Purpose – The policymakers and administrators of Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary Schools (MICSS) play a pivotal role in encouraging robust talent development strategies to empower teachers to excel in their responsibilities. It is especially crucial considering that teachers at MICSS are not included in the Ministry of Education’s Teacher Development Training programme. This paper aims to investigate the level of talent development among MICSS teachers and its influence on various aspects of content knowledge and instructional pedagogy. Furthermore, the purpose of this research is to examine the extent of content knowledge of MICSS teachers serving as mediators for talent development and enhance instructional pedagogy. Design/methodology/approach – The Malaysian Teacher Standard and the Talent Management Model are used to draft the key points of a survey. Three hundred and fifty-seven Malaysian educators from MICSS contributed to the numerical questionnaires and strata random sampling procedures. Findings – This investigation revealed that the teachers demonstrated high levels of talent development. It studies the correlation between MICSS teachers’ talent development, content knowledge and instructional pedagogy. Research limitations/implications – It emphasised the significance of content knowledge which acts as a mediator between talent development and instructional pedagogy. Social implications – Hence, talent development programmes are critical to nurture proficient educators in MICSS, ensuring quality of instruction and students’ learning outcomes. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to investigate the correlation between MICSS teachers’ talent development, content knowledge and instructional pedagogy throughout Malaysia. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited
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