Principal's strategies for cultivating a sustainable quality culture in primary school within under-resourced area

Primary education as the foundation for human resource development requires strategies for improving quality culture in a sustainable manner, particularly in eastern Indonesia, which faces limitations in terms of resources and infrastructure. This study aimed to analyze school principal’s strategies for sustaining educational quality culture amid limited resources and infrastructure. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis involving principals, teachers, educational staff, students, and parents. Data analysis was conducted using content analysis through the stages of data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. Data validity was ensured through credibility measures, including source and technique triangulation, member checking, and extended engagement. The findings revealed that principals implemented integrated leadership strategies focused on: (1) enhancing student academic achievement through structured National Science Olympiad (OSN) coaching, routine literacy and numeracy strengthening, differentiated learning, and consistent data-driven evaluation; (2) fostering shared habits and values through the habituation of the 5S culture, modeled by principals and teachers and reinforced through daily routines; (3) applying positive discipline by cultivating intrinsic motivation, building shared agreements, using restorative methods, engaging in dialogic communication, and committing to non-physical punishment, thereby creating a supportive and conducive school climate; and (4) utilizing school artifacts such as logos, posters, school rituals, and facilities as mediums to reinforce values and school identity, supporting the sustainable internalization of a quality culture. These findings highlight that an integrative, culturally embedded, and internalization-oriented leadership approach is a key factor in sustaining educational quality culture, particularly in resource-constrained contexts.