English Village Eco-Tourism 2.0 (EVET 2.0): A School Leadership–Driven Model for Immersive and Sustainable Learning in a Rural School in Sabah

This study examines the effectiveness of English Village Eco-Tourism 2.0 (EVET 2.0), a school-leadership-driven innovation designed to promote immersive English language learning, sustainability education, and community engagement in a rural primary school in Sabah, Malaysia. Grounded in Instructional Leadership Theory, Transformational Leadership Theory, Experiential Learning Theory, and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the study investigates how school leadership facilitates the implementation of a holistic learning ecosystem that extends language learning beyond traditional classroom boundaries. A quasi-experimental quantitative design employing pre-test and post-test measures was adopted. Participants comprised students, teachers, and school leaders directly involved in the implementation of EVET 2.0. Data were collected using English language proficiency assessments, student motivation questionnaires, teacher instructional practice surveys, and school-community engagement instruments. Descriptive statistics and paired-sample t-tests were utilised to analyse changes following the intervention. The findings indicate improvements in students’ English language proficiency, motivation, and engagement. Teachers demonstrated increased adoption of experiential, project-based, and cross-disciplinary instructional approaches, while collaboration between the school and community stakeholders strengthened through eco-tourism and sustainability-related activities. The results suggest that leadership-driven educational innovation can create meaningful learning experiences and contribute to sustainable school improvement in rural settings. This study contributes to educational leadership scholarship by presenting EVET 2.0 as a contextualised model that integrates immersive language learning, sustainability education, and community engagement within a leadership-enabled rural school ecosystem.