Educational Leadership and Holistic Adab Formation in Cambodian Tahfiz Schools: A Comparative Study of MTDU and MTDH

This study explains the role of educator leaders in cultivating students' adab (moral discipline and etiquette) at two Cambodian Islamic boarding schools, Maahad Tahfiz Darul Ulum (MTDU) and Maahad Tahfiz Darul Hadith (MTDH), in a post-conflict Muslim-minority society. Drawing on classical Islamic theories of character formation, such as the works of Ibnu Miskawaih and Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, and underpinned by Hallinger's Instructional Leadership Model, this research explores the manner in which leaders act as moral role models and institutionalists in order to transform pupil behavior. In undertaking a qualitative multiple-case study, data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation of eight influential educational leaders. Thematic analysis yielded six prominent leadership roles, including moral modeling, disciplinary enforcement, spiritual mentorship, and institutional innovation through routines and rituals. Despite parental and external cultural pressure oppositional to their endeavor, the leaders demonstrated spiritual resilience in successfully ushering student transformation through relational engagement, moral accountability, and cultural reinforcement. This study contributes to the emerging debate on faith-based leadership and character education with the offer of a contextualized model of Islamic educational leadership for post-conflict and minority-Muslim settings. Practice and policy recommendations include training educational leaders as muaddibin, integrating value-based norms, and recognizing Tahfiz schools as important actors in integral education.