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Unit 17: Educational Supervision: Meaning, Nature and Types

(9) Improving Supervision. Notes
(10) Improving Morale of Teachers, and

(11) Generating Favourable Learning Climate :
(l) Providing Leadership : The educational enterprise calls for the share and contribution of people
of diverse temperaments, abilities and capacities. Their efforts are to be coordinated so that
they can work in cooperation with a common mind and purpose. This needs leadership, which
may be defined as the process of formulation and achievement of the goals and purposes of the
group. For success it is necessary to maintain the unity of the group and release its force and
energy. “If supervision is to be effective, it is imperative that some person or persons be assigned
the responsibility for stimulating groups of teachers with common interests to share their
educational experiences to the end that a more effective educational process will be available to
boys and girls.” Without leadership both group activity and group existence are in danger.
Leadership is essential because it is “the total process through which appropriate human and
material resources are made available and made effective for accomplishing the purposes of an
enterprise.”One of the most significant functions of supervision is, therefore, to provide
leadership that will maintain me solidarity of the group through the promotion of group felling
and group effort.

We have already seen that one of the factors that have influences education and educational
supervision in modern times is the democratic way of life. Democracy has faith in the equal
right and respect of all individuals. It is a belief in the dignity of the individual, a faith that
everyone is capable of contributing something unique to the betterment of the group. When we
talk of leadership in educational supervision we mean to emphasize that leadership is not an
exclusive quality or possession of the officially appointed leader but that it is a quality of group
activity in which every worker can and should participate and contribute. Reader has drawn
our attention to the fact that “...in recent years a small group of theorists has developed a
different approach to the concept of educational leadership.
Devoted to the democratic ideal.....this group would conceive of an educational leader simply
as a sort of chairman of a collection of educational co-workers.” So leadership can be exercised
by any member of the group. In fact the quality of group achievement would be very much
enhanced if every member of the group is called upon to play the role of the leader at suitable
times. It is, thus, the diverse resources, talents and capacities of the member that can be pooled
together for the group cause.
(2) Formulating Policies : Education is a purposeful activity aiming at the development and growth
of the individual’s powers and capacities and meeting the needs and demands of society So as
to develop a better self and an improved and richer democratic social order. For this definite
policies have to be formulated, aims and objectives have to be laid down and proper planning
has to be undertaken. It is for the realisation of these policies and goals that society establishes
schools, the state invests resources and the teachers and administrators strive hard. Without a
definite policy there can neither be good planning nor effective implementation. The services
are to be provided, the organisation to be set up, the activities to be undertaken, all these things
depend upon the policies and plans that have been chalked out. Supervision is charged with
the task of improving education in all its aspects. So, it should be responsible for formulating
educational policies.
The principles of democracy and the necessity for practical planning demand that in policy
making there should be an ever wider participation by the public. It is only reasonable that
participate in its making. With a wider participation in educational affairs we are assured of
their proximity to the people’s needs. “Policy and plan are thus, kept closer to the needs of the
total community.”

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