LEADERSHIP COMPETENCE AND TEACHER JOB SATISFACTION: EVIDENCE FROM STRUCTURAL PATH ANALYSIS IN INDONESIAN PUBLIC SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS
Downloads
Objective: This study aims to analyze the influence of principal skills on teacher job satisfaction in public senior high schools in Jambi Province, focusing on improving teacher psychological well-being, which is determined by leadership patterns and a conducive work environment. Method: The research uses a quantitative approach with path analysis. The sample includes 106 teachers from three public schools, with data collected through a standardized questionnaire. SPSS 27 was used to test direct and indirect effects. Results: The results showed that leadership skills have a positive and significant direct effect on teacher job satisfaction, with a path coefficient of β = 0.689 and a t-value of 9.704 (p < 0.05). Leadership skills, social support, and outcome orientation contributed 47.5% to teacher job satisfaction (R² = 0.475). However, outcome orientation was not a significant mediator between leadership and job satisfaction (t = 0.58 < 1.660). Novelty: This study highlights that teacher job satisfaction is more influenced by the principal's direct interactions and relational qualities than by performance target achievement orientation. It recommends leadership development that emphasizes supportive communication, appreciation for teacher performance, and creating an inclusive work climate, alongside transformational leadership training for principals to enhance motivation and psychological well-being.
Z. Ma’ruf, D. Annisa, and S. Lestari, “Teachers’ job satisfaction: Does school principals’ leadership style matter? a systematic review,” International Journal of Scientific and Technology Research, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 4279–4284, 2020.
J. P. Boren, “The Relationships between Co-Rumination, Social Support, Stress, and Burnout among Working Adults,” Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 3–25, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0893318913509283.
H. Hardianto, H. Hidayat, and M. N. A. Setiawan, “The influence of reward, transformational leadership and motivation on job satisfaction of primary school teachers,” Journal of Pedagogical Research, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 67–80, 2025, doi: 10.33902/JPR.202534916.
M. N. A. Setiawan, “Reward and commitment toward transformational leadership and teachers’ job satisfaction,” Cakrawala Pendidikan, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 673–684, 2025, doi: 10.21831/cp.v44i3.83084.
H. Guo, B. S. Alias, and M. I. Mamud, “Interplay of Principal Instructional Leadership, School Organizational Climate, and Teacher Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Secondary Schools in Northwest China,” International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 178–198, 2025, doi: 10.26803/ijlter.24.4.9.
S. Yan-Li and D. Hassan, “Leadership behaviour on job satisfaction in Malaysian national secondary schools: Motivation and hygiene satisfaction,” Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Management, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 48–67, 2018, doi: 10.22452/mojem.vol6no3.3.
J. Shen, A. Moyal, P. Wiens, and S. Zhang, “Principal-Teacher Gaps in School Climate Perception and Their Impact on Teacher Job Satisfaction in U.S. Context: A Self-Other Agreement Theory Perspective,” Leadership and Policy in Schools, 2025, doi: 10.1080/15700763.2025.2481220.
D. Dou, G. Devos, and M. Valcke, “The relationships between school autonomy gap, principal leadership, teachers’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment,” Educational Management Administration and Leadership, vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 959–977, 2017, doi: 10.1177/1741143216653975.
D. Rachmadi, H. Yanto, and Y. Sutopo, “Navigating the Dinamics of Teacher Job Satisfication: Leadership, Supervision and Performance,” Journal of Ecohumanism, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 1271–1298, 2024, doi: 10.62754/joe.v3i7.4290.
J. King, H. Almukhaild, S. Mercer, S. Babic, A. Mairitsch, and G. Sulis, “Teacher emotions and the emotional labour of modern language (ML) teachers working in UK secondary schools,” IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 1213–1235, 2024, doi: 10.1515/iral-2024-0080.
K. Stark and C. Cummings, “Emotions as Both a Tool and a Liability: A Phenomenology of Urban Charter School Teachers’ Emotions,” Urban Review, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 337–363, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s11256-022-00649-y.
S. Schoch et al., “Dual-Focused Transformational Leadership, Teachers’ Satisfaction of the Need for Relatedness, and the Mediating Role of Social Support,” Frontiers in Education, vol. 6, 2021, doi: 10.3389/feduc.2021.643196.
F. Firmansyah, L. D. Prasojo, A. Jaedun, and H. Retnawati, “Transformational leadership effect on teacher performance in Asia: A meta-analysis,” Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 2127–2146, 2022, doi: 10.18844/cjes.v17i6.7552.
G. Maheshwari, “Influence of Teacher-Perceived Transformational and Transactional School Leadership on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction and Performance: A Case of Vietnam,” Leadership and Policy in Schools, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 876–890, 2022, doi: 10.1080/15700763.2020.1866020.
A. Karadaş and S. Duran, “The effect of social support on work stress in health workers during the pandemic: The mediation role of resilience,” Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 1640–1649, 2022, doi: 10.1002/jcop.22742.
N. Hidayati, M. Ridwan, and R. Hanif, “IMPACT OF WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT ON JOB SATISFACTION AND JOB STRESS: MEDIATION MODEL FROM INDONESIA,” Problems and Perspectives in Management, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 44–56, 2022, doi: 10.21511/ppm.20(2).2022.05.
M. H. Rahman, R. Bolotio, and D. Napitupulu, “The role of organizational commitment in improving teachers’ job satisfaction in public high schools in Indonesia,” International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 62–71, 2025, doi: 10.21833/ijaas.2025.02.007.
B. N. Tanjung, “Factors Affecting Islamic school teacher performance in emerging economies: A leadership perspective,” Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, vol. 2022, no. 101, pp. 268–487, 2022, doi: 10.14689/ejer.2022.101.016.
B. Dreer-Göthe, “How appreciation predicts teachers’ job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and quitting intentions,” Educational Studies, vol. 51, no. 6, pp. 1279–1299, 2025, doi: 10.1080/03055698.2025.2511915.
S. J. Wilgus and J. Travis, “Herzberg at work: the remote vs. in-person tale,” Current Psychology, vol. 44, no. 18, pp. 15043–15052, 2025, doi: 10.1007/s12144-025-08238-4.
S. A. Bilsky et al., “Does supportive parenting mitigate the longitudinal effects of peer victimization on depressive thoughts and symptoms in children?,” Journal of Abnormal Psychology, vol. 122, no. 2, pp. 406–419, 2013, doi: 10.1037/a0032501.
T. A. Wills, “Social support and the family,” in Emotions and the Family: for Better or for Worse, 2013, pp. 75–98. doi: 10.4324/9781315808130.
N. N. D. Phuong, M. N. Khuong, L. H. Phuc, and L. N. T. Dong, “The effect of two-dimensional factor on Municipal Civil Servants’ Job satisfaction and public policy implications,” Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 133–142, 2018, doi: 10.13106/jafeb.2018.vol5.no3.133.
B. F. Burke and B. C. Costello, “Four-Frame Leadership in Authentic, Results-oriented Management Reform: Case Studies in Canada and the United States,” in Transforming Public Leadership for the 21st Century, 2014, pp. 284–307. doi: 10.4324/9781315698588-25.
Copyright (c) 2026 Eri Deka Gustiar, Mukhtar Latif, Zawaqi Afdal Jamil
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
