Framing the Future: Beyond Teacher Supervision

In this paper the author argues that teachers have hardly ever liberated from their profession. They have been subjects of supervision by headmasters, officials, and inspectors. The development of in-service education of teachers (INSET) and teacher supervision show that teachers are under controlled by the system and administrators in one way or another; teachers have little chance of participation in school decision-making. However, there have been voices speaking for teachers and asking for a democratic approach to teacher professional development and a collegial culture of school development. The recommendation of an ‘active school’ contained in the James Report (DES, 1972) is a good example. Unfortunately, these voices have not been followed seriously. The idea of controlling and ‘fixing’ teachers come back even stronger. Teachers supervision remains a means to preserve the status quo of unequal distribution of school power between the teacher and the administrator. Indeed, even clinical supervision, which is supposed to rectify the defect associated with the traditional practice of teacher supervision, is not a good answer. More has to be done. Some suggestions for future development are described.