Profiling Vietnamese Teachers’ Perceptions of Digital Citizenship Education: A Mixed-Methods Exploration

Digital Citizenship Education (DCE) is a growing priority in Vietnam’s digital transformation, yet teachers responsible for its implementation are often treated as a homogeneous group. This mixed-methods study adopts a person-centered approach to examine differences in K–12 educators’ readiness for DCE. Survey data from 351 teachers and educational managers were analyzed using K-means clustering on perceived importance and implementation feasibility. Three distinct profiles emerged (p < .001): Digitally Ready Champions (53.6%), who align commitment with feasibility; Skeptical Believers (20.5%), who value DCE but perceive substantial barriers; and the Disengaged (25.9%), largely primary teachers with low engagement on both dimensions. Fourteen interviews indicate that curricular overload, limited localized resources, and conceptual ambiguity drive the implementation gap. Although regional differences were statistically significant, they were modest, and champions appeared consistently across disadvantaged areas. Overall, the findings show that uniform training models are insufficient and highlight the need for differentiated, profile-sensitive support strategies.