Paradigm Shift : Administration and Supervision to Instructional Leadership

The quality of education has been the subject of studies and researches in many countries,
including the Philippines for the past decades. The concern for quality education and quality monitoring
brought to the fore the renewed interest in supervision coupled with quality monitoring.

Goddard and Richards (1998) describe the renewed interest in supervision , to wit:

“Supervision – a neglected area of education management for a long time. During 1970s, the word
“inspector” or even “supervisor had a negative connotation and even became a taboo term in some
countries. Inspection was seen as an old- fashioned non- democratic institution and few countries
got rid only of the terminology but also of the supervision service itself.”

Even today, it is symptomatic that most countries do not publish any data or statistics on
supervision and support services. Not only do they not publish them; they are often simply available. Even
more serious is the fact that most ministries are not able to answer an apparently simple question if
countries are interested in spotting critical (and probably small) investments that could have a
proportionally important impact on school efficiency.

Nevertheless, since the beginning of the 1990s, there has undoubtedly been renewed worldwide
interest in issues of quality and therefore in quality monitoring and supervision. Some countries that had
dismantled their supervision services earlier have re- established them (such as the Philippines), while
others that did not have them in the past have created them (such as China and Sweden). More
importantly, the number of countries that initiate a process of reorganizing and strengthening supervision
services is increasing every year.

In the synthesis of research findings by Weber (1987), he translated the investigations to a general
term, instructional leadership that includes “both human management and supervision functions, and more
besides. He underscored that :

Beyond the direct contact with teachers, (supervision ) and the control of support services for
instruction (management) leadership duties include some overarching concerns such as defining school
goals, setting standards and influencing the learning climate. It includes both the tone and the substance of
a leader’s relationship with faculty, students and community.

Weber describes leadership as “authority invested in a trusted person and thus qualifies as a kind
of moral and transformational power over the organization.” The leadership process is “interpersonal and
dynamic.” He presents the synthetic model of the major functions of instructional leadership :

1. Setting school academic goals

2. Maximizing effects of instructional organization
3. Hiring, supervising and evaluating teachers
4. Protecting instructional time and programs
5. Setting standards for achievement/setting tone for learning climate
6. Monitoring achievement levels/evaluating programs

Maximizing effects
of instructional
organization

Setting school academic goals Hiring, supervising,

evaluating teachers

Monitoring achievement
Protecting instructional
levels/evaluating programs time and programs

Settings standards for

achievement/setting tone for
learning climate
 Name : ____________________________________________________ Date Submitted : ____________

Name: Lorielyn R. Gooc

 Activity :

1. Based on personal experience when you were younger, how did you see your school principal ?
Draw a graphic organizer illustrating your impressions or image of the principal. Describe each
answer briefly. Good Adviser
Brave
Role model in inspiring students

Principal

Hard working
Open minded

Humble

2. Does the image you have of your school principal changed as you were growing up?

Answer: My impression to my principal doesn't change so far. Though sometimes, they didn't meet
my expectations but as I grow in the institution I've observed that they really did their best. They
work hard to make the students better and for the school. They may have imperfections but it
didn't serve as hindrance to make good things in the school, to students, and to the people.