Education reforms worldwide, in both developed and developing countries, address the content of education programmes and/or changes education systems. There are different paths, and different socioeconomic contexts, for those nations which pursue education reform, and Vietnam makes for an instructive example. The country's socioeconomic renovation, known as "Doi Moi" since the late 1980s, has put forward the discourse of socialisation, which generally advocates greater public participation in all areas of society. Although socialisation has been the central ideology of the "Doi Moi" process, there is still a dispute about its meaning and implications. This paper contributes to debates about reforms by examining the discourse of socialisation in Vietnam through analysis of government documents and public opinion in various media. These secondary documents on education socialisation in Vietnam, highlight the institutionalisation of education socialisation in an apparent movement from general public participation to a form of privatisation. This institutionalisation has dramatically transformed the conditions of people's access to education in Vietnam.