Leadership Strategies of School Principals in Developing Teacher Professionalism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25299/ajaip.2026.vol23(2).30509Keywords:
Principal Leadership, Teacher Professionalism, Leadership Strategies, Teacher Development, Early Childhood EducationAbstract
This study aims to describe the leadership strategies of school principals in developing teacher professionalism and to identify the supporting and inhibiting factors in their implementation. This research employed a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design and was conducted at TK Negeri Pembina 3 Pekanbaru and RA An-Nisa Pekanbaru. The main informants were two school principals, while teachers from both institutions served as supporting informants selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observation, and documentation, and analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that school principals implemented several strategies to develop teacher professionalism, including continuous academic supervision, providing motivation and encouragement, facilitating competency development through training and professional development activities, and strengthening communication and collaboration between principals and teachers. Supporting factors included good communication and collaboration, teacher commitment to continuous development, colleague support, professional development programs, and adequate facilities and infrastructure. Inhibiting factors included limited teacher time, differences in teachers’ ability to adapt, budget constraints, and changes in educational policies and curricula. The study concludes that principal leadership strategies support the continuous development of teacher professionalism according to the conditions and needs of each institution in an effective and sustainable professional manner.
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