Bilingual education for primary students in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: Roles of contextual, community, and family factors

Bilingual education is an important approach for improving academic achievement, promoting language equity, and preserving cultural identity in multilingual settings. In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, Khmer–Vietnamese Bilingual Education (KhVBE) supports the use of Vietnamese as the national language while maintaining the Khmer language and culture. This study investigates the factors influencing the effectiveness of KhVBE, with a focus on three key constructs: Contexts for the Application of Bilingual Education (CABE), Community Factors (CF), and Family Factors (FF). Survey data were collected from 269 school administrators and teachers and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that CABE and CF have strong and significant effects on KhVBE effectiveness, emphasizing the roles of institutional support, program structure, and community involvement. In contrast, FF does not show a significant effect, suggesting that family influence is more indirect. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of strong school and community environments in sustaining bilingual education and provide policy implications for improving teacher training, enhancing educational resources, and strengthening community partnerships. Recommendations for university administrators and other stakeholders are also discussed.