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THE INFLUENCE OF PRINCIPALS' TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP ON TEACHERS' PERFORMANCE THROUGH WORK CULTURE, JOB SATISFACTION, AND WORK MOTIVATION
Abstract
Purpose –This study examines the influence of principals’ transformational leadership on teachers’ performance and the roles of work culture, job satisfaction, and work motivation in explaining this relationship in public elementary schools in Sosopan District, Padang Lawas Regency, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia.
Methodology – This study employed a quantitative approach with an explanatory survey design. The research was conducted from March to June 2026 in twelve public elementary schools in Sosopan District. The population consisted of 159 teachers, and 129 teachers were selected using proportionate random sampling. Data were collected through structured questionnaires using a five-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using path analysis, preceded by a Lilliefors normality test. Partial relationships were tested using t-tests, and the simultaneous model was tested using an F-test at α = 0.05.
Findings – The results revealed that principals’ transformational leadership has a positive and significant direct effect on work culture (ρ = 0.335; t = 4.013; p < 0.05), job satisfaction (ρ = 0.233; t = 2.698; p < 0.05), work motivation (ρ = 0.234; t = 2.707; p < 0.05), and teachers’ performance (ρ = 0.170; t = 2.506; p < 0.05). Furthermore, work culture (ρ = 0.508; t = 6.910; p < 0.05), job satisfaction (ρ = 0.146; t = 2.076; p < 0.05), and work motivation (ρ = 0.135; t = 2.056; p < 0.05) were found to have positive and significant direct effects on teachers’ performance. Simultaneously, transformational leadership, work culture, job satisfaction, and work motivation significantly influenced teachers’ performance (F = 32.650; p < 0.05), with an Adjusted R² value of 0.512. Among the predictor variables, work culture emerged as the strongest determinant of teachers’ performance.
Contribution – The study contributes to educational leadership research by integrating leadership, organizational culture, and psychological working conditions into a single empirical path model.Keywords
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