The Influence of Madrasah Principal Work Motivation on Teacher Performance at Jombang

Teacher performance is a crucial factor in educational quality. Several issues contribute to suboptimal teacher performance, including mismatch between academic background and teaching field, substandard teacher qualifications, unmet teacher welfare, and lack of understanding of the 2013 Curriculum (K13). According to the 2016 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, Indonesia ranks 10th out of 14 developing countries in education, with teacher quality ranked last. This study aims to analyze the influence of the madrasah principal’s policy and work motivation on teacher performance at MI Mujahidin Parimono Jombang. A quantitative method was employed with a saturated sampling technique, involving all teachers as respondents and a questionnaire comprising 45 items. The findings revealed that the principal’s policy had no significant partial effect on teacher performance (sig. T = 0.916 > 0.05), whereas work motivation had a significant effect (sig. T = 0.041 < 0.05). Simultaneously, both policy and work motivation significantly influenced teacher performance (sig. F = 0.000 < 0.05). These results suggest that although policy alone does not impact teacher performance, motivation plays a pivotal role, and combined with supportive leadership, it can enhance performance outcomes.