The Influence of Principals’ Instructional Leadership, Organizational Climate, and Work Motivation on Teacher Performance: A Study of Public Vocational High Schools in South Dusun District, South Barito Regency

Abstract

Teacher performance is a critical determinant of vocational education quality; however, empirical evidence remains limited regarding how principals’ instructional leadership relates to teacher performance through organizational climate and work motivation as simultaneous mediating mechanisms. This study examined the direct and indirect relationships among these variables among public vocational high school teachers in Dusun Selatan District, South Barito Regency. A quantitative associative design was employed with 95 teachers, selected from a population of 124 using proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.1. The results showed significant positive relationships between instructional leadership and teacher performance (t = 3.299, p = .001), organizational climate (t = 6.457, p < .001), and work motivation (t = 4.395, p < .001). Organizational climate and work motivation were also significantly related to teacher performance. The structural model explained 73.0% of the variance in teacher performance (R² = .730), with work motivation demonstrating the strongest effect size (f² = .505). Furthermore, organizational climate and work motivation significantly mediated the relationship between instructional leadership and teacher performance. These findings demonstrate a dual-mediation mechanism, suggesting that instructional leadership is associated with teacher performance both directly and indirectly through supportive organizational conditions and stronger work motivation.