FOSTERING EXCELLENCE: HOW SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND SCHOOL CLIMATE AFFECT TEACHER PERFORMANCE
Abstract
The enhancement of educational quality remains a central issue in the administration of national education systems. Efforts to improve education quality are fundamental strategies alongside equalizing educational opportunities, increasing access, and enhancing relevance and efficiency. Factors contributing to low education quality include the effectiveness, efficiency, and standardization of education. Education is deemed effective when it enables students to learn easily, and enjoyably, and achieve the expected outcomes. One of the primary reasons for low education quality is the suboptimal quality of teaching. Teaching is an interactive process between students, learning resources, and educators or teachers. According to the National Education System Law No. 20 of 2003, "Teaching is the process of interaction between students, educators, and learning resources in a learning environment" (Irawati & Susetyo, 2017). The learning process is part of the broader educational process, meaning that education encompasses more than just teaching. Education is a conscious and planned effort to create a learning atmosphere and learning process that enables students to actively develop their potential, possessing spiritual strength, self-control, personality, intelligence, noble character, and the skills needed for themselves, society, the nation, and the state. At the educational unit level, improving school quality must consider local wisdom to ensure that educational advancement aligns with the community mindset. In addition to systemic and regional approaches (educational autonomy), the primary focus should be on teacher performance. Teachers are the main actors in educational operations, and their performance is believed to significantly influence the quality of education and school advancement.
Recent research underscores the pivotal role of teachers in student learning success. A meta-analysis by Wisniewski et al. (2020) reaffirms that teacher effectiveness significantly influences student achievement, with an effect size of 0.40. Teacher expertise is identified as a crucial factor, accounting for up to 30% of student performance variability. Additionally, a comprehensive study by Jackson (2021) highlights that high-quality teaching can enhance student achievement by 20-30%, with teacher qualifications and experience being key contributors. Moreover, research by Kraft et al. (2018) reveals that professional development programs for teachers result in substantial improvements in student outcomes, with an average effect size of 0.49. This indicates that continuous teacher training is vital for maintaining high educational standards. In a comparative analysis of educational systems across 50 countries, Hanushek & Woessmann (2020) find that teacher quality is the most significant school-related factor influencing student achievement, contributing to 40% of the variance in student performance. Management practices account for 25%, learning time for 20%, and physical infrastructure for 15%.
Teachers play a crucial role in the educational process. They contribute significantly to improving educational quality in schools as facilitators in preparing students to become excellent generations. UNESCO's educational policy introduces The Four Pillars of Education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be. These four pillars synergize to shape and develop the educational mindset in Indonesia. Based on the National Education System Law of Indonesia No. 20 of 2003, first, teachers as professional educators are tasked with planning and implementing teaching, guiding, and training (Article 39, Paragraph 2). Second, to ensure educational quality, national education standards comprising content standards, process standards, graduate competence standards, educational staff, facilities and infrastructure, management, funding, and educational assessment must be improved periodically (Article 35, Paragraph 1). Third, teachers must have minimum qualifications and certification according to their teaching authorsity, be physically and mentally healthy, and have the ability to achieve national education goals (Article 42, Paragraph 1). The role of teachers is reinforced by various studies showing their central role in the educational process. Recent findings before by Chetty, Chetty et al. (2014) highlight that students with top-performing teachers exhibit substantial test score improvements, increasing their percentile rankings by approximately 30 points over a three-year period. Conversely, students with less effective teachers show a significant decline in their test performance, reinforcing the critical role of teacher quality in educational outcomes.
Recent research continues to highlight the significant impact of teacher quality on student performance. For instance, a study by Podolsky et al. (2019) calculates the effect of teacher quality on student outcomes, demonstrating that students taught by high-quality teachers achieve significantly higher scores. Specifically, students with top-tier teachers score at the 90th percentile, whereas those with lower-quality teachers score at the 60th percentile. Moreover, research by Kraft & Papay (2014) shows that the benefits of high-quality teaching are even more pronounced for low-achieving students. Their study reveals that these students experience substantial academic gains when instructed by effective teachers, often improving their performance by up to 25 percentile points over a school year. This underscores the pivotal role of teacher quality in closing achievement gaps and fostering equity in education. The aforementioned studies conclusively highlight that teachers are pivotal to successful education. Teacher performance profoundly influences both the learning process and student outcomes in schools. Recent literature emphasizes the multifaceted nature of teacher performance, incorporating various dimensions of professional efficacy.
