Toward Professional Standards for Driving Instructors in Viet Nam: a Vocational Education Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12928/joves.v9i2.15911Keywords:
Driving instructor training, Over-pedagogisation, Policy coherence, Professional standards, Road safety governance, Viet NamAbstract
Road traffic safety remains a major policy challenge in transition economies, where driver education plays a key role in crash prevention. This study examines the policy coherence of professional standardization for automobile driving instructor training in Viet Nam using a Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) perspective. Policy analysis, curriculum benchmarking, and documentary comparison were employed to assess the alignment between occupational classifications, pedagogical requirements, and safety-oriented instructional practices. The findings reveal a mismatch between the classification of driving instructors as skill-based service workers and the higher pedagogical qualifications mandated by sectoral regulations. This overemphasis on teaching credentials limits the development of essential safety coaching competencies. The study also identifies insufficient integration of defensive driving, hazard perception, and real-time risk management into instructor training standards. It concludes that instructor preparation should adopt a specialized safety-coach framework to better support occupational practice, regulatory coherence, and national road safety objectives.
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