Instructional supervision for teacher learning from the perspective of the teachers and instructional supervisors : the case of two UAE schools -

Abstract

Instructional supervisors at schools are considered to hold a major responsibility for improving instruction by providing teachers with professional development activities aimed at teacher learning (Glickman, Gordon and Ross-Gordon, 2010), yet little research extensively studies the actions of instructional supervisors that promote or hinder teacher learning especially from the perspectives of both teachers and supervisors. This explanatory and exploratory qualitative case study sought to compare the perspective of teachers and instructional supervisors on instructional supervisors’ practices that promote or hinder teacher learning, the nature of professional learning that is attributed to result from instructional supervisory practices, and the organizational conditions under which this learning occurs. It yielded a list of teacher learning promotive factors, instructional supervisory practices and organizational conditions. Similar interviews took place at the two participating schools and the findings were interpreted separately and comparatively across schools. Participants identified the factors that lead to teacher learning as reflection, reading, daily practice, attending PD workshops, teacher willingness to learn, observing the actions of others, dialogue, peer collaboration, and receiving feedback. As for the promotive instructional supervisory practices, those were found to be being responsive to teacher needs, setting a supportive learning environment and holding teachers accountable, providing constructive feedback, building a trusting relationship with teachers, leading by example, mentoring, and building a culture of constant collaborative learning between teachers and instructional supervisors. The organizational conditions found to be promotive of teacher learning were having scheduled learning time dedicated solely to teacher learning, budget allocations for teacher learning, having a climate of support for learning, having teacher learning as an upheld organizational value, having shared of