Reforming school supervision

for quality improvement

Module

Supervision: a key
component of a quality
monitoring system

Reforming school supervision for quality improvement

These modules were prepared by IIEP staff to be used in training workshops or by individuals as self-study
materials.
The series Reforming school supervision for quality improvement consists of eight modules:
Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system
Module 2: Role and functions of supervisors.
Module 3: The organization of supervision services
Module 4: The management of supervision staff
Module 5: The management of supervisory work
Module 6: Reinforcing school-site supervision
Module 7: Alternative models in reforming school supervision
Module 8: Undertaking a national diagnosis on school supervision: some guidelines
The set of modules is available at www.unesco.org/iiep
Also available on IIEPs web site:

Quantitative research methods in educational planning

Reforming school supervision

HIV/AIDS and education

Using indicators in planning Education For All

Other sets will be available soon.

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UNESCO 2007

Module 1
SUPERVISION: A KEY COMPONENT OF A
QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEM

Introduction

What this module will discuss

Expected outcomes

A renewed interest in supervision: the reasons why

An operational definition of supervision services

What is quality monitoring?

A.

A definition of monitoring

B.

Essential components

Different monitoring systems and the role of supervision

12

A.

Typology by main focus

12

B.

Typology by main locus

14

Concluding remarks

17

Lessons learned

18

Appendix 1

Education quality improvement

19

The concept of quality

20

Some lessons from research

22

A framework for analyzing school functioning

23

References

28

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

Introduction
One of the main roles of any school supervision system is to monitor the quality of
education, i.e. of schools and teachers. This monitoring is expected to have a positive
impact on their quality. As such, supervision forms part of an overall quality monitoring
and improvement system, which includes other devices such as examinations and
achievement tests, and self-assessment practices by school and teachers.
During the last two decades, there has been a renewed interest in supervision and
monitoring of the quality of education. The appearance of league tables on schools and
the media attention given to international comparative studies on student results are the
most visible aspects of this interest, which at times risks becoming an obsession.
Everywhere, policy documents stress the need for greater accountability, quality control,
quality assurance, total quality management, quality development, quality monitoring
etc., and one can find abundant literature, including specialized periodicals, on these
topics.
Although some distinction can be made between the different terms mentioned above,
they more or less cover the same reality. In this module, the general term of quality
monitoring will be used. Much attention will be given to the different interpretations of
this concept, which lead to quite different supervision systems.

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

What this module will discuss

This module will first examine the different reasons for the growing interest of
governments in supervision and quality monitoring, and propose an operational
definition of supervision services.
This will be followed by a discussion of the role of different supervision devices within an
overall system of monitoring. A definition of monitoring will be proposed, accompanied by
a more detailed discussion of the different components of a monitoring process.
In a third part, different types of quality monitoring will be considered. A first distinction
will be made on the basis of the focus of the monitoring process (does it examine mainly
inputs, processes, or outputs?); a second distinction refers to the main actors involved in
monitoring, which can be the public administration, the professionals or the consumers,
i.e. the parents and the community.
In the fourth section the module identifies a number of basic policy questions that are
particularly important in developing more effective supervision services.
Those who are interested to learn more about educational quality will find in Appendix 1
a conceptual clarification, a discussion about major lessons to be learned from research
and a framework for analyzing school functioning.

Expected outcomes
At the end of this module, readers should be able to:
explain the different reasons for the renewed interest in quality monitoring;
present and discuss a definition of quality monitoring; and
distinguish between different types of quality monitoring and
discuss the assets and limits of each type.

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

A renewed interest in supervision: the reasons why

Supervision has been a neglected area of education management for a long time. During
the 1970s, the word inspector or even supervisor had a negative connotation and
even became a taboo term in some countries. Inspection was seen as an old fashioned
non-democratic institution and a few countries got rid not only of the terminology, but
also of the supervision service itself.
Even today, it is symptomatic that most countries do not publish any data or statistics on
supervision and support services. Not only do they not publish them; they are often
simply not available. Even more serious is the fact that most ministries are not able to
answer an apparently simple question such as: How much is being spent on the
provision of supervision and support services? This is an important question if countries
are interested in spotting critical (and probably small) investments that could have a
proportionally important impact on school efficiency.
Nevertheless, since the beginning of the 1990s, there has undoubtedly been renewed
worldwide interest in issues of quality and therefore in quality monitoring and
supervision. Some countries that had dismantled their supervision services earlier have
re-established them (such as the Philippines), while others that did not have them in the
past have created them (such as China and Sweden). More importantly, the number of
countries that initiate a process of reorganizing and strengthening supervision services is
increasing every year.
There are several reasons for the renewed interest in supervision and quality monitoring,
four of which are mentioned hereafter:
In most countries, there is a feeling that the rapid expansion, if not mass
production, of education has led to the deterioration of quality. Consequently,
quality improvement has become a top priority of policy makers, which has in
turn reinforced their preoccupation with quality control. This policy interest in
quality improvement was endorsed and amplified by the EFA World
Conferences of 1990 and 2000.
More recently, the value for money syndrome that permeates all sectors of
society has also hit the education system. This is linked to a stronger demand
for accountability in the public service. In this way, the traditional concern for
quality and effectiveness has become a concern for efficiency, thereby still
increasing the claim for strong control mechanisms.1
At the same time, various studies have shown that one important determinant
of the deterioration of the quality of schools precisely relates to the weakening
of quality monitoring devices, including the professional supervision and
support services. This explains why some countries that had dismantled their
inspectorate services in the 1970s have re-established them and also why the
general interest in efficient supervision procedures has been increasing.

1 Effectiveness concerns whether the school produces the results expected. Efficiency concerns
whether the schools produces the results expected at the minimum cost (comparing outputs to inputs).
Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

 Finally, the interest in supervision and quality control finds an additional

justification in the present trend towards school autonomy. Teachers
themselves, once in the classroom, have always had a significant level of
autonomy. But recently, in many countries around the world, schools have been
receiving more freedom in making decisions in fields as crucial as the
curriculum, staff management and budget. This greater degree of freedom left
to schools has provoked an equally greater demand for accountability at school
level and for monitoring procedures that should allow central governments to
guarantee standards of quality and equity across the system.

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

An operational definition of supervision services

In most countries, supervision services have a long history. Many European countries set
up their supervision systems, generally known as the inspectorate, in the nineteenth
century. In England, Her Majestys Inspectorate (HMI) was founded in 1834 and became
a model for quite a number of developing countries. Similarly, the inspection system of
France, whose origin goes back even further, to the Napoleonic era, has been copied by
several of its former colonies.
However, since then many changes have occurred and in all countries supervision
services, throughout their long history, have become complex and intricate systems,
using different terminologies and playing different roles. It might be useful therefore at
the beginning of these training modules to identify an operational definition in order to
provide the analysis and discussion with a focus and clear boundaries.
For the purpose of our analysis, the term supervision services should be understood as
covering all those services whose main function is (1) to inspect, control, evaluate;
and/or (2) advise, assist and support school heads and teachers. Accordingly, the main
focus of the modules will be on external supervision, that is to say on the work of
inspectors, supervisors, advisers, counsellors, co-ordinators, facilitators, etc. located
outside the school, at local, regional or central levels.
Common characteristics of all these officers are that:
their explicit role is to control and/or support;

they are located outside the school; and

regular visits of schools are an essential part of their mandate.

However, during recent years many countries, in their attempts to reform and innovate
supervision, have increasingly relied on internal mechanisms of supervision by devolving
responsibilities of control and support to actors at the school-site level (principals,
teachers, community members or even students). Such mechanisms, which include the
creation of resource centres and school clusters, the establishment of a system of
master teachers, peer reviewing, different practices of self-assessment etc., are
supposed to complement if not, in certain radical cases, to replace external supervision
services. This is why internal supervision devices will also be considered and analyzed in
these modules, particularly when it comes to discussion of different reform strategies.

Task 1
Using the above definition, identify within your own country the different actors who belong to the
external supervision process and those belonging to the internal supervision process.

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

Completing the task: some hints

To be considered an external supervision actor, the actor must:

have a mission clearly focused on control over or support to schools and teachers; and

exercise that mandate through regular visits to schools.

Such a definition excludes, for instance, personnel working in teacher training institutions or curriculum
development officers, who seldom visit schools. Staff who regularly visit schools, but only to collect
data, are also excluded.
Several actors can play a role in internal school supervision. They include the principal, the heads of
department, the Parent Teacher Association, a school board. In many cases, though, their role is still
very informal and sometimes not recognized. You need to decide to what extent they are important
within your own country.
Many countries are experimenting with developing supervision devices that are closer to schools than
the classic supervision service, through for example the creation of school clusters. Again, you need to
decide to what extent this is the case in your country.

From a strategic point of view, it is crucial to keep a holistic perspective and to make
sure that the different mechanisms of supervision, old and new, internal and external,
form a coherent entity that is explicitly directed at improving pedagogical practices in the
classroom. Experience has shown that when teachers feel that control and support
efforts all converge on the improvement of their classroom performance and when they
are active partners in their own professional development, such efforts have the greatest
chances of success.

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

What is quality monitoring?

This last observation actually extends beyond the supervision services as such and
invites us to broaden our perspective. Indeed, supervision is only one component, be it
an important one, of a more general monitoring system that includes other devices such
as: national testing and examination systems; the establishment of a national curriculum
framework; the system of teacher pre-service and in-service training, etc. It is through a
combination of all these mechanisms that governments at national, regional or local
levels can influence what is going on in schools and make sure that standards of quality
are being kept within their education systems.
From a policy point of view, therefore, a discussion about reforming supervision cannot
take place in isolation, but must rather be situated within the perspective of improving
the education quality monitoring system as a whole.
But what do we understand by monitoring, what are its different components and what
can we learn about the way in which different monitoring systems relate to supervision
practices?

A.

A definition of monitoring

Question
Draft your own definition of monitoring. Compare it with what follows.

Monitoring can be defined as an internal management process of continuous control of

inputs, processes and outputs in order to identify strengths and weaknesses, formulate
practical proposals for action to be taken and take the necessary steps to reach the
expected results.
Important aspects of this definition are:
1. monitoring is part of management, not something added from outside;
2. it is a continuous process, not a one-shot operation;
3. it has to do with identifying strengths and weaknesses and making
proposals for action;
4. monitoring is result-oriented it implies a clear, measurable definition
of expected results;
5. monitoring does not stop with making proposals it also involves taking
action in order to solve problems and to reach objectives.
Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

B.

Essential components

From a pragmatic point of view, monitoring and consequently also supervision involves
three essential activities which are (see Graph 1):
collection of information;
information analysis; and
action.
These activities are guided by a set of standards on what is considered quality.
Graph 1. Monitoring process

Standards

Collection of
information

(i)

Analysis of
information

Action

Collection of information

Monitoring the quality of education can only be done on the basis of solid information.
Such information can come from different sources, among which the most common are:
the regular school census;
examination and test results;
inspectors reports; and
research/evaluation reports.
Collection of information can be without limits and monitoring can get lost in too much
data. The guiding principle for deciding which data to collect is their usefulness for the
analysis. Only data that will enter into the analysis should be gathered.

Task 2
Different sources provide information about different aspects of school quality. Drawing on the
distinction traditionally made between inputs, processes and outputs, how much information do we get
about these different aspects from the different sources mentioned?

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

Completing the task: some hints

The following table contains, in its columns, five main sources of data on the functioning of schools and
on which a monitoring process could rely. There are few countries, however, where all five are available
and even less where they are used for monitoring. The most popular ones are the first three: the
statistical database; the results of exams and tests; and the supervision reports.
The rows indicate the type of information on which these sources focus: is it more concerned with
inputs, processes or outputs? Is it more quantitative or qualitative in nature? It is clear, for instance,
that statistical data are more concerned with quantitative information and that exams focus especially
on outputs.
It will become clear when looking at the type of information provided by each source that a good
monitoring system relies on a combination of different sources.
Regular
Statistics

Exams & tests Supervision

reports

School selfevaluation

Research
valuation

Inputs
Process
Outputs

Quantitative
Qualitative

(ii)

Information analysis

Data must be analyzed in order to detect achievements and problems and to propose
appropriate action to be taken. This implies the selection and construction of reliable
indicators that should allow the manager to detect achievements and problems relating
to inputs, processes and outputs in an objective and consistent way. It also implies the
definition and use of clear reference points or standards for making judgements.
Indicators and standards are therefore intimately linked.
Indicators are the result of empirical observation; they are indications/measurements of
what happens in reality.
Standards are used as reference points, points of comparison, yardsticks, to make
judgements about indicators.
Reference points can consist of:
pre-established norms, such as norms about class size or teacher
qualifications;

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

10

 average levels of attainment, such as the national enrolment rate or national

achievement score in mathematics;
policy objectives or expected results, such as less than 5 per cent repetition
rate in grade 1.

(iii)

Action

Action can be preventive, corrective or reinforcement-oriented. As mentioned earlier,

action is an essential component of monitoring. Data collection and analysis without
action can be meaningful from a research point of view, but is a sterile exercise from a
management perspective.
Action can take the form of:
structural measures: Different reform measures relating to the improvement
and transformation of the system. One can think, for instance, of a change in
the recruitment procedures of a school principal or the setting up of a
committee that includes supervisors and teacher trainers to ensure stronger
collaboration between these two groups.
personnel-related measures. These can be either sanctions or support.
Sanctions can be positive (incentives), such as promotion, more school
resources; or negative (punishments), such as an official reprimand or
dismissal. Support and advice can be given through the interventions of
pedagogical advisors, in-service training, resource centres, etc.

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

11

Different monitoring systems and the role of

supervision
Monitoring is concerned with quality. Unfortunately, there is no standard definition of
quality. Quality is a multi-dimensional concept composed of three interrelated
dimensions: the quality of the human and material resources available (inputs); the
quality of the management and teaching-learning processes taking place (processes);
and the quality of the results obtained (outputs).
Those who are interested to learn more about quality can turn to Appendix 1. The
appendix discusses in further detail the concept of quality and the lessons learned from
research relating to determinants of quality. It also presents a conceptual framework for
analysing school functioning together with the major findings of an international
research project carried out by the IIEP on the Quality of primary schools in different
development contexts.
While monitoring systems have been influenced by the results of research, one cannot
say that this influence has been fully satisfactory. For example, several studies have
forcefully demonstrated that regardless of the actions being taken at systems level, real
quality improvement depends on what is actually happening in the classroom. Schools
are the delivery points at which all the inputs of the system come together for interaction
and determine the quality of the teaching-learning process. This is why in a growing
number of countries quality-monitoring strategies are paying special attention to the
functioning of schools. However, this is far from the case everywhere and in many
instances ministries go on concentrating on system inputs rather than on school
processes. An analysis of different monitoring approaches according to their main focus
will help in clarifying this issue.
As is the case for supervision, countries have built over time more or less complex
monitoring systems that differ according to their main focus or area of concentration and
also according to the main locus or body in charge.
In the section below, we shall present two typologies developed on the basis of the two
main variables identified above. It should be borne in mind that a typology of this kind
does not provide us with a description of reality, but rather gives us a useful analytical
framework through which the organization and functioning of existing monitoring
systems can be more easily analyzed and better understood.

A.

Typology by main focus

This typology2 classifies monitoring systems according to the dimension of the quality
concept on which each of them is mainly focusing: inputs, processes or results.

1.

Compliance monitoring

A first type of monitoring places the emphasis mainly on school inputs (number of
required textbooks per pupil, teacher qualifications, number of pupils per class, etc.).
2 Source: Richards, 1988.
Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

12

It has been called compliance monitoring as its first goal is to make sure that schools
comply with predetermined norms fixed by law and administrative rules and regulations.
Compliance monitoring is the oldest, bureaucratic type of monitoring: checking that rules
and regulations are respected. The classic inspectorate system combined with several
forms of administrative self-reporting by schools (filling out forms!) is the main device on
which this type of monitoring relies. In spite of the many changes that have occurred in
supervision and for reasons that will be discussed in later modules, regulatory
compliance still remains the dominant mode of monitoring in many countries.

2.

Diagnostic monitoring

The goal of this type of monitoring is to ensure that pupils learn what they are supposed
to learn. The focus is on the instructional process, on what happens in the classroom.
The techniques proposed at classroom level are those of mastery learning: setting clear
learning objectives, regular diagnostic testing of the learners and systematic
remediation.
Diagnostic monitoring is in the first instance the responsibility of the individual teacher.
For the external supervision services it implies a radical shift in emphasis from
administrative control to pedagogical support and advice. The main devices of this type
of monitoring are indeed continuous self-assessment at school level combined with
intensive external support services.
Diagnostic monitoring and mastery learning were very popular towards the end of the
1960s and during the 1970s, and led in many instances to fundamental changes in the
classic supervision structures. One well-known example is the Escuela Nueva (the New
School) in Colombia. Today there is a general consensus that process variables are
more important than input variables in explaining differences in school quality.
Consequently, many reforms aim at entering into the black box of what happens in the
classroom, which has given the diagnostic monitoring approach a new impetus (such as
the recent creation of special groups of advisory teachers in many countries).

3.

Performance monitoring

The emphasis of this type of monitoring is on school results. Its goal is mainly to
stimulate competition between schools in order to promote academic achievement.
The most common monitoring devices used are the regular measurement of learner
achievement by standardized tests and examinations, combined with the publication of
league tables and systematic (external) auditing of schools.
Performance monitoring spread rapidly towards the end of the 1980s and during the
1990s. It is linked to the school-based management movement that inspired some of
the most radical education reforms (including reforms of supervision) in England, New
Zealand, Australia among other countries.

Question
Can you summarize what you see as the main differences between these three types of monitoring?

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

13

The following table summarizes the main differences between the three types of
monitoring.
Table 1. Typology of monitoring systems by focus
Characteristic

Focus

Type
Compliance
Bureaucratic
organization theory
Ensure standardized
formal quality
Inputs

Key monitoring
device

Inspectorate &
reporting

Theoretical
reference
Goal

self-

Diagnostic
Pedagogical theory
Ensure efficient learning
Teaching-learning
processes
Advisory services & selfassessment

Performance
Market competition
theory
Promote academic
achievement
Academic achievement
Standardized testing &
league tables

Most education systems will rely mainly on one approach. However, the three types of
monitoring often co-exist within the same system, even if their theoretical reference and
rationale are quite different. This may lead to conflicts between different stakeholders
and to serious discrepancies between the official theory and the practice of monitoring.

B.

Typology by main locus

This way of classifying monitoring systems concentrates on where the main locus of
responsibility is for the quality improvement of schools. It is based on the classical
distinction between three different types of accountability3, which are (1) contractual
accountability: being answerable to ones employers or political powerholders; (2)
professional accountability: being responsible to oneself and ones colleagues; and (3)
public accountability: being answerable to the public or the clients.
Kogan4, elaborating on these models of accountability, distinguishes between the
following types of monitoring:

1.

Public or state control model

This is the dominant mode of education monitoring in most countries. Its main
characteristic is that of a formal bureaucratic hierarchy: teachers are controlled by
school heads, who are controlled by district officers, who are controlled by central
ministries that in turn are directed by elected representatives.
This monitoring system has democratic legitimacy because of the control chain that
emanates from the political level. In this model, external forms of quality monitoring will
prevail over internal ones, and the traditional inspection system, which can be more or
less decentralized, will play a key role.
The key problem with this model is that the influence on decisions by those who have to
implement them (local school actors) is generally low.
3 Source: Goddard and Leask, 1992.
4 Source: Kogan, 1988.
Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

14

2.

The professional accountability model

The professional model can be seen as an answer to the above-mentioned problem. In

this model, the main focus of monitoring is not with the bureaucracy but with the
professional community; in our case, the teaching staff. They are supposed to be the
best judges of how to ensure quality education.
Two main arguments are generally put forward by the promoters of this model. The first
is that the stronger the professional autonomy of teachers and schools, the more
responsive they will be to the needs and conditions of their clients. The second is that
professional accountability will protect schools against excessive external pressure, for
example to boost school results.
The legitimacy of this model derives from the expertise and ethical code of the teaching
profession. Its dominant procedures of monitoring will be internal ones, such as selfevaluation by teachers and peer reviewing. A country that has gone a long way in shifting
towards a professional accountability system is Finland, where the external inspection
system was abolished in 1991 (see Module 7).
One problem is that responsiveness to the clients might be gradually replaced by
professional isolation and complacency, and by self-protective reactions against outside
demand and criticism (from parents, the local authorities and the public at large).

3.

The consumerist model

According to this model, the main actors in charge of monitoring are supposed to be the
consumers or beneficiaries of the education system, i.e. the students, the parents and
the wider community. Kogan distinguishes between two forms of the consumerist model.
The partnership model
The first one is based on a partnership between the parents (students) and teachers :
parents should participate in a partnership and not in a relationship where the client, i.e.
the parent is dependent on the professional. The accountability relationship between
teachers and parents involves three components: consensus on objectives; exchange
concerning methods; and discussion about the results obtained. The partnership model
assumes parity between the providers of education and the clients. Internal decisions
about school functioning ought to be shared.
The main legitimacy of the partnership model are the values of democratic participation.
As in the previous case, the main monitoring device will be self-assessment, but selfassessment in which parents and their representatives are heavily involved.
The problem with this model is that parents are often not available, not interested or not
prepared to participate, while teachers might resent non-professional intrusion in their
work.
The free-market model
All the previous models continue to assume that decisions will ultimately be made by
office holders, appointed or elected, within a public institutional set up. The free-market
model intends to break away from public control and to replace it with the control of the
individual consumer. The ultimate way of moving from public control to market control is
to provide parents with vouchers. These should allow families to buy the education they
want for their children and put schools in a competitive position. In that case, individual
family demand would become the regulating principle for education development in
replacement of public control. Reforms in this direction were introduced at the beginning

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

15

of the 1990s in countries such as the UK and Chile, but in both cases without giving up
the essentials of the classical state control model (see later modules).
The justifying principle behind the free-market model is that efficiency and quality can
best be obtained via free-market mechanisms and competition. The main monitoring
device in this model is the regular collection and dissemination of different performance
indicators and the publication of league tables, often combined with the imposition from
above of a well-defined curriculum framework.
Although vouchers schemes have been tried out on a limited scale in several countries,
there is no empirical evidence that the underlying assumption about free-market
monitoring is justified. It has often been argued that schools that respond too much to
market demands may well end up seeking to obtain narrowly defined measurable
examination results rather than good broad-based education. Furthermore, is there such
a thing as a market for schooling and choice between schools in rural, scarcelypopulated areas?
Table 2: Typology of monitoring systems by locus
Types
Characteristics

State control
model

Professional
model

Partnership
model

Free-market
model

Locus

State
bureaucracy

Teachers

Parents and
teachers

Individual
consumer

Legitimating
values

Representative
democracy

Professional
expertise and
ethics

Grassroots
participation

Market best
regulator

Inspectorate

Professional
self evaluation
and peer
reviewing

School-site self
reviewing

Transparent
performance
information
(league tables)

Key monitoring
device

As in the case of the previous typology, it should be borne in mind that although the
three models are different, they often co-exist within the same system. Given the very
different if not conflicting values behind each model, their co-existence is not always
smooth. While the original state control model (also called managerial model in its
modernized version) remains the dominant one, elements of the other models have
been spreading rapidly during recent years and mixed with the state control model. The
school-based management movement has played an important role in this regard.

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

16

Concluding remarks
The above overview demonstrates that supervision is only one, be it an important,
component of a much broader multifaceted quality monitoring system, involving
different:
types of information gathering and analysis;
levels of monitoring (from central to school site level);
actors (from central inspectors to teachers and parents); and
monitoring devices (from external supervision over peer-assessment and selfassessment to the systematic dissemination of school results).
The challenge for decision-makers and planners interested in reforming supervision
services is to keep a holistic view that ensures sufficient coherence between the
different components of the overall monitoring system.
Some key policy questions to be answered in this respect (and to which we will come
back throughout the different modules) are the following:
What is the relative importance to be given to external supervision versus
internal, school-based supervision? What will be the distribution of roles
between the two?
What is the relative emphasis to be placed on control and support activities?
What type of school-based supervision will be adopted? What will be the
respective roles played by the principal, the teachers, the parents and the local
community representatives?
To what extent will standardized testing and examinations be introduced? How
will the results be used for quality monitoring purposes?
The typologies developed above have shown that the answers to these questions are not
simply technical, but that each of them corresponds to a theoretical if not ideological
position. Consequently, each country must work out its own supervision reform on the
basis of a careful analysis of both what exists and the values and development
objectives it would like to promote. No system can be transferred as such from one
country to another, but many lessons can be learned from analyzing different practices
and exchanging experiences. This is the basic philosophy behind these training modules
and the reason why systematic reference will be made, whenever possible, to different
country situations and innovations.

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

17

Lessons learned

Question
The expected outcomes of this module were that you would understand the reasons for the renewed
interest in quality monitoring, that you could define what quality monitoring implies and in particular
that you would be able to analyze the differences between various types of quality monitoring on the
basis of their focus or their locus (namely the main actor in charge of monitoring). Can you summarize
what you have learned and compare it with what follows?

Interest in quality monitoring and therefore in supervision has increased due to four
factors: the realization that quality improvement is essential in a competitive world; the
demand that public services show value for money; the fact that quality deterioration can
in part be explained by the ineffectiveness of monitoring services; and the growing
school autonomy that is counterbalanced by more effective supervision and support.
We have defined monitoring as an internal management process of continuous control
of inputs, processes and outputs in order to identify strengths and weaknesses,
formulate practical proposals for action and take the necessary steps to reach the
expected results. It is important to remember that monitoring includes action and is not
simply limited to an identification of strengths and weaknesses.
Quality monitoring can be implemented in different ways. Two important distinctions
were discussed in this module. The first one relates to the focus of monitoring:
it can be mainly interested in school inputs and in the respect of norms and
regulations compliance monitoring;
it can focus on the instructional process, on the improvement of what goes on
in the classroom diagnostic monitoring;
its interest lies mainly in school results performance monitoring.
A second distinction concerns the main actor demanding accountability from the school
and therefore undertaking the monitoring:
the education administration, which represents the Ministry, does the
monitoring public or state control model;
the teachers themselves do the monitoring, as they are considered
professionals professional accountability model;
the monitoring is done by the parents, in close relationship with the school
the partnership model;
the public monitors the school through parental choice and competition
between schools the free-market model.

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Appendix 1

Education quality improvement

What this appendix will discuss

This appendix starts off by very briefly discussing the concept of quality, a concept that
contains many aspects that are difficult to disentangle.
It then turns to the vast body of research studies on the topic, with the simple aim of
distilling from it a certain number of lessons about what works and what does not work
in trying to improve the quality of schools.
The main conclusion reached is that what matters most is what happens in the school
and the classroom.
Consequently, the appendix ends with the presentation of a framework that integrates
the different elements that have an impact on quality and should help us understand
how the quality of schools can be improved.

Expected outcomes
After reading this appendix, readers should be able to:
understand the complexity of the concept of quality of education;
identify the core lessons learnt from research on how to improve the quality of
schools; and
understand the different factors that have an impact on the quality of schools
and their interrelationships.

The concept of quality

There is no standard definition of school quality. In the literature, a large variety of quality
statements can be found that might refer either to inputs, or to processes, or to outputs,
or to the three dimensions at the same time. Some examples of quality statements go
like this:

Relating to inputs
e.g. A good school is a school with qualified teachers and good equipment.

Relating to processes
e.g. A good school is a school with discipline and a good teaching-learning climate.

Relating to outputs
e.g. A good school is a school that produces above average exam results.
These three definitions of a good school have their value, but the one directly referring to
results seems to be the most logical. This is the definition that users of education
services (the parents) mostly refer to when they talk about a good school and one of
those they might refer to when choosing a school for their children.
Most of the time, the only way of measuring results is by using learner exam scores or
test performances. This is the common indicator used for making national comparisons
in the quality of education between different countries and between sub-national entities
and/or schools within countries.

Questions
Do you think that exam results are good indicators of the quality of schools?
Do such indicators allow you to distinguish between a good school and a bad school?

Let us look in more detail at the use of exam results as an indicator of school quality.
To what extent are exam results a fair reflection of the results produced by a
school?
There are many other results that are not captured by exams such as the acquisition of
attitudes, of values, of behavioural patterns and of practical skills and know-how. These
types of results are unfortunately more difficult to measure and therefore get easily
forgotten. But is a school that focuses exclusively on obtaining good results in national
tests and exams necessarily a good quality school?

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 How shall we judge the quality of the test results obtained?

Even if we agree to limit quality assessment to the measurement of academic
achievement, can we say that a school with high achievement scores is necessarily
better than another with lower scores? While this may be true in absolute terms, it
might not be so when we consider the value added to the learners knowledge and skills
by these two schools. For instance, it may be that the learners of the high achievement
school had a strong academic level upon entering the school because they come from a
high socio-economic background. This is where the notion of effectiveness comes in. An
effective school is one where the average achievement of the learners is higher than
expected, given the background of the learners and the context they are living in. In
several countries, school effectiveness indicators have been built. They consist of
calculating the difference between the schools actual average achievement score and
the score that would have been produced taking into account the students
characteristics, including the hard-to-change conditions surrounding the school.
Manifestly, the value added is the result of the way in which the different human and
material resources of the school have been used, which brings us back to the previous
dimensions of inputs and processes.
In conclusion, the quality of education is a multi-dimensional concept composed of three
inter-related dimensions: the quality of the human and material resources available
(inputs); the quality of the management and teaching-learning processes taking place
(processes); and the quality of the results (outputs).
The problem is that we do not know very well how the different dimensions interact with
each other in reality. But we do know that, in any case, the influence of a specific input
or process factor on results is never direct or linear. An increase in the number of
textbooks by learner, for example, will not directly lead to an improvement of exam
results. That will depend on the availability and quality of the other inputs and on the way
in which the textbooks are being used, together with the other inputs, within the
teaching-learning process. Furthermore, if the increase in the number of textbooks does
lead to better exam results, this will only continue up to a certain level, after which any
further increase will remain without effect or even become counterproductive. Because
of this complexity in the relationships between variables, understanding which are the
input and process factors we can manipulate and how we can manipulate them in order
to improve the quality of our schools is not an easy task.

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Some lessons from research

Fortunately, over the last three decades a growing body of research on school quality
and effectiveness, both qualitative and quantitative in nature, has allowed us to
understand a little more clearly the determinants of school quality. The purpose here is
not to discuss the different research studies in detail, but simply to draw attention to a
number of general lessons we have learned from them and that could help us to better
target our quality improvement strategies.
Among the main lessons worth mentioning are the following:
There is no single determinant of school results. What explains differences
between schools is not one or several factors in isolation but rather the
particular interaction of the material, human and organizational resources
involved in the pedagogical process. An integrated approach that gives due
consideration to the close inter-dependence among factors at both programme
design and implementation stages is therefore needed for quality improvement
programmes.
In general, process variables (variables relating to school organization and
practices) are more important than input variables (such as availability of
material and human resources) in explaining differences in school quality.
Traditional quality improvement programmes concentrating on massive
injections of infrastructure, equipment, teacher training, etc. within the system
have only had a limited impact. They can only produce the expected results if
they are accompanied by complementary action explicitly aiming at the
improvement of organizational processes and behavioural patterns at different
levels within the system.
At the heart of a good quality education is what happens in schools, that is to
say the nature of relationships of the teaching staff with the pupils, with
colleagues and with the community. Quality improvement policies should put
the main emphasis on the human factor. The teachers are not only the main
point of contact between the providers of educational facilities and the users
(pupils and parents); they are also the essential medium through which the
teaching-learning process in the classroom is achieved.
The role played by the headteacher is an important element when trying to
explain the differences in school quality. The functioning of a school is to a
great extent determined by the way in which the education institution is being
managed.
All this explains why, in many countries, quality improvement policies are today paying
special attention to the functioning of the schools. It is being realized that whatever
actions are taken at systems level, real quality improvement depends on what happens
in the classroom. Schools are the delivery points at which all the components of the
system come together for interaction and determine the quality of the teaching-learning
process. Critical decisions about quality are taken daily at the school level by the
teachers and the headteacher. It is only at the school level that most of the basic
problems with quality (teacher and learner absenteeism, deficient use of human and
material resources, poor teaching practices, etc.) can be monitored properly. This is why
the school is, or is becoming, the prime target of efforts to improve the quality of
education. Hence the importance of better understanding how schools are functioning.

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A framework for analyzing school functioning

Graph 1 below presents a framework for analyzing school functioning. It is the result of
an international project undertaken by the IIEP on the Quality of primary school in
different development contexts5 and carried out with national teams in four countries:
the province of Zhejiang in China; Guinea; the state of Madhya Pradesh in India; and the
state of Puebla in Mexico. But other research studies implemented have reached similar
conclusions.

Although the framework is quite self-explanatory, a few points of clarification might help
in understanding it better and will facilitate its use:
The basic idea behind the framework is that the central element of the school
functioning is what happens in the classroom. For it is in the classroom that all
inputs converge and influence the particular teaching-learning process taking
place. The way teachers teach, the way they use their time, the extent to which
they involve the learners and provide them with feedback, etc. are in the end
what determines the quality of a school. The daily interaction between teachers
and learners is the most direct determinant of a schools results.

Question
You will note that Graph 1 contains a series of cells that refer to input factors (the ones on the left) and
to process factors (the ones in the middle). Can you identify for each factor a few elements that are of
importance to school quality?

But what happens in the classroom is not an independent variable. It is in turn

influenced by other factors, the first of which are the input factors:
Characteristics of the teachers, that is to say, the availability and quality of the teaching
staff in terms of their level of education and training, experience, competence, stability,
living conditions, level of integration in the community, job satisfaction and motivation,
etc.
Pedagogical teaching-learning conditions, covering the pedagogical organization of the
classes (single grade or multigrade, single session or multiple sessions), the number of
pupils per class, the programme being taught, the teaching language used, the time
devoted to learning, etc
Material teaching-learning conditions, that is to say, the availability and quality of: school
infrastructures; various types of equipment for the classroom; pupil supplies; guides and
materials for the teachers, etc.
Characteristics of the learners and in particular the distribution by gender, age, health
status, socio-economic background, socio-cultural background, etc.
5 Source: Carron and Cha, 1996.
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Graph 1: A framework for analysing school functioning

ENVIRONMENT

Administration

Relations with the

administration

SCHOOL

Relations within school

Characteristics of
the teachers
CLASSROOM
Material teachinglearning conditions
Pedagogical
conditions

Teachinglearning process

Results

Characteristics of
the learners

Relations with parents

Community

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 In addition to these basic input factors, the quality of the pedagogical act is
even more directly influenced by certain processes, which include a number of
interactions between the teacher and other actors intervening in school
functioning. The emphasis is being put on three types of interactions, which are
the following:
In-school relations: manifestly the most important element here is the role played by the
head teacher. However, formal and informal relations between colleagues seem to be
equally important in fostering teachers attitudes and pedagogical behaviour.
Relations with parents: naturally, parents are supposed to be the most direct partners of
the teachers in educating their children. This relationship therefore merits particular
attention. It can be analyzed by examining (1) the level of communication between
parents and teachers, and (2) the extent to which parents are involved in different
aspects of school functioning (financial, pedagogical and managerial).
Relations with the administration: although school functioning is greatly influenced by its
immediate local environment, a school is also part of an overall system. Consequently,
the type of relationships that exist between the school and the education administration
is also crucial. Particularly important in this respect are (1) the pedagogical control and
support provided to the teachers and the head teacher in carrying out their respective
tasks; (2) the extent to which they receive continuous information and clear instructions
on the aims to be achieved, programmes to be taught, standards to be respected, etc.;
and, finally, (3) the quality of the administrative backing on which they can count.
These three types of interactions are considered to be basic to any analysis of school
functioning. However, they are not the only ones that can have an impact on school
functioning. Headteachers and teachers might also have direct contacts with community
leaders, representatives of other development sectors, experts of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), etc. In certain specific contexts, these relations may even become
more significant, for example where a particular NGO is supporting a given school.
Consequently, the framework can and should, in certain cases, be broadened to include
these other relationships.
The following box is extracted from the same IIEP study on the Quality of primary school
in different development contexts from which the framework presented above has been
derived. It contains the main conclusions of the report concerning the factors that
explain the differences between high-performing and low-performing schools in the four
countries studied.

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Box 1:

What explains the difference between high-performing and low performing

schools? Conclusions from four national case studies.

General conclusions are difficult to draw and there is certainly not one single factor, or a
few factors in isolation, which explain differences in performance. What is important is
the way in which different components that enter into the teaching-learning process
interact with each other and this interaction is highly context-specific. Nevertheless,
some more general conclusions summarized below can be derived from the analysis.
1.
Material conditions of teaching are important. Manifestly, it is difficult for a
school to get good results when the basics are not available. In general, therefore, a
clear correlation between the average test results and different categories of schools in
terms of levels of infrastructure and equipment was noticed, as illustrated in the case of
Madhya Pradesh. However, it was also found that individual schools that have similar
material teaching-learning conditions can have very different results. In spite of
deplorable conditions in many schools, learners do relatively well, while in other schools
with good facilities, learner performance is very low. Material inputs therefore do have an
impact on results, but this impact is mediated through the interaction of these inputs
with other factors and, in the first instance, the human ones.
2.
Indeed, differences in results are more related to the quality of the teacher than
to the availability of equipment. But what is meant by the quality of the teacher? Here,
too, the research throws some light on the subject. Competence, which is the result of
training and experience, was found to be important to a certain extent. In some cases,
teachers manifestly did not master the subjects they were supposed to teach. This did
affect their performance in two ways. First of all, their teaching in the given subjects was
poor, but in addition they tended to devote less time to the subjects in which they were
not at ease. However, a more important problem of competence was the lack of
pedagogical skills that, because of poor pre-service as well as in-service training, was a
more widespread and more serious handicap for efficient teaching. That being said, the
individual school case studies show that, in the end, teacher quality is more a question
of motivation than of competence. It is motivation that determines the extent to which
competence will be actually used. Classes in which the results were better than expected
were invariably run by teachers who, for one reason or another, were more motivated
than elsewhere. In other words, competence is an important, but not a sufficient,
condition for an efficient teaching-learning process to take place.
3.
Classroom observation allowed further identification of some of the
characteristics of a more efficient teaching-learning process. They essentially have to do
with the amount of learning exposure and the efficient use of learning time, that is to
say, the extent to which the teaching is well structured and pursues clearly defined
objectives. More precisely, the following characteristics of teacher behaviour could be
observed in the better performing classes:

the teacher is absent less often;

he/she uses work plans and lesson preparations;

he/she has a more active teaching style (even if the overall approach remains
teacher-centred);

he/she gives regular homework and, more importantly, he/she provides regular
feedback to the learners on the basis of an individual correction; and

Module 1: Supervision: a key component of a quality monitoring system

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he/she organizes regular assessment of knowledge and skills acquired by the

learners and provides individual feedback on the results.

4.
However, the teaching-learning process is not an independent variable. It is
therefore important to know what factors influence it and can make it more efficient.
Again, very special cases could be identified that are related to the individual
characteristics of the teachers and consequently cannot be easily generalized. However,
on the whole, the research showed that the chances of obtaining a more efficient
teaching-learning process (along the lines described above) depend to a large extent on
the availability of proper control and support structures at the school level, and on the
level of interaction between the teacher and the parents. The need for proper control
and support structures is closely related to the interactions prevailing within schools
and, more specifically, to the role of the headteacher. The difference in the role played by
the headteacher was considered to be one of the main reasons for the variation in
results between public and private schools in Madhya Pradesh and also in Puebla. It was
found that in both cases headteachers of private schools were exerting a rather tight
control over the teachers: ensuring their regular presence and that timetables were
followed, work plans prepared, etc. In government schools, the situation is not the same.
Some schools are very small and do not have a real headteacher. In others,
headteachers are appointed but they lack the necessary authority and competence to
ensure respect of minimum rules of good school functioning. In Madhya Pradesh, for
example, while in private schools headteachers are themselves supported and controlled
by School Management Committees, in government schools such a mechanism does not
exist. On the other hand, the classical supervisory structures have deteriorated so much
so that they cannot provide the headteachers with the necessary backing they need in
the everyday management of their institutions. Restoring the system of school
supervision and rethinking the roles and respective responsibilities, in this respect, of
inspectors, headteachers and local communities from an integrated perspective is,
therefore, a must for any improvement in the quality of basic education.
The other factor that emerges as an important correlative characteristic of an efficient
teaching-learning process is the level of interaction between the teachers and the
parents. It has been seen that in general, with the exception of Zhejiang, this interaction
was far less intensive than expected. As a matter of fact, in many instances, and
particularly in rural areas, a wide gap was noticed between these two main actors
intervening in a childs education. Parents were looked upon by teachers as obstacles
rather than as partners for quality improvement. However, in schools where this trend
could be inverted and communication channels established, the teaching-learning
processes tended to be more efficient. In Zhejiang, where the results of the pupils were
found to be generally better than elsewhere, regular contacts between teachers and
families (including regular home visits) were a standard feature of school functioning.
Better communication between parents and teachers was also one of the main
characteristics of private schools in Madhya Pradesh and Puebla. A privileged means of
communication in these schools was found to be the systematic feedback to the parents
of homework and test results. The important thing seems to be to get the parents
involved or, at least, interested in the pedagogical aspects of their childrens education,
rather than to simply solicit their material and monetary contribution. In Puebla, for
example, this difference in the parents/school relationship was found to be the most
important one between urban and rural areas. Fortunately, there were some exceptions
to this, proving that real pedagogical partnership between parents and teachers can also
be established in rural schools.

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References

Carron G.; Cha T.N. 1996. The quality of primary schools in different development
contexts. Paris. UNESCO/IIEP.
Goddard V.D.; Leask M. 1992. The Search for Quality. London: Paul Chapman
Publishing.
Kogan, M. 1988. Education Accountability, An analytical overview. London: Hutchinson.
Richards, C. E. 1988. A Typology of Educational Monitoring Systems. Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 10 (2), pp.106-116.

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School supervision services exist in nearly all countries; they have played a key role in
the development of the public education system, by monitoring the quality of schools
and by supporting their improvement. However, in many countries, these services are
under increasingly heavy critique, because of their failure to have a positive impact on
quality of teaching and learning. This failure is, in part, the result of a strategic challenge:
the mandate of the service outweighs by far its resources, and is also caused by a series
of poor management and planning decisions.
Against this background, many countries have attempted to reform their supervision
system. These reforms are also inspired by the need to improve educational quality
and by the recent trend towards more school autonomy. Indeed, the ability of schools
to use their greater freedom effectively will depend to a large extent on the support
services on which they can rely, while supervision may be needed to guide them in their
decision-making and to monitor the use they make of their resources. While these
reforms have met with mixed success, their overall analysis allows us to gain profound
insight into what can be achieved in a specific context. This set of training modules takes
the reader through a systematic examination of the issues that a Ministry of Education,
intent on reforming its supervision service, will face.
The public, which will benefit most from these modules, are senior staff within ministries
who are directly involved in the organisation, planning and management of supervision
services, staff of research and training institutions who work on school supervision, and
practising supervisors.

The authors:
Anton de Grauwe is a Programme specialist at the IIEP. Gabriel Carron was until 1999
Senior Programme Coordinator in the same institute. Both coordinated between 1996
and 2004 an extensive research and training program on Reforming school supervision
and support for quality improvement.