Improvement of learning and teaching through instructional supervision in technical and vocational education (TVE) institutions in Nigeria : principals' and teachers' perception

Abstract

Generally, school leaders use instructional supervision to improve learning and teaching by providing practising teachers with on-going support and guidance after their initial teacher training programmes. Public opinion and research studies have questioned the effectiveness of the supervisory process in Nigerian public technical and vocational secondary schools. However, the main purpose of this study is to better understand the practice of instructional supervision in the schools by examining teachers’, and principals’ perspectives about how they experienced and conceptualised pre-observation conference in instructional supervision. The study also sought to uncover aspects pre-observation conference of instructional supervision that teachers and principals think should be practised. A survey (quantitative method) approach was employed to collect data from multiple sources including questionnaires, and policy documents on instructional supervision. Items for the questionnaires were guided by aspects of conducting pre-observation conference in instructional supervision drawn from the literature and included both traditional and formal practices as monitoring and evaluating teachers’ work. The questionnaire included 30 Likert scale items. For each Likert scale item, participants were asked to answer how often they experienced a particular practice as well as the extent to which they agreed that it should be practised. Four technical vocational colleges and one business apprenticeship training centre in Katsina State in Nigeria were selected for the study. One hundred and thirteen (113) out of one hundred and twenty (120) teachers and five (5) principals as well as twenty (20) out of twenty three (23) supervisory staffs returned their questionnaires. The study found that, the state policy document on instructional supervision emphasised aspects of instructional supervision that related to monitoring teaching activities and ensuring maximum use of instructional time. Teachers and principals in this study practised, such as experienced and conceptualised instructional supervision which comprised mainly “traditional” aspects. While the participants were mostly happy about these traditional practices, they also thought that all of the contemporary aspects of pre-observation conference in instructional supervision that were included on the questionnaire should be practised much more often than they currently experienced. This research project concludes by recommending that, Science and Technical Education Board as well as education authorities consult with teachers to revise the state policy guide on instructional supervision to include more contemporary practices, and also plan a long term budgetary allocation to provide sustainable training programmes to teachers and supervision personnel to improve instruction, and ultimately outcomes for students, in Nigerian technical and vocational schools.