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Supervision has medieval Latin origins and was defined originally as “a process of perusing or scanning a text for errors or deviations from the originaltext” (Smyth, 1991, p. 30).
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An examination of early records during the colonial period indicates that the term inspector is referenced frequently.
Be there hereby established a committee of inspectors to visit ye School from time to time, when and as oft as they shall think fit, to Enform themselves of the methodes used in teaching of ye Schollars and to Inquire of their proficiency, and be present at the performance of some of their Exercises, the Master being before Notified of their Coming, And with him to consult -
In the late 19th century, the schoolmen, specifically superintendents, began shaping schools in large cities into organized networks. Organization was the rallying cry nationally and locally. There was a firm belief that highly organized and efficient schools would meet the demands of a newly born industrialized age.
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n the first two decades of the 20th century, schooling grew dramatically. As the size and complexity of schools increased, greater administrative specialization was readily apparent. Supervisors gained in stature and authority in the early 20th century. A special supervisor, which was mostly women and a general supervisor which was usually male filled these roles in education.
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As a result of the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor (1911), who published a book titled The Principles of Scientific Management, “efficiency” became the watchword of the day. The worker, according to Taylor, was merely a cog in the business machinery, and the main purpose of management was to promote the efficiency of the worker
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Supervisors tried to change their image as “snoopervisors” by adopting alternate methods of supervision. This resulted in the opposition of autocratic supervisory methods.
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The methods of science should be applied to the study and practice of supervision. More concretely, A. S. Barr (1931) asserted that a scientific analysis of teaching is a necessary part of the training of a supervisor.
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The principal focus of supervision during this time was a concerted effort by those engaged in supervision to provide leadership in five ways:1) developing mutually acceptable goals, (2) extending cooperative and democratic methods of supervision, (3) improving class room instruction, (4) promoting research into educational problems, and (5) promoting professional leadership.
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Uncertainty in the field of supervision brought forth the adoption of clinical supervision. The premise of clinical supervision was that teaching could be improved by a prescribed, formal process of collaboration between teacher and supervisor. The literature of clinical supervision has been replete with concepts of collegiality, collaboration, assistance, and improvement of instruction.
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Teachers were given more formal responsibilities for setting school policies, thus enhancing democratic governance in schools (Glanz, 1992; Kirby, 1991). Johnson (1990) observed that “although schools have long been under the control of administrators, local districts are increasingly granting teachers more formal responsibility for setting school policies”
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Although the democratic methods “changing concepts” model had an impact on supervision in the 1990s, over the past several years, especially since the turn of the new century, supervisory practice has been shaped and influenced by the general movement toward standards-based reform. Standards-based reform has affected supervision so greatly that we have identified a new and current model of supervision.
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President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Legislation of 1965. The purpose of the new legislation was to redefine the federal role in K–12 education and to help raise student achievement, especially for disadvantaged and minority students.
