Digital Leadership Advancing Teacher Performance in Junior High Schools

General Background: Digital transformation in education necessitates adaptive leadership to optimize institutional performance. Specific Background: In the context of SMPN 1 Gedangan and SMPN 1 Porong, the role of principals as digital leaders remains underexplored, particularly in influencing teacher performance.Knowledge Gap: Prior studies often overlook the qualitative implications of digital leadership in middle schools with evolving technological infrastructure. Aims: This study investigates the impact of school principals' digital leadership—including digitized systems, innovation programs, and collaboration—on enhancing teacher performance. Methods: Using a qualitative approach, data were gathered through in-depth interviews and observations, analyzed descriptively, and validated via Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and data triangulation. Results: Findings reveal that digital leadership significantly improves teacher capabilities, as evidenced by improvements in PMM E-performance reports, attendance tracking, training participation, digital program initiatives, and principal supervision. Novelty: This study provides practical, observation-based insights on how digital leadership directly correlates with measurable performance indicators at the school level. Implications: The study offers actionable implications for educational leadership, emphasizing synergy between principals and staff in advancing digital transformation within public junior high schools. Highlights: Highlights the role of digital leadership in enhancing teacher effectiveness. Emphasizes qualitative methods using FGD and triangulation for data validation. Shows measurable outcomes through E-performance and school innovation metrics. Keywords: Digital Leadership, Teacher Performance, Educational Innovation, School Management