Teacher Supervision Practices and Principals’ Characteristics

Authors

  • Daniel April Université Laval
  • Yamina Bouchamma

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v61i3.56104

Keywords:

school principals, practices, individual and group pedagogical supervision, professional learning community, Mots clefs, Directions d’établissement scolaire, pratiques, supervision pédagogique individuelle et collective, communauté d’apprentissage profess

Abstract

A questionnaire was used to determine the individual and collective teacher supervision practices of school principals and vice-principals in Québec (n = 39) who participated in a research-action study on pedagogical supervision. These practices were then analyzed in terms of the principals’ sociodemographic and socioprofessional characteristics and certain aspects of their schools. Results show that the principals favoured individual over collective supervision and tended to forego preliminary meetings. Furthermore, principals in “disadvantaged” areas were more inclined to provide the necessary training and supervision to help their teachers make informed decisions. Recommendations for more effective teacher supervision are proposed for principals to ultimately improve student achievement.

Cette étude, menée par questionnaire, a porté sur les pratiques de supervision pédagogique individuelle et collective de directions et de directions adjointes d’établissement scolaire du Québec (n = 39) qui participent à une formation-recherche-action portant sur la supervision pédagogique. Cet article rend compte de leurs pratiques en supervision pédagogique individuelle et collective et établit des liens entre ces pratiques et les caractéristiques (sociodémographiques, socioprofessionnelles et de certaines caractéristiques de leurs établissements) des directions. Les résultats montrent que les directions font plus de supervision pédagogique individuelle que de supervision collective et qu’ils ont tendance à ne pas consacrer du temps aux prérencontres. De plus, les directions des milieux défavorisés tendent à fournir plus de formation et d’encadrement nécessaires pour prendre des décisions avisées. À la lumière de ces résultats nous proposons des recommandations visant un meilleur accompagnement pédagogique de l’équipe-école par les directions, dans l’optique d’amélioration de la réussite des élèves.

Author Biographies

Daniel April, Université Laval

Daniel April is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Education Fundamentals and Practices at Université Laval. His research interests focus on pedagogical supervision, professional learning communities and results-based management approach.

Yamina Bouchamma

Yamina Bouchamma (Ph. D. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies, 2000) is full Professor at the Department of Foundations and Practices in Education at Laval University, Quebec City, Canada. Her fields of research are professional learning community, exemplary schools, academic achievement, supervision of teachers, linguistic and ethnic minorities. 

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Published

2016-03-29

How to Cite

April, D., & Bouchamma, Y. (2016). Teacher Supervision Practices and Principals’ Characteristics. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 61(3), 329–346. https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v61i3.56104

Issue

Vol. 61 No. 3 (2015): Fall

Section

ARTICLES

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