Examining Instructional Supervision in a Leadership Preparation Program: A Comparison of Supervision Experiences in Different Internship Structures

摘要

Instructional leadership is an essential role for school leaders. School leaders must be equipped with the skills to directly improve instruction. This study focused on how a leadership preparation program can prepare aspiring school leaders in instructional supervision skills during an internship. The study compared different instructional supervision structures with interns in the same program. One group of interns practiced instructional supervision skills with pre-service teachers and the other group practiced instructional supervision skills with teachers in their respective schools. Interns were assessed on the quality of supervision, beliefs about supervision, and the knowledge of the supervision process. The results showed that the internship structure affected the experience of interns, but not their beliefs about supervision. The structure also affected knowledge of the supervision process. These results suggest that internship structure may be an important factor influencing the effectiveness of a preparation program, and point to the benefits of exploring new approaches of teaching in leadership programs.