Assessing the effects of instructional supervision training on principals

Principals are expected to assume responsibility for improving teachers' instructional performance. Unfortunately, the quality of that leadership is seriously questioned by both teachers and principals. There is little evidence that classroom supervision as it is most often conceived has had any appreciable effect on improving the process of teaching and learning in the schools. The problem addressed by this study is the proficiency with which principals offer leadership in implementing and conducting assessments that provide specific information necessary for the identification of teacher strengths and weaknesses and appropriate guidance for instructional improvement. This research was designed to determine the effectiveness of an instructional supervision training program for school principals. The subjects were assistant principals that had the same supervision responsibilities as those of principals. Investigation was made into the effects of the training program on principals' supervisory skills in affecting teachers' attitude toward supervision and their principal's supervisory skills, and on teachers' instructional behavior in the classroom. To address the problem, an integrated model of supervision was implemented that brought together a) a set of frameworks for observing teacher effectiveness, b) a cycle of supervision and conference types, and c) human relations skills. Assessment center technology was employed to determine the effect of the model on principals' supervisory behavior and teachers' instructional behavior. This form of evaluating training is a formal procedure that provides simulation activities that mirror the job situation as closely as possible. [...]