The Relationship Between Reflective Practice and Social–Emotional Competence Among Vietnamese Teachers

This study examined teachers’ reflective practice and social–emotional competence, as well as the relationships between reflective practice and five components of social–emotional competence. Participants were 588 teachers in Vietnam. Reflective practice was assessed using the ten-item Reflective Practice Questionnaire (RPQ-10), while social–emotional competence was assessed across five components: self-awareness (SA), self-management of emotion and behavior (SMEB), social awareness (SOC_A), establishing and maintaining professional relationships (PR), and responsible decision-making (RDM) for oneself and students. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and structural equation modeling (SEM). Teachers’ reflective practice had a mean score of 3.30 (SD = 0.959), while social–emotional competence had a mean score of 3.48 (SD = 0.612). Reflective practice was positively correlated with all five components (r = 0.454–0.527, p < 0.01). The SEM model showed good fit (χ²/df = 2.039, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.940, Tucker–Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.936, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.042), and indicated that reflective practice significantly predicted all five components (β = 0.521–0.601, p < 0.001). The strongest relationship was found between reflective practice and PR (β = 0.601; R² = 0.361). These findings provide empirical evidence of an association between reflective practice and teachers’ social–emotional competence and may inform considerations for teacher training and professional development in the Vietnamese context.