Teachers' pedagogical knowledge and ethno-linguistic minority students' funds of knowledge in Vietnam

Underachievement and low study engagement by HMông ethnic minority students in disadvantaged primary schools in Viêt Nam evidence a need for more effective teaching practices to support these minority students’ learning and reduce inequality within their educational environment. Learning about students’ funds of knowledge (FoK) and incorporation into their learning might be one of the effective teaching strategies enables teachers to increase relevant learning experiences and obviating cultural deficits facing disadvantaged students in school. To date, the research literature has emphasized use of the languages and cultures of ethnic minority people as a desirable strategy for HMông minority students’ learning. However, they have not been explicit about deploying ethnic minority knowledge, experiences and daily practices as educational resources to support academic knowledge in formal education, especially for HMông children. This study investigates FoK pedagogies Kinh (ethnic majority) primary school teachers apply in serving HMông ethnic minority primary students in a mountainous province in the North of Viêt Nam. The case study was conducted through in-depth interviews were 26 Kinh primary teachers and two school principals. The analysis of evidence revealed three FoK pedagogies that Kinh primary teachers employed in teaching HMông-speaking students, namely (1) pedagogical leadership, (2) family pedagogies for teacher professional learning, (3) translanguaging pedagogies, and (4) transknowledging pedagogies.