PEDAGOGICAL SUPERVISION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: PERCEPTIONS AND REFLECTIONS

Abstract

This article on ‘Pedagogical supervision and professional development: perceptions and reflections’ is the result of a larger piece of research carried out as part of a doctoral programme in Educational Sciences, the central theme of which was the issues surrounding pedagogical supervision. Starting from a professional situation experienced in a secondary school, it became apparent that supervisory visits were characterised by routine actions, sudden visits and a lack of feedback to those being supervised, which did not facilitate understanding of the supervisory actions. This triggered some reflections and the central research question emerged: what are teachers‘ perceptions of pedagogical supervision as a contribution to teachers’ professional development? In this sense, the main objective was to analyse teachers' views on the process of pedagogical supervision as a way of improving the teaching profession. Thus, the research was based on a qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews with five teachers were chosen for data collection. The main results of the study show that reflection based on professional action promotes professional development in teaching, when supervised interlocutors are involved and committed to their pedagogical improvement.