RESEARCH PROPOSAL:

A STUDY ON CHALLENGES OF INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISION AT THREE

SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SRI AMAN, SARAWAK.

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of study
 In Malaysia, as in many other developing countries, education has been considered to be
one of the imperative fields of economic growth and developments.
 According to Segun (2004), the importance of school supervision in today’s educational
system requires for a greater attention.
 Nowadays, people are becoming more conscious than in the past about the significance
of education and people are getting more interested to get involved in school’s system to
ensure the achievement of the school’s instruction as well as to be part of the school’s
activities (Beesong & Ojong, 2009).

1.2 Statement of Problem

 Not all schools in Malaysia could implement it successfully, especially for the schools
that are located at the remote area such as in Sarawak.
 Instructional supervision plays a vital role in ensuring the teachers always keep on
improving and enhancing their knowledge and skills in teaching.
 However, does it really work in schools? So, who should to be blamed on this matter?
Is it due to the lack of time, resources, teachers’ motivation or the school management?

1.3 Research objectives

Given this background, the aim of this study is as mentioned below:

1. To examine the challenges of instructional supervision among secondary school

teachers at rural areas in Sarawak

2. To identify the significance of instructional supervision towards students’

performance
1.4 Research questions
This particular study seeks to answer the following research questions:
1. What are the challenges in implementing instructional supervision at secondary
rural schools?

2. What are the significance of instructional supervision towards students’

performance?

1.5 Limitations and Delimitations

 This study is limited in a way it will only be carried out to three secondary schools in
district Sri Aman, Sarawak which are SMK St Luke, SMK Sri Aman and SMK
Simanggang.
 Delimitation of this study; it is only applicable to three secondary schools in Sri Aman
that have been stated above.
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.0 Introduction
 Malaysia’s government believes that in order to survive in the competitive world
economy, quality of education is the most helpful and functional key. (Afolakemi O &
David O.,2006).
 Supervision could be seen as an interaction involving some kind of established
relationship between and among people, such that people influence people (Patrick,
2009).

2.1 Models and Methods of Supervision

2.1.1 Clinical Supervision

 The original clinical supervision model included a six-step cycle made up of
conferences, observations and pattern analysis merged in three distinct phases: the
pre- observation conference, the classroom observation, and the post-observation
conference (Zepeda, 2003).
 Soelen (2003) claimed that clinical supervision is perceived as a direct method of
supervision due to the standard cycle with a predetermined number of conferences
and observations, regardless of the career stage and experience of the teacher.

2.1.2 Collaborative supervision

 Harris and Ovando (1992) defined that collaborative supervision is a “process by
which people with diverse expertise such as teachers, principals, and supervisors
work together with equal status and share commitment in order to achieve
mutually beneficial instructional goals”.
  Instructional supervision of this kind can be achieved through a peer coaching or
a peer supervision model in which peers observe one another and provide
feedback in a nonthreatening manner (Manning, 1988).

2.1.3 Developmental supervision

 Developmental supervision supports the teacher in taking a personal journey by
encouraging reflection on practice (Benin, 2006).
 Developmental supervision provides individualized, client-centered guidance
where the teacher and supervisor have a partnership in inquiry (Blumberg, 1980)
that leads to teacher self-direction (Glickman et al., 1998).
 The goal of developmental supervision is to support teachers in becoming self-
directing.

2.1.4 Differentiated supervision

 As in Soelen (2003), Glatthorn (1997) defined differentiated supervision as “an
approach to supervision that provides teachers with options about the types of
supervisory and evaluative services that they could receive.”
 Marczely (2001) believed that a goal of differentiated supervision was to provide
reasoned and meaningful supervision for every teacher.

2.2 Effective instructional supervision

 Andrews, Basom, and Basom (2001) stated that the main purpose of instructional
leadership is to improve and accomplish instruction by utilizing supervision as a
way to improve teachers’ skills and abilities.
 According to Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (1998), supervision must be
accepted to assist teachers in order to improve as well as enhance their
instructional skills and abilities.

2.3 Ineffective instructional supervision

 Supervision at its best should be a collaborative approach rather than “inspection,
oversight, and judgment” (Blasé & Blasé, 2004, p. 8). To add to ineffective supervision, Renihan
(2005) provided the Profile of a Lousy Supervisor as below:

• Demonstrates inadequate basic listening skills;

• Unclear expectations;
• Did not have a sense of how teachers were doing;
• No initial conference to identify your needs;
• Unprepared for supervising the lesson;
• Supervisee did not value the opinion;
• No basic understanding about what you were teaching;
• Only vague feedback provided;
• Supervisor’s focus was on developing the skill/technique, not you as a person;
• Exclusively negative feedback;
• Supervisee was left not knowing what to improve on;
• Purpose was only to fill a requirement to have a certain number of supervisions completed (p.
4).
 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

 Mixed-method research (quantitative and qualitative)
 This study will be designed to get some reviews on principals and teachers on their
perspective on the challenges of instructional supervision at their schools

3.2 Samples and Population

 Population: Rural secondary schools in Sri Aman, Sarawak
 Sample: 3 principals and teachers of SMK St Luke, SMK Sri Aman and SMK
Simanggang.

3.4 Instrumentation
 Questionnaire
 Semi-structured Interview

3.4.1 Section A: Demographic Data

3.4.2 Section B: Perceptions on objectives of supervision
3.4.3 Section C: Perceptions on sufficiency of school resources / facilities
3.4.4 Section D: Perceptions on efficiency of school management
3.4.5 Section E: Perceptions on teachers and principals’ motivation towards
instructional supervision

3.5 Data Analysis

 SPSS 14.0
 Frequency