THE INFLUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISION BY QUALITY ASSURANCE AND STANDARDS OFFICERS’ ON TEACHERS’ INSTRUCTIONAL COMPETENCES IN SCHOOLS

Abstract

The primary function of external instructional supervision of teachers is to establish the status of instruction among teachers and consequently improve it. The gist of this study was to examine the influences that instructional supervision by Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASOs) has had on the teachers " instructional competences in Nairobi and Machakos Counties, Kenya. The study sought to find out whether QASOs instructional supervisory activities in public schools had enhanced teachers " ; pedagogical skills, ability to use available instructional materials while teaching, and ability to conduct effective internal evaluation and assessment of pupils. From a target population of 21 QASOs, 360 School principals and 1095 Heads of Departments (HoDs), the study sampled; 110 School principals, 329 Heads of Departments and 21 QASOs . Questionnaires and interview guide were used to collect data from the respondents. The study revealed that QASOs " instructional supervisory practices in schools had improved teachers " instructional competences in assessment and evaluation of pupils. However, hardly had QASOs " instructional supervisory practices improved teachers " pedagogic skills, and their ability in preparation and utilization of teaching aids while teaching. The study therefore recommends that MoEST should organize comprehensive capacity building trainings for QASOs in the domains of pedagogy and instructional materials. Copy Right, IJAR, 2018,. All rights reserved. Introduction:-Background to the Study:-It has been observed from the global front that the challenges of achieving quality education have not fully focused on training teachers through effective instructional supervisory practices (UNESCO, 2006). Servet (2011) observes that instructional supervisors are the ones who are responsible for the quality of teachers, and therefore that of education. To underscore the importance of instructional supervision of teachers to provision of quality education, Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007), notes that instructional supervision of teachers plays a powerful role in developing and nurturing a teacher's instructional competences, which in turn, contributes to students' academic successes. Various studies have found that effective instructional supervision has a clear connection with quality of education offered in learning institutions because it addresses teachers " instructional professional development (Pajak