Principals’ Leadership Styles and Teachers’ Commitment: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

School leadership plays a critical role in improving a school’s performance by enhancing teachers’ satisfaction, which subsequently increases their commitment. This study aims to investigate the relationship between path-goal leadership behavior, job satisfaction, and teachers’ commitment, as well as the mediating role of job satisfaction among the public elementary school teachers in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The current study employs survey questionnaires to collect data. The results reveal that achievement-oriented, directive, and participative leadership behavior positively influence job satisfaction. Furthermore, job satisfaction significantly influences teachers’ commitment. Lastly, job satisfaction also mediates the relationship between achievement-oriented, directive, and participative leadership behavior and teachers’ commitment. This study contributes to school management by examining principals’ leadership behavior that can enhance teachers’ job satisfaction and commitment. Additionally, it provides insights into leadership behavior and addresses the gap in research on the application of path-goal leadership styles among school principals in Indonesia.