A study of teachers perception of the supervisory practices of primary school headteachers in kitale municipality

KITALE MUNICIPALITY

.BY

SIMIYU,' D'.'P~ V\1ANYAMA

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE .OFMJl.STEROF EDUCATION

.(PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION)

y;..--~~~-~,

Wanyama simlyu.d.p Astudy of teachers perception ofthe

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 91/195812

1990

This research project is my original work and has not been p~esented for a degree in any other university.

SIMiYU, D. P. WANYAMA

This project has been submitted for examination with my approval as a univer~ity supervisor.

"

Lecturer, Department of Educational Administration,

Planning and Curriculum Development, Kenyatta University.

of my family, relatives and f.ri.end s, .,I.

My wife and dear friend, Gladys, for-her encour a-gement, unflinching support and for managing the

family matters so ably in my absence.

My thildren, especially Doreen and Irene for always reminding us, as a family, to pray to God in eve~y

undertaking. You have always been a source of aspira -tion in my life.

My father and mother for the big sacrifice they made in my early stages of education and for the

con-fidence they have always shown in me as their f irst-born child. My brother in-law Maurice Wenyaa of Kenya Re-insurance, Nairobi, and his brother Patrick, both of whom proved to be of immense help and understanding during the time of.undertaking this project.

Last but not least, my good old friend, Moses Nalyanya cr Marshal~; CO:H::HnyI Nairobi,I fo r his assis-tance even at very sho~t notices .

I am grateful to the Ministry o~ Education for

._.ha'l~pg sponsored me to study .at Kenyatta. Universi ty Ln.. the Department of Educational Communication and Tech-·

nology for the degree of Master of Education (Primary

Teacher Education). The course was,

in

many ways, an eye-opener.

I am also grateful to Messrs Mote and Luseno of -Education office Trans-Nzoia;· all the teachers and

headteachers in Kitale Municipality who made it easier \

for me, in one way or another, achieve my goals during

the period I did the research work.

Department of Educational Administration, Plannirig and

Curriculum Development and Department of Educational --,

Foundations for typing my proposal and thesis inspite

o~ their heavy work-schedule.

Last but not least, I am heavily indebted to my supervisor, Dr. S. Waweru, whose advise, guidance and e nc ou r~ acremenj -,J:.c •1-__ we r e such that I have no words with which

to thank him.

perception of head+eache rs " -supervisor-y praetd ce s

i

n

Kitale Municipality.

The areas covered included: a short background

information about the evolution of supervision; a dis~

cusSion of the four areas of headteachers' supervisory pracices in leadership, communication, motivation and

evaluation. The literature review cove~ed these

fout--areas in addition to studies carried out in the past

,on teacher perception of headteachers' supervisory

practices/administ~ative behaviour. A similar

ques-t.Lonnaire was admini.st.ered::to-; both t.ea,cheTs' .--(93) and headteaches (seven) so as to help arrive

at balanced views.

The researcher found out that teachers' views on

headteachers' supervisory practices in relation to

leadership, communication, motivat~on and evaluation

are nec~ssary and should therefore be continuously

sought and their contributions to school

administra-tion should become significant as ~his will most likely

contribute to more effective learning, which is the

purpose of school supervisi.on,

Paqe

-~-• • .,. • • ,__ • • ••_.. • • • • eo •.'. • • • '" • • • • • • • '" •__•• ,. • • • • ii ... DEDICArrION •••.••••••.••...•••••.•...•...•. iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .•..•••.••.•••••...•..•••...•• iV

ABSTRACT V

TABLE OF CONTENT S •••.••..•••••..•...••••••.. -...•.• vi

LIST OF TABLES .•••••••••..•••••.•.•..•...•...• vii

CHAPTER 'ONE ·ur

1.0 THE PROBLEM AND ITS COMPONENTS

1

1.1

_{Introduction 1}

1.2 _{Statement of the Problem ..•...•.. 6}

1.3 _{Purpose of,the Study ..••...•..•••.•.'.'..•....'}

1.4 _{Basic Assumptions of the Study .} 7

1.5 _{Significance of the study 8}

1.6 Definition of Significant Terms 10

1.7 Limitations of the Study 13

1.8 Organization of the Rest

of

the Study .. 14

-CHAP'rEE TWO

2.5 Supervision.as a,Skill in Evaluation 27

2.6 Some Studies Carried Out on Teacher

Perception of Headteachers' S

upervi-sory Practices ...••.•. 32

2.7 Summary of Related Literature Review ..• 37

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 DESIGN OF THE STUDy .•...•...• 39

3.1

3.2

3.3 3.4

The SaInpLe ••••••••.••. ~J...'.. • •.: • •.: •. • •.•. •." •. •.It • 40 Me~suring Instruments ...••...• 40

4G

42

, .

Pr oc edu r e s "<••. ..:••.•.•

=:

•.•.

'

•.

..

~ ..

-

•...

;".•

1l •.•••• Data Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

4~O DATA ANl\LYSIS. ...•...."v, •.;••. ''.••.••,,,...~•:.•,.'.. .',4.3.' . •

4.1 Lntroduct i.on "it OJ •••••••••••••••• ,. •• •• •••• 43 4.2

4.3

4.4

4. :)

4.6

Demographic Data of 'Che St:.udySample

.

.

_·

Analysis of Data Based on Sex Variable.

_·

Ana Lysis of Data Based on Age Variable.

_·

45

49

Analysis of Data Based on Professional

Qualification e • , ••••••••••••••• 55

Ana Lysis of Data Based on '!.'rain~dVersus

Unt ra.irie.d VariabJ.(oo' '.'e••••••••••••• 63 Analysis of Data on Headteac~ers ... ~. ₆₅

CHAPTE:R,FIVE

.5:~

;ji.scu:;s '.c.';-, •••••••..• '\ ....•• :.:•.') . ',':";',i/.:', .. . • 69. Surnm ar:1 ".. •.• 1o II •. ••. • •• •• " .~ •• "" 68

5.3 7'", !- •

BIBLIOGRAPHY 81

APPEDICES 85

A COVER LETTERS FOR RESEARCH

1 Letter of introduction from Comm. Tech.

De pa r t.men t ., II' •••.•• 0' • • • • • • •• • • 85

2 Letter from D.E.O. Trans-Nzoia au

tho-rising research 86

B QUESTIO~N.z\IRE 87

, '

1 For Teachers ...•... 87

2 For Headteachers 93

1 .11 (A) . 11 (B)

III

(A)

III

(B)

III

(C) .-i'"

IV

(A)

,...

"~V.,

(B).

IV

(C)

.

IV

,

(D).

V

VI

Demographic Data of Study·Sample 44

Analysis of Data Based on Male -Sex•••·> 46-,

Analysis of Data Based on Female Sex 48

Analysis of Data Based on Age Bracket 20 - 25 years ...••••.•.•.••..•••••... 50

Analysis of Data Based on Age Bracket 36 - 39 years •••• ;•••••••••••••••••• 52

Analysis of Data Based on Age Bracket 40 - 49 years ••••••• ~••••••••••••••• 54

Analysis of Responses Made by Sl

.Teachers ••••

0

...

56

'Analysis .of Responses Made·byP<l .. " .rcr : r Teachers •• ~••••••••••••••••••• ~ ••••• 58

Analysis of Responses Made by P2

Teachers 60

'Ana-lysis of Resporese s Made"-by P3 ,,'"},.,,,,', Teachers ........•.••••••••••••••••••• 62

Analysis of Responses 'Made by Trained

Teachers e-••••• ".0 •••• -.'. ~&4.... .~~" . Analysis of Responses Made by

Head-Teachers ••....••••••• e'. • • ••• • • • • • • • • 66

1 • 0 THE PROBI ,EM AND ITS COMPONENTS

1.1 Introduction

Supervisio~ is one word whi6h has manj differe~t

meanings. This is so because every person who reads

or hears the word interprets it in terms of his/her

past experiences, needs and purposes. To a supervisor,

it may mean a positive force for school programme

improvement. Yet a teacher may see it as a threat

tobis/her position; another~teacher may consider

it as a source of assitance and support .

.I. '. . ....:~. L.~,~J

Teachers' feelings about supervision may differ

from school to school because of the various ways

in which supervisors (he~at~~6h~~s)'~ie~'their role.

Even in a system of education like Kenya's, which

is tightly coupled, teachers-with several years

of experience may have encountered several types

of supervision. Such is the nature of supervision

which is in a state of evolution in all countries

which have systems of education that have much in

common with ours.

In the 1910's, 20's and 30's, supervision

was seen as a directing and judging activity.

According to this practice, the teacher was required

commanded. At a time when most teachers were not

trained and were of low academic qualifications,

this might have been fine. Later orr,in the 1940's

and 50's, emphasis was laid on'democratic supervision

but again all what this meant was manipulating the

teachers to do what the supervisor wanted to be,

done. Nowadays supervision is meant to be a

co-op~rative enterprise. This is the trend in America

and even in Kenya. In co-operative enterprise,

tbe supervisor makes it easi-er,for teachers to super~ vise each other. In other words, teachers are seen

as helping each other, -p Lanrr'l.ng together, and talking'

with each other about how tb improve the

teaching-learning situation.

Viewed in this way, supervision cannot be

limited to anyone person 6i'tci~ndividuals'who

carry the title of supervisor. Thus any member

of the school-staff may assist teachers in providing

a better learning environment for pupils. Kimball

(1955) observes that:

IIAn'important criterion for judging the quality of a supervisory pra c-tice is whether it promotes or hin• d••.•P"'0_'J.. 1:::> .,~ e ar nc:.w..- ]..'.n (ylll.!6 • (p\. 4) ..

Kimball (1955) further adds thit to achieve. this,

schools should cultivate:

,

.

(b) the type of emotional atmosphere in which

all (teachers) are accepted and feel that

they belong;

(c) opportunities to think and work together

effectively as a school team;

(d) personnel ptocedures that give the teacherS

confidence in the school system; and

(e) programme change.based on honest evaluationlf.

(p.5).

Such supervisory practices produce the type of

school in which teachers grow in their capacity to

'device more meaningf.ul learning :;experien'ces'iar"

,

.. ,,

..

.~:~..:'/t ..,

children. As a matter of fact, most teachers have

greater potential than they use. Therefore, the su

per-visor's work is to help teachers release their full

.potential.

Since this study is on teachers' perception of

the supervisory practices of the beadteacehrs, a few

remarks about perception would be in order. Mcburney

(1977), defines perception as:

"the processes by which an organism responds to features of the enVironL ment with regularities in its

The same author states that the processes mentioned above have several chara~teristics that typify the behaviour that is studied in perception. The first characteristic he mentions is that percep-tion is selective. In other words, a teacher's

perception of the headteacher's supervisory practices may be selective in the sense that while he may be

sensitive and reactive to some supervisory practices .~ he may not notice others. He goes on to state that

perception is objective and observes that:

"Psychologists claim that

e

x

c

.

ep

t. ..,.for a relatively small fraction of beha-viour which is termed 'perceptual illusions' human beings r~spond to the world as it 'really is' to a

surpris-ing.d~gree". (p.3). ·i."c. ,_ .,,1 .•

If this assertion by psychologists is anything to go by, then teachers perception should be taken seriously.

But at the same time, it is important to bear in mind Okwaro's observation (1984) that:

"Not all healt:-1Yindividuals, whether

(as) infants or adults, reflect natural phenome~a in the same way. Human perception is not a standard

mechanism merely reflecting images,

like.a camera; it .invo Lve's:.an enormous. vafiet~ of individual differences.

Peo~ 18:::;8e. t.b ir.qs from "their own.'-'. vantag. point J'l spa.ce, and in terms

moral standards ... Thus some stimuli are more noticeable to certatn indivi-duals than to others, that is, the stimuli appear more prominent to those individuals and attract their attention more readily. Throughout adu lthood, an

individual's perceptions reflect more and more th~ uniqueness of his own experiences". (p.10).

Thus, teachers may not perceive headteachers' supervisory practices in the exactly same way and, ~ whereas their perceptions may not expresss the manner

in-which headteachers behav~, the way the actions of headteachers appear to teachers is very important. This is ~o because the way teachers see the supervisor

(headteacher) behave conditions their r

e

'

sponae

to his actions. This view was expressed by the Lijembe

Report (1978) when, while addressing itself to the shortcomings of primary school head-teachers, it was lamented that:

"Lack of good examples from headteachers has led to widespread indiscipline among teachers ... Cases of absenteeism,

drunkenness,latenesss, unet.hicaI conduct

and engaging in private business at the expense of teaching are on the increase!!. (p.85).

The suggestion being made is that the headteacbersl behaviour, actions and activities as perceived

by

teachers may determine the latters' reoponse.

head

te

a

ch

e

rs

a

s

the

y

g

o about

their

super

vis

o

ry

prac-tices

.

In this wa

y

he

a

d

t

eachers

w

il

l

be

und

ers

c

oring

t

h

e

im

p

ort

ance

of t

he

f

a

ct obser

v

ed

by Bl

ack

(1

975

)

th

at

:

"

dis

c

ipl

in

ed

lea

.

dership is

th

e

chi

~

f

foundation

of pos

it

ive

tea

c

her

d

i

sc Lp Line

'

".

(p.17).

Thi

s

kind

of discipline

is crucial

if the

·

central

pur.po

se of su

p

ervision

,

wh.i.ch

is the impro

v

e

m

en

t

of

;

s« •

t

e

ach

ing

and

learnin

g

i

n

schools

w

ill

succ

e

ed.

1.2

St

a

temem

n

t

of

t

he P

robl

em

.

Th

e super

vi

so

r

y

rol

e of

H

ie

he

adt

ea

c

he r

is

'g

rea't

Ly

influ

e

nc

ed

by

the

type

of

int

e

r

ac

t

i

o

n

bet

w

ee

n

the

,

h

e

a

ctt

ea

c

he

r and

t

e

a

chers

.

r

-

T

Ir

is'

'

l

nter

a

ctio

n

is in

turn

in

fl

u

e

n

c

e

d

b

y

effec

tiv

e

sup

e

rv

iso

r

y

pract

ices

in

l

ea

d

er

s

hi

p

1

m

o

t

i va

.

t

Lo

n

,

co

mmun

i

ca

t

Lon and evalu

a

-t

i

o

n

sy

stems

w

i

t

hi

n

t

h

e

school.

T

h

e

way the

s

e

s

y

st

e

m

s

a

re pe

rcei

v

e

d

by

t

eac

h

e

r

s

a

s

the h

e

a

dteache

r

s

car

ry

ou

t

t

h

e

i

r

s

up

e

r

v

iso

ry

pr

ac

t

ic

e

s

i

s w

h

ai

p

r

om

p

ted

th

i

s

s

t

u

d

y.

1.3 _Puroo

_s

_{e o}

_f

_th

_e

_S

_t

_udy

on supervision, it is equally true that not much has

been written on teacher perception of the headteachers'

suepervisory practices in Kenya. This is one area

with a loophole to be filled. To be effective in

their·supervisory role, headteachers need a new

perspective. They neeq teachers' views on the super

-visory function/role which have been either ove

r-looked or neglected. Yet consideration of this is

important if our primary schools will continue to

serve the purposes for which they are built. Neagley

(1964) observes that:

"The primary aim of supervision must

be to recognize the inher~nt value

of each person (teacher) ....sothat

the full potential of all'will be ,.i·

r

ea.Lf.

ed'

s

"

.

(p.l)

,-,

>.

-Thus,teachersopinionsshouldbe soughtasan effectivewayofachieving

what is stated above. As modern supervision is meant

to be democratic, teach~rs' participation in super

-visory practices should be eagerly sought and their

contributions to group decisions and those of the

school as a whole should become significant.

practices

w

it

h

r

e

g

a

rd

t

o

th

e fo

ll

o~

i

ng

var

i

a

b

les

:

(i}

p

r

ofes

s

i

o

na

l

gra

de

(ii)

sex

(iii)

age,

a

n

d

(iv)

te

a

chi

n

g

ex

p

erie

nc

e

(b)

The su

p

er

v

i

s

ory

be

h

avi

our

of th

e h

eadteac

her

is i

n

flu~nc

e

d

b

y

his/

h

e

r

p

er

c

e

ptions

.

I(C)

The s

c

hool

si

ze

influ

enc

es

t

he

t

e

acb

e

rs

'

per

ce

p

ti

on

s

o

f

the

h

e

a

dte

a

che

rsl'

supe

r

~isory

pr

ac

tic

e

s.

(d)

Eff

e

c

tive

su

p

e

r

visor

y

~:

t

p

r

a

c

..

i

t~

t

'

e

s

i

'

m

pT

'

Oy

e

,

Y' "

'.".

.

t

h

e

qua

it

y

o

f teac

h

i

n

g

a

nd l

e

a

rnin

g

i

n

s

c

ho

o

ls

.

(e

)

Effecti

ve

s

upe

r

vi

so

r

y

p

ra

c

tic

es

in

sc

h

o

o

l

s

ar

e

tb

e

r

e

su

lts

o

f

j

oin

t

e

ff

o

r

ts

b

e

t

wee

n

teache

r

s

a

nd

he

a

dt

e

ach

ers

.

T

h

ere

i

s n

e

a

d

for

h

eadtoa

c

h

e

rs

t

o

be

com

e

se

n

s

i

t

i

v

e

t

o

t

he manne

r

in

whi

c

h

the

ir

s

u

pe

r

v

i

sory

p

rac

t

i

ces

a

r

e

per

c

e

i

ved

b

y t

h

e

t

e

acher

s

'

i

n the

a

r

e

as

of t

lr

e

i'r

l

e

a

cl

er

The importance of these areas in the supervisory role

of headteachers has been underscored by many researchers.

For example, Njagi (1981), observes that:

"Teachers view the climate of the school

to be good or bad in terms of perception

of prevalent attitudes and psychological

qualities of their relationships particu

-larly with their headteachers ... By

understanding how teachers view them in

their administrative functions,

head-teachers will be able to adjust themselves

so that they can be able to work cO-0

pe-ratively with the whole staff". (p.13).

For this reason, it is imperative for headteachers

to seek constantly·to improve their sens~tivity to the

'iBelings of teachers an d ot.o im;~.r.eas

',

e

'

ulr

e

,

'accunacy of

their e~timate of teachers' opinion on important areas

of supervisory practices in order to become more

co-operative in their working relationship and to

interact more frequently with.the teachers. Teachers

have, for a long time, been receivers _ of supervisory

p~actices over which they had little or no say at all.

But with the introduction· of the 8-4-4 system of

education, plus the fact that the system has come

under criticism from almost all quarters, what goes

on in our primary schools has assumed greater im

por-tance than ever 'befor e. Although aomev st'udi.es have

been carried out on .supervision, it seems not much

o

bj~ctives

of the new system

of education

which

are

no

t exactly

the

.

same

a

s

those

of the previous

system

o

f education.

Th

e

re

f

ore

,

it is necessary

for he~dteachers

to

.

t

ake

a sincere

int

e

re

s

t

in each of their

teachers

a

nd

to kn

o

w

th

e

ir

skills,

abilities

as well

as their

-:

limitati

o

ns, th

e

kn

o

wl~dge

of which

is useful

in the

de

l

e

gation

of duties

an~ responsibilities

so that

the

8-

4~4

s

ystem

o

f

e

du

c

ation

can live up

io

the expectations

.

·

of ~illions

of Kenyans

to whom

-

..

educa

.

t

.

Lon

.

v

d

-

·

s

a cost

Ly..c

-investment.

1

.

6

Defin

i

tion

of Signif

~

!

lcant

n

'erms

'

.

(i)

Sypervision

This

ter

m

refers

to efforts

by the school

adminis

-

.

t

r

at

i

o

n,

e

spe

c

ia

lly

the

h

eadteacher,

directed

at

orga-n

iz

in

g

te

ac

h

e

rs

,

pupils

and teaching

material

in order

t

o

i

mp

lem

e

nt

t

he

obejctives

for which

the Kenyan

P

rim

a

ry

Sc

hoo

l

s

e

xis

t

.

(

b

)

Super

v

i

so

ry

P

ra

c

t

ices

These

r

e

f

e

r

to

a

l

l t

h

a

t

the

he

a

d

t

e

a

c

h

er

d

o

es

in

parents

and those

other

people

who

in one way

or

another,

do business

with

a school

in bringing

about

better

teaching-learning

situations

so that pupils

can progress

in the light

of the objectives

set by

the Kenyan

Ministry

of Education.

(c)

Perception

This

refers

to day-by-day

sensory

experience

of

t

eacher s as far as the work

,

of the headteacher

Goes.

It

projects

the response

the teacher

deve Lops towards

.'

,·

·

·

t-he

way

"'

'

the headteacher

ca;p

·

ri

:

es

out his/her

.

.

superv

t-« ,~"

aory work

within

the

school

and ~n

a wide~

social

'

framework.

(d) Teacher

The term

refers

to a male

or female

person,

with

the relevant

academic

and professional

qualifications,

employed

by the

Teachers'

Service

Commission

(T.S.C.),

on behalf

of the

Kenyan

Ministry

of Education,

to

teach

on a

full-time

b

a

sis

iri

any primary

school

within

the Rep

u

blic

of K

e

nya.

(e)

H

ea

dt

ea

cher

The t

erm

ref

er

s

to a m

al

e

or fema

l

e

t

e

a

c

her

on the basis of his/her professional qualification and

teaching experience, to become the head of a Primary

School in Kenya with a number of teachers whom he/

she supervises and guides in helping pupils learn to

acquire the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes.

(f) Leadership

This term can be defined as provision of prof

es-.signal and instructional guadance.for the acht.evemenz>

of school goals.

(g) Communication

.!.:C,t'.::':.:?·. ,.,,,

s.

:

.

This is a process of passinig:on; - mf Ti'nfol"mation'."i":.,',1 - '-"1

ideas, knowledge and understanding from one person to

another.

(h) Motivation

This term refers to all that is done to get the

members of a school to work together as a team for

the common good of the school's progress.

(i) Evaluation

Eval uatLon can be defined a;s-'asse ssment 'of

in~tructional achejvem~nts in schools on botb.forma-·

>'

1.7 Limitations of the Study

(~) Little has been done on t~acher perception,

especially within the context of the 8-4-4

system of education, to provide enough

sources for "literature review.

(b) Perception is a difficult variable and as

such generalization based on a single study

may not yield proper results.

~~.~ (c) The ~~~~y, ca~r{€d oui'by this res~archer,

with its small sample may not yield 'responses

that are representative o>-f-·;~t~he-;..¥iews·J·o·..f. ~~{.~i..h'~'-:. -.;

teachers drawn from the whole of Trans-Nzoia

District .

.(d) In some of the schools visited, teachers 'r

showed ieluctance to participate in the

study, alleging failure on thepar~ 'of earlier

researchers to ackcowledge their particip

a-tion ~s had been agreed on. I

(e).Kenya primary schools are usually so busy

during the t.hird term of ,the ·yea:rthat ,- "

-.' '

(f) Whereas

the money

given

by the sponsor

was

highly

appreciated,

it was not released

in

good

time.

This

delayed

the commencement

of this

study,

especially

in view

of what

is

said

above.

1.8

Organization

of the Rest

of the Study

The rest of the study

includes

Chapters

three,

four

and

five.

Chapter

Two

deals with

review

of related

'

litera-ture which

is divided

into two parts.

The

first

part

of the review

deals

'

-

with

l'

leadeTs

'

htp;

-mot.Lva.t

ron ,

'

~

:',:,"\:""~,!,'!

communication

and evalaution.

The second

part

deals

with

literature

on perception

of supervisory

practices/

administrative

behaviour

of headteachers.

The review

in both

cases

aims

at highlighting

the points

that

are

useful

to any person

interested

in pri

ma

ry

school

super-vision

in K

e

nya.

C

h

apterTh

ree

deal

s wit

h

th

e d

e

s

ign

o

f the s

tu

dy,

with

i

ts s

amp

l

e

s

iz

e

and t

he i

nstrume

n

ts

.

Chapter

Four

p

r

es

e

n

t

s

t

he

'

analys

is

o

f da

'

t

a

which

Chapter Five deals with the summary, discussion

and recommendations.

'

2.0

THE R

EVIE

W OF RELATED LIT

E

RATU

R

E

2.1 Introduction

The literature review, which in no ~ay is exhaustive,

is divided into two parts. Part one deals with leadership,

communication, motivation and eY~ation. In these four

areas,the review highlights some of the skills which

headteachers' supervisory p racti.ces should encompass.

Th

.

:k

s

is fruitful because vazvi.ous studies on supervLsdon

carried out in the past reveal that headteachers' s

uper-.Vi-s'Orypractices are deficient .i-none or sev eraL"of"the

skills deemed necessary forsupervison of primary

school programmes.

Part Two of the review focuses on past studies

on teacher perception of tl1e~superviso ry practices

of headteachers carried Dut within and-outside Kenya.

In both cases, the review highlights areas wru.ch

studies in The past may not have articulated

and (hopefully) offers a fairly adequate conceptual

framewo rk w ith:Lnwhich the problem of the study exi.sts.

2.2 ... "

--.- ~

professional and instructional guidance for attainment

of the objectives of the school. Boles (1~75) defines

leadership as:

a process in Which an individual initiative to assist a group t6 move

-towards production of goals that ale acceptable, to maintain the group, and to dispose of these needs of individuals that impelled them to join it". (p".153-54).

"

From the fore-going definitions and in terms of~

,-a school situation, the leadership system's supervisory

practices should aim at LnI'tLa'Lntg' and learning oppor':1'

tunities, maintain the school 'as an_organization, and

satisfy the needs of all participants. This view is

supported by L.lkert, (1967}, who observes that:

"Leadership must be such as to ensure a maximum probability that in all interactions and all relationships

within the organization, each member will, in the light of his background,

values and expectations view the

experience as supportive and one which builds and maintains his sense

of personal worth and experience" .

.

.

Cp

.103).

The argument above is supported by Maranga (1977),

who commented that Kenya primary school supervisors:

"Laekskills and techniques to contribute to adequate performance of the supervisory

In the above passages, it is implied that

supervision should be democratic and that effective

supervisory practices acknowledge good leadership

qualities. Kimball (1955), observes that:

liThe supervisor (headteacher) has

the responsibility of encouraging

leadership in others. If the staff

is to exercise its full potential,

the ideas and leadership of all must

be used.' Creating an atmosphere in

which all contribute their best

thinking must be one of the major

efforts of a supervisor". (p .18) .

.Th~ degree to,which primary school headteachers

in Kenya are democratic and do encourage leadership

in the teachers may be a matter of debate. But

Ljjembe Report (1978) not ed.:that: "'~">; __ ,.' ,

.

_ .•• ,J.;J.'_ f

liThesupervisory role of primary

school heads is an important factor

in the improvement of professional .

competence and effectiven~ss in the

school ...". (p.85).

HoweverI the evidence\vhichthe report had received was

that most headteachers did not execute their

respon-sibilities effectively. It was further indicated by

the report that the main professional shortcomings

of heactteachers centred on the calibre and quality

of their leadership. Fur

t

he-r, ti-t was reporter! that ',l

many headteachers did not possess the ability to

assign cJasses to teachersaccoDd~ng,~o tbe1y- , .\,

ability adequately nor did they advice them on

professional matters. Accordingly, the report made

several recommenda tt ons to·remedy· the'situation.

One of them was that special induction coutses for

newly appointed headteachers be designed whose

content would include, amongst other things, lead

er-ship and supervisory techniques. On this note, the

report echoed K~11(1955), who argued that:

"If leadership is to be developed in the staff, the supervisor (headteacher)

must have skill in sharing decision-making.

As the administrator gives'the,staffva: part in the thinking through the problems confronting·the school, the teachers

begin to feel that the solutions and plans for action in that school are

their plans, and.they begin.

-t

o assume more respunsibility for their success~

ful implementation. In other words,

the potential teachers have for

increased responsibility is reI"eased". (p.19).

1.

The same author goes on to observe that:

"Though this may not be easy to achieve,

such supervisory practice has an addi -tional impact. It increases the creati-veness of teachers, which occurs as teachers acquire the feeling that they are able to make worthwhile decisions,

that their plans have value, and that the beadteacher is there to assist them to carry out their plans, rather than to veto them.li(PP.19--20) .

Mor

r

is

(198

4

):

"to cr

eate

th

a

t

inta

ng

ibl

e

s

o

m

e

thing,

that

a

mbi

ance

of

m

in

d

and spiri

t

(amon

g

the t

ea

ch

er

s)

which

encourages

effective

te

a

ching

and L

ea r

n

i.ng

.II

(p.18).

Thus,

as Fiedler

(1967) stresse

s:

"Skill

e

d

lead

er

ship

is r

equ

i

r

ed

t

o

reco

n

cile

and utilize

c

onstruct

i

ve

l

y

diff

e

rent

abilities,

view-p

o

i

n

t

s

,

a

t

t

i

-tudes

a

n

d

i

dea

s

in t

he

~

e

r

f

o

rmance

of

grou

p

t

asks

an

d sc

h

ool

mission."

(p.4).

2.3

'

S

uperv

i

si

o

n

as

Ski

ll

i

n Communication

A

s

impl

e

de

fini

tion

o

f

c ommun

i

.

c

a

tLon

i

s to

'- '

s

ee

it

as

a

pr

oce

ss

of

passing

on

o

f

informat

ion

a

n

d unde

rstand

in

g

from

one

~ers6n

t

o

ar

io

ther.

G

o

l

dh

a

b

e

r

(1983)

de

fi

ne

s

it

as:

li

T

he o

r

g

ani

z

a

tiona

l

em

balm

i

ng

flu

i

d"

.

(p.5).

He

a

dd

s

th

a

t

o

th

er

wr

iter

s

c

al

l

it

by

di

f

f

eren

t

n

a

m

e

s,

f

or

ei

am

pl

e

:

li

th

e l

i

f

e-bl

o

o

d

o

f

t

h

e

or

g a

n

L

z

a

t

i

on

,

the

oil tha

t

s

oot

he

s

t

h

e

f

u

n

ct

i

&ns

of

t

he

'

o

r

ga

n

i

zati

o

n,

the

t

h

read

th

a

t

"

ti

e

s

t

h

e

s

y

st

e

m

to

g

e

the

r,

the

forc

e

t

h

a

~

p

e

r

vad

e

a

t

h

e o

rg

a

niz

a

t

i

on

,

and

the

bi

n

d

l

~!

ag

en

t

<-01embo (1977), while acknowledging the

importance of communication in super+

vision lamented that:

"Communication between the supervisor

and the supervised was one way and.

consisted on the whole of destructive

criticisms (by. headteachers)". (p.4).

Also, Nyamu (1986) observed in his findings

in Nairobi Schbols that:

"Inadequate informational channels were due to the headteachers' personality communication barriers; ~or example,

ignoran6e, hypocricy and dilution of

the information". (p.50).

Aga.Ln st jhe backg round

of

"such ':state''6f~a.ff'airs; "

an elaborate system .of communication is needed in our

primary schools in Kenya. Mbi ti (1974.), recommended:

"The writing of letters and (use of) verbal announcements'".(p.46) .

The City Education Department (1976) went a

step further and recommended for effective communic<=t

-tion:

"Minutes of meetings, circulaTs to teachers, announcements in assem b-lies, use of staff and pupils'

notice-boardS, letters andcirc~lars

to parents and open days, use of pupils' diaries or note-book:,

announconon t.G rn ci.urche s or ;~_:(j;'f

pub1ic P1;)CesaD d p':'r '-;0 11a]. C',) :"; L.act" .:

From the fore-going passages, emerge certain characteristics which should be the whole mark of a headteacher as an effec-tive supervisbr. Black (1975) observed that one of the main characteristics of an effective supervisor is that:

"He is a conscientious communicator and willing to discuss work related. ~~ problems sympathetically and is recp-.

tive to new ideas". (P.p-. 17-18).

J: _." .. __ :.

,-Many educators will agree that a large part of the headteacher's responsibility as a sup~rvisor is to co-ordinate the activities of the whole school and to ensure that children receive good education.

Bennet (1974) observed that,' if.this has to occur, then:

"Headteachers have to communicate

instructions, recommendations, requests and information to their staff. The

extent to which the~e are received, understood and acted on will depend in part on the success of the commu-nications system in the school.

Because of the amount of communciation . necessary in a school, some headteacehrs run internal news-sheets or dairies containing information about schools activities ... notices of events affect

-ing the staff and pupils, and instructions from the headteacher ... some communication will be confidential or applicable to only

a small number of staff and the newsletter

may. be published only once or twice

a week." (p.103).

In essence, to achieve skills in con~unication,

"Communication channels must be open

between all levels and in both dir

ec-tions ... communication implies

participative administration and

~hareddecision-making in which all

those responsible for the well~being

of the organization (school} jointly

determine how its interests are to

be served ... Communciation and

participation do imply that the staff

have a proper role in determining the.

purposes and objectives to which they

must bend their efforts. Those

con-cepts imply too; that the staff

members work harder to achieve the

objectives that are clear and mean

ing-ful to them and which they strongly

-endorse". {p.90).

Thus, for effective supervision, communication

·-should be simple and precise-BO tha-t both the head-· -,;-."'

teacher and teachers can'share meaning and under

-standing in the process of delivering goods to the

pupils. . .•.,-t -s .

2.4 Supervision as-Skil14n Motivation

Njoora (1988), observes that:

"Mot ivation is a tendency to act towards

achievement of a particular act. This

tendency has to be ~roused by ... drives,

needs, incentives, rewards and expec ta-tions. An instructional supervisorts basic concern ....is wlat he can do to arouse a tendency in p~ople (teacbers) to act the way he wants in order to

Giving almost· a simiiar definition of m

otiva-tion~ Mbiti

(197

4)

,

ob~~rves that:

"Motivation has to do with employees'

interest in putting the utmost effoit

into their work. Motivation is one of

the key factors· that lead(s) to

efficiency. Such interest must

somehow be cultivated by the employer

through administrative methods. .

Motivation is the idea of getting

the members of a team to pull together

for the common good of the organization1s

pr-og r es s!! • (p.10).

In the fore-~oing passages, the headteacher is

.•.-.•. ! - -.'

charged with the responsibility of creating .conditions

in school within which the staff can and will meet its

or-g an iz a.tLona I r-e spons tbt ttt.t.esrwb

t

r e , 'at-·-:-.stheame

J -:: ,

time, maximizing personal development. Kimball,·alreacly

.quoted elsewhere in this study observes:

"0ne of the fucntions of supervision

is creation of a wholesome emotional

tone for the school. The basic way

for a supervisor to create a satis

-fying emotional tone ii by respecting

the personality of all individuils

with whom he comes into contact.

Respect for the personality of

teachers by the supervisor has many

manifestations. It involves being

concerned ab6ut them and their

problems, being wiJ.lingtoplace t.he ir

desires ahead of his own, giving

full consideration to their sugges

-tions, creating the type of staff

meetings in which each teac~er has

an opportunity ~o make.hi~ opinion~

known, (::'llcouragln:!: socla.J.L·~l',:act.!.-,

vities tnat build :L'ic~"'n~.lJy '.t"~'l:ltiun:s

aruona L;:.:::· staft, l)]~'()vi(ii·~l~j v;:-;l'kirtg

corid.it 1,..)::,8 that are comf'ortabLe ~ll(:

things as maintaining an even disposition and showing courtesy".

(p.20).

Lest one thinks that human 'motivation is an

easy thing, Dull (1981) observes:

"

dealing wit6 people is the most important. of every supervising job. However, motivating people in a

meaningful is complex ...". (p.286) .

More recent studies have shown that the estab

-lishment and maintenance of satisfactory human rel

a-.,···tionsamong aLl i staff member-sv.is'necessary'and that ,1 a group's productiveness is affected by the quality

of its human relations and the supervisor must work

constantly for the improvement' of'lthe group's cohe:'"l siveness. In her findings, Sisungo (1988) concluded

that motivation of workers was lacking in the primary'

school system and that as a result workers had lost

confidence in and track of the organizational obj

ec-tives. Her research findings further revealed that:

II _{a school with happy, motivated}

staff succeeds '" may be the ...

supervisors, the headteacher

inclusive, need to remind them

-selves of this and really try to

work on'it (in order) to improve

performance in the schools".

In other words, a heal thy.rapport should exist

among the staff members in a give-and-take atmosphere

which is conducive to objective consideration of_the .._~:.

educational theories and problems of the day and of

the school, According to Kenya Education Staff

Institute (K.E.S.I.), (1984), an administrator should

create an atmosphere for motivation in school by

doing, amongst other things, the following:

- -t

ttPlanning for job enrichment in such

a way that there is variety of work

context requiring higher levels of

knowledge '.,.giv i.ng..teacher s the,.._

right to make decisions regarding

how they should carry out their

work such as subject panels '"

Increasing each teacherts res

pon-sibility in the school through·

.·delegation of appropr.iate du

t

i.est .·,:'cl

Giving the teachers the tasks

they feel most comfortable in

carrying out and classes and

subjects they feel capable.of

teaching as far as possible '"

Trusting your teachers and letting

them know (about tt) ,.. Communica

-ting effectively with your teachers

Eliminating conflict among the

staff members, students and parents

Also encourage, congratulate,

comp:ement and reward all high

achievement in private and in public

such as during s~hool assembly,

Acknowledge good behaviour and

regard it throughout the school

... Modify supervision so that

teachers view you as a helping

parteer at work ra.ther than a

threat. Make supervision positive

and personal, .. Encourage and -guide your teacher's

t

owards care er

adV<l~1CPnent , pr omotLonaI and' .

profe s s i.ona L ~rl:c..\,tJ:L to •• J ~I (.}?p.4-5}.

: _ ,,-){~i .:... t:: [it...

2.5 Supervision as Skill in Evaluation

Evaluation can be defined as an app ra i.sa L or

assessment of instructional attainments on both

formative and summative bases.

For a long time; evaluation has had a negative

connotation and often is threatening to teachers

and others engaged in evaluation of school personnel

and programmes.· But as Orlosky (1984) observes:

11 _{every effort should be made to}

establish evaluation as an activity

in which mutual gain of pupils,

teachers and the school will take

place ... Schools benefit from

learning about theirperformanc~

by correcting weaknesses and main

-taining strengths. New knowledge

from research and practice ... and the ever-clianging characteristics

of the instructional staff require

monitoring and evaluation to maintain

the best blend of re~ources to opti

-mize effectiveness. Considerable

professional growth is based on well

-conducted evaluations of instructional

personnel. New information about

teaching, existing instructional

practices and the collective knowledge

of the school and administration can be

assembled and eff~cti~ely re-directed

better when proper evaluations are

conducted ...". (p.119).

.:

For this reason, Or Iosky

v

c

-:

inu es to

"Administrators are charged with the

duty to develop and implement

eva-luation procedures which sho~ld be

developed jointly with those most

affected by the evaluations ...".

P..119).~

Accordingly, one of the most important initial

steps is to establish procedures for developing

evaluation procedures, to determine who is to be

involved, and the relative responsibility of each

party to the process. When such a programme is

developed, description should include some set of

.criteria.by whieh the success of th,e programme can

be measure~. The performance of individual teachers

in the programme can then be measured against these

.st anda.rda.. Greenf ield (19'7.3).corrt.endsr .tha.t:" ~ (", (i

tllf the criteria are obejctive,

available in written form, and if

the person being evaluated has

some part in defining the criteria,

then the appraisal itself can be a

co-operative effort. The question

is not how competent a teacher is

... but rather whether the programme

in which the teacher is involved meets its objectives and whether

the group and the teacher himself

feelshe has made a reasonable

contribut I.onto the group is success".

(p.87) .

I

n

their supervisory practices, related to

evalu.ation, heaclteachers should be thorough, fair

"One of the major criticisms of

class-room supervision is that visits by

supervisors are short, infrequent,

fail to include follow-up discUssions

and do not address important issues

(pp. 119-120).

"

Howeverj Orlosky goes on to argue that thoroug

h-ness demands a supervisrirfs time and requires knowledge

about class-room instruction that recognizes the

differences between important and shallow acts and

between effective and ineff~ctive teaching. It ~lso

requires the supervisor to be able to offer positive

suggestions when needed, to''l'8cqgnizeexcellence, -and"!"'--'

to pinpoint its characteristics in a supportive manner.

- , _{On the other hand, as f~~'~s fairhess is} . ~'.

concerned, Orlosky further observes:

ff· the supervisor separates personal

relationships from the duties of eva

-luation and establishes trust ~mong the

entire school so that fair evaluation

will be conducted ...'".(p.120).

This involves, on the part of the supervisor,

willingness to recognize both the importance of and

the dangers inherent in the personal relationships

and the evaluation responsibilities. Consequence

t

he

s

t

a

f

f,

t

hat m

ight

c

onvey

bia

s

or preconceived

no

ti

o

n

s

abou

t

o

the

r

te

ac

hers.

O

r

los

k

y

further

adds

.

th

at

a

fa

ir

s

up

e

r

visor

y

p

~rform

a

ne

e·

o

~

'

evalua

t

ion

du

ti

es

w

ill

h

e

l

p

establi

s

h

a reput

a

tion

for faiiness

w

arr

an

ti

n

g

s

t

a

ff

conf

id

e

nc

e

and,

alm

ost

in the same

br

e

at

h,

wa

r

ns

t

h

a

t

a f

a

ilure

to est

a

blish

this

c

r

e

d

ibi

l

it

y

can u

nder

min

e

the

·

po

t

ential

of the

s

uper

v

is

or

to b

e h

elp

ful

an

d us

efu

l

in the evaluation

p

ro

ces

s

.

As

f

or

o

b

j

e

c

ti

vity ,

-

o

r

-

L

o

sky

s

a

y

s

it

··

&

s simi

.

l

a

E

s

;

i

,~.

''-to

f

a

.

i

.

r

e

-

s

n

s

b

ut

it

h

a

s

s

om

e

add

iti

o

na

l

eleme

n

ts.

O

n o

n

e

ha

n

d

,

objec

ti

v

i

ty

c

alls

f

o

r q

uantific

a

tion

0,:[,

t

he

t

e

a

.

c

h

e

r' s p

er

form

a

n

-

c

e

'

as"

muc

h

-

as

po

ss

i

'

b

Le

'arrd ,'

o

n t

he

oth

e

r

r

eq

u

ir

e

s

atten

t

io

n

t

o

e

v

id

e

n

c

e

a

nd

f

a

.

c

t

u

a

L:

d

a

t

a

that

w

il

l

g

i

v

-

e

.

·

un.i

f

.

o

rrn.ity

a

nd

con

s

t

s

t

e

nc

.

e

to

eval

u

at

ion

pr

oce

d

ur

e

s

.

T

he

i

mporta

n

c

e

o

f t

h

i

s

li

e

s

i

l

l t

he f

act

tha

t

the

cons

1st

en

ce

o

f t

h

e eva

l

u

a

tOr

by

b

e

i

ng

o

b

j

ecti

ve

c

ontri

b

u

t

es

to

t

he

cr

edi

bili

t

y

a

n

d

.

ef

f

ectiv

en

e

s

s

of

th

e

eva

lu

at

i

o

n

p

r

o

c

e

dure.

Acc

o

rding

t

o O

rlosky

,

a

l

r

ead

y

m

e

n

t

io

ned

a

bo

ve

,

ac

ce

pt

e

d

pr

oc

e

dure

s

fo

r e

va

l

u

atin

g

teac

her

s

t

yp

ic

a

lly

inclucle~

J.

Te

ach

e

r

a

w

a

re

n

ess

o

f th

e

c

ri

t

eri

a

an

d

2. Direct observation of the teacher in the

class-room or other teaching situation .

.~. Conferring with the teacher to negotiate

and specify any area(s) in which the

evaluator requires the teacher to make

change .

.4. As~isting the teacher with materials or

in~service course work that addresses

the area(s) in which the teacher needs

~./.

to make changes.

60mplexity of the change(s) that the

,5. Providing time commensu rat'e

-

w

i thrthe

•••. • I¥."

teacher is required to make .

.~.

6. He-observation and evaluation to establish

whether or not specified Changes have

been maCe'Cp.122).

But a study carried out by Ziolkowski (1965)

on the supervisory practices among secouda.ry school

principals (in Cana1a) seems to contradict some of

class-room visitation and demonstration, and that

principlas who were eff.ective supervj.sors were no

different in this regard than principals who were If1" ., •

less effective supervisors. (pp.1-4).

Inspi te of t.hi.s. seeming contradi tion, the notion

still persists that teachers should be supervised.

Therefore, Marland (1986) suggests that:

"A school should develop its review

and planning process so that the need

for appraisal as a tool for the staff

to use for their own benefit, and thus of their pupils, becomes self -evident. Teacher appraisal (evalua~

tion) should not be isolated from

in-school planning, school based

evaluation, career development; - ~ process of mOilitoring andevalua -tion should not be fragmented.

Appraisal should not be neither a fantasy nor a chimera, but a

practical way of helping teachers

develop themselves and their

pupils (p.187).

2.6 Some Studies carried out.on Teacher P_~rc~ticr~

of Headteachers I SU~ViSOI:y Practices/ Administ·

-rative Behaviour

In a study carried out by Forster (1959) on

competencies found out that teachers with different

teachers' perceptions of headteachers' supervisory

levels of training and years of t~ajning did

no

t

differ signific~ntly in their pe~c~)tions

Ziolkowski (1965) through his study on head

-teachers' supervisory practices, found out that

teachers perceived effective .headteacehrs as.persops

who are:

1. ~ardworkers, setting an example by

their own standards.

2. perceptive, have accurate knowledge of

what went on in their schools.

3~ interested in teachers as individuals,

considerate.

4. approachable, the kind of person

teache~could bring their problems to.

study and development. ~,

.S. willing to take advantage of teacher~

special skills and interests.

6. willing to give teachers a share in

decision-making in school.

.8. strongly interested in educational change

and innovation (pp.1-4).

Such study carried out in a different situation

(or country like Kenya) would probably yield almost

smilar results but the 'culture variable would be

worth-noting.

Kunz (1974) carried out a study on the relation

-ship between leadership of princip~ls and the amount

I

of·,teachers' compliance wit-h=t he principals" directi VE?-' '

ness. He concluded that principals perceived by

their teachers to be of strong initiating structure

.'were complieti'with more than principals perceived

to be strong in consideration structure. There was

I less compliance with this group -than with,the formerc (p , 37).

Almost a similar study was carried out by

Mangoka (1977) on leadershi~

behaviour of headteachers of Nairobi and Machakos

concluded that female leadership was vie~ed more

favou~able by teachers t~an the male leadership.

No reason or explanation was given; for this kind of

A study carried out by Jiboku (1977) se~ms to

contradict the above findings. Jiboku found out

•

that secondary school teachers. in their perce-ption

oJ leadership functions preferred male heads because

they (male headteachers) were perceived to be more

of initiating structure whereas the female heads

were perceived to be strong in consideration structure.

According to Jiboku initiating structure is rated higher

by teachers in administration than consideration

structure (pp. 155-162).

, .,.:t"

Karagu (1982) in a study of perceptions of

headteachers and teachers pertaining to the role of

peco.ndary school headtea ohexs in .Nai.nobf and ,'l'hika,---

-found out that teachers have their own expectations

of the role of the peadteacher. Also, he found out

that teachers I attitudes towards the role of the

-

-headteacher are important. in determining what administ

-rati.ve practices the headteacheradopts..:p.14).

A study carried out by Njagi (1981) came out with

the following findings;

(a) Teachers possessing the highest and

lowest profess tonal grad~s (81 and P3)

displayed more positive attitudes towar1s

The reason for this state of affairs

according to the researcher was that

the 81 group were satisfied with their

high protessional status and inco~e. On

the other hand, the P3 did not bother

about climbing up the ladder because

that was just out of reach for th~m.

{b) Teachers possessing the highest academic

qualifications displayed more negative

attitudes towards the headteachers'

admLni.stra.tLve behaviour.

(c) Female teachers generally displayed-more

positive attitudes towards the headteachers'

administrative behaviour.

(d) There was no differenci in attitudes

~mong teachers of different teaching

experiences. This implied that experience

did not have any influence on teacher

attitudes toward the headteachers' a

d~i-nistrative behaviour.

(e) The youugest teachers (those below 30

di~played more negative attitudes

towards the headteachers1

administra-ti ve behaviour.'

Cf) Professionally qualified teachers showed

more favourable attitudes towards

head-teacehrs1 administrative behaviour than

the untrained teachers.

The review was divided into two parts. Part one

dwelt on Leade rshi.p, cornmuni ca t Lon , motivation and

evaLuat ion. Part two, on'tll.-e i.Gtherhand, 'was,a' '. i "'r' ,',.

perusal through some studies carried out in the past

on teac.i1erp-erception of headteachers 1 supervisory .

practic2s!a~~inistrative behaviour.

From the review,

i

t

is clear that in orde~ for

-the headteacher to get his/her bearings in the field

of supelvisionand develop appropriate skills for

effective supervisory practices, he/she needs to

perc~ivo hislher ~ork in relation to that of the

teacbers and

IT

t

h

e

r

components in the school. He/she

need~ to undelstand the use of power and authority in