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ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue XXVII November 2025 | Special issue
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Resilience Under Pressure: A Scoping Review of Stress Coping
Mechanisms among Malaysian School Leaders
Ayub Hassim, Suzyanty Mohd Shokory*
Faculty of Management & Economics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Perak, Malaysia
*
Corresponding Author
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.927000002
Received: 10 November 2025; Accepted: 16 November 2025; Published: 26 November 2025
ABSTRACT
Background: School leaders in Malaysia navigate complex stressors, including administrative overload,
inspector pressures and systemic challenges, necessitating robust coping mechanisms to maintain resilience and
leadership effectiveness. Global literature does take into account educator stress but empirical research on coping
strategies among Malaysian school leaders is limited with an important gap highlighted. Objectives: This scoping
review seeks to identify stress coping mechanisms among Malaysian school leaders, explore associated stressors,
examine cultural and contextual influences, and propose actionable interventions. Methods: Following Arksey
and O’Malley’s (2005) framework and PRISMA guidelines, we screened 20 studies that met the
inclusion/exclusion criteria from an initial pool of 310 and then included 12 empirical studies (2000–2025)
focused on Malaysian primary and secondary school leaders or teachers with leadership applicability. Data were
charted and synthesized narratively, prioritizing qualitative themes over statistical metrics. Results: Key stressors
include role overload, job demands, inspector pressures, and technostress, while adaptive coping mechanisms
encompass teamwork, spirituality, task distribution, optimism and time management. Maladaptive coping, such
as smoking was less prevalent. Cultural moderators like collectivism and Islamic spirituality, alongside
contextual factors - urban vs. rural, public vs. private schools, significantly shape coping strategies. A framework
grounded in the transactional stress model integrates these findings, highlighting leadership applicability.
Conclusions: Malaysian school leaders rely on social and spiritual coping to manage administrative and systemic
stressors, with collectivism fostering resilience. Interventions, including training programs and stress indices are
proposed to enhance leader well-being. Future research should explore explicit leadership coping, longitudinal
designs and broader demographic factors.
Keywords: Stress coping, School leaders, Resilience, Educational leadership, Scoping review.
INTRODUCTION
It is a high-stakes role in school leadership, and school leaders have to walk the tight rope of administrative roles,
stakeholders' expectations and education reforms with personal and organizational resilience (Constantinides,
2022). Around the world, literature points towards the effect of stress on school leaders and workload stressors,
accountability stresses and technological demands are major stressors for burnout and reduced effectiveness
(DeMatthews et al., 2021; Doyle Fosco et al., 2023; Klocko & Wells, 2015). In Malaysia, a vibrant education
system in a multicultural nation, the school principals have their unique set of challenges based on administrative
overload, inspector and SDE/DOE officer pressures, syllabus pressure, and resource constraint (Hassan et al.,
2019; Tahir et al., 2019; Zarin et al., 2022). These stressors are particularly strong in Malaysia's collectivist
culture, where collective values, Islamic religiosity and hierarchical relationships influence how leaders assess
and deal with stress (Azizi et al., 2025; Jogulu & Ferkins, 2016; Ng et al., 2024).
Malaysia's education system, which is administered by the Ministry of Education, places significant burdens
upon school leaders like principals, deputy heads and senior teachers, who have to oversee curriculum
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implementation, human resource management and compliance with national standards (Adams et al., 2020;
Kenayathulla et al., 2024; Ministry of Education, 2011). Studies like Hassan et al. (2019) cite role overload as
one of the key stressors, while Tahir et al. (2019) also speak of the unusual pressure from external examiners,
reflective of Malaysia's top-down educational governance. Systemic stressors such as technostress from digital
integration and fiscal problems in rural schools add to leadership complexity. Nevertheless, Malaysian leaders
show resilience in adaptive coping techniques such as collaboration, sharing problems, and spirituality, which
continue to be poorly researched in systematic reviews (Karunanithi & Suberamaniam, 2015; Zarin et al., 2022).
Previous literature on teacher stress tends to target teachers in general or broad stressors, with less focus on
leadership-specific coping strategies. This omission is significant given that leaders' well-being directly affects
school climate, teacher morale and student achievement (Hussain, 2025; Sun & Leithwood, 2012). A scoping
review, as recommended by Arksey and O'Malley (2005), is suitable to map the scope of evidence, identify
coping strategies, and look at cultural and contextual determinants of resilience. Through the synthesis of
empirical evidence between 2000 and 2025, this review aims to provide a comprehensive picture of stress coping
among Malaysian school leaders, with implications for leadership practice, professional development, and policy
interventions. The review also considers cultural subtleties, including collectivism and spirituality, which are
central in the educational landscape in Malaysia. The following three objectives are addressed in this scoping
review:
1. To identify Malaysian school leaders' stress coping mechanisms, both adaptive (e.g., teamwork,
spirituality) and maladaptive (e.g., smoking).
2. To examine stressors inducing stress in Malaysian school leaders, including administrative, interpersonal
and systemic stressors.
3. To recommend interventions, such as training and policy levers, to enhance resilience and school leaders'
well-being.
4. To recommend interventions, such as training and policy levers, to enhance resilience and school leaders'
well-being.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study Design
This scoping review follows Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) five-stage framework including identifying the
research question, identifying relevant studies, study selection, charting data and collating results. Its’ also
supplemented by Levac et al. (2010) recommendations for methodological quality. The review is informed by
PRISMA guidelines for transparent reporting (Tricco et al., 2018). The iterative process maps the scope of
evidence on coping mechanisms of stress among Malaysian school leaders, including qualitative, quantitative,
and mixed-methods studies. No consultation with stakeholders was conducted, but the process was refined
iteratively to suit the aim of the review and the Malaysian education context.
Eligibility Criteria
Studies were included if they met the following criteria:
1. Population: Focused on Malaysian primary or secondary school leaders (e.g., principals, deputy heads,
senior teachers) or teachers with explicit or implicit applicability to leadership roles (e.g., shared stressors
like role overload).
2. Concept: Addressed stress coping mechanisms, including adaptive strategies (e.g., teamwork,
spirituality) and maladaptive behaviors (e.g., smoking).
3. Context: Conducted in Malaysian educational settings, spanning public, private, urban, rural, Tamil, or
Islamic schools.
4. Study Types: Empirical studies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods), peer-reviewed articles, theses,
grey literature or systematic reviews focused on coping mechanisms.
5. Publication: Published in English or Malay between January 2000 and April 2025 to capture
contemporary evidence.
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Exclusion criteria included:
1. Studies solely on teachers without leadership applicability.
2. Studies not addressing stress coping mechanisms.
3. Non-Malaysian contexts or higher education settings (e.g., Aziz, 2015).
4. Non-empirical studies, except systematic reviews.
5. Publications in languages other than English or Malay.
6. Studies before 2000 to ensure relevance to current educational policies.
Explicit applicability referred to direct leadership focus (e.g., deputy heads in Tahir et al., 2018), while implicit
applicability included teacher studies with leadership-relevant stressors or coping (e.g., Hassan et al., 2019).
Search Strategy
Search strategy targeted databases such as Scopus, Web of Science and ERIC to identify relevant literature.
Keywords included “stress coping,” “school leaders,” “principals,” “teachers,” “Malaysia,” “resilience,”
“stressors,” and “educational leadership,” combined with Boolean operators (AND, OR) to broaden the search.
Synonyms like “head teachers,” “administrators,” and “coping strategies” were included to capture diverse
terminology. Grey literature, including theses, conference papers, and Ministry of Education reports, was
considered to ensure inclusivity. The search was limited to 2000–2025 and English or Malay publications,
reflecting Malaysia’s bilingual academic landscape. Literature was searched between the years 2000 and 2025
in nine databases because there was a lack of studies on stress coping mechanisms among Malaysian school
leaders. Refer to Review
Table 1 for documentation of search.
Table 1 Search Documentation
Database/Source
Search String
Results
(Initial)
Results (After
Screening)
Scopus
("school leader*" OR principal* OR headteacher* OR
headmaster* OR "school administrator*") AND ("stress coping"
OR "coping strateg*" OR "coping skill*" OR "stress
management" OR "coping mechanism*" OR "stress relief" OR
"well-being") AND (Malaysia OR Malaysian OR "Malaysian
school*")
157
120
ERIC
("school leader*" OR principal* OR headteacher*) AND ("stress
coping" OR "coping mechanism*") AND Malaysia
122
100
Web of Science
("school leader*" OR principal*) AND ("stress coping" OR
"coping mechanism*") AND Malaysia
116
90
Note: The comprehensive search (2000–2025) in various databases produced 395 initial results, which were
narrowed down to 310 following deduplications. Following application of inclusion/exclusion criteria, 12 studies
were selected for the final review, testifying to the rarity of studies focusing on Malaysian school leaders' coping
mechanisms for stress.
Screening and Selection
A two-stage screening process was applied to 20 identified studies. In the pre-screening phase, four studies were
excluded for irrelevant contexts or topics: Aziz (2015) focused on higher education, Mahmud (2018) on non-
stress issues, Hisham (2017) on credit card behaviour and Naing (2021) on smoking habits without leadership
relevance. Of the remaining 16 studies, title/abstract and full-text reviews were conducted, resulting in 12
included studies that met eligibility criteria as seen in
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Table 2. Four studies were excluded during screening.
Data Charting
Data were extracted into a 5-column charting table, capturing study details, study design (e.g., quantitative,
qualitative), coping mechanisms (e.g., teamwork, spirituality), cultural coping mechanisms (e.g., collectivism),
and their key findings.
Synthesis of Results
Synthesis followed a narrative approach, guided by thematic analysis in structuring findings into coherent
themes: social coping, spiritual resilience, administrative burden, and cultural resilience. Qualitative findings,
e.g., on the benefits of teamwork (Hassan et al., 2019) and spiritual practice (Ab Aziz et al., 2019), were
prioritized over quantitative findings (e.g., ß values in Hassan et al., 2019). Integration was structured based on
the transactional stress model and included stressors, coping style, cultural moderators, contextual variable and
interventions. A conceptual framework was formulated to integrate the variables, presenting a conceptual model
for Malaysian leadership resilience.
RESULTS
Study Selection
Screening began from 395 included studies, that reflect Malaysia's educational research context. However,
studies on coping strategies for Malaysian school leaders' stress are especially scarce, indicating gaps in the
evidence and the need for this review. Four were excluded prior to screening since they were not within eligibility
criteria. Of the 16 studies screened, 12 were included after title/abstract and full-text screening. Four were
excluded at screening, and three others due to reasons concerning eligibility (e.g., inapplicability to leadership).
Figure 1 - The PRISMA flow diagram in provides a graphical abstract of the decision process.
Study Characteristics
The 12 studies used different methodologies: quantitative (e.g., Hassan et al., 2019; Karunanithi and
Suberamaniam (2015)), qualitative (e.g., Alizadegani et al. (2014); Hamid and Ghazali (2022), mixed-methods
(e.g., Abu and Aziz (2010); Ab Aziz et al. (2019); Tahir et al. (2019), and one systematic review (Zarin et al.,
2022). Populations ranged from school leaders such as deputy heads (Tahir et al., 2018) and head teachers
(Hamid and Ghazali (2022)), administrators/senior teachers (Hashim & Kayode, 2010), to teachers with stressors
or coping mechanisms of a leadership nature (e.g., Hassan et al., 2019; Karunanithi and Suberamaniam (2015)).
Contexts were also wide-ranging, including public schools (e.g., Hassan et al., 2019; Tahir et al., 2018), private
schools (e.g., Parahakaran (2021)), urban contexts (e.g., Tahir et al., 2018), rural contexts (e.g., Ab Aziz et al.
(2019)), and specialist contexts such as Tamil (Karunanithi and Suberamaniam (2015)) and Islamic schools
(Hashim & Kayode, 2010). Sample sizes ranged from small qualitative studies (e.g., Alizadegani et al. (2014),
n=2) to large surveys (e.g., Zarin et al., 2022, n=8,967). Information on the studies is provided in
Table 2.
Synthesis of Findings
Stressors
Administrative stress was the most common issue, mainly caused by role overload among primary school
teachers, which affected their well-being (Hassan et al., 2019). High workloads and administrative duties also
created chronic stress in secondary and Tamil schools (Zarin et al., 2022; Karunanithi & Suberamaniam, 2015).
Deputy heads faced added pressure from inspectors and education officers due to Malaysia’s hierarchical system
(Tahir et al., 2018). Stress from student behavior was moderate but significant, requiring leaders to balance
discipline and care (Zarin et al., 2022). Parental expectations further increased external pressure (Tahir et al.,
2018). Other systemic stressors included technostress from digital tools (Zarin et al., 2022), curriculum-related
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Eligibility
Total records screening (n=75)
Only studies that were
included were considered
(n=12)
Excluded (articles not an original
research,empirical data, did not
focus on the impact of stress coping
in the educational institutions
setting (n=16)
A total of 395 records were obtained from the database 116 from WOS, 157 from Scopus and 122 records
from ERIC (n=395)
The following keywords were used in the search: school leader* (" OR principal* OR headteacher* OR
headmaster* OR "school administrator*") AND ("stress coping" OR "coping strateg*" OR "coping skill*"
OR "stress management" OR "coping mechanism*" OR "stress relief" OR "well-being") AND (Malaysia OR
Malaysian OR "Malaysian school*")
Records were excluded because they were without teacher’s leadership applicability, not addressing
stress coping mechanisms, non-Malaysian contexts, publications in languages other than English or
Malay and published before year 2000.
(n=75)
Duplicate records removed (n=53)
Full-text articles assessed for
eligibility (n=20)
Quality assessment
of the remaining
articles
syllabus pressure in private schools (Parahakaran, 2021), and financial constraints in rural areas (Kaur, 2021).
Overall, school administrators faced multiple stressors that required effective coping strategies. Figure 2 presents
bar charts summarizing the percentage of studies reporting specific stressors and coping mechanisms among
Malaysian school leaders.
Figure 1 PRISMA Flow Diagram
Table 2 Data Extraction and Study Characteristics Table
Study Details
Study Design
Coping Mechanisms
Cultural Coping
Mechanisms
Key Findings
(Abu & Aziz, 2010)
Mixed-methods
(survey, n=95)
Evaluation-based,
emotional, problem-
based
None noted
School administration
low stress; students’
behavior moderate
(Alizadegani et al.,
2014)
Qualitative
(interviews, n=2)
Understanding stressors,
student participation,
emotion control
None noted
Effective emotion
control reduces stress
(Al-Naggar et al.,
2012)
Cross-sectional
(survey, n=495)
Smoking (7.8%)
None noted
Smoking as maladaptive
coping
(Ab Aziz et al., 2019)
Mixed-methods
(survey, n=173)
Praying, time
management
Islamic spirituality
Workload stress; spiritual
coping effective
(Hamid & Ghazali,
2022)
Qualitative
Optimism, resilience
None noted
Optimism reduces stress
(Hashim & Kayode,
2010)
Mixed-methods
Problem-solving,
collaboration
Islamic values
Administrative stress
managed
(Mohamad & Jais,
2016)
Quantitative
(survey)
Emotional intelligence
None noted
EI reduces stress
(Jamaludin &
Ghazali, 2012)
Qualitative
(open-ended,
n=8)
Problem-sharing, time
management
None noted
Administrative stress;
social coping
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(Karunanithi &
Suberamaniam,
2015)
Quantitative
(survey, n=240)
Planful problem-
solving,
positive reappraisal
Community
Urban higher stress;
problem-focused coping
(Parahakaran, 2021)
Mixed-methods
Meditation, peer support
SSEHV
Syllabus stress; spiritual
coping
(Tahir et al., 2019)
Mixed-methods
(survey, n=120)
Collaboration (implied)
Hierarchical
dynamics
Inspectors high stress;
collaboration helps
(Zarin et al., 2022)
Systematic
review (n=8967)
Problem-sharing,
smoking
Collectivism
Job demands high stress;
scarce coping data
(Hassan et al., 2019)
Quantitative
(survey, n=150)
Teamwork, spirituality
(implied)
Collectivism,
spirituality
Role overload strongest
stressor; teamwork helps
Bar charts (Figure 2) display the percentage of the studies citing individual stressors (left) among Malaysian
school leaders. Most significant stressors identified were role overload (16.7% of the studies), inspector pressure
(8.3%), student behavior (8.3%), parental expectation (8.3%), workload demands (8.3%), technostress (16.7%),
and syllabus pressure (8.3%), documenting different kinds of challenges across different school environments.
Bar graphs reporting the proportion of studies noting each stressor (left) and coping methods (right) by Malaysian
school leaders. Effective coping styles like teamwork (16.7% of studies), spirituality (16.7%), division of labor
(8.3%), optimism (8.3%), and time management (8.3%) are common, while poor coping like smoking (8.3%) is
uncommon. The coping mechanisms were categorized under social support, spiritual practices, task -oriented,
emotion-focused, time management, and maladaptive behaviors (see details in Table 3).
Figure 2 Prevalence of Coping Mechanisms and Stressors Among Malaysian School Leaders. (Source: This
Study)
Coping Mechanisms
Adaptive coping strategies were widely documented, bearing witness to the Malaysian school leaders' resilience.
Problem-focused coping took the form of planful problem-solving, effective within rural Tamil schools where
teachers placed value on well-organized task planning (Karunanithi and Suberamaniam (2015)) and organized
stressor ratings (Zarin et al., 2022). Task allocation eased role overload by apportioning duties across primary
school staff, leading to efficiency (Hassan et al., 2019). Managing time was crucial to music teachers balancing
instructional and administrative roles (Jamaludin & Ghazali, 2012) and rural school teachers maximizing
workload (Kaur, 2021). Making use of training, such as engaging in stress management workshops, was
proposed as an anticipatory practice among primary teachers (Hassan et al., 2019). Affective coping embraced
positive reappraisal, whereby city Tamil teachers reconfigured adversity into learning experiences (Karunanithi
and Suberamaniam (2015)), and control of emotions employed by personal instructors to self-regulate tension
responses (Alizadegani et al. (2014); Zarin et al., 2022). Optimism characterized head teachers by developing
resilience as well as effective leadership (Hamid and Ghazali (2022)). Social coping strategies, for instance,
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teamwork, higher morale and shared responsibility in primary schools, a culture of support development (Hassan
et al., 2019). Discussing issues with teachers or spouses eased administrative burdens (Zarin et al., 2022;
Jamaludin & Ghazali, 2012), while peer working or peer collaboration with heads aided deputy heads in
managing inspectors' pressure (Tahir et al., 2018). Peer support through SSEHV programs developed resilience
among private schools (Parahakaran, 2021). Spiritual coping, including meditation, was effective in reducing
syllabus stress in private schools (Parahakaran, 2021) and promoting inner peace in rural settings (Kaur, 2021).
Praying according to Islamic tradition was an important resilience technique employed in rural schools (Ab Aziz
et al. (2019)), with more generic spirituality aiding coping in primary schools (Hassan et al., 2019). Maladaptive
coping, specifically smoking, was mentioned in 7.8% of secondary teachers and was related to dissatisfaction
with work and tension (Al-Naggar et al., 2012; Zarin et al., 2022).
Table 3 Coping Strategies
Category
Coping Strategy
Type
Notes/Studies Referenced
Social Support
Teamwork
Adaptive
Enhances morale (Hassan et al., 2019; Zarin et al., 2022)
Spiritual Practices
Spirituality
Adaptive
Islamic praying, SSEHV meditation (Ab Aziz et al.
(2019); Parahakaran, 2021)
Task-Oriented
Task Distribution
Adaptive
Often proposed in interventions (Hassan et al., 2019)
Emotion-Focused
Optimism
Adaptive
Bolsters resilience (Hamid and Ghazali (2022))
Time Management
Time
Management
Adaptive
Noted in secondary settings (Zarin et al., 2022)
Maladaptive
Behavior
Smoking
Maladaptive
Less common, health concerns (Al-Naggar et al., 2012)
Cultural Moderators
Coping processes were moderated significantly by cultural variables, reflecting the collectivist, religio-nature of
Malaysia. Collectivism fostered inter-group support with stress reduction for problem-sharing with colleagues
or spouse in secondary and music teachers (Zarin et al., 2022; Jamaludin & Ghazali, 2012). Working in groups,
prevalent among primary schools, cultivated a spirit of shared work with increased morale and reduced loads for
individuals (Hassan et al., 2019). Peer support through SSEHV programs in private schools encouraged
resilience by creating networks of community (Parahakaran, 2021). Spirituality served as the framework for
coping, particularly in rural and Islamic environments. Islamic practices such as praying and spiritual reflection
were widely used by rural teachers to manage workload stress (Ab Aziz et al. (2019)) and by primary teachers
to enhance inner strength (Hassan et al., 2019). SSEHV, an education program for values, advocated for
meditation and inner peace, supporting private school educators with syllabus stress (Parahakaran, 2021). Power
relations within a hierarchy increased tension, particularly for deputy heads confronted with inspector and
SDE/DOE officer top-down pressures, reflecting Malaysia's formalized education system (Tahir et al., 2018).
Social influences, such as the cultural values of the Tamil community, structured problem-focused coping in
Tamil urban and rural schools, reflecting resilience through cultural identity (Karunanithi and Suberamaniam
(2015)). Islamic school values framed administrators' coping, which included spiritual and communal strategies
(Hashim & Kayode, 2010). These culture moderators are most crucial for the school leaders because they need
to navigate communal norms, spiritual actions, and hierarchies with the goal of creating staff coherence and
resilience.
Contextual Factors
Contextual influences impacted stress and coping styles. Urban settings experienced higher stress levels due to
challenging work and bureaucratic pressures, as seen in Tamil schools (Karunanithi and Suberamaniam (2015))
and inspectorate public schools (Tahir et al., 2018). Urban leaders experienced complex stakeholder
relationships, including parental expectations, that required adaptive coping like collaboration and optimism
(Tahir et al., 2018; Hamid and Ghazali (2022)). Rural settings, however, experienced moderate stress, where
religious coping styles, such as praying and meditation, were prevalent among rural educators (Ab Aziz et al.
(2019); Hassan et al., 2019; Kaur, 2021). Rural schools experienced scarce resources, augmenting financial
stressors but fostering community-based resilience (Kaur, 2021). School types also impacted experiences: public
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schools coped with administrative pressure and overload of roles due to national curriculum pressures and
management systems (Tahir et al., 2018; Hassan et al., 2019). Private schools were subject to syllabus pressure,
necessitating spiritual and peer coping (Parahakaran, 2021). Tamil schools engaged community-based problem-
solving based on cultural identity (Karunanithi and Suberamaniam (2015)), while Islamic schools integrated
religious values into administration coping (Hashim & Kayode, 2010). These environmental determinants show
the diverse challenges and coping strategies in Malaysia's educational environment, guiding particular leadership
reactions.
Interventions
Interventions to enhance school leaders' resilience were suggested or implied across studies. Stress management
training programs for primary teachers in time management and task allocation skills can be implemented and
extended to leaders to prevent role overload (Hassan et al., 2019). Optimism and emotional intelligence
workshops could supplement head teachers, with evidence from Hamid and Ghazali (2022). Policy measures,
such as the creation of a stress index, were called for to measure comprehensively stressors, coping resources,
and outcomes, to offer evidence-based intervention in leader wellbeing support (Zarin et al., 2022). This would
be utilized as an index to guide Ministry of Education policies aligned with the professional development focus
and education reforms in Malaysia. These interventions address school leaders' operation necessities, giving
them tools with which to address administrative and systemic issues and to access cultural strengths like
collectivism and spirituality.
DISCUSSION
Summary of Evidence
This 12-empirical-study scoping review (2000–2025) synthesizes Malaysian school leaders' stress-coping
strategies, bridges concepts, themes, types of evidence, review purposes and applicability to priority groups
while contextualising findings in Asian educational settings. Concepts are stressors (administrative,
interpersonal, systemic), coping strategies (adaptive, maladaptive), cultural moderators (collectivism,
spirituality) and contextual variables (urban/rural, school type). Themes like social coping, spiritual resilience,
administrative burden and cultural resilience that emerged from diverse evidence: qualitative studies (e.g.,
Hamid and Ghazali (2022), on optimism), quantitative questionnaires (e.g., Zarin et al., 2022, n=8,967), mixed-
methods (e.g., Tahir et al., 2018; Ab Aziz et al. (2019)), and a systematic review (Zarin et al., 2022). Objective
2 (stressors) was tackled, with administrative stressors like role overload dominating primary schools (Hassan
et al., 2019), while inspector pressures faced deputy heads in public schools (Tahir et al., 2018). Interpersonal
stressors like students' behavior and parents' expectations were moderate but substantial in secondary settings
(Zarin et al., 2022). Systemic stressors like technostress resulting from digital integration and syllabus pressure
embodied modern-day educational demands (Zarin et al., 2022; Parahakaran, 2021). For Objective 1 (coping
strategies), adaptive coping prevailed: social coping through teamwork improved morale and shared
responsibility (Hassan et al., 2019), spiritual coping through Islamic praying and SSEHV meditation encouraged
inner strength (Ab Aziz et al. (2019); Parahakaran, 2021), and emotion-focused coping like optimism improved
leadership resilience (Hamid and Ghazali (2022)). Maladaptive coping, i.e., smoking, occurred less frequently
but correlated with stress (Al-Naggar et al., 2012). Objective 3 (cultural/contextual factors) came up with
collectivism as a moderator that brought problem-sharing and peer support (Zarin et al., 2022; Hassan et al.,
2019), and Islamic spirituality formed the basis of rural coping (Ab Aziz et al. (2019)). Urban schools were under
more administrative pressure (Tahir et al., 2018), whereas rural environments tapped spiritual resilience (Hassan
et al., 2019). Public schools underwent role overload, and private schools underwent syllabus pressure
(Parahakaran, 2021). Objective 4 (interventions) proposed training plans to optimize task distribution and a stress
index to monitor well-being (Hassan et al., 2019; Zarin et al., 2022). Relevance to key groups involves school
principals adopting teamwork and spiritual practices to manage stress, policymakers (e.g., Ministry of
Education) adopting training and stress indices to support resilience, and teachers creating culturally responsive
professional development to supplement Malaysia's collectivist culture.
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Implications for School Leadership
The findings have theoretical and practical implications for Malaysian school administration. Practically,
administrators can use social coping strategies, such as enhancing teamwork and sharing of problems, to resist
administrative strains, as seen among primary schools (Hassan et al., 2019). Such coping strategies are consistent
with Malaysia's collectivist culture, where group support enhances morale and reduces pressure on the
individual. Spiritual coping, including Islamic prayer (Ab Aziz et al. (2019)) and SSEHV meditation
(Parahakaran, 2021), offers culturally tailored resilience interventions that can be incorporated into professional
development training. Time management training courses, task delegation, and emotional intelligence can also
better equip leaders to cope with role overload and job demands (Hassan et al., 2019; Hamid and Ghazali (2022)).
For example, positive reappraisal and optimism workshops could be tapping into the strengths of head teachers
(Hamid and Ghazali (2022)), while stress management training could be designed to address systematic stressors
such as technostress (Zarin et al., 2022). Policy-wise, a stress index by the Ministry of Education, proposed by
Zarin et al. (2022), can systematically monitor leader well-being and direct targeted interventions while
supporting Malaysia's educational reform agenda. Such an index would track stressors (e.g., role overload,
inspector pressures) and effective coping, providing evidence-based inputs for resource planning. Theoretically,
the model generalizes the transactional stress model by including cultural moderators like collectivism and
spirituality, yielding a culturally nuanced conceptualization of leadership resilience (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
This model can be used for global leadership studies, particularly in collectivist cultures, where religious coping
and community coping can enhance resilience (Leithwood & Sun, 2012). The model also highlights the
confluence of contextual factors, e.g., urban and rural settings, which can be used to further comparative
leadership studies.
Strengths and Limitations
The review's strength lies in its comprehensive synthesis of 12 diverse studies, spanning a wide array of stressors,
coping mechanisms and cultural moderators. The inclusion of qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods
studies, coupled with a systematic review (Zarin et al., 2022), provides methodological robustness. Focus on
Malaysia's collectivist and spiritually rich climate provides unique insights, transferable to similar education
systems in culturally equivalent countries. The thematic analysis that identifies patterns of social coping, spiritual
resilience, administrative burden and cultural resilience contributes to qualitative depth and aligns with the
review goals. The conceptual framework predicated on the transactional stress model is a new contribution to
leadership literature by integrating culture and context within its analysis. Limitations must be acknowledged,
however. Some research employed inferred leadership coping styles, particularly in teacher-focused studies (e.g.,
Hassan et al., 2019; Tahir et al., 2018), thereby discrediting direct extrapolation to deputy heads or principals.
Small sample sizes in qualitative research, e.g., Alizadegani (2014, n=2), compromised generalizability, whereas
regional concentrations, e.g., Hassan et al.'s (2019) Jerantut sample, might not accurately reflect urban or diverse
Malaysian contexts. The scarcity of longitudinal research constrains knowledge about coping effectiveness over
time, and the prevalence of cross-sectional designs (e.g., Hassan et al., 2019; Karunanithi and Suberamaniam
(2015)) limits causal inference. These constraints highlight the need for cautious interpretation and targeted
future studies.
Future Research Recommendations
Future research needs to overcome the limitations of the review and extend the evidence base. In particular,
leadership-oriented research needs to look at coping styles among deputy heads and principals beyond teacher-
centred findings (e.g., Hassan et al., 2019). Longitudinal designs would assess the long-term efficacy of coping
strategies, such as teamwork or religious activities, to provide insight into sustained resilience. Larger samples,
comprising diverse regions (e.g., urban Kuala Lumpur, rural Sabah) and school types (e.g., national, vernacular,
international), would enhance generalizability. Other stressors, such as gender-related stress, work experience,
or leadership tenure, are worthy of examination to establish differential effects on coping. Intervention studies,
such as the efficacy of training programs (Hassan et al., 2019) or stress management technology, may be able to
offer actionable solutions for leader well-being. Comparative research with other collectivist cultures (e.g.,
Indonesia, Singapore) may be able to cross-validate the applicability of the framework, testing whether
universally, collectivism and spirituality will enhance resilience. Finally, by embracing innovative
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ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue XXVII November 2025 | Special issue
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methodologies, such as mixed-methods or big data analysis, subtle stress and coping patterns might become
apparent, consistent with Malaysia's push for educational innovation. These approaches would strengthen the
evidence base, guiding Malaysian school leaders in how to more effectively steer a complexifying education
environment.
CONCLUSION
This scoping review gives a detailed integration of Malaysian school principals' stress coping measures,
highlighting resilience to administrative, interpersonal and systemic stresses. Overload roles, job demand and
pressures from inspectors dominated the challenges but were met by resilience through leaders' adaptability
using teamwork, spirituality, delegating tasks, and optimism. Collectivist nature and religious orientation of
Malaysia, specifically Islamic practice and SSEHV principles, foster effectiveness in coping, promoting inner
and communal strength. Contextual variables, including urban versus rural settings and public versus private
schools, affect diverse coping strategies and therefore targeted interventions are essential. The framework
developed, based on the transactional stress model, integrates stressors, coping, moderators and interventions
into an overall model of leadership resilience. Proposed interventions, such as training programs and a stress
index, are aligned with Malaysia's learning agenda, allowing leaders to flourish. Stakeholders, most likely the
Ministry of Education, must invest in culturally responsive strategies promoting leader wellness to ensure long-
term educational excellence. Future studies of this explicit leadership coping, longitudinal designs, and diverse
samples will keep this area on the move, allowing Malaysian school leaders to lead resiliently and impactfully.
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