Educating educational leaders in Vietnam

The idea that leadership is a key factor in realizing educational reforms is widely cherished. All over the world educational leaders face new challenges and extended responsibilities. In these new situations a completed teacher-training program is no longer sufficient to become a successful educational leader. There is a growing need for leadership development and there is a need to discuss and compare the content and design of leadership programs in order to gain more experience and knowledge on how to create programs with practical relevance. This paper discusses the design and delivery of a master program in educational leadership and management in a joint venture between two universities in Vietnam and Sweden. Moreover, the paper argues that universities might play a special role in helping educational leaders to strengthen their professional status and to develop their own community of practice through helping them to identify their own solid body of disciplinary knowledge and their own research agenda.