<![CDATA[This study aims to describe the implementation of the principal’s democratic leadership style in improving teachers’ work discipline, as well as to identify the supporting factors, inhibiting factors, and solutions applied at Sekolah Dasar Islam Terpadu (SDIT) Aulia Muara Bulian, Batang Hari Regency, Jambi Province. This research employed a qualitative approach with data collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation involving the principal, vice principal for curriculum, teachers, and students. The findings reveal that the democratic leadership style is manifested through teacher involvement in formulating disciplinary rules, open and dialogic communication in addressing violations, the principal’s exemplary behavior, positive reinforcement, and participatory supervision. Supporting factors for teacher discipline include harmonious working relationships, the school’s religious culture, strong teacher solidarity, persuasive monitoring, positive student perceptions, and appreciation systems. Conversely, inhibiting factors include low disciplinary awareness among some teachers, limited willingness to express challenges, inadequate facilities, heavy workloads, passive work culture, and unequal participation during deliberations. Solutions implemented by the principal include strengthening deliberative forums, reinforcing mutually agreed rules, humanistic guidance, providing appreciation, adjusting workload distribution, modeling discipline, and conducting regular evaluations. Overall, the democratic leadership style proves effective in fostering a participatory and sustainable culture of discipline within the school environment.]]>
