Teachers' perceptions of school principals' supervisory styles

In this study, teachers' perceptions of the supervision styles of the school principals they work with and the school principals' views on the supervision processes were examined. For this purpose, the research was conducted using an explanatory sequential mixed design method. The population of the quantitative dimension of the study, which aims to reveal teachers' views regarding school principals' supervisory styles, consists of teachers working in public schools in the central district of Ordu (Altınordu) during the 2023-2024 academic year. The sample consists of 302 teachers selected through simple random sampling. In the qualitative dimension of the research, the study group consists of 13 school principals selected through criterion sampling from among the principals at the schools where the teachers are included in the sample. In the study, the 'Supervision Style Scale' was used as the quantitative data collection instrument, while a semi-structured interview form was employed to collect the qualitative data. The results of the study reveal that teachers observed a nondirective style most frequently in school principals, a collaborative style moderately frequently, and a directive style least frequently. According to the results of the study, teachers' views on principals' supervisory styles did not show any statistically significant differences across participants' gender, school type, branch, or professional experience. In terms of the educational background variable, a statistically significant difference was found in favor of teachers with a bachelor's degree in the non-directive style sub-dimension. Furthermore, in terms of the length of time working with the school principal variable, a statistically significant difference was found in favor of teachers with 1-5 years of professional experience in the collaborative style and non-directive style sub-dimension. The results of the study reveal that a significant portion of participating school principals considered themselves "adequate" in terms of teacher supervision, while some considered themselves "partially adequate," and others considered themselves "inadequate." The qualitative study results reveal that school principals tend to take a more directive approach to teacher supervision, while exhibiting less of a nondirective and collaborative approach. Participants made significant and noteworthy suggestions regarding supervisory competence, managerial attitudes, practice, and collaboration.