PLANNING OF NEW APPROACHES IN SCHOOL SUPERVISION

‘Good supervision is always concerned with the development of the teacher, the growth of the pupil and the improvement of the teaching-learning process.’

- Jon A. Bartky

Introduction

It has been observed that the approaches being adopted by the educational managers (inspecting officials/school heads) to monitor, supervise and evaluate the educational institutions as a supervising and monitoring official of the Human Resource Development Department are not meeting the expectations and perceptions of the government and the civil society. Moreover, it is seen that the concepts and modalities of monitoring, supervision and evaluation of school education varies from person to person. There is neither specific set of targets diagnosed to be focused upon during the school visits nor specific techniques being adopted to diagnose the inadequacies on teaching learning processes. Thus, the common understanding on the issues of monitoring, supervision and evaluation of school education is the urgent need of present day education system in the state.

As the concerns and perspectives of education are changing, the prospectives of evaluation also have to change accordingly. The purposeful documentations, after the supervision of school, hold significant role in remedial and follow-up activities. This will also help the supervising officers to benchmark the institutional status.

Recording the activities and achievements of schools, analysis, identification of weakness/strengths and providing onsite supports to teachers and school heads, continuity of follow-ups, further recording of improvements (assessment of impact) after providing supports etc. are to be the new approaches for educational supervision and monitoring. This too has to be done with proper planning, prioritizations and specifications.

This will certainly increase the magnitude and complexity of the functions of the educational managers; there is the need to provide appropriate support for managerial accountability and to define role relationships. The clarity of roles will help the individual manager to link her/his work with her/his seniors and subordinates, with other departmental officials (convergence), PRIs, common public and target groups.

The stages and modalities for school evaluation are required to be clear and common to all. This will enable the senior officers to consolidate and analyse the findings of sub-ordinate officers at their respective levels and can provide required/specific supports.

Outcome based child-centered and goal oriented supervision, monitoring and evaluation is the demand of the age and the shifting of focus towards this aspect is to be encouraged at all levels of educational management. There should be preset parameters on already identified and prioritized school specific issues and these parameters are to be kept in mind while supervising, monitoring and evaluating the performance of the school.

It is also expected that the management has to provide a platform where all levels of educational managers meet together in regular interval of time to share their experiences and problems.

We know we may be the experts at our level. We also know the changed prospectives of education and its different approaches of monitoring, supervison and evaluation. But we may not be aware of the approaches amiable to our beneficiaries or we might be working from our own point of perceptions which may not be the correct approach as per the perceptions of the government and the common people. Thus, this is high time for everyone of us to introspect, change the mind set and think about reformations in our working system, conceptions and articulation to move ahead.

Planning for School Supervision

Planning is always considered important in every field. Planning enhances the efficiency of the work, spares time and tracks the outcomes. Hence, it is expected that a supervising officer should have proper plan of school supervision.

The plan should lay emphasis on pedagogical issues being faced by the teachers in the class and different aspects of skill development in a child. Teaching became more than memorizing. It aimed at stimulating children’s interest and enlisting their active participation in the learning process[1]. The planning of school supervision should focus broadly on five major dimensions as under:

a) Physical Dimension;

b) Cognitive Dimension;

c) Social Dimension;

d) Organizational Dimension; and

e) Management Information System.

Physical Dimension: Physical Dimension of the school is one of the main indicators of quality education. It doesn’t mean the beautiful RCC building. Physical dimension means the maintenance of physical environment of the school. Suppose the school is low cost and thatch roofed. But how the Headmaster and teacher have maintained its tidiness (not teacher himself) involving students to make it conducive for teaching learning process. The following components may be significant for planning the supervision of physical dimension:

1. School encourages personal tidiness (hygiene) of children;

2. School encourages children for the tidiness of school campus and classrooms;

3. Teachers use TLMs to make the class congenial for teaching learning process; (Grade-A for self developed TLMs and Grade-B for Readymade TLMs);

4. HM and Teacher sensitize students on environmental pollution, campus plantation with sensitization of importance of plants for the existences of human being on earth, not simply planting of siblings;

5. Availabilities of infrastructure like Blackboards, desk-benches (congeniality to be ensure) student toilet (separate girls toilet if not lower primary and primary school), staff toilet, electrification (if sufficient daylight not available in classrooms), drinking water facility (hydrant/platform congenial for children) and boundary wall if school location poses threats to children safety;

6. School sensitizes panchayats and community to improve school environment;

7. School displays students work on the school notice board or classroom profile;

8. School displays learning stimulating charts, designs in the class (not for HMs and inspectors); and ‘Encourage Corner’ (display of students good works which cannot be displayed at Notice Board);

9. School concerns for the improvement of child friendly elements in the school;

10. School ensures safe environment for the students (both for present and future).

Cognitive Dimension: The main activity of the department is always concern on Cognitive Dimension of the school. This dimension is highly technical and needs lot of expertise. All pedagogical matters are the main components of this dimension. The teaching learning activities and its enabling procedures starts and ends within this dimension. Precisely, the following 66 components are to be kept in mind while planning the supervision of cognitive dimension of the school:

1. School provides democratic schooling (students can ask questions of any type and teacher answer with positive comparison);
2. HM and teacher understand family/society/language backgrounds and academic levels of the children and use this understanding while planning lessons for teaching learning;
3. School encourages positive comparison among children;
4. Teachers identify learning pace of the student and provide support accordingly (slow learners and low achievers are not ignored);
5. HM and teacher maintain student’s profile to track learning level of individual student;
6. HM and teacher have idea about recent concern and prospective of education (aims of education in globalize and high tech village);
7. HM and teacher have ample idea of NCFs, textbooks and modern pedagogy;
8. School relates NCFs with State/District/Locality specific situations being faced by the learners;
9. HM and teacher have best idea of textbooks, its contents and TLMs required for teaching it;
10. HM and teacher have ample idea about how the knowledge is constructed in classroom situation;
11. HM and teacher have ample knowledge how to develop reading, writing, understanding and life skills among students (gradewise and subject wise);
12. HM and teacher are capable of relating the everyday experiences/observation of a child in teaching learning processes;
13. HM and teacher are aware of age appropriate competencies of his students;
14. HM and teacher uses grade-fit vocabulary for teaching/interacting with the child;
15. HM and teacher have higher level of references for teaching;
16. School conducts interesting activities for children and enable them to learn (construct knowledge and enhance enthusiasm for learning);
17. HM and teacher generates learning by asking simple and appropriate questions [interactive Teaching Learning Process(TLP)];
18. School provides self and peer learning with accurate learning records within and outside school;
19. Teacher uses the word like ‘Good’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Excellent’ etc. very often in the class;
20. HM and teacher avail benefits of the lowest achiever in TLP;
21. HM and teacher avail benefits of productive time of a child;
22. HM and teacher provide references other than textbooks;
23. School ensures the highest level of learning and 0% failures with appropriate academic level;
24. School ensures least range of slow and fast learners;
25. School amalgamates knowledge with moral values;
26. School conducts short/long educational tours with students (with parents’ consent);
27. HM and Teacher ensure optimum use of Blackboard and chalks in the class;
28. School uses classroom effectively;
29. HM and Teacher identify and use appropriate TLMs (Teaching-learning materials) for teaching learning process;
30. School prepares question bank for the evaluation of teaching learning process;
31. HM and Teacher refer textbooks if he feels the activities are missing in TLPs;
32. HM and Teacher use family background and learning pace of child while conducting teaching learning activities in the class;
33. School provides learning opportunity to slow learners;
34. School sensitizes vulnerable children;
35. School tries to harness child’s potentiality;
36. HM and Teacher staying at the school station has highest impact on students performance (need to make inventory);
37. Interaction between teacher and students in terms of ‘how much’, ‘how often’ and in ‘what way’ makes much difference in teaching learning process;
38. Interaction between the students and the teachers after and before school has highest impact in the students’ achievements;
39. HM and Teacher work with children for learning;
40. School develops the sense of team activities while conducting teaching learning activities;
41. HM and Teacher accept the students’ feel/think about school/world – conceptualization (its not compulsory to give the answer that the teacher has in his mind);
42. HM and Teacher know children by her/his name not by class and roll number;
43. HM and Teacher know the students’ father and mother individually;
44. Organize maximum activities to ensure maximum learning;
45. HM and Teacher display positive attitudes with children and their parents;
46. HM and Teacher have good rapport with students’ parents and community leaders;
47. Make more joyful and humorous class for learning;
48. Democratic class inspection providing the highest scope for leaning in the class;
49. Congenial sitting arrangement;
50. Provision of equal opportunities to all children to manage class congenially;
51. Use of maximum teaching opportunity time by the teacher;
52. HM and Teacher show maximum positive affectionity and sensitivity towards students;
53. School encourages the institutionalization of different disciplines like regularity, punctuality, serenity etc.;
54. HM and Teacher prepare plan for school (long or short term) as per NCFs and textbooks prescribed for syllabi;
55. HM maintains teachers’ profiles;
56. HM ensures maintenance of Lesson Plan and Lesson Diary by teachers;
57. HM observes class of every teachers and reports to the concern in-charge officer of the his/her jurisdiction periodically;
58. Teacher takes optimal level of accountability on students’ achievements (not failure);
59. Teacher keeps daily records of student’s learning;
60. Teacher corrects students’ works regularly;
61. Teacher evaluates his students with varieties of tools;
62. Teacher makes use of results of every assessment tests for further learning improvement of students (integration of evaluation in the teaching learning process);
63. Teacher assesses his own teaching processes as per the degree of learning of students and modifies teaching process if required;
64. Teacher gives regular constructive feedback to individual student and informs parents about student’s attainment;
65. Teacher promotes peer evaluation process;
66. Teacher use self appraisal and peer appraisal of the children for student assessment.

Social Dimension: Social Dimension is considered important for making the school environment conducive for teaching learning process and for stimulating the teachers’ professional growth. It is the relationships among the school staff, students, parents, PRIs and educational managers. It creates the emotional environment in and outside the school campus. An educational manager should focus on following areas while planning for supervision of social dimension of a school:

1. School creates safe, fear free and encouraging school/classroom environment;
2. HM and teachers create warm, affectionate and attractive school environment where every student loves to come to school;
3. School displays friendly and positive attitudes towards children;
4. HM and teachers try to understand the socio-economic backgrounds of every student;
5. HM and teachers identify the strengths and weaknesses of the students and provide appropriate supports;
6. HM and teachers motivates the children correlating the contents with their daily life experiences;
7. Class Teacher maintains students profile;
8. HM and teachers display sensitivity to the needs of different children;
9. HM and teachers sensitize children regarding the social relations;
10. HM and teachers address the emotional and social problems of the children besides academic aspects;
11. School guides and nurtures the child through the different stages of learning /growing up (e.g. enable child to confide in them, share their feelings, help them in making decisions and choices etc.)
12. School sensitizes the students to respect the culture, traditions, historical monuments and languages;
13. School encourages students to reflect on values and attitudes in daily life.
14. HM and teachers organize, conduct and participate in sports, cultural programme, quiz, debate competitions etc.;
15. School organizes health campaign;
16. School models the values (honesty, kindness, respect for each other etc), attitudes and habits of the students;
17. HM and teachers interact with parents regarding their children’s performance;
18. School undertakes social works in community and encourage students to undertake such works in the society.
19. Children have freedom to express in the classroom;
20. Teachers promote non-threatening school environment;
21. HM and teachers encourages democratic functioning in school/classroom;
22. Social skills taught in the school.
23. School mobilizes the community to enroll their children in school;
24. School mobilizes the parents for their children’s regularity and punctuality;
25. HM and teachers communicate the issues of children’s attendance, behavioural pattern, health and performance in the school;
26. School involves panchayat and community in formulation of school development plan;
27. School involves students and parents in the preparation of TLMs and pedagogical processes of the school;
28. School mobilizes resources from local community to generate sense of community ownership;
29. School establishes healthy relations with PRIs and parents.

Organizational Dimension: Organizational Dimension reflects the management and governance pattern of the school. This dimension determines the efficiency and effectiveness of the schooling processes. The supervising personnel should focus on following components of this dimension while planning for school supervision:

1. School maintains regularity and punctuality of teachers and students;
2. School ensures the optimum utilization of school hours;
3. HM and Teacher maintains high level of attendance in school;
4. HM and teachers love and enjoy teaching job(their activities in the school should reflect this);
5. HM and teachers display accountability and ensure optimal learning of the children through full use of time available;
6. Teachers take responsibility of students’ failure;
7. HM and teachers read support materials available in the school;
8. HM and teachers read books to refresh subject knowledge and pedagogical skills ;
9. HM and teachers show eagerness to participate in trainings or any type of professional development activities;
10. Teachers discuss with colleagues on pedagogical issues;
11. Teachers apply innovation in classroom;
12. All teachers participate in staff meeting/complex level meeting and share good practices with colleagues;
13. HM and teachers share training outcomes (if freshly attended any training) with other teachers and colleagues;
14. HM and teachers collaborate with SIE/DIET personnel by accepting their suggestions;
15. Teachers help each other and address the difficulties faced in teaching children;
16. Teachers share experiences of dealing with exceptional child in the class;
17. School prepares institutional plan and classroom plan for effective learning of children;
18. Teachers strive to resolve conflicts with colleagues amicably.
19. HM and teachers understand the need to reflect on own tasks;
20. Teachers participate in reflection on classroom practice with colleagues at the end of the day regularly;
21. Teachers share innovative practices with other teachers;
22. HM and teachers constantly evaluate/reflect individually and collective with others to bring about further development of students;
23. Teachers undertake action researches/classroom researches.
24. Teachers maintain own class records and school records;
25. HM and Teachers undertake/manage ‘non-class’ in-school activities appropriately (e.g. cooked MDM, SSA programme, Green Mission etc.)

Management Information System: Management Information System is main database activity of the school. It may be called as the numerical translation of whole school processes. However, it is found that maximum teachers, school heads and even educational managers ignore its importance in quality management of school education. The following components may be kept in mind while planning for school supervision:

1.Census of the school aged children and maintenance of Village Education Register in the school;

2.Maintenance of different registers in the school viz. Students and teachers attendance register, yearly student enrolment register, yearly teachers bio-data register, teacher engagement register (for scholastic and non-scholastic purpose) asset (stock) register, leave account register, class observation register, accounts and grants register, proxy register, dispatch register, invigilation register, exam routine register, exam record register (marks statement register), Notice register, student assessment register, inspection register, visitors register, teacher performance register (includes engagement of teachers on extra-curricular activities and his performance), SMC meeting register, parent/guardian meeting register, staff meeting register, etc.;

3.Monthly school staff salary register (for assessment of monthly school cost on human resources);

4.Total school aged children within school catchment area with bifurcation of school going and out of school;

5.Maintenance of registers on best teacher and grade-wise students performance;

6. Conduct of DISE survey.

In the conclusion, it is known to all that supervision in educational management means overall management of teaching learning processes to enhance relevant learning among the children attending schools which covers the educational personnel from principal teacher of a school to apex post of the department. The above qualities are the minimum requisitions to be a supervising officer in the education department at the time of their appointment. The apprehensions among the parents of the children are still to be empathized by the education system of our state.

4th July 2009

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[1] Bhatnagar, Dr. R.P. and Aggarwal, Dr. Vidya, Educational Administration Supervision, Planning and Financing, p. 193