Instructional Supervisors Research Articles

Components in Lesson Planning for Secondary School Teachers in Tanzania: Implications for Supervision and Teachers’ Training

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to identify specific components of a lesson plan that teachers struggle to design. Methodology. The study used a qualitative research approach and an exploratory case study design. The criterion-purposeful sampling technique was employed to select eighteen (18) participants from six public secondary schools in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. The study participants comprised six heads of secondary schools, six internal school quality assurance officers, and six teachers. Through semi-structured interviews and document reviews, data on specific components of the lesson plan that teachers find challenging to design was collected. The reviewed documents included school performance evaluation reports (SPERs) and lesson plans. The researchers employed thematic analysis methods. The study also followed all necessary principles of research ethics, including obtaining participants’ consent and employing pseudonyms. Results. The study found that teachers were struggling in formulating a coherent statement of specific lesson objectives, teaching and learning materials, and teaching and learning activities. The study also demonstrated that teachers faced difficulties in selecting effective teaching and learning approach, establishing assessment criteria, and conducting proper lesson evaluation. Conclusion. We conclude that inadequate design of one component of the lesson plan negatively affects the overall quality of the lesson plan, the delivery of lessons in the classroom, and the quality of education. Therefore, instructional supervisors and teacher trainers must take immediate action to assist teachers in developing lesson planning skills. This endeavour will not only result in improved lesson planning and delivery by teachers, but it will also contribute to an overall improvement in student learning and educational quality.

Head teachers’ Instructional Training and Instructional Supervisory Challenges in the Implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum in Public Primary Schools in Kisii Central Sub-County

Head teachers’ Instructional Training and Instructional Supervisory Challenges in the Implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum in Public Primary Schools in Kisii Central Sub-County

RELEVANCE OF INFORMATIVE MANAGEMENT AND TEACHING METHODS IN TEACHING GRADE SIX: A QUALITATIVE APPROACH

The main purpose of this study was to discover the relevance of informative management and teaching methods used by teachers who are currently teaching in elementary schools. This study will focus on the commitment of the teachers to teaching students and how they boost perseverance in achieving their goals. The decreasing number of students and increasing accountability to the public challenge in the Philippines is the sustainable development of schools. Schools must provide quality education to attract students and maintain their brand. For sustainable development, leaders are expected to strengthen the professional competency of teachers and staff, formulate strategic plans, and build collaborative relationships with external parties to manage change. Principals, as instructional leaders, are primarily responsible for promoting effective teaching implementation. Effective principals continually engage teachers in instructional dialog and reflective practices to ensure that they are thoroughly equipped to improve student performance. Effective principals are aware of the varied instructional strategies that directly or indirectly improve teachers’ professional development. When teachers are not well supervised, effectiveness in instruction will be adversely affected and the instructional purposes may not be well realized. Negligence in the improvement of instruction through improper instructional supervisory practices by school heads may go on without being detected. This may lead to low quality of instruction and invariably teachers’ lack of commitment to their job. Nowadays, parents and guardians of students are becoming more curious about the kind of education given to their children and wards. Quite often, they show their concern by demanding that the school should teach better than in the past. KEYWORDS: Relevance, informative, management, teaching methods, grade 6, qualitative, approach

Professional Development, School-based Management Implementation, and Organizational Support on Instructional Supervisory Practices of School Administrators

The study developed a structural model on the professional development, school-based management practices, and organizational support on level of competence in instructional supervision of school administrators. Descriptive-correlational and structural-comparative research design were used in this study. Five hundred one (501) school administrators in Divisions of Region X were chosen as participants of the study in the school year 2023-2024. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentage, means, correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses, and structural equation model. Professional development, school-based management practices, and organizational support in the context of educational administration. The indicators examined include professional development activities such as trainings/seminars, self-efficacy, and attainment of advance degrees. Additionally, school-based management practices encompass leadership and governance, curriculum and instruction, accountability, continuous improvement, and management of resources. Lastly, organizational support is evaluated through aspects such as training and development opportunities, performance review and appraisal systems, merit-based promotion schemes, and incentives and awards systems. The best predictor on the instructional supervision of school administrators is organizational support for training and development significantly predicts the outcome variable. Higher levels of organizational support are associated with increased training and development opportunities, highlighting the importance of supportive organizational practices in facilitating employee growth and development. KEYWORDS: Instructional Supervisory Practice, professional development, School-Based Management Implementation, Organizational Support

CHALLENGES OF ELEMENTARY TEACHERS IN TEACHING ENGLISH: INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISION AND PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES IN FOCUS

The main purpose of this study is to discover the instructional supervision and pedagogical practices as major strategies used by teachers who are currently teaching in the elementary schools. This study will focus on the commitment of the teachers to teaching elementary students and how they boost perseverance in achieving their goals in teaching English. The decreasing number of students and increasing accountability to the public challenge in the Philippines is the sustainable development of schools. Schools must provide quality education to attract students and maintain their brand. For sustainable development, leaders are expected to strengthen the professional competency of teachers and staff, formulate strategic plans, and build collaborative relationships with external parties to manage change. Principals, as instructional leaders, are primarily responsible for promoting effective teaching implementation. Effective principals continually engage teachers in instructional dialog and reflective practices to ensure that they are thoroughly equipped to improve student performance. Effective principals are aware of the varied instructional strategies that directly or indirectly improve teachers professional development. When teachers are not well supervised, effectiveness in instruction will be adversely affected and the instructional purposes may not be well realized. Negligence in the improvement of instruction through improper instructional supervisory practices by school heads may go on without being detected. This may lead to low quality of instruction and invariably teachers lack of commitment to their job. KEYWORDS: Instructional supervision, pedagogical practices, challenges, elementary teacher

Implementing Instructional Supervisory Responsibilities in Tanzanian Public Secondary Schools: To What Extent Do Head of Schools Perform their Duty

The provision of quality education, among other things, depends on the role played by school heads in handling administrative duties such as the supervision of teachers, who are the key players in curriculum implementation. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which heads of schools discharge their instructional supervisory roles to enhance teachers’ performance in the daily teaching and learning processes. The study was carried out in the Lindi region, Tanzania Mainland in 2021. This study applied mixed methods where both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. The study sample comprised of teachers (N=103), heads of schools (N=57) and class masters (N=11) from 57 randomly selected public secondary schools. Data was collected through questionnaires, focus group discussions and interviews. Data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches where quantitatively researcher employed descriptive and inferential statistics and presented results with frequencies and percentages. Qualitatively a researcher employed a thematic analysis method for identifying and reporting patterns/themes in the data. The study findings revealed that heads of schools failed to discharge their instructional supervisory responsibilities, as teachers were not punctual in attending to schools. There was no regular checking of teachers’ professional records except once in the year or by school inspectors. Heads of schools did not supervise teachers on how effectively they could handle students’ assessments. Noted was also a lack of instructional resources in schools. For improvement of the provision of quality education it is recommended that heads of schools effectively discharge their duties and where their setbacks, like lack of accommodation around the school, few teachers and lack of instructional resources, they should contact relevant bodies from both government and non-government sectors work together in making friendly teaching environment. Moreover, heads of schools encourage teachers’ creativity in using improvised local resources whenever and wherever possible.

The Mediating Role of Teachers’ Attitudes toward Instructional Supervision in the Association between Instructional Supervisory Practice and Teachers’ Job Performance

The school needs to pay instructional supervision considerable attention to implement better teaching-learning procedures that will result in a more effective education. These procedures ought to remain democratic and cooperative. The attitude of the teachers toward supervision influences the outcomes of the supervision process. Therefore, in the context of secondary schools in Ethiopia's Dembecha area, this study sought to explore the mediating effect of teacher attitude to instructional supervision in the relationship between job performance and instructional supervisory practice. A mixed research design that was convergent parallel was utilized. Using comprehensive sampling, all four principals, two secondary school supervisors, and three hundred teachers participated in the study. Consequently, the study discovered that although teachers' work performance was at a moderate level, the status of instructional supervisory practice and their attitudes about it were at a low level. There were positive, significant, and moderate levels of correlation between instructional supervisory practice, teachers' attitudes toward instructional supervision, and teachers' job performance. Finally, the study revealed that teachers' attitude toward instructional supervision has a mediating impact on the association between instructional supervisory practice and job performance. In terms of practical applications, this study supports educators and school administrators in recognizing the benefits and drawbacks of instructional supervision and in implementing corrective actions to address the issues secondary schools encounter. Secondary schools’ instructional supervision practices need to be improved further to be widely accepted by teachers and put into practice.

From High Discipline Referrals to High-Engagement Classrooms: A Design-Based Approach to Creating a Campus-Wide Culture of Positive Learning Support for At-Risk Student Populations through Transforming Educators’ Instructional Teaming Practices

Instructional leaders in many school districts throughout the United States are increasingly confronted with spiraling numbers of discipline referrals from teachers who are unable to manage the off-task behaviors and discipline infractions of the growing percentages of diverse, academically at-risk students populating their classrooms. Many of these at-risk students, who come from families that are economically disadvantaged and have culturally rich and linguistically diverse backgrounds, have become stigmatized and minoritized by an education system whose curricula are often woefully inadequate in being able to meet the unique social and academic support needs of these diverse learners. This article profiles how one high school principal and his instructional turnaround leadership task force colleagues working in a high diversity urban school district utilized multi-leveled data analysis investigative thinking and innovative professional learning program design strategies derived from the education improvement science literature to implement a comprehensive intervention program for ninth through twelfth grade teams of core content teachers and their instructional supervisors. The specific goals of the intervention program were to: 1) change educators’ entrenched pedagogical thinking and instructional planning mindsets regarding the motivation levels and learning capabilities of the high discipline referral students who regularly engage in off-task disruptive behaviors in their classrooms; and 2) transform teachers’ instructional data teaming practices to better serve the academic learning support needs of the campus’s minoritized students. The design-based approach to instructional improvement employed in the high school case study leveraged the use of multiple cycles of new knowledge and skills acquisition, critical self-reflection, and immersive professional learning to assist educators in exploring how to engage together in authentic data teaming and data analysis–informed differentiated instructional planning to craft high-engagement classroom learning environments and interactive instructional units to effectively address the academic development and support needs of the campus’s diverse, at-risk learners.

Instructional Leadership Behaviours as Correlate Instructional Practices

The objectives of the study were to determine instructional leadership behaviour commonly practiced by heads, establish relationship between heads instructional leadership behaviours and teachers’ instructional practices. One research question and two hypotheses were raised to guide the study. The study employed descriptive survey design. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the teachers. A sample of 96 teachers was drawn from three senior high schools. Questionnaire was used to gather data from respondents. The overall reliability coefficient of 0.82 was obtained from the pre-testing of the instrument. Data were analyzed using means and standard deviations, Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and standard multiple regression. The results were discussed in relation to the literature. Findings revealed that heads commonly evaluate and supervise instruction. The study established significant and positive relationship between leadership behaviours and teachers’ instructional practices. It was therefore, recommended that Ghana Education Service should accelerate its efforts by providing the needed support for instructional supervisory activities of heads to enable them promote effective instructional delivery of teachers. It was again, recommended that heads should reinforce the use of evaluating and supervising instruction by regularly visiting classrooms to make teachers more effective in lesson delivery.

Influence of Principals’ Instructional Supervisory Practices on Learners’ Academic Performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Kisii County, Kenya

Influence of Principals’ Instructional Supervisory Practices on Learners’ Academic Performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Kisii County, Kenya

Influence of Principals’ Instructional Supervisory Practices on Teacher Motivation in Secondary Schools in Turkana West, Turkana County Kenya

The study investigated on the influence of principals’ supervisory practices on teacher motivation in secondary schools in Turkana West Sub County. Embedded design was adopted. The target population comprised of all; secondary schools, principals, board of management, teachers and field education officers. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used. Data was collected using focused group discussions, in-depth interviews guides and questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data was analyzed using transcription, coding, categorizing and coming up with themes. The study results revealed that principals’ supervisory practices had positive correlation to teacher motivation. It further established that positive effect of the principals’ supervisory practices on teacher motivation were impeded by financial constraints faced by principals. The study recommended that principals should adopt clinical and collegial supervisory practices. That principals should involve teachers in collective goal setting as well as awarding outstanding teachers’ performance. The study also recommended that principals should initiate income generating projects in schools and involve parents’ teachers’ association in raising funds to ease financial constraints that impede supervisory practices that mitigate on teacher motivation.

Determining Whether Gender of External Instructional Supervisors Influence Public Secondary School Teachers’ Performance in Ndhiwa Sub-county, Homabay County

In the recent past, external instructional supervision of teachers has been known to have an impact on the student’s performance and more especially on the KCSE performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of external instructional supervision on public secondary school teachers’ performance in the Ndhiwa sub-county. The researcher believes that the process of supervision is a collaboration among the stakeholders in Education. The researcher used simple random sampling to select 15 public secondary schools, 15 secondary school principals and 103 teachers; purposive sampling was used to automatically select instructional supervisors (one QASO and one TSC sub-county director) from the Ndhiwa sub-county. Questionnaires were used as a data collection instrument for teachers, principals, and supervisors (QASO) and an interview guide for the TSC sub-county director. The data collected was subjected to the statistical package for social sciences to generate descriptive statistics. Thematic analysis was also carried out on the qualitative data. The study established that teachers’ performance is improved if the supervisor is usually warm and friendly to teachers, always assists the teacher where they go wrong, and often tries to be fair, firm, open and transparent in their dealings with teachers. The study established that supervisors always possess the necessary problem-solving skills, skills to observe teachers, skills for designing instruments for evaluation and whether supervisors help schools promote peace among staff and students. The study established that supervisors visiting school could easily improve cooperation with teachers by giving guidance and advice; teachers regarded them as professional colleagues and not as subordinates or inferiors

Exploring English Language Supervisors’ Competencies from Kuwaiti Student Teachers’ Perspectives: A Study in the College of Basic Education (CBE)

Supervision is an integral part of the language teacher education process which plays a significant role in improving teachers’ teaching practice. This study explores Kuwaiti English as a foreign language (EFL) female student teachers’ perspective on the performance of their supervisors during the practicum course. It sought to explore the general perspectives associated with supervisors’ supervision competencies with the view to informing improvements to their instructional supervisory skills. 50 EFL female student teachers from CBE participated in the study. Using a case study approach, a combination of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews was used to generate answers to the research questions. The questionnaire findings suggested that student teachers generally have positive attitudes towards their supervisors’ competencies; however, interviews with participants have shed light on various issues that need to be considered. For example, supervisors’ feedback often focuses on participants’ Content Knowledge (CK) rarely addressing their Pedagogical Content knowledge (PCK). In addition, student-teachers stated that their relationships with their supervisors tended to be formal and authoritative, which prevented them from asking questions freely. This article discusses these findings in detail and highlights some practical implications that are likely to help EFL supervisors to enhance their supervisory practices.

School Heads’ Instructional Supervisory Skills and Teachers’ Performance

The instructional supervisory skills of school heads and the teachers' performance are crucial in fostering a culture of excellence, continuous improvement, and student success within educational institutions. Effective instructional supervision supports teachers in meeting their professional goals, enhances the overall quality of teaching and learning, and contributes to achieving organizational objectives. In this context, this study aimed to determine the instructional, and supervisory skills of public elementary school heads in district IV-B, division of Bacolod City, during the school year 2022-2023. Data for this descriptive study was collected from 139 respondents using a self-made survey questionnaire that has passed the rigorist tests of validity and reliability. The findings indicate a high level of instructional supervisory skills among school heads, consistent performance across demographics, and notable excellence in teachers' performance. Moreover, instructional supervisory skills and teachers' performance remained consistent across most variables, although differences were observed in teachers' performance based on position and educational attainment. Additionally, no significant correlation was found between instructional supervisory skills and teachers' performance. The results call for school heads to prioritize fostering a learning culture through workshops and mentorship programs, encouraging teachers to pursue advanced degrees to elevate their capabilities, and ensuring that schools stay updated with best practices, fostering effective leadership and ultimately enhancing teaching effectiveness across the organization.

Head Teachers’ Instructional Supervisory Practices and Teachers’ Motivation in Teaching

The study determined the relationship between Government Secondary school head teachers’ instructional supervisory practices and teachers’ motivation in teaching. The study was correlational and survey technique was used for data collection. The population of the study was all the male and female head teachers and teachers working in the Government Secondary schools of District Sargodha.

Instructional Supervisory Engagement of Public Elementary School Heads in the Flexible Learning Environment

This study ascertained the instructional supervisory engagement of public elementary school heads in the flexible learning environment in the Division of Batangas. It determined the profile of the school heads in terms of highest educational attainment, length of service, related training attended, and ICT literacy. More so, it also identified the school head’s functional level of instructional engagement along with content knowledge and pedagogy, curriculum planning, assessment and reporting, and learning environment. It sought to find out the extent of the manifestation of adaptive leadership skills of school heads. Further, it assessed the relationship of the school heads’ profile with the functional level of instructional engagement and the extent of manifestation of leadership skills and the relationship between the school heads’ level of instructional engagement and the extent of manifestation of adaptive leadership skills to propose a supervisory instructional plan. Meanwhile, the study used a descriptive research design that involved 235 school heads and 380 teachers from public elementary schools in the Schools Division of Batangas Province. Survey questionnaires, focus group discussions, and interviews were used as data-gathering tools. Results revealed that school heads are strongly acquainted with the teaching profession and leadership as manifested in their profile. They have high functional engagement in content knowledge and pedagogy, curriculum planning, assessment and reporting, and in learning environments. Further, no association was found between the respondents’ highest educational attainment, length of service and the functional level of instructional engagement, and the manifestation of leadership skills. Whereas, a number of related training attended showed a relationship between content knowledge and pedagogy same as true with the ICT literacy associated with curriculum planning, communication, and in human relations the rest of the components revealed no significant relationship. Keywords: instructional supervisory plan, flexible environment, new normal, school heads

Principal as Instructional Supervisor: Role of Supervisory Practices in Professional Development of APS&CS and FGEIS Teachers

The process of supervision directly impacts teachers and students in a school. The current study revolved around the comparison of instructional supervision practices carried out by the principals of APS&Cs and FGEIs in Pakistan and its impact on professional development of teachers. A quantitative approach was used to conduct the current study. Sampling was carried out through multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. The study comprised 600 teachers and 120 principals from APS&Cs and FGEIs. The data was collected through questionnaires and the reliability was .871 and .766 respectively. Statistical techniques for instance, t-test, standard deviation, and mean were used for the analysis of acquired data. The findings of the study revealed that the concept of supervision is a much broader phenomenon than inspection. Moreover, it is the duty of the heads of institutions to develop interactive, healthy, and accommodating environment for teachers. The principals need to utilize available resources in institutions in such a way that it results in overall enhancement of teaching-learning process. Moreover, the head of institutions should collaborate and guide the teachers. It would help the teachers to reinforce their competencies in field of teaching which would ultimately result in overall performance.

Leader Developers: Perspectives of Mentor Principals in an Administrator Preparation Program

Principal preparation programs use various components to develop candidates, including course work, core assessments, and field-based internships or practicums. The internship represents an exceptionally high leverage learning opportunity (Lochmiller, 2014). The success of the internship depends highly on the abilities of a mentor via informal instructional supervision. Mette (2020) explains that supervision has a potential transformational quality. This study explores mentorships in a university principal preparation program through the mentor’s perspective. We interviewed a sample of mentors nominated as effective by peer and program informants. We learned that mentors were deliberate in developing three specific skills -- metacognitive ability, developmental efficacy, and learning-oriented goal setting. Mentor principals described these three elements as paramount to master before becoming a principal. We discuss implications for principal preparation programs to use mentors as informal instructional supervisors and develop highly effective school principals.

Challenges Encountered by School Heads in Carrying out Instructional Supervisory Activities in Public Secondary Schools in Lindi Region-Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges heads of schools encounter while carrying out their instructional supervisory activities in schools. The study conducted in Lindi region, Tanzania Mainland. Creswell (2014) elaborates, “mixed-methods research involves the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data, integrating the two forms of data using a distinct design with philosophical assumptions as well as the theoretical framework”. The study used descriptive design in which qualitative and quantitative approaches were involved. The study sample comprised of teachers (N=114), heads of schools (N=57) from 57 randomly selected secondary schools. Data collected through questionnaires, focus group discussion and interview. The study findings revealed several challenges encountered by heads of schools while carrying out their instructional supervisory activities in public secondary schools in Lindi Region. The challenges identified by this study included; multiple responsibilities, lack of qualification, negative attitude of teachers toward supervision, inadequate training among heads of schools and large number of teachers as well as poor communication skills. Heads of schools have to be relieved with multiple responsibilities by school boards. The study recommends leadership training to heads of schools, establishment of good communication system through which teachers will not consider supervision negatively. Moreover, provision of awareness seminars to teachers on the importance of supervision. As for further research, the study recommends the comparative study involving a number of heads of schools to determine the role of an individual head of school in effective supervision at school.

The Perceptions of Instructional Supervisors about Instructional Supervision Developments and Challenges in the Sultanate of Oman: A Qualitative Study

هدفت الدراسة إلى إجراء استقصاء نوعي لتصورات عينة من المشرفين التربويين والمشرفين الأوائل وقيادات الإشراف في سلطنة عمان، عن واقع الإشراف التربوي بسلطنة عمان، من حيث مظاهر التطوير التي شهدتها المنظومة في ظل التجديدات التربوية الحالية، بالإضافة إلى التحديات التي ما زالت تعيق المشرفين التربويين عن تحقيق أهداف العملية الإشرافية على النحو المطلوب. جُمعت بياناتُ الدراسة من خلال مقابلات جماعية مع أفراد العينة الذين بلغ عددهم (60) فردًا من خمس محافظات، هي: مسقط، وظفار، وجنوب الباطنة، وشمال الشرقية، ومسندم، وقد أشارت النتائج إلى وجود عدد من التغييرات الإيجابية التي اعتبرها المشاركون تطويرًا للعملية الإشرافية، مثل التنويع في الأساليب الإشرافية، وتمكين المعلم الأول بوصفِه مشرفًا مقيمًا، وتوظيف التكنولوجيا في العملية الإشرافية، وتطوير تدريب المشرفين التربويين، إلا أن النتائج أظهرت أيضًا عددًا من التحديات التي يرى المشاركون أنها تعيق منظومة الإشراف عن تحقيق أهدافها، منها: تحديات إدارية وتنظيمية، وتحديات مالية ومادية، وتحديات فنية. وقد انتهت الدراسة بتقديم عدد من التوصيات لتطوير منظومة الإشراف التربوي في سلطنة عمان.