Democratic Leadership of the School Principle in Growing Teacher Professionalism

Abstract

Purpose: Leadership is one of the factors that determine the success of a school. Principals have various references regarding leadership styles. Choosing the right leadership style will encourage teachers to follow the policies set by their superiors to advance the quality of education for their students. The purpose of this study was to describe the democratic leadership style of the principal of Kindergarten Kemala Bhayangkari 13, Kepanjen District, Malang Regency, in fostering teacher professionalism and to see how far the principal's personality supports the democratic leadership style.   Method: The descriptive qualitative technique and case study research design are used in this study, while Participant observation, interviews, and documentation studies were employed to obtain data.   Results: The findings of this investigation revealed: 1. The principal of Kindergarten Kemala Bhayangkari 13 Kepanjen Malang Regency applies a democratic leadership style, which can be seen from six (six) aspects of activities, including: a. The school principal plans a learning program in conformity with the vision and objective of the school; b. The school principal makes decisions jointly based on deliberation; c. The principal manages school resources to produce optimal resources; d. Principals communicate and cooperate harmoniously; e. The principal is able to manage conflicts that occur in schools until they subside; f. The school principal always gives awards for the achievements of his teacher.   Conclusion: The principal of Kindergarten Kemala Bhayangkari 13 Kepanjen has used a democratic leadership style well, as seen from the close relationship between the principal and the teacher which like a big family, so that it can encourage teacher professionalism. This school principal's democratic leadership assessment includes 6 (six) aspects of activity and 5 (five) aspects of personality.