School-based supervision enhances the professional development of teachers

Abstract

The issue addressed in the study reported on here was the establishment of a clinical school-based model of supervision which was pragmatic and developmental-oriented for the professional development of teachers, a concept currently advocated by the supervisory corps. Since a mixed methods approach was used in the study, a closed-ended 3-point Likert-type questionnaire (1 to 31) was used to collect quantitative data with one question (32), gathering qualitative from 102 respondents who were purposively and systematically selected. The developmental aspect embedded in the school-based supervisory model demands that the process is constant and continuous, ruling out traditional supervisory models which demanded more control, compliance, predictability and accountability. Consequently, this would render the traditional inspectorate teams redundant. Supervisors armed with various models of supervision would be compelled to adopt an eclectic approach to supervision contingent to the situation.

Keywords: appraisal; autocratic; clinical; evaluation; models; professional development; supervisee; supervisor