Pedagogical Supervision and Change: Dynamics of Collaboration and Teacher Development

Abstract

The present study aims to analyse how pedagogical supervision can contribute to the change and innovation of the dynamics of collaboration and professional development of teachers in an educational community. After a decade of innovation and change in Portuguese schools, with the implementation of new collaborative supervision practices, it was interesting to carry out an analysis of their potentialities and constraints, about teacher professional development, focusing on collaborative work between peers. In the research, carried out in schools in the district of Porto, mixed methodological, qualitative and quantitative procedures were used. As a qualitative strategy, interviews with supervisors were conducted and analysed, and as a quantitative strategy, surveys were applied and analysed by teachers, aiming at the triangulation of the information collected. The results prove the potential of supervision, regarding the change in collaborative supervision practices, in peer work, with real construction of learning communities and improvement of school success. Both supervisors, as middle managers, and teachers positively highlight teamwork, especially in sectoral meetings and in the observation of classes between peers, valuing feedback, reflection, action research and the improvement of pedagogical intervention in the classroom. However, despite the recognition of the advantages of peer training supervision, the constraints of supervision still understood as evaluative are confirmed, showing the confusion between supervision and teacher performance evaluation. Indeed, some teachers continue to associate supervision with evaluative and bureaucratic procedures, which affects interpersonal relationships between supervisors and teachers, especially about class observation. Overall, supervisory action, based on democratic management practices and collaborative work, is considered essential for the reinforcement of continuous teacher training and the evolution of the dynamics of schools, as educational communities.