1,2,3Sekolah Pascasarja Universitas Negeri Semarang, Program Doktor, Semarang, Indonesia
Email: yantfhd@gmail.com (Suyanto); fakhrudin@mail.unnes.ac.id (Fakhrudin); muh_khafid@mail.unne.ac.id (Muhammad Khafid)
Received: 16th Dec, 2025; Revised: 8th Feb 2026; Accepted: 12th Feb, 2026; Available Online: 28th Feb, 2026
Teacher performance is significantly shaped by factors such as job satisfaction, work motivation, and religiosity. This research seeks to evaluate the impact of these three elements on the effectiveness of educators at private junior high schools in Kudus Regency, while also investigating how principals' transformational leadership acts as a moderator. The foundation of this study lies in the critical need to elevate educational standards, which rely heavily on teacher efficacy, assuming interplay between psychological, spiritual, and leadership dynamics within schools.
A quantitative design was adopted, utilizing surveys with 170 teachers from private junior secondary schools, drawn via proportional random sampling from a total population of 416. Questionnaires, validated for reliability and validity, were used to gather data, which was then processed through Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis via SmartPLS software.
Findings reveal that job satisfaction and religiosity positively and significantly influence teacher performance, in contrast to work motivation, which shows no notable impact. Transformational leadership moderates the links between job satisfaction, work motivation, and performance, though it diminishes the influence of religiosity. These insights highlight the vital function of transformational leadership in optimizing teachers' psychological and spiritual aspects to boost outcomes in private educational settings.
Keyword: Job satisfaction, work motivation, religiosity, teacher performance, Transformational leadership
How to cite this article: Suyanto, Fakhrudin, Khafid M, Unpacking Teacher Performance: The Moderating Effect of Principal Leadership on Job Satisfaction, Motivation, And Religiosity. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026; 16(2): 569-585; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.2.61
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None