Historical Perspectives on Supervision Timeline

Supervision has a Medieval Latin origin. Records from the colonial period identify the primary role of an inspector as one with strict control to maintain existing standards. "The inspectors were often ministers, selectmen, schoolmasters, and other distinguished citizens" (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013).

"American schooling, in general, during the better part of the 19th century was rural, unbureaucratic, and in the hands of local authorities." (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013). Teachers were young and were not usually educated beyond elementary subjects. They were treated as servants to the community. Supervisors were not professionally trained and not interested in improvement.

The "first professional supervisor", superintendents, organized public schools (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013). The supervision goal was to oversee the efficiency of the schools and hold teachers responsible for the performance of the class. Unfortunately, these supervisors thought of most teachers as incompetent. "Supervision emerged as an important function performed by superintendents, and inspectional practices dominated supervision" (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013).

"Supervisors gained in stature and authority. Two specific groups of supervisors were found in schools" (Sullivan & Glantz, 2013). Special supervisors assisted teachers with subject matter mastery. They were usually female. General supervisors assisted principals with administrative duties. They were called vice principals or assistant principals and were usually male.

Franklin Bobbitt (1913), a professor at the University of Chicago was an influence on the business model of supervision. "Supervisory members must co-ordinate the labors of all . . . find the best methods of work, and enforce the use of these methods on the part of the workers” (Bobbitt, 1913, pp. 76, 78). “Supervision as social efficiency” was largely influenced by scientific management in education" (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013).

"Supervisors attempted to apply scientific methods and cooperative problem-solving approaches to educational problems" (Pajak, 2000) due to a push by educators. A.S. Bar (1931) stated, "they must possess training in both the science of instructing pupils and the science of instructing teachers. Both are included in the science of supervision."

"The principal focus of supervision during this time was a concerted effort by those engaged in supervision to provide leadership in five ways: (1) developing mutually acceptable goals, (2) extending cooperative and democratic methods of supervision, (3) improving classroom instruction, (4) promoting research into educational problems, and (5) promoting professional leadership" (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013).

A theory that collaboration between teacher and supervisor could improve teaching. Bolin and Panaritis (1992) explained that clinical supervision “appealed to many educators” because of its “emphasis on ‘collegiality.’” "The rhetoric of clinical supervision favored collaborative practice over inspectional, fault-finding supervision" (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013).

Back to the basics, giving teachers more formal responsibility for setting school policies, extended democratic governance in schools. Collegiality was now valued.

Has "relegated supervisors to relying on checklists to ascertain the extent to which teachers are meeting various curricular and instructional objectives embedded in core curriculum standards at various grade levels" (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013). The four basic principles of standard-based supervision: "(1) stronger accountability for results, (2) increased flexibility and local control, (3) expanded options for parents, and (4) an emphasis on teaching methods that presumably have been proven to work" (Sullivan & Glanz, 2013).