An analysis of secondary school heads’ perception of their supervisory role in Nyanga District: Zimbabwe

Abstract

The main focus of this paper is an analysis of heads’ perception of their supervisory roles in the context of rural day secondary schools. A survey research design was used to describe the variables. Heads are seen as head teachers, heads of departments, deputy head teachers and senior teachers who are involved in supervision. The paper argues that supervisors in day secondary schools are usually relatively young and overburdened with work. There is role conflict between teaching and supervision and as a result there is a low pass rate. There is a need for establishing other causes of ineffective supervision which are crippling the supervisory system. The investigation seeks to provide solutions to facilitate supervision and improve pass rates. The paper views the concept of supervision from a more recent perspective - the human resources approach. The study reveals that most supervisors are overburdened with administrative work. Nevertheless, they have a positive perception of their roles despite the confounding constraints at a rural day secondary school.