Understanding School Climate through Autoethnographic Immersion in a Rural Malaysian Islamic Secondary School

This study explores the school climate of a rural Malaysian Islamic secondary school through an autoethnographic immersion, guided by Cohen et al.’s (2009) four domains: safety, teaching and learning, interpersonal relationships, and institutional environment. Over a two-month period, the researcher—positioned as both participant and observer—engaged in classroom observations, staff meetings, co-curricular activities, and informal conversations with teachers, administrators, and students. Data sources included reflective journals, observation checklists, institutional documents, and conversational interviews, analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings indicate that safety extended beyond physical protection to encompass moral and spiritual safeguarding, reinforced through religious rituals, constant security presence, and student prefect monitoring. Teaching and learning reflected an integration of naqli (revealed) and aqli (rational) knowledge, with creative adaptations to resource constraints. Interpersonal relationships were characterised by trust, collegiality, and leadership grounded in shura (consultation). The institutional environment, though modest, was sustained through collective stewardship and adaptive use of spaces. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating how faith-based values permeate all four school climate domains, shaping a moral–relational ecosystem distinctive to rural Islamic schools. Methodologically, it highlights the value of autoethnography in capturing tacit cultural scripts often overlooked in survey-based research. Practically, the findings offer insights for educators and policymakers on sustaining positive school climates in resource-limited yet culturally rich contexts through value-integrated pedagogy, inclusive leadership, and community-driven resource management.