Abstract
Introduction: Within Portuguese schools the Head of Department is an intermediate manager, a supervisor and a leader who must be capable of playing a leading role and demonstrating the appropriate communicative skills so that he can mobilize the teachers who are part of his team to fulfill their educational ideals. For this reason, pedagogical supervision takes on a prominent role in the activities he has to develop. Objectives: To know how teachers at the several levels of education, other than that of Higher Education, perceive head of department’s performance within the current Portuguese school organization and of some factors that can influence that performance, notably the specialized training in pedagogical/instructional supervision. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional methodology was used using a survey carried out through the application of a questionnaire. The sample was composed of 106 teachers from all academic departments who were working in a school grouping located in the Viseu district. The data collected were subject to a descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results: The teachers seem to value the promotion of an articulated work between the different teachers of the academic department to which they belong and between teachers from different departments, the creation of encouragement actions that would foster a reflection on their teaching practices and an openness to change and innovation. They also consider that the Head of Department should promote collaborative work, as well as generate and share knowledge. However, they state that the Head of Department’s workload and the consequent lack of time to respond to all requests that his position requires may have a negative influence on his performance. Conclusions: The Heads of Academic Department should assume the need for training in their activity to ensure legitimacy and credibility in the most wide-ranging aspects and dimensions, both at a personal/relational level, and at a professional level.
Highlights
Within Portuguese schools the Head of Department is an intermediate manager, a supervisor and a leader who must be capable of playing a leading role and demonstrating the appropriate communicative skills so that he can mobilize the teachers who are part of his team to fulfill their educational ideals
The results show that teachers in general consider that specialized training in pedagogical supervision is not a factor that can contribute to the improvement of the Head of Department’s performance
The criteria to which teachers attach more relevance when the time comes to elect this intermediate manager, are all related to professional characteristics that are fundamental to allow for a good performance and are in accordance with the competencies that are assigned to the Head of Department and to the pedagogical supervisor by the current legal documents
Summary
Within Portuguese schools the Head of Department is an intermediate manager, a supervisor and a leader who must be capable of playing a leading role and demonstrating the appropriate communicative skills so that he can mobilize the teachers who are part of his team to fulfill their educational ideals For this reason, pedagogical supervision takes on a prominent role in the activities he has to develop. Taking into account the different functions assigned to the Head of Department, both by legal requirements (Decree-Law n.o 75/2008, of April, 22nd as amended by Decree-Law n.o 224/2009, of September 11 and by Decree-Law n.o 137/2012, of July 2), and locally, according to the regulations of each of the schools in the current educational system (middle manager, supervisor and leader), it is clear that he has to take on that responsibility and has to master a wide range of communicative skills, always using a reflective and collaborative strategy, if he wants to inspire the teachers who belong to his academic department to achieve common educational ideals. With this research we wish, to achieve the following fundamental objectives: to understand the teachers’ perception of the Head of Department’s performance and, to find out their perception of the kind of factors that can influence this performance, mainly those which are related to specialized training in Pedagogical supervision
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Millenium - Journal of Education, Technologies, and Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
