Distributed Leadership and Teacher Performance in Under-Resourced Elementary Schools: Evidence from Eastern Indonesia

Abstract

Distributed leadership is widely recognized for enhancing instructional quality; however, most studies focus on urban and well-resourced schools, leaving limited understanding of how it functions in resource-constrained environments. This study examines the influence of distributed leadership on teacher performance and explores how leadership distribution emerges in an under-resourced public elementary school in Eastern Indonesia. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 19 teachers using a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed through simple linear regression. Results show that distributed leadership has a significant positive effect on teacher performance (β = 0.65, p < 0.001), accounting for 52% of the variance. The qualitative phase involved interviews, observations, and document analysis with the principal and five purposively selected teachers. Thematic analysis identified three mechanisms enabling leadership distribution: collaborative decision-making, delegated authority, and collective responsibility for instructional outcomes. The findings reveal that distributed leadership operates as a capacity-building mechanism, allowing schools with limited resources to strengthen teacher professionalism and shared accountability. This study extends distributed leadership theory to developing-country contexts and offers implications for leadership development and the implementation of Indonesia’s Merdeka Belajar reform.