KEPEMIMPINAN TRANSFORMASIONAL KEPALA SEKOLAH DALAM MEMBANGUN BUDAYA MUTU SEBAGAI FONDASI PEMBENTUKAN KARAKTER ANAK USIA DINI: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Yuliati Yuliati (Universitas Ivet)
Luluk Elyana (Magister Manajemen Pendidikan, Universitas Ivet)
Dyah Kusbiantari (Magister Manajemen Pendidikan, Universitas Ivet)

EDUCATIONAL: Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan dan Pengajaran
Vol. 6 No. 3 (2026)

Dynamic social change and rapid technological advancement drive the need for leadership transformation in Early Childhood Education (ECE) units to foster a sustainable quality culture. This Systematic Literature Review (SLR) study following PRISMA guidelines aimed to examine the role of principals' transformational leadership in building an ECE quality culture, analyze its contribution to children's character, and identify challenges and opportunities. Literature selection resulted in 20 final articles (2020–2025) retrieved from Google Scholar, Scopus, SINTA, ERIC, and Garuda Portal analyzed thematically. Findings indicate that transformational leadership contributes through four dimensions (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration) reinforced by values-based leadership. The established quality culture effectively shapes young children's character, including spiritual values, independence, discipline, social-emotional competence, creativity, entrepreneurship, and inclusiveness. Primary challenges involve facility constraints, teacher administrative burdens, and digital literacy gaps. Opportunities exist through technology utilization, parental collaboration, local wisdom, and data-driven accreditation. The main conclusion confirms that integrating transformational leadership with a quality culture serves as a strategic factor in delivering holistic, innovative, and sustainable ECE services. ABSTRAK Perubahan sosial dan pesatnya teknologi menuntut transformasi pola kepemimpinan pada Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini (PAUD) untuk membangun budaya mutu berkelanjutan. Penelitian Systematic Literature Review (SLR) berpedoman alur PRISMA ini bertujuan mengkaji peran kepemimpinan transformasional kepala sekolah dalam membangun budaya mutu PAUD, menganalisis kontribusinya terhadap karakter anak, serta mengidentifikasi tantangan dan peluangnya. Seleksi literatur menghasilkan 20 artikel final (2020–2025) dari basis data Google Scholar, Scopus, SINTA, ERIC, dan Portal Garuda yang dianalisis secara tematik. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahwa kepemimpinan transformasional berkontribusi melalui empat dimensi (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, dan individualized consideration) yang diperkuat values-based leadership. Budaya mutu yang terbentuk efektif membentuk karakter anak mencakup nilai spiritual, kemandirian, disiplin, sosial-emosional, kreativitas, kewirausahaan, dan inklusivitas. Kendala utama meliputi keterbatasan sarana, beban administratif guru, dan kesenjangan literasi digital. Peluang dapat dikembangkan melalui pemanfaatan teknologi, kolaborasi orang tua, kearifan lokal, dan akreditasi berbasis data. Simpulan utama menegaskan bahwa integrasi kepemimpinan transformasional dan budaya mutu menjadi faktor strategis mewujudkan layanan PAUD holistik, inovatif, dan berkelanjutan.