Metatheories of Indigenous Leadership: Modelling a Culturally Responsive Competency Theory - A Narrative Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7719/irj.v26i1.995Keywords:
Indigenous leadership, culturally responsive leadership, organizational development, policy adherence, cultural competence, literature reviewDisciplines:
Educational Leadership, Indigenous EducationAbstract
This narrative literature review synthesizes recent scholarship (2020-2025) to advance a culturally responsive leadership competency theory for Indigenous educational contexts. Drawing on propositions from Trait Theory, Organizational Behavior, Planned Change, and Cultural Leadership, the review integrates demographic traits, organizational development, policy adherence, motivation, and cultural competence into a unified framework. Findings indicate that educational attainment and linguistic competence serve as foundational predictors of leadership effectiveness, while organizational development mechanisms institutionalize competencies and sustain resilience. Policy adherence enhances trust and accountability, and motivation operates as a psychological driver of engagement. Cultural competence anchored in Indigenous values such as Pakikipagkapwa (shared identity), Bayanihan (collective effort), and Paglilingkod (service) moderates these pathways by embedding authenticity and cohesion into leadership practice. While existing studies often examine leadership traits, organizational processes, and cultural responsiveness in isolation, this review consolidates these previously fragmented strands into a single, integrative and culturally grounded competency framework. By doing so, it responds to calls in leadership and Indigenous education scholarship for models that bridge evidence based leadership theory and Indigenous epistemologies. Methodological advances, including Structural Equation Modeling and mixed-method designs, provide empirical rigor and contextual depth. Overall, leadership effectiveness emerges as a dynamic interplay of technical, relational, and cultural dimensions, interpreted through evidence-based and culturally grounded approaches.
References
Adams, D., Harris, A., Moosa, V., Jones, M., & Khaleel, S. (2025). Science mapping the knowledge base of distributed leadership in schools, 1988 to 2023. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 17411432251320782.
Dayson, C. J. P., Ayo, J. P. D., Equipado, B. D., Polon, J. H., Buban, R. G., & Digo, G. S. (2024). A Systematic Review and Meta-synthesis of Indigenous Filipino Values in Educational Leadership. Journal of Community Development Research (Humanities and Social Sciences), 17(4), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.14456/jcdr-hs.2024.24
Leithwood, K., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2020). Seven strong claims about successful school leadership revisited. School leadership & management, 40(1), 5-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1596077
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Copyright (c) 2026 Tomas M. Ferrol III
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Open Access. This article, published by JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). You are free to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material). Under the following terms, you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
