The Role of the Public Principals in the Northern Governorates to Activate Supervision with Peers and its Relationship to Cognitive Empowerment to Teachers from the Point of View of Teachers and Educational Supervisors

Abstract

The survey aimed at identifying the ‏role of the basic public schools' principals in activating peer supervision, its relationship to their cognitive empowerment based on the teacher's and educational supervisors' point of view, and the difference between each principal according to the directorate, gender, educational qualification, years of experience, and job title. The study approved the quantitative descriptive-analytical method by analyzing the questionnaire and the qualitative method is approved by classifying the interview answers. The population consisted of (10598) teachers, (553) supervisors. A stratified random sample was chosen, and a questionnaire was applied to (618) teachers and educational supervisors from the northern governorates' primary basic schools. It also included (30) teachers and educational supervisors who were interviewed. To improve the outcomes of the study. The results of the study showed that the role of the primary public school's principals in activating peer supervision according to the teacher's and educational supervisors' point of view from these schools overall was high, by means of the arithmetic average which reached (3.84), and the results of the interview showed that (80%) of the teachers confirmed that school principals are planning on activating their role towards peer supervision which focuses on classroom visits, following up with preparation, reciprocal visits, following up among teachers’ professional development in line with the plan, and training teachers to use modern technologies.

However, (70%) of the educational supervisors agreed that the planning of the school principals is focused on making a program of reciprocal visits between teachers of the same subject, of the scientific field, and of the literary field. The study also showed that the principals of the primary public schools had scored a high rate based on the teacher's and educational supervisors' point of view, and the arithmetic average was 3.90, and the results of the interview confirmed that (70%) of the study sample among supervisors and teachers agreed that school principals study reality, determine needs and arrange priorities. The results of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences in principals' role towards activating peer supervision based on the teachers’ and supervisors’ points of view in accordance with gender in favor of males, years of experience in favor of those who have (less than 5 years), job title in favor of teachers).

The results also indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the level of cognitive empowerment among the principals of these public schools based on the teacher's and educational supervisors' points of view according to the variance: (the directorate and in favor of the Nablus Directorate, years of experience and in favor of those who have (less than 5 years), the job title and in favor of teachers). The results showed a positive, statistically significant correlation between the role of school principals in activating peer supervision and their level of cognitive empowerment in public basic schools in the northern governorates according to teachers' and educational supervisors' point of view and 523 was the value of the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Considering the achievements of the study, the study recommends benefiting from the results of peer supervision on how to develop teachers’ performance, to empower them both scientifically and professionally by involving them in courses, seminars, and scientific days which focus on the results set by the school principals. The fact they are considered the most relevant to teachers. Keywords: peer supervision, cognitive empowerment, Public primary school principals, northern governorates.