THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL CLIMATE AND SELECTED SCHOOL CLIMATE VARIABLES ON THE OUTCOMES OF CLINICAL SUPERVISION

THOMAS FRANCIS FOWLER-FINN, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of school climate on the outcomes of clinical supervision. Hypotheses stated that the overall school climate and the climate variables of "caring" and "opportunity for input" enhance, enable, and predict productive clinical supervision. A search of the literature revealed critical interrelationships between both underlying assumptions and practices of clinical supervision and school climate concepts. An analysis of school climate factors as they facilitate or hinder productive clinical supervision in public schools revealed strong arguments for the need to obtain an understanding of school climate in order to implement and support clinical supervision efforts. Consistency between school climate factors and clinical supervision is a natural tendency that effects the outcomes of the supervision. This same tendency exists between all organizational suprasystems and subsystems within. In nine schools utilizing clinical supervision (including both elementary and middle school levels) teacher perceptions were surveyed. Two hundred seven teachers completed a four part questionnaire which included the following instruments: (1) general information about participants, (2) an instrument developed by the researcher to assess the quality of the clinical supervision model used in each school, (3) an instrument to assess the productivity of the clinical supervision developed by Shuma (1973) and modified and revised by the researcher, and (4) the Questionnaire Developed from Factor Analysis of the CKF Ltd. School Climate Profile. The data consisted of responses on a scale of 1 to 4, as well as responses to open-ended questions. The analysis included tests of reliability, correlation, hierarchical multiple regression, and content analysis of specific items. Findings were significant to the .01 level and strongly supportive of the hypotheses. Some of the conclusions drawn were: (1) The quality of supervision is a strong predictor of the outcomes of the supervision. (2) The quality of supervision and outcomes of supervision scales were statistically reliable instruments useful to assess clinical supervision currently in use in the public schools. (3) Each of the school climate variables proved to be useful in the prediction of clinical supervision outcomes. (4) School level did not make a difference in any of the results. (5) In this sample the principal productively practiced clinical supervision while also serving the role of evaluator. (6) In this sample clinical supervision was productive in public schools. (7) There is a complementary interrelationship between a healthy school climate and a high quality clinical supervision model. (8) School climate factors and their effects on clinical supervision are understandable and within the power of school personnel to alter. Also outlined are five methods of using climate data to effectively implement clinical supervision. It is suggested that ignoring climate factors severely decreases the likelihood of productive clinical supervision. A strong case is made for building school climate by design and planning rather than allowing it to occur by default because of the strong relationship between climate and clinical supervision (as well as other subsystems). Additional conclusions and recommendations for both the practitioner and researcher are offered. Communications with experts from over a dozen states and conjecture on applications of the study are discussed in the epilogue.

Subject Area

Curricula|Teaching

Recommended Citation

FOWLER-FINN, THOMAS FRANCIS, "THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL CLIMATE AND SELECTED SCHOOL CLIMATE VARIABLES ON THE OUTCOMES OF CLINICAL SUPERVISION" (1980). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI8101318.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI8101318

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