The Relationship between Supervisor's Activities and Their Perception of the Purpose of Supervision

A recent study found a lack of homogeneity among supervisors with respect to their role performance despite a similarity with respect to role expectation. To develop an accurate descriptive model of the supervisory process, data were collected describing both the activities of supervisors and their perception of the purpose of supervision. Completed survey instruments were received from 373 county-level supervisors in Florida containing: (1) An open-ended item requesting the supervisor's opinion as to the purpose of supervision, and (2) 22 items on the frequency with which supervisors engage in various role activities. The open-ended statements were sorted into three levels of role definition with seven categories: (1) Broad objective (instructional improvement), (2) method of functioning (assistance, coordination, and leadership), and (3) role involvement (curriculum development, inservice education, and human relations-communications). An attempt was made to place the 22 frequency items into the six categories of the second and third levels. Factor analysis revealed that overlap prevents identification of the six categories as separate and distinct. A revised model of three dimensions (assistance in curricular development, leadership/communication, and inservice education) provides elements descriptive of the supervisory process. (HW)