The holistic approach to education – that addresses students’ learning, social and emotional, and spiritual needs – is crucial, especially in times of crisis. University closures related to the current COVID-19 pandemic mean that students from diverse backgrounds who are more at risk of increased vulnerability are less likely to receive the support and extra services they need, and the gap between students that experience additional barriers and that do not might widen. The current study investigates the influence of religiosity and Emotional Intelligent on the attitude towards leadership in education during pandemic covid-19 in the Malaysian context. Data were collected from undergraduate students who constitute future leaders. Results from the regression analysis particularly the relative weight analysis revealed that leadership practices demonstrated significant incremental variance with attitude towards leadership beyond self-leadership. The implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.

This research explored the relationship between religiosity, emotional intelligence, and academic achievement among Malaysian university students. A total of 300 participants were selected via the convenience sampling method. Data was collected through an online survey platform wherein the questionnaires were transcribed into Google Form and distributed virtually. Participants answered two questionnaires namely the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) and Centrality of Religiosity Scale to measure their level of emotional intelligence (EQ) and religiosity respectively. The data were then analysed using Pearson’s Correlation and Multiple Regression. Emotional intelligence is vital as it acts as a catalyst in self-motivation towards attaining a better grade. The findings indicate that religiosity has a positive correlation with EQ and academic achievement. Overall, religiosity encourages one to strive for the better and this relates with academic achievement whereby students are more likely to be persistent to accomplish their academic goals.