A study of instructional supervisory practices of school inspectors and principals in public secondary schools in Nakuru municipality.

Abstract

Instructional supervision is a component of general supervision which educational supervisors are supposed to carry out in learning institutions. Its' primary function is the improvement of instruction. It is aimed at enhancing teaching and learning. The aim of this research therefore was to investigate the instructional supervisory practices used by secondary school inspectors and principals in Nakuru Municipality. It sought to find out the academic and professional qualifications and training of such supervisions, the extent of their involvement in carrying out supervisory activities, whether their frequency and methods of carrying out clinical supervision were adequate, their attendance of in-service courses, the teachers' attitude towards school supervision and to determine the relationship between instructional supervision and performance of secondary schools in national examinations. The literature review for this research was organized under various subheadings. From the literature reviewed, an integrated approach to instructional supervision and a conceptual framework were designed. The study was an ex-post factor design. The targeted population consisted of school inspectors, principals and heads of departments in public secondary school in Nakuru Municipality. The researcher developed three sets of questionnaires as research instruments. The inspectors' and principals' questionnaires had three sections, section A dealt with personal data, section B dealt with professional training and preparation and Section C dealt with the supervisory activities that they carry out. The heads of departments' questionnaire section A, dealt with personal data, section B supervisory