As instructional supervisors for their buildings, principals must know how and when to supervise teachers so that the mutual goal of instructional improvement can be attained. This study investigates the differences between public junior high school teachers' perceptions of principals' actual supervisory behaviors and their preferences for…

Successful building-level instructional supervision requires a physical, intellectual, and psychological environment where optimal teaching and learning can occur. While supervisory activities may open the lines of communication between the principal and the teacher, these communication lines may be affected by the perceptions that teachers have…

To influence teaching in a way that enhances and improves student learning is the school principal's responsibility. Because perceptions are more important than actual behavior, it is essential for principals to know if their perception of their supervisory actions is in agreement with the way their teachers perceive the same supervisory…

This study sought to determine whether there was a significant difference between Mississippi teachers' perceptions of principals' supervisory behaviors and teachers' perceptions of burnout. Data were obtained from 120 Mississippi secondary school teachers. Two instruments were used: the Maslach Burnout Inventory Form Ed (MBI) and the Supervisory…

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…

The lack of a clear role definition for the special education supervisor has resulted in an interpretation of the position as that of a facilitator, planner, and legal rights guarantor for exceptional children. To determine whether differences existed between the self-perceived supervisory methods of special education administrators and their…

The empowerment of teachers through collaboration, a supervisory trend currently receiving much attention and emphasis, employs variability and encourages cooperative decisionmaking. Despite its apparent popularity, collaboration can be viewed as unwieldy and difficult to manage with teachers who are already working under less than desirable…

Due to parental disenchantment with a Mississippi Delta junior high school principal, the principal's leadership style, the school climate, and group interactions were investigated. A consultant was employed to determine teachers', students', and parents' perceptions of the school climate and of the principal as a leader, and then to recommend a…

This study was conducted, using the Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ) Form 1, to determine if there were significant differences in the supervisory behaviors of secondary school principals, secondary vocational directors, and community college academic deans as these supervisory behaviors were perceived by the teachers in these…

Perceptions of supervising and student teachers of certain supervisory behaviors were investigated. The Supervising Teacher Behavior Description Questionnaire (STBDQ) was developed to obtain data about perceptions of supervision as: pleasant/unpleasant, satisfying/dissatisfying, and motivating/nonmotivating. The STBDQ was correlated with the…

The development of two instruments useful in evaluating supervisory behavior is described in this paper. Form 1 of the Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ) is an ordinal-type scale originally composed of eight sub-scales and 132 triads of items. Each item is composed of a very directive statement, a collaborative statement, and a…

Two data-gathering instruments, the Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ) and the derivative Supervising Teacher Behavior Description Questionnaire (STBDQ), are described in one paper and employed in three others in this symposium series. Both forms are useful in evaluating perceived behaviors of supervisory educational personnel,…

In November 1989, a study was conducted to determine if there were significant differences between ideal and actual supervisory behaviors of community college vocational supervisors, as perceived by vocational instructors and by the supervisors themselves. A random sample of 35 supervisors and 378 vocational instructors was selected from all…