SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION

AND SUPERVISON

B. Ed (1.5 Years)

Code: 8616 Units: 1–9

Department of Educational Planning, Policy
Studies and Leadership
Faculty of Education
Allama Iqbal Open University
Islamabad

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 DISCLAIMER

The materials for the content development of this course were initially collected and
prepared from several sources. A substantial amount of effort has been made to review
and edit the materials and convert them into this courseware. References and
acknowledgements are given as required. Care has been taken to avoid errors, but
errors are possible. Please let us know of errors or failed links you discover.

(All Rights Reserved with the Publisher © AIOU 2017)

Edition: .......................................... First

Printing:......................................... 2017

Quantity: .......................................

Price .............................................. Rs.

Typesetter: .................................... M. Hameed Zahid

Printing Coordinator: .................... Printing Press Operations Committee

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Publisher: ...................................... Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY

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 PREFACE

Newly appointed school administrators are often confused when faced with the
prospect of having to assume a leadership role in a complex organization like a school or
school system. Where does one start? An effective method would be to systematically
examine the vital components that make up an organization. A system of organizational
diagnosis and prescription will lead to a comprehensive and integrated analysis of the
organization's strengths and weaknesses and point the way toward possible
improvement. This course “School Administration and Supervision” suggests such a
sequential and systematic approach. Utilizing it effectively can produce dramatic results
in school management and administration.

This is a book about school administration and supervision. School administration is

primarily about leadership. The conventional wisdom is that leaders are born, not made
but more importantly, scholarly research indicates that skills can be learned. Granted,
some leaders will be superior to others because of genetics, but the basic leadership
skills are learned and can be cultivated and enhanced. In nine units of this book, first
four units speak about administration, while unit number five, six, seven and eight deal
with supervision. Unit number nine deals with the use of technology in administration
and supervision.

The effective building blocks of quality school administration/leadership are the

concepts of educational administration, administrative structure, functions and tasks of
school administrator and the concept of supervision. Mastering the theory and practice
in these areas of study will produce high-quality leadership ability and, in turn, produce
successful school administrators; application of this knowledge will result in highly
successful school administration and supervision.

There is an assumption that many educational practitioners make regarding effective

administration is that “nice guys (and gals) finish last.” To be a successful administrator,
the belief goes, one needs to be firm, direct, even autocratic. Once again, scholarly

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research, as well as my own experience, indicates that no one singular leadership style is
consistently effective in all situations and at all times. Empirical and experiential studies
indicate that effective leaders vary their styles depending on the situation.

It has been experience that graduate students in educational administration often

complain that they are taught only theory and are left to their own devices to apply
it. This approach is not the worst instructional method in that educators should be
trained to be reflective practitioners who constantly strive to connect theory to
practice. However, a truly effective instructional technique is to help students along in
making those connections. Thus, at the end of each unit, there are activities that are
specifically aimed at placing theory into practice.

Another assumption that is generally held by administrators is that if dramatic changes

are not made during the first year of one’s tenure, the so-called honeymoon period,
changes may never be made. Once again, I challenge this assumption. I believe that
change is far more effective when it is made in a culture of trust and participation.

We can say that there are some principles of effective leadership/ administration. Effective
leaders/administrators:

 must be keenly aware of the organizational structure and culture of the school
 must be able to engender a sense of trust in the faculty and staff
 need to continuously improve the school program and, therefore, must be able to be
agents for change
 need to be able to adapt their leadership style to the situation
 need to be well organized and creative and have a clearly articulated educational
vision

In my view, which is supported by a prodigious amount of empirical research, if an

administrator can master the knowledge and skills encompassed in these principles, and
do it with heart, he or she will be highly successful.

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 Dr. Nasir Mahmood

Dean Faculty of Education

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 COURSE TEAM

Chairman: Dr. Azhar Mumtaz Saadi

Course Writers: Dr. Azhar Mumtaz Saadi

Dr. Syeda Samina Tahira

Mr. Hamid Ali Nadeem

Course Reviewers: Dr. Azhar Mumtaz Saadi

Dr. Nasrullah

Mr. Hamid Ali Nadeem

Editor: Mr. Fazal Karim

Typesetter: Mr. Muhammad Hameed

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 CONTENTS
Page No.
Preface ........................................................................................................................ iii

Introduction of the Course .......................................................................................... xi

Objectives of the Course ............................................................................................. xii

Course Outline ............................................................................................................ ix

Unit–1: Introduction to Educational Administration ............................................... 1

Unit–2: Educational Administrative Structures ....................................................... 13

Unit–3: School Administration and its functions..................................................... 29

Unit–4: Evaluative Role of Administration ............................................................. 39

Unit–5: Approaches of Supervision ......................................................................... 55

Unit–6: Functions of Supervision ............................................................................ 69

Unit–7: Synergic Supervision .................................................................................. 97

Unit–8: Supervising School Improvement............................................................... 107

Unit–9: Use of Technology in Administration and Supervision.............................. 123

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 INTRODUCTION OF THE COURSE

Administration is a process of systematically arranging and co-ordinating the human and

material resources available to any organization for the main purpose of achieving
stipulated goals of that organization. When applied to the school system, the process is
referred to as Educational Administration or School Administration. Administration is a
term used to refer more to Government business. Administration occurs in every
organization. The basic aim of administration is the need to get things done for defined
objectives to be accomplished.
Educational Administration is the process of bringing men and materials together for
effective and functional teaching and learning in the school. The focus of educational
administration is the enhancement of teaching and learning. We can define educational
administration as a process through which the school administrators arrange and co-
ordinate the resources available to education, for the purpose of achieving the goals of
the educational system.
School personnel remain one of the most significant resources in the school.
Supervision of the school personnel is central to the attainment of the goals and
objectives of the school.
The essence of supervision is therefore the monitoring of the performance of school
staff, noting the merits and demerits and using befitting and amicable techniques to
ameliorate the flaws while still improving on the merits thereby increasing the standard
of schools and achieving educational goals. Thus, the concern of educational
supervision is the improvement in teaching and teaching environment in order to
promote effective teacher performance and learning in the school.
Supervision is thus a combination or integration of a number of processes,
procedures and conditions that are consciously designed with the sole aim of
advancing the work effectiveness of teachers and other personnel involved in the
schooling process.
This course is designed with an intention to equip the prospective school leaders,
administrators and managers with latest knowledge and practices. They will be
introduced to the concept of administration and supervision in schools and they will
come to know different types structures and styles to do their duties as a school
administrator.
We should note that educational supervision focuses on changing the behavior of staff
for an improved performance. In most cases, it is internally arranged by the school
head and at times assisted by other agencies and stakeholders. Supervision pays
more attention to personnel and instructional delivery more than the pupils in the
school. In other words to enhance instruction, the role of the supervisors should be
supportive, assisting, explanative, encouraging, guiding, advisory, improving and
sharing rather than directing.

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 Dr. Azhar Mumtaz Saadi
Course Coordinator
OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

The course is designed for graduate students who will hold administrative role and work
in the classroom (or other positions such as instructional supervisor) in their schools.
Depending on their educational administration career aspirations it will develop and
demonstrate understanding of content and skills that have been aligned with
educational objectives.

As graduate student enrolled in this program one will be expected to:

1. Extend his/her knowledge of pedagogy and leadership.

2. Enlarge his/her understanding of schooling and develop an appreciation of the

political, economic and social forces that influence the decisions of educational
leaders.

3. Share in-depth analyses and discussions of theory for application to real-world

experiences.

4. Manage a school successfully as a trained administrator through solving different

problems and issues in the school.

5. Complete a comprehensive exam during his/her final semester demonstrating

his/her competencies in educational leadership.

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 COURSE OUTLINES
FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION

(B.Ed 1.5 Year Programme)

Course Code: 8616 Credit Hours 03

Course Developer/Coordinator: Dr. Azhar Mumtaz Saadi

Course Description:

This course is designed to introduce the learners with the educational administration and
supervision. The administrative structures at national, regional and local level are complex
and multidimensional. It is important for future teachers and head teachers to learn about
the structures and functions of educational administration. One most important function
among many others is supervision. Educational supervision specifically at district and
school level plays a significant role in educational improvement. Therefore this course
highlights the approaches and functions of supervision.

Learning Outcomes:

After completing this course the learners will be able to:

1. Work through the administrative structures effectively
2. Perform well in collaborating with various administrative heads
3. Design administrative and supervisory plans of action
4. Supervise the academic as well as administrative functions of educational
institutions.
Course Outline:
Unit–1: Introduction to Educational Administration
1.1 Concept and Definitions of Administration
1.2 Levels of Administration
1.3 Educational Administration and its Scope
1.4 Administrative Roles and Responsibilities

Unit–2: Educational Administrative Structures

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 2.1 Central Bodies of Educational Administration
2.2 Provincial and Regional Structures of Educational Administration
2.3 Administrative Structures of Government /Public Schools
2.4 Administrative Structures of Private Schools

Unit–3: School Administration and its Functions

3.1 School Heads’ Responsibilities
3.2 Academic Heads’ Responsibilities
3.3 Administration Office and Its functions
3.4 Administrative Personal

Unit–4: Evaluative Role of Administration

4.1 Performance Appraisal

4.2 Financial Audits

4.3 Academic Audit
4.4 Administrative Evaluation

Unit–5: Approaches of Supervision

5.1 Authoritarian
5.2 Laissez Faire
5.3 Synergistic
5.4 Developmental approach

Unit–6: Functions of Supervision

6.1 Articulating and Achieving the Missions and Needs

6.2 Monitoring and Evaluation

6.3 Support and Advise
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 6.4 Liaison

Unit–7: Synergic Supervision

7.1 Dual Focus
7.2 Joint Effort

7.3 Two Way Communication

7.4 Focus on Competence
7.5 Growth Orientation
Unit–8: Supervising School Improvement
8.1 Supervising Physical Infrastructure
8.2 Supervising Administrative Practices
8.3 Supervising Resource Management
8.4 Supervising Teaching and Learning
8.5 Supervising School Environment

Unit–9: Use of Technology in Administration and Supervision

9.1 Developing Accounting and Auditing Systems
9.2 Ubiquitous Supervision
9.3 Creating Web Tools for Monitoring and Evaluation
9.4 Online Reporting and Dissemination of Information

Recommended Books:
Wiles, J. (Bondi, J. (2000). Supervision: A guide to Practice. NJ: Prentice Hall.

Oliva, Pl f. & Pawlas, G. E. (1997). Supervision for Today’s Schools. White Plains, NY:
Longman.

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Daresh, J. C. (2007). Leading and Supervising Instruction. California: Crown Press.

Creemers, B. P. M. and Kyriakides (2014). Improving Quality in Education. New York:

Routledge.

Web Resources:
http://www.iiep.unesco.org/capacity-development/training/training-materials/school-
supervision.html.

http://www.ascd.org/ascd/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198011_glickman.pdf

http://www.staffingpractices.soe-vt.edu/supervision.htm

http://www.nuepa.org/libdoc/e-library/articles/2002rstyagi.pdf

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