Relationship between instructional supervision and professional development: Perceptions of secondary school teachers and madrasah tsanawiyah (Islamic secondary school) teachers in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Indonesia

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of teachers' instructional supervision, more specifically of actual and ideal instructional supervision in the schools, and the relationship between instructional supervision and teacher personal development in secondary schools in Lhokseumawe municipality. The research used a quantitative approach with an explanatory survey. This study was conducted in 9 secondary schools (government and private) and madrasah tsanawiyah/Islamic schools (government and private); four government secondary schools, three private secondary schools and three madrasah tsanawiyah in Lhokseumawe, Aceh. The number of informants in the sample was 256 teachers. The instruments used in collecting data were questionnaires. The results showed that in the perceptions of teachers towards the implementation of supervision there are significant differences based on the status of schools (government and private). In addition, there is a significant difference between actual and ideal supervision practices perceived by the teachers. The practice of supervision conducted by the principal within the framework of professional development of teachers has no significant correlation, but teachers still have positive perceptions toward instructional supervision. The conclusion is that there are significant differences in teachers' perceptions of the implementation of supervision between schools of different status. Then, there are significant differences in the actual and ideal practice of supervision perceived by the teachers. However, there was no significant relationship between the implementation of supervision and professional development of teachers. Based on the findings, the authors recommend that supervision is regarded as a priority in developing the professionalism of teachers, so principals and supervisors should prepare for its implementation in planning and sustainability. For further research, it is suggested that larger samples and wider scope are needed, so the further research would give more generalizable results