The Relationship Between Supervisory Methods and Teacher Self-Concept as a Teacher and as a Person.

This study was designed to test the relationship between methods of supervision used during the supervisory conference and teacher self-concept as a teacher and as a person. The method of supervision, the independent variable in the research design, was either clinical supervision using the Hunter (1980) method or traditional supervision. The clinical method of supervision used specific, diagnostic, and prescriptive feedback given by the supervisor during a series of supervisory conferences that followed the five types of supervisory conferences proposed by Hunter. The traditional method of supervision used general and non-specific feedback given by the supervisor during a series of supervisory conferences using an evaluative instrument as a guide. Subjects participating in the study were teachers employed by the Sabine Parish School Board during the 1981-1982 school year. Each of the four supervisors employed by the Sabine Parish School Board supervised a group of teachers using the Hunter method and a group of teachers using the traditional method. Data were collected using a pretest-posttest control group design consisting of two treatment groups and a control group. Pretest and posttest measures of teacher self-concept as a teacher and as a person were obtained using the L.S.U. Teacher Concept Scale. These measures were analyzed using analysis of variance and analysis of covariance. Results of these analyses indicated that among the groups there were no significant effects of supervisory method on teacher self-concept either as a teacher or as a person. Supplemental analyses revealed that there was a statistically significant positive change (from pretest to posttest) in teacher self-concept as a teacher within the group receiving traditional supervision. The validity and reliability of L.S.U. Teacher Concept Scale was also further refined in this study