Principal Leadership, Teacher Performance, and Teacher Discipline as Predictors of Graduate Quality in Public Elementary Schools: Evidence from Pabelan District, Semarang Regency

Abstract

Graduate quality is one of the main indicators of educational success, reflecting the effectiveness of school management, instructional processes, and the professionalism of educational personnel. This study aims to examine the influence of principal leadership, teacher performance, and teacher discipline on graduate quality in public elementary schools in Pabelan District, Semarang Regency. This research employed a quantitative approach with an ex post facto design. The population consisted of 186 teachers from 21 public elementary schools, with a sample of 128 teachers selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis with the assistance of SPSS. The results revealed that principal leadership, teacher performance, and teacher discipline had positive and significant effects on graduate quality. Partially, principal leadership had a significant effect on graduate quality (t = 2.160; p < 0.05), teacher performance significantly influenced graduate quality (t = 2.341; p < 0.05), and teacher discipline showed the strongest influence among the independent variables (t = 6.091; p < 0.05). Simultaneously, the three independent variables contributed 74.6% to the variance in graduate quality, while the remaining 23.4% was explained by other factors outside the research model. This study contributes by proposing an integrated model that combines managerial, professional, and behavioral factors in explaining graduate quality at the elementary school level. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening principal leadership, improving teacher performance, and developing teacher discipline as strategic efforts to enhance educational quality.