A Comparative Analysis of School Principal Leadership Styles at SD Muhammadiyah 12 Pamulang and SD Negeri Buaran 02 Serpong

Abstract

The principal's leadership plays a crucial role as the epicenter driving educational quality and shaping organizational culture in elementary education units. This qualitative research with a comparative case study approach aims to explore, deeply analyze, and compare the leadership styles of principals in two institutions with different autonomy statuses, namely a Muhammadiyah 12 Elementary School of Pamulang and a Public Elementary School of Buaran 02 Serpong in the South Tangerang region. Primary data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews dissecting five essential managerial aspects: vision and leadership, coordination and communication, task delegation, school development strategy, and the impact of leadership. The results showed significant managerial divergence. The Principal of the Muhammadiyah 12 Elementary School applies a transformational-visionary leadership style, manifested through egalitarian communication, specific competency-based delegation, and a focus on innovations in strengthening basic literacy, character building, and the integration of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in learning assessments. Conversely, the Principal of the Public Elementary School of Buaran 02 Serpong tends to adopt a transactional-directive leadership style centered on bureaucratic compliance, a top-down hierarchical coordination system, and the fulfillment of basic administrative standards due to limited autonomy and funding. This study recommends the need for autonomy restructuring for public school principals and the strengthening of managerial training programs oriented towards pedagogical innovation to holistically bridge the disparity in elementary education quality.