A critical review of neoliberalism and teacher precarity in Vietnamese higher education: Implications for ELT

Ngoc-Duy Pham; Nguyen Thien Duyen Ngo; Huy Cuong Nguyen

doi:10.65956/late.2026.43

Authors

Ngoc-Duy Pham Ho Chi Minh City Open University https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8433-0100
Nguyen Thien Duyen Ngo Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7314-1352
Huy Cuong Nguyen Corresponding author email: cuong.nh@ou.edu.vn Ho Chi Minh City Open University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1660-850X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65956/late.2026.43

Keywords:

ELT lecturers, neoliberal governance, participatory parity, structural injustice, teacher precarity, three-dimensional justice, Vietnamese higher education

Abstract

This critical interpretive synthesis examines how neoliberal higher education (HE) governance reforms have shaped teacher precarity, as a justice rather than an employment issue, among Vietnamese HE lecturers, including English Language Teaching (ELT) lecturers, between 2015 and 2025. Drawing on Fraser’s framework of participatory parity and three-dimensional justice, the review conceptualises teacher precarity as a multidimensional condition shaped by material insecurity, status subordination, and constrained institutional voice. The synthesis brings together ELT studies, broader Vietnamese HE scholarship, and policy/legal documents to examine how autonomy, quality assurance, internationalisation, and metric-based accountability bring about teacher precarity. The analysis suggests that university autonomy may operate as a cost-shifting mechanism that likely transforms the redistribution of teachers’ resources, lowers their institutional recognition, and depletes their institutional representation. The paper argues that sustainable reform requires closer alignment between autonomy and labour justice through redistributive protections, decent recognition of teaching work, and meaningful lecturer participation in institutional governance.

Author Biographies

Ngoc-Duy Pham, Ho Chi Minh City Open University

Pham Ngoc-Duy is currently a full-time lecturer in English education at the College of Foreign Economic Relations. He holds an MTESOL from Victoria University. He is also a full-time PhD student at Ho Chi Minh City Open University at the moment. His main research interests include teacher precarity, emotions, emotion(al) labor, professional development, teacher identity, teacher agency, teacher training, and teaching pedagogy.
Nguyen Thien Duyen Ngo, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance

Ms Ngo Nguyen Thien Duyen is a lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance and a current PhD student at the Open University. She has published research in both local and international journals. Her scholarly interests centre on learner autonomy, teacher professional development, and assessment practice.
Huy Cuong Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City Open University

Dr. Cuong Huy Nguyen is an assistant professor in language education at Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam. With an MA in TESOL (Canberra University) and a PhD in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education (Michigan State University), he is interested in the intersection between curriculum theories, mindfulness, and language education.

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