ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.

Sec. Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education

Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1621041

Traversing Multicultural and Multilingual Educational Landscapes in Odisha, India: The Impact of Adaptive Performance, Cultural Intelligence, and Transformational Leadership on Foreign Language Teacher Wellbeing

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Atal Bihari Vajpayee Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior, India
  • 2Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, India
  • 3Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Teacher wellbeing (TWB) among foreign language teachers (FLTs) remains an overlooked area in educational research, despite their critical role in fostering linguistic and cultural competence. FLTs face unique challenges, particularly in multilingual and multicultural regions, which can significantly impact their wellbeing. This study examines the interrelationships among FLTs' adaptive performance (AP), cultural intelligence (CQ), and principals' transformational leadership (TL) in shaping TWB. Focusing on six border districts of Odisha, India, where FLTs operate within a multicultural and multilingual educational landscape, this study employs a quantitative research design to propose and test seven hypotheses. Data collected through a structured questionnaire from FLTs across these districts were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. Results reveal that AP, CQ, and TL significantly influence TWB. Moreover, CQ acts as a complementary partial mediator between AP and TWB and between TL and TWB, indicating that AP enhances TWB not only by equipping teachers with the flexibility to manage professional challenges but also by fostering intercultural competence, which further improves their work experiences. Additionally, TL plays an important role in creating a supportive and culturally responsive work environment that strengthens TWB. These insights emphasize the need for school leadership to cultivate an inclusive and adaptive educational atmosphere. While the study is region-specific and relies on self-reported data, it contributes to the understanding of TWB in multilingual and multicultural settings. The findings provide valuable guidance for policymakers and educational leaders in designing strategies to enhance both FLTs' and students' wellbeing in diverse educational contexts.

Keywords: Adaptive performance, cultural intelligence, Foreign language teachers, India, multicultural classrooms, Mediation, Multilingual classrooms, Odisha

Received: 30 Apr 2025; Accepted: 03 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 BEHERA, Ramasami, Acharya, Sharma, Subhrajyoti and Tikader. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: RASHMI RANJAN BEHERA, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior, India

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