Instructional supervisory practices of headteachers and their relationship with teacher interpersonal relations in public senior high schools in Ekumfi District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the instructional supervisory practices carried out by headteachers and their relationship with interpersonal relations in public senior high schools in Ekumfi District. The study employed a descriptive survey design where the quantitative approach was followed. Using the stratified random sampling techniques, a sample size of 77 participants comprising five headteachers and 72 teachers was used for the study. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The internal consistency approach was used to establish the reliability of the questionnaire. The data were analysed using both descriptive statistics like mean, frequency, standard deviation as well as inferential statistics including t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation. The findings revealed that headteachers were rated highest on monitoring punctuality and regularity (M=4.45, SD=0.644), followed by orientation of new teaching staff (M=4.41, SD=1.084), checking teacher’s professional records (M=4.36, SD=0.512), holding meetings (M=4.30, SD=0.872), classroom visits and lesson observation (M=4.12, SD=0.843), provision of in-service training (M=4.04, SD=0.691), monitoring timetables (M=3.86, SD=1.139), and giving feedback to teachers (M=3.80, SD=0.965). The study further found that the interpersonal relationship between the headteachers and teachers in the schools was high (M=4.04, SD=0.691). Furthermore, the findings established that there was a moderate and statistically significant positive relationship between instructional supervision and interpersonal relationship (r=0.579, p<0.05, two-tailed). Therefore, the study concluded that instructional supervision was a central determinant of interpersonal relationship between headteachers and teacher practices in public senior high schools in Ekumfi District.