Clinical supervision which first appeared in MAT program of Harvard university in the middle of 1950s has become the heart of modern supervision. It has been widely used for preservice and inservice teacher education, and as the society and curriculum...
Clinical supervision which first appeared in MAT program of Harvard university in the middle of 1950s has become the heart of modern supervision. It has been widely used for preservice and inservice teacher education, and as the society and curriculum changes various models have been developed and used.
Original clinical models which emerged between 1960s and early 1970s emphasize collegiality and mutual discovery of meaning. Humanistic and artistic models which emerged between 1970s and early 1980s emphasize positive and productive interpersonal relations with holistic understanding of classroom events. Technical and didactic models which emerged between early to mid 1980s emphasize effective teaching strategies, techniques, and organizational expectations. Developmental and reflective models which emerged between mid 1980s and early 1990s emphasize teacher cognitive development, introspection and discovery of context-specific principles of practice.
The most successful organizations are the "learning organizations" that are capable of adapting quickly in a diverse and rapidly changing environment. Although the maximally adaptive organization is still an ideal, many schools are moving toward less bureaucratic, decentralized structures and are using problem-focused teams to improve the performance, which is similar to peer supervision.
One issue supervision faces involves creating the conditions under which the existing rich craft knowledge of teaching can be shared and made part of an ongoing professional discussion. As for this the original models seem to be especially well-suited.
Second issue facing supervision with respect to building learning communities involves creating conditions by which new knowledge about teaching can be introduced and incorporated into classrooms and schools. Many of clinical models seem to be well-suited for it.
A third issue facing supervision is the need to invent and act upon new knowledge about teaching and teaming, and models by Glickman, Costa and Garmston, as well as reflective models seem to be well-suited for it.
Clinical supervision is an umbrella term which involves various models, and it can help teachers become continuous learners and schools become learning societies. It is not a specific type of supervision which is needed by beginning teachers and experienced teachers with problems.