This comparative study explores the bản sắc (identity) among teachers in the public and international schools within the context of Vietnam’s education reforms, particularly Resolution 29- NQ/TW and Decree 86/2018/NĐ-CP. The reform echoes the global education agendas on policies as it aims to align the national education with international standards. Moreover, the rapid expansion of international schools in Vietnam (ISC Research, 2025a), have steered the education toward privatisation, suggesting the perpetuation of neoliberal capitalism in the education landscape. Within this context, this study explores how teachers perceive themselves, focusing on two research questions: How do public school and international school teachers perceive their bản sắc in the work environment and Vietnamese society? How has Vietnam’s education reform shaped teachers’ bản sắc? To stay true to the local experiences, the study uses Vietnamese concept – bản sắc – and study it as embedded in Vietnamese collectivist values and socialist framework. Drawing on the work of Wenger (1998, 1999), Erikson (1994), Dewey (1986), Markus and Kitayama (1998), and Phan (2010), the study situates bản sắc across temporal, social, and spatial domains. It also incorporates the concepts of multi-membership (Wenger, 1999) and the “New Mestiza” – “multiplicitous self” (Ortega, 2001, 2016), illustrating how teachers continuously negotiate identity in the work environment and in Vietnamese society over time. The study engaged fourteen teachers from international and public schools for one-to-one semi-structured interviews, followed by a focus group discussion with five participants from both groups. In addition, observations at public school and international schools took place. All data was analysed thematically with cross-checking for themes redefining. As a result of engagement with existing literature and with research participants, this study proposes a conceptual framework of teacher’s bản sắc. Teacher’s bản sắc is multilayered, constituted of Vietnamese national identity, bản sắc tập thể (BSTT), bản sắc cá nhân (BSCN), and bản. Notably, societal expectations for teachers are conceptualised as the typical bản, creating a mould that influences how teachers conduct and perceive themselves in daily life. For public school teachers, their bản sắc is shaped by national identity, social hierarchy, social harmony, traditional morality, and the societal role of teachers. They navigate tensions between personal beliefs and societal expectations, though some Western influences, such as student-centred practices, are also evident. In contrast, international school teachers experience a different blend of influences. Their bản sắc is shaped by Western influences, such as non-hierarchical classroom dynamics, individualism, and English-language dominance, alongside Vietnamese language use and traditions. Their position is marked by higher incomes, emphasis on BSCN, and distinct social groupings, yet they often perceive lower societal standing compared to public school teachers. This group of teachers negotiate a hybrid bản sắc between the Vietnamese traditions and Western influences. A key contribution of this study is the emergence a hybridity spectrum of bản sắc, with multiplicitous self and multi-membership. Teachers’ bản sắc reflect broader dynamics within Vietnam’s the education landscape where tension arises between neoliberal capitalist principles and Vietnam’s socialism. The findings demonstrate that teachers do not passively assimilate into Western influences or neoliberal capitalist framework but instead actively uphold, reinterpret, and reshape the Vietnamese collectivist and socialist values in response to these influences. By offering a culturally grounded framework, this research established a nuanced understanding of Vietnamese teacher identity and challenge the dominant ways in which identity is understood (i.e., personal agency, autonomy). It also offers insights relevant for future policy and practice in similar postcolonial contexts.