FiTUA : Jurnal Studi Islam
Vol 7 No 1 (2026): June

Principal Leadership as a Construction of Teacher Work Culture

Ahmad Soadikin (UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta - Indonesia)
Syamsul Huda Rohmadi (UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta - Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
02 Jun 2026

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how the leadership of school principals in building the work culture of phenomenological studies teachers in Indonesian junior high schools. The research method uses a qualitative approach with a Husserlian transcendental phenomenological design of data collection techniques carried out by observation, interviewing and documenting 47 informants purposively, then analyzed using three thematic isolation techniques (holistic, selective, in-depth). The validity of the data is guaranteed through triangulation, member checking, and bracketing. The results show that the meaning of leadership has metamorphosed from an administrative manager to a performative moral role model and a transformative agent. The institutionalization of work culture forms a stable habitus through the mechanism of behavioral enculturation, ritualistic internalization, and habituation structuring. From a teacher's perspective, a positive work culture is catalyzed by relational-distributive leadership, procedural fairness, and psychological safe spaces. However, its optimization in the field is hampered by bureaucratic constraints (administrative overload), resistance of senior teachers, and limited infrastructure, which is contrary to supporting factors such as the positive quality of the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) relationship.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

fitua

Publisher

Subject

Religion Humanities Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences Other

Description

FITUA: Journal of Islamic Studies (P-ISSN 2721-186X), (E-ISSN 2721365X) is a journal Institution of the STIT Sunan Giri Bima of that discusses field, library and conceptual research from various scientific and Islamic ...