Skills and Attributes of Instructional Supervisors: Experience from Kenya

In recent years, instructional supervision has been given a great deal of attention in teacher education professional literature. However, few reported studies have specifically focused on desired qualities of instructional supervisors, especially in Third World countries. This paper reports the perceptions of teachers, headteachers and senior government education officers regarding skills and attributes of internal instructional supervisors in public secondary schools in Kenya. Findings indicated the following major desired skills and attributes of internal instructional supervisors: (a) ability to lead by example; (b) high integrity; (c) knowledge about delegation; (d) knowledge about public relations; (e) supervisory skills; and (f) competence in teaching subjects. In addition, headteachers, as instructional supervisors, should be qualified and experienced teachers. The reported findings are part of a large-scale qualitative and quantitative survey research undertaken in Kenya to determine the perceptions of headteachers, teachers, and senior government education officers regarding the practices of internal instructional supervision and staff development in Kenyan public secondary schools.