The Commonly Accepted Principles of Supervision - Article Example

Reaction Papers (5) Reaction Papers (5) Article Alexander, T. (1923). Principles of supervision of teachingin elementary schools. Peabody Journal of Education, 1.1 3-9. Summary This is an article about the principles that govern the supervision of elementary school teacher. The author of the article starts by endorsing one of the commonly accepted principles of supervision: when a director guides the work of teachers, their efficiency increases tremendously (Alexander, 1923). The authors note that the principle is widely accepted even though there exists very limited empirical evidence to support it. In addition, the empirical studies that have been conducted thus far are too narrow in scope to be meaningfully generalized. Based on the above principle, the author of the article sets forth the thesis that it is the duty of the person charged with supervising the teacher to clarify the goals of education and those of the school such that they are readily understandable to the teacher(Alexander , 1923). In a democratic school environment, those goals must be supported by a majority of the school community, of whom teachers are the most affected. The author argues that in the absence of clear goals, teachers will waste valuable time speculating what the school expects of them. They are also quick to add that while defining goals is the primary function of supervision, it is also the most difficult. The difficulty arises because while individuals within an institution have goals, the institution has none. As a result, in most cases, what is propagated as the goals of the institution are the goals of the members of the organization who have the greatest influence. Article 2 Armstrong, J., Gordon, M., & Hobbs, K. (1991). Who Supervises the Supervisor? A Group work Model for Supervision in Health Care Settings. Australian Social Work, 44.1 37-43. Summary Even though this article reports the findings of a study that involved a group of supervisors of social workers, its findings are relevant to supervision in education. All the supervisors involved in the study held positions that made them interact directly with their juniors. The study found that two needs cut across all the supervisors. First, they each needed the support of one another in the performance of their work(Armstrong, Gordon, & Hobbs, 1991). Most of them reported that their subordinates viewed them with suspicion and were uncooperative. The non-cooperation rendered their work lonely and difficult. As the principal is the main supervisor in a school setting, it would be helpful for them to network with their colleagues within and outside their school districts. Secondly, all the supervisors reported the need for a platform through which they could enhance their knowledge and skills of supervision(Armstrong, Gordon, & Hobbs, 1991). They formed into a group of fourteen supervisors drawn from three teaching hospitals based in Sydney, Australia. The group existed for six months during which they met once every month. At the end of the six months, all the participants reported an improvement in their supervisory knowledge and skills. Supervisors of teachers can borrow a leaf from this model of group-based learning to sharpen their supervisory skills. The model is especially effective as it enables the participants to share and learn from the experiences of one another. The method of learning is more effective compared to sitting in a classroom and being lectured on how to become a better supervisor. Article 3 Barnett, J., Youngstrom, J., & Smook, R. (2002). Clinical Supervision, Teaching, and Mentoring. The Clinical Supervisor, 20.2217-230. Summary The authors of this article believe that clinical supervisors and teachers play an important role in the professional development of students of mental health. The paper presents the personal views and experiences of a supervisor, a teacher and a student of mental health. The authors conclude that mentoring is especially important to the student (Barnett, Youngstrom, & Smook, 2002). Mentoring helps the student to put into practice the skills they have acquired in the classroom under the guidance of their mentor. However, the authors caution that for a mentorship program to be effective, the mentor and the mentee must have a good relationship between them. Once the rapport has been struck, it becomes possible for the two to share information that and will make the mentorship program a success. For instance, the mentor will discover how best the mentee learns and tailor their mentorship accordingly. The finding of the article on the importance of mentorship in professional development has relevance and significance in teacher supervision. For instance, schools can take advantage of their seasoned teachers by getting them to mentor their new teachers, especially those who are young and new to the teaching profession. However, for a mentorship program to be effective, it has to be structured (Armstrong, Gordon, & Hobbs, 1991). One way through which schools can have a structured mentorship program is by incorporating a mentorship program into their system of evaluating teachers. During the mentorship, new teachers are informed of what the school expects of them. At the same time, the supervisors should explain to the new employees the measures on which they are going to be evaluated. Once the teacher knows what is expected of them and does not have to speculate, they become more effective in their work. Article 4 Nowoweiski, D., Markovoski, J., & Nowoweiski, S. (2011). Web-Conference Supervision for Advanced Psychotherapy Training: A Practical Guide. Psychology, 48.2 109-118. Summary The authors of this article posit that the advent of video-conferencing has opened a new frontier in the training of psychotherapists. Video-conferencing allows directly supervised group learning and complements conventional classroom training(Nowoweiski, Markovoski, & Nowoweiski, 2011). The purpose of the article, according to the authors, is to describe existing literature on video-conference supervision, the practical considerations in applying the methods and its benefits and shortcomings. The authors claim that many of the empirical studies on video-conference supervision have tended to focus on the supervisor and the supervisee. Little research has been conducted on the effectiveness of the method and its outcome on the client. For instance, the available literature is silent on whether or not the approach affects clinical results. The authors proceed to identify the key considerations in deploying the method. They note that consent and confidentiality are the main considerations(Nowoweiski, Markovoski, & Nowoweiski, 2011). Before a psychotherapist records a treatment session on video, they must obtain permission from the patient to do so. Then, they must ensure the privacy of the patient according to the principle of confidentiality. On the benefits of the mode of supervision, the authors note that compared to conventional face-to-face supervision, supervision via video-conferencing is cost-effective, especially once the necessary hardware has been deployed. Supervision via video-conferencing is also effective as it allows the supervisor to pay personalized attention to the supervisee. The greatest setback of the method, according to the authors, is the issue of consent. Before a supervisor can record on video the proceedings of treatment session that then becomes learning material, they have to obtain the permission of the patient. As many clients are reluctant to have their sessions recorded, learning material can be limited. Article 5 Callicott, K., & Leadbeater, J. (2013). An investigation of factors involved when educational psychologists supervise other professionals. Educational Psychology in Practice: theory, research and practice in educational psychology, 29.4383-403. Summary This article discusses a study on inter-professional supervision. The study entailed an educational psychologist supervising a professional in a different field. Six educational psychologists evaluated the work of four different professionals. Both the supervisors and the supervisees were selected through purposive sampling. Ten semi-structured interviews were administered online, transcribed and analyzed thematically. According to the researchers, inter-professional supervision was viewed favorably. However, the participants questioned the modalities of effecting that type of supervision (Callicott & Leadbeater, 2013). Even though the conclusions of the authors are not exhaustive, the concept of inter-professional is worth trying in the education sector. The main advantage of this type of supervision is that when a teacher is supervised by a "disinterested" supervisor from a different profession, the outcome of the process is likely to be more objective (Callicott & Leadbeater, 2013). The existing order where the principal supervises and evaluates teachers is prone to conflicting interests. Many of the systems that schools use to evaluate teachers do not provide a way out for the teacher who is aggrieved by the evaluation report of the principal. References Alexander, T. (1923). Principles of supervision of teaching in elementary schools. Peabody Journal of Education, 1.13-9. Armstrong, J., Gordon, M., & Hobbs, K. (1991). Who Supervises the Supervisor? A Group work Model for Supervision in Health Care Settings. Australian Social Work, 44.1 37-43. Barnett, J., Youngstrom, J., & Smook, R. (2002). Clinical Supervision, Teaching, and Mentoring. The Clinical Supervisor, 20.2217-230. Callicott, K., & Leadbeater, J. (2013). An investigation of factors involved when educational psychologists supervise other professionals. Educational Psychology in Practice: theory, research and practice in educational psychology,29.4383-403. Nowoweiski, D., Markovoski, J., & Nowoweiski, S. (2011). Web-Conference Supervision for Advanced Psychotherapy Training: A Practical Guide. Psychology, 48.2 109-118. Read More