore, B. S. (2003). Collaborative Early Childhood Professional 
Development: Building from a Base of Teacher Investigation. Early Childhood 
Education Journal, 4(31), 267-271. 

Le, V. C., Nguyen, H.T.M., Minh, N.T.T., & Barnard, R. (Eds.). (2019). Building Teacher Capacity 
in English Language Teaching in Vietnam: Research, Policy and Practice (1st ed.). 
Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429457371 

Leisyte, L., & Westerheijden, D. F. (2014). Stakeholders and Quality Assurance in Higher 
Education. In Drivers and Barriers to Achieving Quality in Higher Education (pp. 83-
97). Brill Sense. 

Murray, A. (2010). Empowering Teachers Through Professional Development. In English 
Teaching Forum (Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 2-11). US Department of State. Bureau of 
Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs, SA-5, 2200 C 
Street NW 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20037. 

O’Dwyer, J. B., & Atlı, H. H. (2015). A Study of In-Service Teacher Educator Roles, With 
Implications for a Curriculum for Their Professional Development. European Journal 
of Teacher Education, 38(1), 4-20. 

Opfer, V. D., & Pedder, D. (2011). The Lost Promise of Teacher Professional Development in 
England. European Journal of Teacher Education, 34(1), 3-24. 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429457371


  
 

Copyright © The Author(s) 
Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2022 

e-ISSN: 2723-4126 
p-ISSN: 2776-8880 

 

68 
 

Parel, C. P., Caldito, G. C., & Ferrer, P. L. (1973). Sampling Design and Procedures. New York, 
Singapore: The Agricultural Development Council Inc. 

Piasta, S. B., Justice, L. M., Cabell, S. Q., Wiggins, A. K., Turnbull, K. P., & Curenton, S. M. (2012). 
Impact of Professional Development on Preschool Teachers’ Conversational 
Responsivity and Children's Linguistic Productivity and Complexity. Early Childhood 
Research Quarterly, 27(3), 387-400. 

Prediger, S., Roesken-Winter, B., & Leuders, T. (2019). Which Research Can Support PD 
Facilitators? Strategies for Content-Related PD Research in the Three-Tetrahedron 
Model. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 22(4), 407-425. 

Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2005). Professional Development for Language Teachers: 
Strategies for Teacher Learning. Ernst Klett Sprachen. 

Smith, C., & Gillespie, M. (2007). Research on Professional Development and Teacher Change: 
Implications for Adult Basic Education. Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, 7(7), 
205-244. 

Teig, N., Scherer, R., & Nilsen, T. (2019). I Know I Can, but Do I Have the Time? The Role of 
Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Perceived Time Constraints in Implementing Cognitive-
Activation Strategies in Science. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1697-1697. 

Timmermans, A. C., de Boer, H., & van der Werf, M. P. (2016). An Investigation of the 
Relationship Between Teachers’ Expectations and Teachers’ Perceptions of Student 
Attributes. Social Psychology of Education, 19(2), 217-240. 

Villegas-Reimers, E. (2003). Teacher Professional Development: An International Review of 
the Literature. Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning. 

Zohrabi, M. (2013). Mixed Method Research: Instruments, Validity, Reliability and Reporting 
Findings. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(2), 254-262. 

 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689
http://u.lipi.go.id/1593190689

