SUPERVISION OF INSTRUCTION AND TEACHERS TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS

SUPERVISION OF INSTRUCTION AND TEACHERS TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

Instructional supervision is a constant process that aims at improving teaching by providing needed services to teachers. Improving teaching is a complex process in which many elements should interact. Teachers are at the center of this improvement process. Their acceptance of instructional supervision and interaction with instructional supervisors provide the catalyst for any supervisory success. 

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Supervision has its origin from the Latin word “Super video” meaning “to oversee” (Adenaike and Adebanjo, 2000). Therefore, “Supervision can be seen as a way of advising, guiding, refreshing, encouraging, stimulating, improving and overseeing certain groups with the hope of persuading people to desist from applying wrong procedures in carrying out certain functions on their jobs and at the same time try to emphasize the importance of good human relations in an organization” (Akilaiya, 2001). Supervision as a concept has diverse meanings and definitions on the individual’s needs, purposes and experiences. The school supervisor perceives it as an indispensable force for improved productivity. The teacher and or the taught being supervised might view supervision as an attempt to harass or threaten because of the use of the traditional approach of supervision by supervisors whereas supervision is a source of assistance and support needed in realizing the educational goals and objectives.

Educational supervision according to Akilaiya (2001) is the process or act of seeing to it that the policies, principles, and methods established for achieving the objectives of education are properly and successfully carried out. This process involves using expert knowledge and experience to oversee, evaluate and cooperatively improve the conditions and methods of doing things connected with the teaching-learning problems in schools.

The need to supervise the instructional process cannot be overemphasized; hence Ezeocha (2005) is of the view that most of the school's activities and all the school programs require supervision. Supervision of instruction is a process of assisting the teachers to improve themselves and their instructional abilities so as to enhance effective teaching and learning. It is a service rendered to teachers who are directed towards controlling the quality of their classroom instruction. Supervision of instruction aims at identifying areas of work that need to be improved upon. Oraemesi (2007) asserted that supervision of instruction is important for a number of reasons. To him; “the supervisee learns during supervision since the supervisor is more knowledgeable, he corrects and advises the supervisee. This is done through friendly interaction. It also enhances the personal professional growth of the teacher since the interaction and greater knowledge gained at supervision promotes personal growth”.

Consequently, due to the high cost of education, stakeholders are becoming increasingly interested in the school system. They monitor the teachers and their wards’ activities critically to ensure that adequate teaching and learning activities take place. Thus Parents Teachers Association monitors the activities within the school and constitutes part of the team involved directly in supervision. In the process of teaching and learning, some variables sometimes interfere with the plans and patterns of operation within the school that can be harmful to the attainment of set goals. Such variables include the teacher’s personality, his attitude to work, motivation, discipline, student’s background and the environment which will have either a positive or negative influence on the school system and education at large.

Instructional Supervision can be done either through internal supervisors who are Heads of schools, their assistants, and the Heads of departments, or through External supervisors who are resource persons and consultants like University professors, education researchers, curriculum consultants and designated officials from the Primary School Management Board. If it is effective instructional supervision there is a greater possibility of achieving the set goals. On the other hand defective instructional supervision or poor instructional supervision will impede the successful implementation of the school program. Instructional supervision is a great determinant of a school’s quality; it can affect it either positively or negatively.

Effective instructional supervision of schools ensures the proper functioning and mutual interaction of all persons and materials involved in the processing of a child and harmonizes the efforts of all designated school personnel. When all resources (human, physical and material) are in place, the need to monitor the operations within the school system by all interested groups would be an effective way of getting the best out of the school system. Teaching and learning are the major activities going on within the school; there is, therefore, the need to supervise these major activities for efficiency and effectiveness. The positive influence of supervision of instruction brings about the actualization of the objectives of education and a negative perception will stampede it.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

The ability of teachers to render co-operative effort willingly determines the extent to which schools will achieve their goals and objectives. This is so because it is the teacher on whose shoulder lay the actual work of pedagogy and the attainment of educational results.

Wu and Short (2006) asserted that some teachers cannot perform their jobs creditably without being effectively supervised to ascertain whether their performance meets the required standard. Teachers especially those in primary schools are expected to prepare lesson notes, teach the pupils, and evaluate their performance during and at the end of the term. The extent to which teachers carry-out these functions depends on how effective their supervisors/heads perform their instructional supervisory roles. Such roles include checking on teachers’ lesson notes, the scheme of work, pupils’ attendance register, lesson delivery observation, and others.

However, it has been observed in the study area that there is laxity on the part of teachers in their professional role performance. Many teachers are merely staying on the job to look for better jobs outside. Also, there are constant cases of absenteeism, persistent lateness to school, irregular and unauthorized movement from duty post and other forms of indiscipline which constitute a big problem to the attainment of educational goals in primary schools. This, therefore, necessitates the need to carry out this study to establish if there is any relationship between supervision of instruction and teachers’ teaching effectiveness in Etinan Local Government Area.

1.3       Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between supervision of instruction and teachers’ teaching effectiveness in Etinan Local Government Area.

Specifically, the study intends to:

                    i.                        Examine the relationship between supervision of the method of teaching and teachers’ teaching effectiveness.

                  ii.                        Examine the relationship between supervision of instructional materials utilization and teachers’ teaching effectiveness.

                iii.                        Examine the relationship between supervision of evaluation strategies and teachers teaching effectiveness.

1.4       Significance of the study

Examining the relationship between supervision of instruction and teacher’s teaching effectiveness will be of great significance to the teachers, schools’ management, education board, and other researchers interested in supervision of instruction in the following ways.

i.                    The study will help improve the supervision process in schools.

ii.                  The findings of this study will help teachers to understand and appreciate the importance of supervision of instruction on effective classroom performance, and that instructional supervisors are there to assist them and not to harass them.

iii.                This study will help the schools’ management to have an understanding of the roles of instructional supervision on teacher’s class performance, and will also help them realize that supervision of instruction can make or mar school activities.

iv.                Also, it will help the school management to know the extent to which attendance to conference and seminars improve teachers’ classroom performance.

v.                  This study will serve as an eye opener to the Authorities of Education (i.e. Education Board) most especially instructional supervisors in that it will help them to understand that their ways of supervising have a great influence on teachers’ teaching effectiveness,

vi.                The findings will also help other researchers to understand better supervision of instruction and help in their researches. It will also assist them in their review of empirical studies as well as contribute to the existing theories and works on supervision of instruction.

1.5       Research Questions

The following research questions were posed to collect data for the study:

                          i.                  To what extent does supervision of method of teaching relates to the teacher’s teaching effectiveness?

                        ii.                  To what extent does supervision of instructional materials utilization relates to teachers teaching effectiveness?

                      iii.                  To what extent does supervision of evaluation strategies related to teacher’s teaching effectiveness?

1.6       Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

i.                    There is no significant relationship between supervision of method of teaching and teacher’s teaching effectiveness.

ii.                  There is no significant relationship between supervision of instructional materials utilization and teacher’s teaching effectiveness.

iii.                There is no significant relationship between the supervision of evaluation strategies and teacher’s teaching effectiveness.

1.7       Limitation of the Study        

The major challenges encountered during the course of the study were: -

(i)                 Shortage of finance to extend the study, and

(ii)               Short span for the completion of the study coupled with other academic activities in the school.

1.8       Delimitation of the Study

The delimitation of this study covered Etinan Local Government Area involving all the Primary schools (both pre-primary and primary). The investigations focused on finding out how instructional supervision help teachers to improve their methods of teaching, use relevant instructional materials and evaluate learning outcome.

1.9       Definition of Terms

Supervision: This is defined as all efforts designated school officials directed towards providing leadership to teachers and other educational workers in the improvement of instruction, involving the stimulation of professional growth and development of teachers, the selection and revision of education objectives, materials of instruction and method of teaching, and the evaluation of instruction.

Instruction: This is the learning materials and experiences presented by the teacher to the student with the objective that learning should take place in students.

Effectiveness: This is the act of producing an intended result or outcome.

Instructional supervision: This is a process in education of which the primary purpose is to support and sustain all teachers in their goal of career, long growth and development, which ultimately results in quality instruction.

Teacher: This is the one who presents instruction or learning materials and experiences to learners in a formal school situation and conducts them so that learning can take place.