LEGAL ISSUES IN SCHOOL SUPERVISION

Legal Issues in School Supervision

Abstract

The education system in the USA has been going through tough times over the last few decades. The role of the principal is pivotal to the success of an educational institution. This paper discusses the various issues that a principal faces in the modern school environment and presents suggestions and recommendations for addressing these.

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Thesis Statement3

Discussion4

History and Background4

Introduction of Legal Reforms6

Problem Analysis7

Recommendations11

Conclusion14

References15

Legal Issues in School Supervision

Introduction

Because of the significance of the school administration, the contribution of the educational leadership in school betterment, and the development of educational leaders, it is pivotal to learn the history, growth and prospect of the principalship. The change in demographics, social values and expectation, implies an ever-going evolution in the role of the principal.

Until the start of the 20th century, the schools did not have full time administrators. However, the responsibilities and function of the principal have constantly evolved and developed since then undergoing radical reshaping and redefining.

Principals face an enormous challenge for fulfilling conflicting and often unrealistic demands. They must function actively to change, reshape and redefine schools while holding institutional positions that seek to resist change an ensure stability. The concept of principalship marks the switch from the practice of “head teacher” to “principal”. The evolution in the concept of principalship highlights the shift to decentralized decision-making, staff development, student program betterment, parent participation, and community involvement and student progress (Wulff, 1996).

Thesis Statement

“The modern education system faces several issues and dilemmas, with supervision of schools being a major source of concern. The situation requires a review of the current framework for principalship to address the existing discrepancies.”

Discussion

History and Background

By 1964, the subject matter, of school administration had undergone radical changes and that training programs were employing more encompassing and more rigorous types of content as bases for the preparation. These changes were listed as shifts from a practical orientation to a more theoretical one, from the use of one discipline to the use of several disciplines and from a technical orientation to a more general one. A 1964 study by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) found that the integration of content from sociology, psychology, economics, political science, anthropology, and public administration represented a fundamental shift from the program content of the late 1950s (Pounder & Coleman, 2007).

The phenomena of growth, relevance, and democratization were a legacy from the 1960s. It was an era of change, high expectations, and expansion. Principals were concerned with the application and utilization of knowledge, with assessment and accountability, and with performance and competence, while preparation programs offered a fairly balanced treatment of conceptual, human relations, and technical skills in their certification requirements. There is some evidence that educational administration departments also expanded during the golden era of the 1960s and early 1970s. The typical department had nearly doubled in size from 1964 to 1974 and contained nearly 10 full-time faculty members (Klinker & Hackmann, 2009).

The predominant trend during this era was the infusion of theoretical knowledge from the behavioral ...