Transformational Leadership of Principals in Strengthening Professional Learning Communities in Public Elementary Schools of Banten Province

Abstract

This study investigates principal leadership strategies in developing Professional Learning Community (PLC) culture in public elementary schools in Banten Province, Indonesia. The research addresses the increasing demand for collaborative professional learning in schools while many public elementary schools have not yet successfully implemented PLC practices. The study aims to analyze leadership strategies, supporting and inhibiting factors, teacher responses, the impact of PLC implementation, and the causes of unsuccessful PLC adoption in several schools. This research employed a qualitative approach with a multiple case study design involving ten public elementary schools across regencies and municipalities in Banten Province. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observations, and document analysis involving principals and teachers as key participants. Data were analyzed using interactive qualitative analysis, thematic analysis, and NVivo 14 to strengthen coding, categorization, and cross-case interpretation. Trustworthiness was ensured through triangulation, member checking, peer debriefing, and audit trail procedures. The findings reveal that principal leadership plays a central role in shaping sustainable PLC culture through transformational and collaborative leadership practices. Successful schools demonstrated strong vision alignment, collective professional learning, reflective dialogue, and reduced teacher isolation. PLC implementation strengthened teacher professionalism, collective efficacy, and instructional quality. However, administrative burdens, limited time, teacher resistance, and inadequate conceptual understanding of PLC among some principals became major barriers to implementation. Technology functioned as a supporting tool but could not substitute relational trust and collaborative culture. The study concludes that sustainable PLC development requires instructional leadership, organizational trust, structural policy support, and systematic principal professional development to strengthen collaborative learning culture in Indonesian public elementary schools.