Supervision is not just a role to be performed but a process. This implies that all those who practice supervision in schools or colleges such as directors, principals, teachers, supervisors, vice-principals, heads of departments, librarians, etc. are supervisors at one time or another.
Supervision is a process wherein a person carries out the responsibility placed on him/her regarding some aspect of the institution’s goals by involving others in the process of getting the work done.
For example, a college principal aiming at institutional effectiveness helps teachers to become more effective in classrooms. The principal in this example is engaged in a supervisory process and is dependent on her staff to enhance institutional effectiveness.
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On the other hand, a task such as preparing a time-table or a budget, writing letters and attending to correspondence etc. are purely administrative processes since their success does not depend on others’ behaviours or contributions.
Some institutional goals are better attained through administrative behaviours while others are better accomplished through supervisory behaviours.
Bureaucratically oriented schools operate through classical-traditional theory rooted in scientific management or nonscientific management. In such a situation, the emphasis is on ‘using’ people to achieve goals of the institution.
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In transitional schools, contemporary practices rooted in human relations are adopted. Here, the emphasis is placed on using and working with people to attain institutional goals.
On the other hand, professionally oriented schools operate through human resources school of management rooted in social sciences wherein the focus is on working with and developing human organization.
This has important implications for supervisory behaviours. In bureaucratically oriented institutions, administrative behaviours are more pronounced as compared to supervisory behaviours.
In transitional institutions, there is a balance between administrative and supervisory behaviours whereas in professionally oriented institutions more emphasis is placed on supervisory behaviours as compared to administrative behaviours.
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Supervisory behaviours, here, are associated with those actions which involve some aspects of change in behaviour such as improving the performance of a teacher, effectiveness of a classroom, attitudes of a group or the direction of an institution.
On the other hand, administrative behaviours may or may not be associated with changes. In professionally mature institutions, the dominant pattern of behaviour should be supervisory rather than administrative.