Impact of Supervision on Staff Performance in School

Literature Review

Education has been the most important aspect in all the countries. Because of the interesting outcome that it may deliver in the entire community, education became available in all parts of the region, bearing the mission to develop the country. With the help of the government and other international social working organizations, the education and its impact towards the society is emphasized. In the collaboration of the educators, administrators and other school staff, the effective pedagogical model and concept had been successfully created. However, because of the challenges that the school received from the past years, the performance of the school staff and the other personnel has been criticized.

Typically, the performance of each individual should create an impression in the entire organization and like the business organizations, school staffs are supposed to contribute the effectiveness in their performance. The performance that each staff might contribute represents the various factors such as the functions and roles assigned for them; the organizational structure in which they operate; their workload; and work management. In addition, the performance of the staff can be supervised according to the tasks or responsibilities given to them (Henderson & Gysbers, 2006). It is crucial for the school administration to set the standards for the staff to keep them align in their field of work or to formulate the kind of motivational approaches to increase the performance of the individuals. Therefore, the supervision of the school staff is the most effective way that the administration perceived to successfully aim their targets of improvement among their staffs. In support of this, it is clear that the attitudes and competencies of the supervisors can influence the staff through the training and provided support in their profession.

Supervising the Performance

Staff supervision is also called staff coaching because of the ongoing staff support, is described to be one of the component of professional development. This includes the variety of education, training, and development activities. The common goal of staff supervision is to increase the knowledge and skills of the staff in order to facilitate the improvement in their performance (Burkhauser & Metz, 2009).

It is true that the performance of an individual lies in his ability to cope with the changes and adopt the working conditions. But one cannot be successful without the aid or guidance coming from their superior. This is the most common presentation of supervision, guiding the subordinates to achieve the expected outcome. The supervision of the staff has their own unique of procedures that are equally influential in the career opportunities. However, the supervision services coming from the superiors or other school officials might be difficult for it has to be with a direct contact on the daily work of the staff. Still, the supervisors are looking forward to deliver the appropriate outcome for the staff and create a positive impact in the staff performance.

There are many questions that can be asked on the efficacy of supervision, but in the examination on the school settings from various countries, the supervision and the associated actions or concern on supervision services depends on the situation of the country or their traditions, the specific roles and functions of the supervisions. Furthermore, the experience of teaching in their respective subjects is also highlighted to create a successful drive on the control and support of supervision. The supervisors’ roles are also changed and sometimes called as the “advisors” of the staff. The contribution of the supervisors in the staff performance creates an impact, especially in organizing the different services (UNESCO, 2007).

Based on the various coaching theories, the supervisor should have the knowledge in the area of the staff and have to build the relationship. This is for the reason that supervisors should build the respect, trust, and collegiality that increase the interaction abilities of the staff. Both staff and the supervisor should engage in wide variety of activities. Through the help of the guidance and supervision program, the staff are allowed too experiment, practice, and learn through their mistakes. All of the experience that the staff can gather is effective reference or sources for his sole decision making. The school administration should thereby, promote the supervision initiatives with the aim of long-term professional development strategy (Burkhauser & Metz, 2009).

Performance and Development

One of the most basic ways in maintaining the performance of the staff, the supervisors is using the tools such as the assessment methods and appraisal kits. Appraising the performance of the staff is the duty of the supervisor to determine the improvement on the staff performance as well as the involving complexity. The appraisals are set in order to supervise the accomplishment of the job, goals, and standards. This can be also done in day-by-day basis, as far as it is responding on the changing needs of the staff and their phases of improvement (PATH, 2003).

References:

Burkhauser, M., & Metz, A.J., (2009) Using Coaching to Provide Ongoing Support and Supervision to Out-of-School Time Staff, Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Out-of-School Time Programs: The Role of Frontline Staff, [Online] Available at: http://www.childtrends.org/Files/Child_Trends-2009_02_11_RB_StaffCoaching.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2010].

Henderson, P., & Gysbers, N.C., (2006) Providing Administrative and Counseling Supervision for School Counselors [Online] Available at: http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas06/vistas06.35.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2010].

PATH, (2003) Guidelines for Implementing Supportive Supervision, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) [Online] Available at: http://www.path.org/vaccineresources/files/Guidelines_for_Supportive_Supervision.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2010].

UNESCO, (2007) Management of Supervision Staff, Reforming School Supervision for Quality Improvement [Online] Available at: http://www.unesco.org/iiep/PDF/TR_Mods/SUP_Mod4.pdf [Accessed 23 July 2010].