Chapter 1: The changing
context of supervision
A. Supervision of Instruction in the Philippines
• The Philippines became a U.S. Colony toward the end of the 19th century.
• By virtue of the Royal Education Decree of 1863, supervision was placed under two
councils or juntas
► the Junta de Gobierno and the Junta Administradora del Material de Escuelas
(Martin, 1980).
• The first council was composed of director-general of the civil administration,
director of the municipal council, director of the school of arts and trade, president
of the economic society of friends of the country, inspector of public works and of
mountain and mines, directing engineer, and commissioner of agronomy, with the
archbishop of Manila as ipso facto protector of the council.
• On the other hand, the governor-general, sub-director of the civil
administration, accountant of civil administration, two priests, and two
teachers comprised the second council.
• When the Americans came, the U.S. Army authorities supervised education.
To professionalize supervision, an English teacher was assigned to each
school under the supervision of the Army chaplain. The chaplains and the
other officers continued to be detailed as schools’ superintendents during the
1930s.
• Today, supervisory behavior in the country is a far cry from the hit-and miss
process of the past. Current practices are based on applicable universal
concepts, theories, and principles of leadership and management.
B. Definition of Supervision
• Originally, the term SUPERVISION was defined as a process of scanning a
text of errors or deviations from the original material (Smyth in Sullivan and
Glanz, 2000). It was only later that supervision became associated with
direction, control, and oversight of human behavior.
• The following definitions by various scholars reflect the changing emphasis or focus of
supervision on specific dimensions across different periods of time:
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EMPHASIS OF ADMINISTRATION
EMPHASIS ON CURRICULUM
EMPHASIS ON INSTRUCTION
EMPHASIS ON HUMAN RELATIONS
EMPHASIS ON LEADERSHIP
EMPHASIS ON EVALUATION
C. Changes in Supervisory thought
1. THE SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE OF
SUPERVISION
• The Scientific Management Theory was based largely on the work of
Frederick Taylor, a well-known American engineer during the turn of the
20th century. It emphasized uniformity and adherence to existing norms.
• Taylor encapsulated his theory in four principles: 1.) Scientific job analysis 2.)
Selection of personnel 3.) Management cooperation and 4) Functional
supervising (Lunenburg and Ornstein, 2000)
C. Changes in Supervisory thought
2. THE NEED FOR UNIFORMITY DURING THE AMERICAN
REGIME
• On the heels of the American occupation of the Philippines at the beginning
of the 20th century, uniformity became an urgent necessity.
• A major problem of education toward the end of the reign of Spain in the
19th century was the lack of uniformity in instruction which was exacerbated
by the absence of an administrative body with the necessary expertise to
supervise over the different schools in the islands.
• To recapitulate, in the early period of American colonial administration, the
supervision of instruction, which focused on the teaching of English, was
under the Army authorities and the Army Chaplain.
• The schools were considered an adjunct to military operations calculated
merely to pacify the people. This military view of the schools is expressed
succinctly in the following statements of General Douglas McArthur.
• Because the Americans considered education as an important tool for
colonialization, the supervision of education continued to be under the
Americans up to 1935. Thus, educational supervision was not entrusted to
the Filipinos even when the country was already gearing for eventual selfrule.
C. Changes in Supervisory thought
3. HUMAN RELATIONS PERSPECTIVE OF SUPERVISION
• The Human Relations Movement in the 1930s was a direct challenge to
scientific management. It was an aftermath of the famous Hawthorne
experiments conducted by a research team led by Elton Mayo.
• The following are the major assumptions of the human relations approach
which point to the need for interpersonal skills from the supervisor:
• 1. Employees are motivated not only by economic incentives, but also by
social and psychological needs such as recognition, belongingness, and
security which are more important in determining morale and productivity
than the physical conditions of the work environment.
• An individual’s perceptions, beliefs, motivations, cognition, responses to
frustration, and values are important determinants of behavior in workplace.
• Informal social organization within a formal organization can promote or
constrain the effectiveness of supervision through the creation and
enforcement of their own norms and codes of conduct.
• Under a democratic and supportive management, employees develop high
morale and work harder thereby increasing productivity.
• Effective communication promotes healthy working relationships between
superior and subordinate in the organization.
THANK YOU
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REFERENCE
SUPERVISION AND INTRUCTION
THE PHILIPPINE PRESPECTIVE
ADELAIDA L. BAGO
2008