This paper provides guidelines for improving the objectivity, quality, and relevance of classroom observations. Suggestions are organized according to the three stages of the observation process--prior, during, and after the observation. Tips for establishing and maintaining a positive climate and for necessary preparations prior to the…

Discourse analysis describes a level of spoken text that lies between grammar and nonlinguistic organization. Using such an approach to understand the practical problems of communication in supervisory conferences, this paper explores two dimensions of the conference: risk and politeness levels. Level of risk is determined by the degrees of…

Increasing demands for educational accountability make it important for principals to know how and when to successfully use methods of supervision with teachers to attain the mutual goal of instructional improvement. To determine whether significant differences existed between junior high school teachers' perceptions of principals' supervisory…

Recent literature indicates that supervision at the secondary level in physical education has had little significant impact on the overall experience of a student teacher. Two factors contributing to these results have been the type of setting and the nontraining of the cooperating teacher. Recent studies have also shown through objective data…

The lack of a planned, disciplined, and well-supervised approach to research which frustrates a student's timely completion of a Ph.D. program is addressed. Some practices are discussed which, if adopted, could lead many more students to complete their Ph.D. expeditiously. A framework is presented that is intended to help the student and the…

Teachers in inner city schools today are usually unprepared for dealing effectively with a mobile, rapidly changing, culturally varied population. A program to provide such training, based upon the concept of staff self help through collegial supervision, was implemented in the Francis M. Leahy Elementary School in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Over a…

By using a collegial, "power-with" supervisory model that balances both institutional and individual needs, a manager can realize greater success in selecting, motivating, and retaining clerical staffers. Candor, accessibility, recognition, and two-way communication are the hallmarks of this participatory management model, with the goal of…

Exchanges within the mentor-protege relationship, the effect of age and gender on that relationship, and the effect of that relationship on career progress and subsequent mentoring behavior are here studied for the first time in the context of a state government agency. Twenty-five males and 25 females were selected randomly from among 250…

This investigation employed an in-basket simulation to assess the effect of provisional analysis on the use of evaluation data by program administrators in making program decisions. Sixty-five volunteers from graduate education courses and 52 volunteers from undergraduate educational psychology classes at Western Kentucky University were randomly…

The thirteen chapters of this book deal with the varied facets of supervision and give perspective on its history, organizational framework, strategies, models, and future prospects. Part 1 provides a brief historic sketch of supervision in the United States and then moves directly to the issue of evaluating and understanding teaching. The three…

The relative isolation of the elementary school counselor from other professional counselors is identified as a major supervisory difficulty. The potential of self-initiated supervision is offered as a reasonable method of dealing with such isolation. A list of possible self-supervisory activities is included to help counselors prevent burnout,…

An investigation of the School Psychology Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) was designed to identify the components of effective supervision in the clinical setting. A survey was conducted of students' (school psychologist trainees) and their supervisors' perceptions of the amount of time spent during supervision…

A group of 12 federally funded community mental health centers which make effective use of paraprofessionals is described. The purpose is to make mental health policy makers and service agency staff members aware of the wide range of innovative service models in existence in which paraprofessionals play diverse and crucial roles. A case study for…