Culturally Responsive School Leadership and School Effectiveness: Teachers’ Cultural Intelligence as a Mediating Mechanism in Malaysian Indigenous Schools
Abstract
There is still a gap in effectiveness between Indigenous school and other type of primary school in Peninsular Malaysia. This study examines the relationship of culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL), teachers’ cultural intelligence (CQ) and school effectiveness (SE) in Malaysian national primary schools where Indigenous pupils form the majority. A cross-sectional survey design was applied, using multistage stratified random cluster sampling to obtain responses from 450 teachers representing 85 Indigenous schools across seven states in Peninsular Malaysia. The results indicate that CRSL exerts a significant direct influence on SE (β = .457, p < .001) and on CQ (β = .548, p < .001). In addition, teachers’ CQ significantly predicts SE (β = .505, p < .001). Mediation analysis using bootstrapping provided evidence that CQ significantly mediates the CRSL–SE relationship (SIE = .277, p < .001; 95% CI [.198, .332]). The final structural model achieved acceptable fit indices (χ²/df = 2.222, RMSEA = .052, CFI = .910, TLI = .907) and accounted for 72% of the variance in school effectiveness. Overall, the findings imply that leadership preparation and ongoing teacher professional development in Indigenous community schools should give stronger emphasis to cultural responsiveness and the enhancement of CQ. The study also contributes an empirically supported model positioning CQ as an important connecting pathway between CRSL and SE within a Southeast Asian Indigenous schooling context. The contribution of the study not only fills the research gap in Indigenous school in Peninsular Malaysia but also provides input to improve CRSL, CQ, and SE, as well as input to improve policies, training and practices in Indigenous school in Peninsular Malaysia.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/ebangi.2026.2301.22
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