Perceptions on Effectiveness of Heads of Schools Instructional Supervision on Teachers’ Performance in Secondary Schools in Ilala Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

Instructional supervision is a powerful tool to oversee teaching and learning process. The aim of the study was to investigate the extent to which heads of schools are effective in practicing instructional supervision in secondary schools in Ilala Municipality, Tanzania. The study was guided by path-goal theory. The sample for the study was 74 respondents. Data were collected using questionnaires for teachers and the school quality assurance officers; structured interview schedule was used to collect data from the heads of schools. The data were quantitatively analysed using descriptive statistics. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS ver. 20) was adopted for analysis of quantitative data. The findings were presented by way of frequencies, percentages, tables and figures. Independent t-test was used to test the hypothesis at significance level of 0.05. The findings revealed that instructional supervision of heads of schools was perceived positively by teachers as effective. The study established that the common hindrance to effective instructional supervision of heads of schools included lack of teaching and learning resources, financial constraints, lack of motivation for teachers, overcrowding of classes, lack of seminars and inservice training. From the findings, it was concluded that the challenges which were faced by heads of schools and teachers could be the cause of the low students’ performance in schools. The study recommended that, teaching and learning materials should be provided to schools; the government should build classrooms and employ more teachers to ease instructional challenge and post adequate teachers in secondary schools.