Context-responsive leadership in Vietnam: supporting students’ postsecondary education and career opportunities

School leaders and teachers play a vital role in guiding and supporting students toward postsecondary education and career pathways, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, research on effective school leadership practices in non-Western, developing contexts remains scarce, and the significance of contextual responsiveness in leadership models has not been sufficiently emphasized. Drawing on Bredeson et al. context-responsive leadership, Hallinger’s six contexts in school leadership, and Hitt and Tucker’s five domains of effective leadership, this qualitative study explores how contextual factors shape the leadership practices of both formal (i.e. principals and assistant principals) and informal leaders (i.e. teachers) in Vietnamese high schools in supporting students’ postsecondary pathways. Ethnographic interviews with 11 principals/vice principals and 23 teachers across 11 high schools in the greater Hanoi area revealed that their leadership practices were greatly influenced by school rankings, community and economic contexts, policy reforms in the National High School Examination, and Vietnam’s unique political and sociocultural environment. This study addresses the research gap in school leadership in Vietnam and highlights how leadership responds to contexts in supporting students’ postsecondary opportunities.