An assessment of effectiveness of supervision in basic schools in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa district

Abstract

The study investigated the effectiveness of instructional supervision at the basic school level in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District. The study covered the district education office and all the 62 Junior High Schools in the district. There are seven circuits in the district and four circuits were randomly selected for the study. The data were collected with the use of questionnaire and interview guide. Simple percentages were calculated to analyse the data. The main findings of the study were that internal supervision was mostly carried out in the schools with external supervision being in the form of brief and occasional visits. Also it was found out that students and teachers especially view supervision as a threat and become anxious interacting with supervisors. Again, instructional supervision in the district is faced with problems such as lack of logistics, a feeling of insufficiency on the part of supervisors, and lack of means of transport for external supervisors which rendered supervisors’ work less effective. It was recommended that internal supervision should be strengthened, regular in-service training programme be organized for supervisors. The appointment of supervisors should take into consideration the qualification and experiences of teachers. Heads of schools should be attached to schools and an evaluation programme should be instituted for supervisory activities to enable supervisors perform their work more effectively.