Clinical Supervision in Education: A Formative Framework for Enhancing Instruction and Professional Development

Abstract

Pursuing professional development is a fundamental goal for every teacher. This can be achieved through various avenues, including attending and participating in conferences, workshops, and seminars, conducting action research, or engaging in peer observation, among others. Within this process, supervision also plays a fundamental role. Traditional educational supervision models were predominantly summative, primarily focusing on controlling teachers and making judgmental decisions about their performance. However, the limitations of this approach created a need for a more formative model, leading to the development of clinical supervision. Accordingly, it is the intent of this paper to underscore the significance of this approach to supervision in the field of education, focusing on its theoretical tenets that serve as a foundation for enhancing the quality of instruction. This paper stresses the formative nature of clinical supervision through adopting a cyclical approach encompassing five key phases: the pre-observation conference, classroom observation, analysis, post-observation conference and post-conference analysis. By so doing, clinical supervision prioritises the enhancement of quality instruction and supports teachers’ professional development, rather than identifying faults or issuing criticism.