Does Cultural Intelligence Influence Teachers' Pupil Control Ideology in Multicultural Classrooms? Examining the Moderating Effect of Teacher Trust in Students

ABSTRACT The increasing number of migrants from neighboring countries has caused significant challenges to Turkey's education system, particularly within multicultural classrooms that include diverse languages and cultures. This study investigates the influence of cultural intelligence on pupil control ideology, employing a serial multiple mediation model that includes teacher trust in students. Utilizing a cross‐sectional approach, data were collected from 359 teachers in multicultural schools in Gaziantep, Turkey. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping tests were applied to analyze the data. The findings revealed significant correlations among the variables. Teachers with lower cultural intelligence tended to adopt a custodial pupil control ideology. In contrast, those with higher cultural intelligence tended to adopt more humanistic methods and showed more trust in their students. Furthermore, a higher degree of teacher trust correlated with a more humanistic approach to pupil control. The analysis confirmed that cultural intelligence has a statistically significant indirect effect on pupil control ideology, with trust as a partial mediator in the relationship between cultural intelligence and pupil control ideology. The research results highlight the importance of enhancing teachers’ cultural intelligence through targeted professional development, which is crucial for cultivating trust with diverse students and creating a supportive learning environment.