How Does School Principal Leadership Influence Teacher Performance and Quality of Learning at SMPN 2 Banyuasin III

Meditran

Penulis

Meditran Universitas PGRI Palembang Author

Kata Kunci:

Principal Leadership, Teacher Performance, Quality of Learning, Merdeka Curriculum, Mediation Analysis.

Abstrak

This study aims to empirically examine the effect of school principal leadership on teacher performance and the quality of learning at SMPN 2 Banyuasin III within the implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum. A Sequential Explanatory Mixed-Methods design was employed, beginning with a quantitative survey of all teachers using a Likert-scale questionnaire analyzed through Path Analysis, followed by qualitative interviews and document analysis with key informants to elaborate the findings. The results indicate that school principal leadership has a significant positive indirect effect on learning quality through teacher performance as a crucial mediating variable. The findings confirm that leadership influence is realized through the strengthening of core Merdeka Curriculum pedagogical practices, particularly differentiated learning and formative assessment. The novelty of this study lies in its focus on a high-performing (Accreditation A) school undergoing curriculum reform and the use of a comprehensive mixed-methods approach to explain the mechanisms of leadership influence. Practically, the study provides evidence-based recommendations for strengthening transformational and instructional leadership to support effective curriculum implementation. Theoretically, it contributes to educational management literature by reinforcing the mediating role of teacher performance in improving learning quality during curriculum reform.

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