Negotiating reflection and ethics in co-reflection with AI: a narrative inquiry of Vietnamese EFL teachers’ experiences

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into educational practices, its role in shaping human reflection demands critical examination. This narrative inquiry explores how Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers experience and critically reflect on the affordances and ethical challenges of co-reflecting with AI. Nine teachers across three career stages (early-, mid-, late-career) participated in semi-structured interviews conducted in Vietnamese. Data were analyzed thematically. Findings revealed three major themes: AI acting as a catalyst for expanding reflective horizons, ethical discomfort surrounding the authenticity of AI-influenced reflection, and active negotiation of agency in response to AI-generated suggestions. While participants acknowledged AI’s ability to provoke deeper thinking and offer alternative perspectives, they also expressed concerns about outsourcing reflection and compromising professional autonomy. The study highlights that co-reflection with AI is not merely a technical enhancement but an ethically complex, context-sensitive practice. These findings help to better explain how human reflection, technology, and professional identity are connected and influence each other in today’s educational environments.