The effect of head teachers’ instructional supervision practices on teacher’s competences in primary schools of Kicukiro district, Rwanda

Abstract

There is an evident relationship between instructional supervision and teacher‟s competences. Hence, due to the number of repetition rate in Kicukiro district primary schools, instructional supervision practices have affectedcurriculum delivery leading to not enough performing among primary schools inKicukiro District. According to MINEDUC, (2018),report a high repetition rate was observed in 2015 (18.3%), while the lowest repetition rate was observed in 2017 (12.5%). Kicukiro primary schools are not performing adequately, and one of the leading causes is associated with head teachers who do not provide enough time for their teachers to enhance their academic instruction by checking teacher‟s documents and lesson to be delivered. The general objective of this study was to investigate the effects of head teachers‟ instructional supervision practices on teacher‟s competences in the primary schools of Kicukiro district. Specific objectives of the study are (i) to find out the frequency of head teachers instructional supervision and its effect on primary school teacher‟s competence in Kicukiro District, (ii) to find out the teachers‟ attitudes vis-à-vis instructional supervision in Kicukiro District and (iii) suggest mechanisms that would boost head teachers‟ instructional supervision practices and thereafter improve primary school teachers‟ competence in Kicukiro District.In this study10 head teachers and 30 teachers were related as informants. This research used the following instruments: questionnaires, observation checklist, and interviews.After collecting data the, researcher analyzed data in quantitative and qualitative. The findings were organized around the research objectives and informed that most of the head teachers conduct an instructional supervision practices at least every two weeks. As reported by head teachers instructional supervision practices are hindered by multiple responsibilities. Indeed the majority of head teachers (60.7%) denoted that instructional supervision is hindered by teacher‟s negative attitudes and limited understanding of the importance of this education practice. As conclusion, there is imperative to sensitize educational practitioners about instructional supervision as direct assistance mechanism to improve classroom practices.