Expanding Borders - A Study on Cultural Intelligence and Leadership Styles in a Maltese Primary School

Abstract

This short study entitled ‘Expanding Borders’ seeks to find the key to effectively create educational communities in the ever-growing multicultural settings which we, as educational leaders, are facing. It explores the main research question chosen: is Cultural Intelligence affecting the leadership styles in a Maltese primary school? Other questions which link to the main research question emerged: does having a variety of different cultures in a school affect the leadership styles of the School Leader? How does this happen? Do leaders shape culture, or are they shaped by it? How should leadership styles be adapted in the education sector? The research being carried out in this small-scale project is based on theoretical research. It is aimed at giving a picture of how a leader needs to use Cultural Intelligence in a multicultural school setting. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry have been used in this project. These include online surveys, unstructured questionnaires and interviews. This small-scale project showed that Cultural Intelligence should have a very important role in the leadership styles used in a multicultural setting. It is evident that there is a positive relationship between having Cultural Intelligence, knowing how to use it, and leadership styles which need to be adopted to enhance all this and reap the benefits. This study recommends that empowering and transformative leadership styles should be adopted to create a positive impact on learning and outcomes, and furthermore to sustain a positive and powerful learning community in our schools. This is particularly crucial as worldwide changes persist and different cultures continue to intertwine.