Becoming research-capable: A reflective and communal pathways framework for sustainable development in Vietnamese EFL higher education

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This qualitative study examines how Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers engage in pedagogic research and classroom-anchored inquiry in higher education (HE). Ten teachers from one public and one private institution participated in semi-structured interviews analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three patterns emerged: (1) teachers generate pedagogical insights yet lack structures to convert reflection into inquiry, (2) institutional support is uneven and often symbolic, prompting calls for relational, peer-based mentorship, and (3) research is narrated as professional self-authorship rather than compliance. Synthesising these insights, we propose a reflective and communal pathways framework that theorises research capacity as a reflective-communal process rather than a fixed skill set. The study offers a situated account of engagement and argues for embedding classroom-anchored inquiry within communities of practice.