Gone were the days when supervision was thought to be an act of witch-hunting by teachers. Just the mere hint that a teacher would be supervised would create unfavourable nervous reactions in the teacher in question. The teacher would consider supervision as a do-or-die affair. To her, either she performed excellently or she would be subjected to severe punishment like termination of the appointment. These ought not to be. Contemporary supervision differs from the old practice of supervision.
By definition, Supervision is the act of monitoring and regulation of processes, delegated activities, responsibilities, or tasks. Thus, a supervisor can be said to be a person who monitors and regulates employees in their performance of duties assigned or delegated. Supervisors are usually authorized to recommend or effect discipline, promotions, punishments, rewards and other associated activities regarding employees in their departments.
One of the major roles of a supervisor is Instructional Leadership. Instructional leaders improve quality of instruction by furthering professional growth for all teachers in service. A supervisor should be flexible enough to deal with any situation and should maintain good relationships with members of staff. For example, he/she should consider teacher’s inputs, help teachers to do their jobs, listen to and sympathize with teachers concerning their problems; facilitate communication and alleviated anxieties.
Characteristics of good supervisors are originality, popularity, sociability good judgments, good humour and cooperativeness. Their involvements in the actual acts of instruction should be their priority.
A supervisor should be a COACH.
Good coaching involves working with employees to establish suitable goals, action plans and timelines. The supervisor delegates and also provides ongoing guidance and support to employees as they complete their action plans. Job goals be established while considering other aspects of an
employee's life, example, time available for training, career preferences, personal strengths and weaknesses, etcetera.
A supervisor is sometimes confronted between being a supervisor and helping employees to maintain their confidence.
A supervisor serves as an advocate for the organization he/ she works for. Often, the supervisor is the first person to tell employees about new policies and programs from management. It is not uncommon that employees are confused and frustrated by these new actions, and need further clarifications and supports from supervisors.
In the rapidly changing world of today's . organizations, it can be a major challenge to present new programs to employees without their being frustrated or even cynical. In view of these, supervisors must be authentic and tactful.
The above mentioned roles are just few of the many roles a supervisor is expected to play Supervisors are not to witch-hunt any teacher, but to correct the defects in teaching and learning processes with a view to improve the quality of teachers’ output.