A survey of supervisory practices and attitudes toward supervision in master's programs in TESOL in the United States

This survey was conducted to describe the supervisory practices and attitudes toward supervision in master's programs in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) across the United States. It consisted of a questionnaire completed by 84 student teachers and 32 supervisors from 26 programs and follow-up interviews conducted with 19 participants from 9 of those programs. The results showed that several activities in addition to the well-documented observation-conference cycle were performed as part of the practicum in the programs surveyed. Student-teacher activities included analysis of their own lessons, observation of peers and discussion of the lessons observed, and reflective activities such as journal writing. Supervisor activities included observation and evaluation of student teachers, coordination of peer observations, and facilitation of discussions about teaching in seminars. Reported purposes of supervision included evaluating student teachers and helping them reflect upon their teaching and increase their self-knowledge as teachers. Approaches to supervision following theoretical models were identified in only 6 programs; these followed clinical or reflective models of supervision, or a combination of both. The participants reported being mainly satisfied with their practicum activities; however, the participants interviewed expressed dissatisfaction toward programmatic characteristics, such as low supervisor to student-teacher ratio, and toward factors related to the program's approach to the practicum, such as relative emphasis on theory and practice. No relationship was established between participant satisfaction and theoretical models of supervision in any of the programs. Ultimately, the results indicated that participant satisfaction was largely contingent upon a program's ability to identify and meet its student teachers' needs. Therefore, it was recommended that master's programs in TESOL examine their theoretical orientation to the practicum, establish clear purposes for supervision, and provide learning experiences for student teachers that fulfill such purposes. The results also suggest the need for a new theory of preservice supervision in TESOL grounded in the actual practice of supervision. Suggestions for future research include investigation on how interactions among student teachers and supervisors foster student-teacher learning in the practicum, how supervisors conceptualize and attempt to improve their practice, and how supervisors cope with constraints inherent in their work environment.