School administrators’ opinions about competencies of inspectors of primary school

Abstract

It seems significant for proper operation of control system to determine primary school administrators’ opinions regarding the competencies of inspectors of primary schools who supervise them. The purpose of this study is to determine school administrators’ opinions regarding the competencies of inspectors of primary school. The population of the study consists of school administrators in official primary schools in Tokat during the school year 2007–2008. 131 primary schools and 390 school administrators were determined through cluster sampling, 229 of school administrators participated in the study and 143 of them expressed their opinions regarding the competencies of inspectors of primary school. The study used case study, one of qualitative research models, and data were analyzed through descriptive analysis. School administrators’ opinions about the competencies of inspectors of primary school were arranged in themes. In addition, the opinions were coded in accordance with their owners and their frequencies were calculated. It has been concluded that school administrators’ opinions regarding the competencies of inspectors are counseling-oriented rather than being control-based and they are mostly towards developing in-service educational activities. In accordance with these conclusions, it has been recommended that competency-based programs should be prioritized in inspectors’ in-service educational activities, and activities should be arranged in order to develop their humanistic abilities as well as the knowledge about regulations.