Peer-reviewed article
Principals' Professional Competency in Increasing Teacher Performance in State Kindergartens of Tebo Regency, Jambi Province
Elawati, Yusria, Idarianty ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looks at whether the professional competency of principals is linked to how well teachers perform in state kindergartens in Tebo Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia. It surveyed all 42 principals and teachers in these schools using a questionnaire. Both principal competency and teacher performance were rated in the high category. The analysis found a positive and statistically significant relationship, with principal competency accounting for 79.9% of the variation in teacher performance. The authors conclude that strengthening principals' managerial and supervisory skills could support the quality of early childhood education.
Key points
- The population was 42 principals and teachers in state kindergartens in Tebo Regency, all included through a census.
- Principals' professional competency and teacher performance were both in the high category.
- Simple regression showed a positive relationship, with significance of 0.000 (below 0.05).
- R² was 0.799, so 79.9% of the variation in teacher performance was associated with principal competency and 20.1% with other factors.
- The authors recommend strengthening principals' managerial and supervisory capacity.
Limitations
This is a small, single-regency, cross-sectional questionnaire study, so it cannot show cause and effect despite the 'effect' wording. It did not measure outcomes for children directly, and the data appear to be self-reported perceptions.
Abstract
The success of managing Early Childhood Education (ECE) services during the golden age is highly determined by the effectiveness of school leadership and teacher performance in the classroom. However, empirical phenomena show that there are still challenges regarding teachers' pedagogical qualifications and school principals' focus, which tends to be trapped in administrative compliance rather than instructional supervision. This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of school principals' professional competency on teacher performance in State Kindergartens (TK Negeri) in Tebo Regency, Jambi Province. This study used a quantitative approach with a causal-associative design. The study population included all school principals and teachers at State Kindergartens in Tebo Regency, totaling 42 people. Sampling was carried out using a total sampling technique (census) so that the entire population served as respondents. Primary data collection utilized a structured questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale that had been tested for validity and reliability. Data analysis included descriptive tests, classical assumption tests (normality and linearity), simple linear regression, t-tests, and the coefficient of determination. The results showed that the principals' professional competency and teacher performance were both in the high category. The simple regression test yielded the equation , indicating a positive directional relationship. Hypothesis testing (t-test) obtained a calculated value of with a significance value of 0.000 < 0.05, meaning that the school principals' professional competency has a positive and significant effect on teacher performance. The Coefficient of Determination (R²) value of 0.799 indicates that 79.9% of the variation in teacher performance is determined by the principal's professional competency, while the remaining 20.1% is influenced by external factors. In conclusion, the principal's professional competency serves as the main driver in boosting the effectiveness and performance of State Kindergarten teachers in Tebo Regency. The implications of this study emphasize the importance of strengthening principals' managerial and supervisory capacity to support the overall quality of early childhood education services.