VietTESOL International Convention 2026

In recent years, teacher leadership has gained increasing attention as an important factor in improving teaching quality and supporting school development. Research has consistently highlighted the importance of preparing preservice teachers for teacher leadership during their initial teacher education. However, limited research has examined how preservice teachers conceptualize teacher leadership, particularly in the context of teacher education in Vietnam. This study explores how preservice teachers conceptualize teacher leadership and the factors shaping their conceptualization. Using a multiple case research design, data were collected through three rounds of semi-structured interviews with a group of 26 preservice teachers in teacher education programs in Vietnam. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns in participants’ understandings of teacher leadership. The findings indicate that preservice teachers conceptualize teacher leadership as a multifaceted concept in which teacher leaders act as role models, collaborators, resource providers, and agents of change. The study also identifies factors shaping preservice teachers’ conceptualizations of teacher leadership across the micro, meso and macro levels. These findings have important implications for teacher education programs, highlighting the need to integrate teacher leadership into initial teacher education and to create supportive conditions that enable preservice teachers to overcome existing barriers to leadership development.