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Abstract This study explored how teachers adapt their agentic teaching practices in the context of online distance education programmes in Vietnam. A single-institution case study design was used to collect data through online individual semistructured interviews that were conducted via Zoom with five teachers from a variety of disciplines who had been teaching in online distance education programmes at the Centre for E-Learning at a Vietnamese higher education institution. Data analysis highlighted the role of teachers’ agentic teaching presence in the pedagogy used in online distance education programmes. Specifically, the teachers exhibited acceptance of an approach to organising their practice that involved adherence to course outlines that had previously been designed and approved without questioning and modifications. However, the results further revealed the agentic direct instruction strategies used by teachers in terms of the varied delivery of course content, student feedback and assessments, which exhibited a stronger emphasis on facilitating online classroom discourse and interactions via various channels with the goal of enhancing students’ learning support, experience, and engagement. The findings of this research thereby affirm the pivotal role played by teaching presence in the setting investigated in this research in particular as well as in the context of online distance education in general. The study highlights the need for further interconnections to be established to link multiple aspects of social, cognitive and teaching presence to the practices that teachers use to enhance students’ engagement and learning experience. The study also has pedagogical implications with regard to teaching in online distance education programmes that pertain not only to teachers’ classroom practices but also to their professional development.