A Study on Instructional Supervision by Principals in type 1C Schools in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Instructional supervision has been identified as the most important mechanism and also a key factor in terms of professional development of teachers. Also it has been found that the main purpose of instructional supervision is to support teachers to identify their strengths, areas that need improvement and thus improve their teaching skills which directly benefit students’ high level of educational performance. This study focused on investigating the role of instructional supervision of type 1C school principals in Sri Lanka. The objectives of this study were to identify how principals of type 1C schools perceive the concept of instructional supervision; find out how principals of type 1C schools engage in instructional supervision; and identify challenges principals face when engaging in instructional supervision. Altogether eight schools, eight principals and120 teachers were selected for the study.  Both semi structured interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data necessary. The findings revealed that all the principals in the type 1C schools have positive perception about the role of instructional supervision and have formed an instructional supervisory team including the principal. However the study revealed that the majority of principals in the type 1C schools do not engage in role of instructional supervision due to the major challenge of having engage in general administration roles than the instructional roles.