UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

EDUCATION BULLETIN, 1929, No. 32

DEVELOPMENTS IN RURALSCHOOL SUPERVISION

By

ANNIE REYNOLDSASSOCIATE SPECIALIST IN RURAL EDUCATION

BUREAU OF EDUCATION

the Superintendent of Documents Nashingtos, D. C.ANN= I In II I k a

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

DEPARTMENT OF T.HE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF EDUCATION,

Washington. Ds C., August 1,19E9.: Progress in working out techniques of supervision -adaptea

to the needs of rural school systems is of increasing interest. Ruralschools are in need of a far larger number of supervisors than tirenow employed. In the meantime it is particularly essential to pro-mote in every possible way the best-known supervisory practices.One effective way of doing this is through familiarizing those inter-ested in better rural school supervision with procedtbvs and practicessuccessfully worked out through practical experience. It is theiptent of this manuscript to assist rural school supervision in bothof the ways sugirested. L therefore, recommend its publication asa bulletin of the Bureau of Education.

Respectfully submitted.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

O

WILLIAM JOHN COOPER,Commissioner.

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V. CONTENTS

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PageUtter of transmittalIntroductory statement' 1

1. Improvement of the professional equipment of teachers .. .... OD 4m. ODApplication of modern criteria to th6 selection of teachers_ _ _ 1Adaptation of supervision to the needs of varying teaching groups 2Adaptation of supervision to larger rural schools 7

. Adaptation of supervision to individual differences among teachers_ 8II. Utilization of results of research and participation in experimentation.. 8

Improved promotion procedures._ ........ ..... AD .... 8Education for atypical pupils 9Teacher-rating scales and recitation check lists 10Using teachers' meetings to good effect 11

III. More intelligent approaches toward the solution of instructional prob-lems 12

Organization of the supervisor's time 12Records and statistics 12Developing an ésprit de corps 13Criteria for choice and use of school materials and equipment____ 13

IV. Further developments 15Conclusion 17.

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DEITELOMENTS IN RURAL *SCHOOL SUPERVISION

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT

This bulletin discusses certain supervisory services for improve-ment of the professional equipment of teachers; instances of adapta-tions of supervision by which the-results of research are utilized andteachers are interested in experimentation ; illustrations of specificimprovements in the approach made by supervisors toward the solu-tidn of certain problems; and suggestions concerning deyelopmentsalong the above lines for the near iuture.

The fact that administrative officers may justly claim considerablecredit for achievements along some of the lines -contidered is freelygranted ; it is conceded that the, functions of the supervisor and ofthe school adminisfrat4or overlap in the performance .of a numberof the accoinplishments noted, such as those connected with the ratingof teachers, evaluation of textbooks, conipilation of records ìTreports, promotion of pupils, and the like. This acknowledgmentof the value of the services of administrative officers, with occasionalbrief references in the f011owing pages, must take the place of anextended presentation of administrative services in a publication,limited as this is, to consideration of developments in' supervisionas distinct from administration.

I. IMPROVEMENT OF THE I'ROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENTOF TEACHERS

Supervisors are improving the professional equipment of teachersthrotigh the application of modern criteria to their selection, theadaptation of supervision to the needs of taryini teaching groups,to the needs of larger rural schools, and to individual differences,among teacher's..

APPLICATION OF MODERN CRITERIA TO THE SELECTION OF TEACHERS

Supervisors in the past haye felt that they diseharged their obliga-tions by doing the best they pould with the teaching matexiakoavail-

,ible, inferior as it might be. During the past few years °a changedpoint of view has become evident. It is expected that prospectivecandidates for teaching pòsitions should have an understanding of

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RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION

the scientific principles underlying classroom management and theart of teaching. Supervisort seek to lirvlit the choice of teachers to.those professionally prepara. They visit teacher-preparing insti-tutions where, by cooperating with officials in charge, they interviewcandidates for *positions, become familiar with the training of suchcandidates, their personality, skill in teacing techniques, hnd theuse of modern teaching materials, results of research, and the like.To a considerable extent probable failures are eliminated by suchprecautions.

ADAPTATION OF SUPERVISION TO THE NEEDS OF VARYING TEACHING GROUPS

Supervision adapted to the needs of varying teaching groupsarouses interest among teachers in improving their instructionalskill and professional eqiiipment. Lacking such stimulus and guid-ance, only a small percentage of teachers, usually those with thoroughpreservice preparation and innate ability and aptitude for teaching,continue to grow professionally.

Through adapted supervisory programs teachers are encouragedto seek educational opportunities and -contacts; to become interestedin and acquainted with professional literature; and skillful in analyz-ing and interpreting their own teaching experiences in the light oftheir errors, failures, and successes. ,A description of two classifica-tion schemes recommended follows: 44

Group claesifeation scheme No. scheme which has strongadvocates classifies teachers as probationers, junior teachers, ex-plorers, and master teachérs. It assumes that teachers have a mini-mum of two yea-rs' professional training following high-school grad-uation. In placing each Nadler in one of these four groups thelength of experience is used as the initial basis. A teacher showingaverige ability adfances at a predetermined rate; one showing un-usual ability is permitted to advance faster; one who fails to meet

* the standards generally met by members of her group is expectedto spend more time at each efficiency level. The admission of eteacher to a higher classification dsends on her experience and (successful completion of the worlc to le covered at the prececking levelbr levels.

Probationers are young teachers doing their first arid second yenrsof teaching. They need knowledge of schools in which they areplaced and a period of adjustment in which they are éxpected towork hard but are encouraged 1).37 the assistance of supervisors andfellow téachers. Successful probationers develop a sense of respon-sibility. They seek assistance. The obstacles they enfounter chtl-lenge them to redouble their effOrts. I.

Junior teachers are those teaching their third, fourth, and fifthyears. They were successful as probationers, are at home in the

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IMPROVEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT

schoolroom, are accumulating a body of scivntific and.,technicalknowledge, acquiring teaching skill, and 'enslirying their sense ofincreasing competence.

Explorers have fiyished their first live years of teaching; they havedemonstrated ability to profit by experience, are locatin.g their in-terest fields, and finding,the work in which they intend to specialize.

Master teachers are those who have,passed creditably through thethree preceding stages, are striving to) ONcei their past record, andare in many instances c.onducting experiments or testing new methodsand mate.riaN in the field of teaching experience in which they hopeto contribute to 'the group.

Classification scheme No. re,. The second scheme meets better thepreskt status quo. Teachers are classified into the following groups:Inexperienced, profesionally unrepared ; inexperienced prepared;expelienced teachers who havo Gilded to) develop much skill or arerapidly losing the skill they once `had ; aiiil uperior experiencedtea( hers. Although teachers representing degrees of shill, prepara-tioii. and experience lying midway between the steps in this scheme

Are fount': in carrying Out supervisory programs krther group classi-fication is generairy impracticable; in sectioning by groups teachersmay he thought of as belonging to that one of the four classes towhich they most closely conform. Many supervisors limit the rela-tive time devoted to the task of assisting teachers in the first group,in order fhat 'they may stimulate teachers in the three remaininggroups to realize their potentialities.

Supervisory measures used to tneet the needs of a situation treatedby the employment f unprepared teachers may be classified as(a) emergency and (b) protective.

Emergency measures include among others: (1) An initial teach-ers' meeting exclugitely for inexperienced, unprepared teachers,extending througilout several days preceding the fall opening ofschool. (2) A series of two or three group conferences, each lastinga day, herd at intervals during the school year. These meetingsafford opportunities for the group under the supervisor's guidanceto study intensively urgent problems connected with details of schoolmanafement and organization of routine, use of equipment, schoolsanitation, and interpretation of the course of siudy and of textbooksused by pupil's. (3) The offices performed by supeevisors deignedto make unprepared teachers feel at home in_the schoolroom *and torealize that supervisors appreciate their difficulties, motives, andpainstaking endeavors.

Protective measures include*. 4(1) Considering with the group asa whole and, if necessary, with individuals the question of tensclanceat sinumrr si:hool or during a regular term or yeas a teacher-training institution; (2) helping those who decide to continue iheir

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inexpert teachers; of the characteristics lof experienced mediocrete,achers, both those who hav:% ',remained linexpert find those whoatVin average expertness; and through analyses of supervisory prac-tices and traits which apparenttrFrove effective.

Condition:, antl Practices which operate to prevent the acquisitionof eflicieny are: (a) Lack of supervisory assistapce during the earlyyears uf teaching. resulting in the formation of wrong habits. (b)Ignorzince of sources Of help. (e) Failure to linderstand children.((1) Poor health conditions sometimes brought about through ex-hausting physical habits, such as speaking in hi!Th-pitched tones.(e) Lack of self-criticism. (i) Implicit belief that an extendedexperience is per se synonymous with teaching merit. (r/) Use ofschool Procedures recommended years previously at a teacher-train-ing institution attended and continued in ignorance of the greatnumber of changes introduced into elementary education as a-resultof research.

Experienced teachers who remain inferior over a term of yearsbelong to One of two types: (1) Those who do just enough to getby, lack interest in their work, and use the good offices of friends tosecure and retain positions irrespective of their professional pzepara-tion or competence. As teachers of this type are frequently sociallypopular and are considered good teachers by undiscriminating schoolpatrons, they constitute an insurmountable barrier to educationaladvancement. (2) Those who are conscientious, sensitive, and timid,awaee of and distressed over their incompetence, but unable to im-prove their professional efficiency or status.

A number of teachers after remaining at a low efficiency level forsome timessuddenly begin to hnprove, and grow gradually but per-sistently in teaching skill. Such teachers apparently possvs a kindof .intelligence which .profits easily by touch-and-go professionaloppokuilities; a determination to persevere in the face of discourage-ment ; a broader life outside of school, affording interests tending tostimulate and to counteract discouragement; and ability to recogniZespecial strengths and weaknesses and. to make successful efforts toovercome deficiencies discovered and to use special talents to goodeffect.

SupOrvisors comprehending the significance of the conditions, prac-tices, and teacher characteristics enamerated concentrate Iheir effortson evolving types of supervisory assistance calculated to bring aboutin each individual case a maximum return for effort expended.

The acquisition by supervisors of skill in the analysis of recitationprocedures and in adjustment to the various individual differencesamong teachers, and growth in optimism, sympathy, and patiefice alsofacilitate progress in improving the instruction of mediocre experi-enced teachers.

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IMPROVEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT 7

Supervisors are qiscovering the potential significance of experi-enced superior teachers to the schools in which they teach and to theeducational system as a whole. They are helping them to find outletsfor their creative abi1itie5 and to organize self-initiated groups forthe study of the newer teaching techniques. They are offering in-*spiration and guidance in experimental activities, are appointingthew to serve as membei:4Iof teachers councils aini committees andto assume responsibility by acting as special assistants to young. un-prepared teachers in adjacent rooms or buildings or are pairing "them with matilre. 1e uccN:sful teachers doing siiuilar work. Areported arrangement of this kind provides for each teacher needinga counsellor a fe'1ow teacher near at hand to W110111 s'le may feelfree to turn for help. In studying the results obtained by thus dele-gating responsibility to,highly successful teachers the effect of theplan on the teacher rendering the service demands consideration astruly ìs iets effect on-the teacher helped. The movement has gone farenough to indicate that in the hands of a few supervisors, talentedteachers have found satisfaction in using their gifts fothe benefitof their eolleagues, and teachers helped by them have been stimu-lated to attainments not previously reached.

Superior teachers may contribute to the educational welfare oftheir colleagues by sharing with them professional materials whichthey have collected. Classified collections of materials made acces-sible through use of filing and card-index systems with libraries ofwell-selected professional books and magazines are necessary asworking tools for teachers.

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ADAPTATION OF SCPERVISION TO LARGER RURAL SCHOOLS Re

Supervi,sors have recently begun to eonsicier carefully the adapta-tion of supervision to largeM.ural schools whose principals, relievedof teaching part of the time, are charged with administrative respon-sibilities for the schoolowtem and are' expected to supervise instruc-tion. Certain minimdm qualifications are essential for such princi-pals, and specific and clear-cut assignment of their supervisory dutieson the part of administrative. officers is advisable. In accord-.

well-preparedance with the above, supesrvisors suggest that onlysuccessful teachers, with some variety in teaching experience andwith marked potentialities for the successful performance of. theduties devolving upon a principal, should be eligible to the princi-palship. and that in ease both supervisors and principals are chargedwith respo'nsibility for improving elementpry instruction in the sameschool building, administrative officers sTiould decide hich super-visory duties are to be delegated to supervisors and which toprincipall .

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8 RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION

Interest in the potential significance of the principalship as ameans of improving elementary-school instniction is rapidly increas-ing. It is a result in part of the recent emergence of the city ele-mentary-/sdlool principal from a routine teacher, clerk, and admin-istrator into an educational leader, with supervision as one of hismain duties, which suggests the possibility of a similar emergence ofthe rural-school principal: of the increased amber of consolidatedschools in rural communities: and of the provision in many summerschools of courses on problynis of the elementary-school principal.

ADAPTATfON OF SITERVISION TO INDIVIDUAL IIIEHENCES .MoNt; TEACHERS

',Reaching the individual in flab group is as truly a touchstone forgood supervision as for good teaching. Supervisors are supplement-ing adaptations to group differences among teachers by adaptationto individual differences brought to light through the former pro-cedure. so far as time a.nd other limitations permit. \visitation ofclasses and individual conferences atfold ovportunity for discoveryof individual teacher needs. Mobile placement systems enablingApervisors to transfer teachers among buildings and localities areadvantageous from this standpoint.

II. UTILIZATION OF RESULTS OF RESEARCH ANDPARTICIPATIO IN EXPERIMENTATION

Supervisors change school procedures in accord with results dis-covered through research and promote research. among teachers.The service ol research is conditioned by the uselnade of its resultsby teachers in heir everyday classroom work. Dr. B. R. Bucking-ham, in appraising the effect ot research upon teachers participatingin it, states that research will react to vitalize and dignify the workof teachers. " It will confirm or disprove or modify conclusions ofpsychologists as their general conclusions are applied to particularpupils; it will even, in the form of a repetition of experimental pro-cedures, make more convincing and meaningful many facts alreadybelieved on the authority of research: above all, it will stiggest thenature and the reasons for developing better techniques." Amongsignificant problems for whose solution research has proved of muchassistance are those relating to promotion and failure, education ofatypical pupils, improvement of classroom procedures, and the properfmwtioning of teachers' meetings.

IMPROVED PROMOTION PROCEDURES

Recent ritsearch findings of interest to supervisors are: (1) Thehabit of failure is often acquired to the detriment of the pupil's entiremental life; (2) many pupils, able to do more advanced work and

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RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION 9

not permitted to do so, acquire the habit of putting forth half-henriedefforts; (3) coliditional promotiAm of pupils On the border line offailure and extra promotions of gifted pupils are generally followedby (heir making good; (4) pupils, compelled to repeat Nvork. oftenfail to do better the second time.

a resu1t of supervision more teachers are Issisting " recoverable(ases," pupils N ho on receivipg special help make good and c:In berestored to their regular classes: studying pupils mistakes of mostcommon occurrence. and frequency of each type of error; mid areadopting appropriate measures for the prevention and correction oferroi.s. such a,s providing specific drills, and the like; promoting indi-vidual pupils whenever they are ready to do the work of the nexthigher class and baing promotions 011 the composite result attainedthrough the use of standardized intelligence and achievement testssupplemented by informal objective tests and teachers' records ofdaily chsswork.

EDUCATION FOR ATYPICAL PUPILS

The results of intensive'studies of failure and promotion in schoolsystems are convincing proof that provision should be made forschool laggards with inferior intelligence. Children, failing in theirwork because of mental disability. dislike school, profit little byattendance, and develop habits of idleness. In some cases the onlyadequate remedy involves segregation. The number of children forwhom segregation may be nevssary is becoming relatively greater,due to compulsory education laws of wider scope.

Little has been done to provide for the special education needs ofatypical pupils attending rural schools. This, in spite of the fartthat the tendency of defectives to gravitate to small villages or ruralcommunities where competition is not so keen and living costs nutso high as in the city and to stay there, has been noied by severalinvestigators. Assuming that, this tendency continues, it and thelaws of heredity will work to increase the number of subnormalpupils attending village and rural schools. The need for, action isthus evident.

Supervisory interest in making intelligent provision for the needsof atypical rural school children is ket.ln, and supervisors are layingthe foundation for the serious work along this line which must beumteitaken in the next decade. Among activities of this kind are:

(1) Obtaining infornmtion and assistance from State directors ofspecial classes in States in which such officials are employed.

(2) Stu4ing magtqine articles and recent books devoted to specialphases of the problem. Among such books are: The Education ofHandicapped Children, Wallin The Problem- Child in School,Sayres; Education of Gifted Children, Hollingsworth ; Teaching Dull

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and Retarded Children, Inskeep; Mental Abnormality arid Deficiency,Pressey and Pressey; Making Citizens of the Mentally Limited,Whipple; Wha Shall the Public Schools Do for the Feeble-Minded?Dkvis. Among the magazines containing articles on special phases

4, of the problem are U11g1%ade(1,2 The Training Sch).c), Bulletin,' and,Mental Hygiene.4

(3) Securing the services of psychologists and psychiatristst Anumber of these specialists are on the stafh of guidance and otherclinics established in certain cities and institutions, and their servicesin examining children suspected of serious mitntal defect are availableto a limited extent, upon request. to rural school supervisory Officials.

(4) Spreading information based On surveys of mental defects inrural sc1Ìo()1 areas concerning such facts as the probably number ofmentally defective children in the rural communities of the State as

whole; the relation which has been found to exist between mental,defect and juvenile delinquenci': the contributions which such organi-zations as State councils of -social agencies, pqrent-teacher associa-tions, and organiied groups of publie-spirited men and women maketoward (treating a public opinion favorable to the assumption byscbool administrative officers of a larger share of responsibility forthe education of atypical children.

(5) Suggestinpt to administrative officers the need of teachers withspecial training to instruct children recommended for segregation byexperts after physical awl mental examinationd of special classesenrolling few children in order that they may receive individualinstruction.

(6) Explaining to patrons the difficulties presented by retainingin regular classes children who are seriously handicapped mentally;the discouragenlent felt by subnormal pupils and by their teachersbecause of low accomplishment ; the undue attention and time whichsuch children demand of teacher&t4he increased seriousness of dealingwith defectives as they approach the upper limit of the compulsoryeducation age.

JEACHER-RATING SCALES AND RECITATioN CHECK LISTS

Supervisory officers and teachers are generally in agreement that thtuse of adequate rating scales and recitation check lists improves class-room procedures. They are Niger to develop the best scales and check

I Ungraded, a monthly magazine now in its eleventh year,devoted to the gtudy of problemchildren, im published at the office of the New York City Board of Education by theUngraded Teachers' Association of New York City.

a Me Draining School Bulletin, now in its twenty-third year, devoted to the. interestsof those whose minds have not developed normally, is published at Vineland, N. J.

4 Mental Hygiene, a quarterly in Its eleventh year, which aims to bring dependable War-=Hon to every one whose interest or whose work brings him into contact with mentalproblemi. Published at Albany, N. Y., by the National Committee for Mental Hygiene.

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lists possible. Much intelligent effort has gone into their develop-ment and many different types devised. A number of supervisors aremaking use of them. They recognize, however, that all rating schemesse far devised are defective for both scientific' and administrativereasons as instruments on which to rely wholly in evaluating the.work

I of teachers or in determining salary increments or promotions. Suchinstruments as the scales for rating problem and drill techniquesdeveloped by thq department of classroom teachers are valuable forthe specific purpose for which they were constructed and as predic-tions of better scales to be evolved through the cooperation of teachers,supervisors, administrators, and research workers. A scale of consid-erable service to supervisors and teachers is one which enalles themto compare teachers' techniques with standard accepted practices andto learn through its use (a) activities which eriter into skill in teach-ing and into the mechanics of managing a class; (b)* qualities whichenter into teamwork; (c) qualities which are essential to growth andto keeping up to date ; (d) perspnal and social qualities which aremost necessary for the teacher to possess.

Some supervisors recommend check lists as a means of analyzingthe class recitation, pointing out its strengths and weaknesses. Theycan thus suggest changes in procedure at. crucial points in theprogress of the recitation.

USING TEACHERS/ MEETINGS TO GOOD EFFECT

Probably no other supervisory agency has been so generally usedover SO extended a period by rural superintendents and supervisorsavfefulwrs' meetings. Only recently have their program offeringsbeen tibjected to analysis and evaluation. eports of a recent study 3indicate that changes are taking race in both size and number ofmeqtipgs and in program offerings.

Many supervisors substitute sectional meetings for the traditionalcounty-wide meetings or supplement the traditional county-widemeeting with several sectional meetings. In sectioning they use thefollowinir as bases : Geographical area, type of school, grades taught,or preparation and experience of teachers.

Program offerings are improved through (a) shift of emphasis onthe type of offering(4) additioh oi new features; (c) better pre-pared addresses or other contributions; and (d) provision for in-creased participation by teachers.

Programs show a shift of emphasis from addresses as the mainfeature to discussions based on addresses and demonstration classes.Teachers have helped bring about this improvement in a number ofinstances by evaluatthg and ranking program activities in the order01I Bar...was..e.a....410810...wo." IMMIMION

s U 13. Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1929, No. 28.fo

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12 tURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION .

of their relative value ihd suggesting changes and additions forfuture programs.

Among the additionaf features provided are informal discussions(whose initiatior; if not dependent upon addresses or demonstrationteaching) , desighed to shed further light on subjects concerning whichconsiderable differences of opinion prevail among teachers.

Program participants are county or other local educational workersfamiliar with special needs, and other experienced persons whobase their contributions on the results of educational research, moderncurrent school practices, and recent expert information. Substitutingforor in addition toprogram offerings, whose chief aims are to" inspire " teachers or to contribute to their general culture or to theirrecreation, special and local needs are receiving increasing attention.

Increased participation on the part of teachers is due chiefly to thedistribution of assignments prior to the date of the meeting. Teach-ers definitely prepared take part in discussions creditably. It results,also, naturally from the shift of emphasis, the additional features,and the better Prepared Personnel previously discussed.,

III. MORE INTELLIGENT APPROACHES TOWARD THESOLUTION OF CERTAIN PROBLEMS

Among the outcomes of improved supervisory practices are:.(1) Better organization of the supervisor's time; (2) more intereston the part of teachers in keeping records and in u.8ing and compilingstatistips: (3) the development of an 6sprit de corps amolig teachers;and (4) the establishment of .criteria for the choice and use of schoolmaterials and equipment.

ORGANIZATION OF THE SUXERVISOR7S TIME

Studies made by supervisors are resulting in more equitable distri-bution of the time of both superintendents and supervisors, thuspointing the way to increased efficiency. Reports of such time dis-tribution studies as are found in Bureau of Education Bulletins, 1926,No. 12, and 1927, No. 15, are valuable as initial investigations of asubject whose further detailed study should lead to (1) a more care-ful limitation of a supervisor's work to sumrvision interpreted froma modern point of view, and (2) improvement of the technique ofsupervision. The latter should enable a supervisor, after a carefulanalysis of conditions, to choose agencies and means best adapted torender efficient service to teachers and schools.

RECORDS AND STATISTICS

Before determining the kind of records to be kept the tendency isgrowing to consider carefully the uses to which records are put and

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APPROACH TOWARD SOLUTION OF PROBLEMS 13

to ascertain progress made in their. standardization, in order that thetype of record adopted may make it possibleto'measure progress andto compare achievements in any county or State with achiewmentsalong similar lines elsewhere.

Supervisots possessed of at leqt a rudimentary knowledge ofstatistics and statistical method may assist teachers to appreCiatethat figures assembled in State, Federal, and other educationalreports have value in the improvement of elementary instructionwhen pertinent data are selected and the items presented in suchform as to show significant facts; to use statistical tables containingspecific information reldting to instructional problems; and totabulate, graph, and prepare statistical summaries of such data astest scores, pupils' marks, and the like.

DEVELOPING AN ISPRIT DE CORPS

The quality of the work of supervisors and teachers is influencedby relationships among the individuals in the group'. The estab-lishment of right relationships becomes increasingly significantwith the adoption of classification schemes similar to those pre-viously discussed, if a spirit of comradeship and of general goodwill is to prevail.

Development of an ésprit de corps avoids the display amongteachers of undesirable personality traits and manifestations ofunsocial behavior which prove obstacles to the retention of a com-petent teaching corps and lower the teaching morale.

Harmonious adjustment of members of the teaching staff to oneanother achieves the following, among other favorable results:Teachers whose merit has received conspicuous recognition mani-fest a desire to contribute to the success of their former coworkerswhenever opportunity offers. This relationship has a tendency tointensify among members of the teaching group concerned the- am-bition to excel! as teachers, to raise the general level of teachingattainment in the group as a whole, to attract favorable attentionfrom teachers and school patrons generally, an4 to cause 'adminis-trative officers, in the case of vacancies in higher-salaried positions,to consider qualifications of the local teachers before going out§idethe immediate group.

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CRITERIA FOR CHOICE AND USE OF SCHOOL MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

The statement by Dr. Charles H. Judd that a supervisor shouldbe able to give a critical estimate of teaching materials commendsitself as sound. If modern instructional materials are to beadopted to anN extent or to owe their adoption to anything butchance, it will be-largely through the efforts of supervisors who

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14 RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION

should appraise equipinent and materials for teachers and school-board members.

Supervisors introduce teachers to criteria formulated for evalua-tion and selection of teNtbooks by such investigators as Fowlkes,Maxwell, and Spaulding.' Textboas should be adapted to thespecific purpose for which they are to be used, #nd to modernmethods of teaching the subject; should give accurate and authori-tative information free from personal bias, and show, in theiroro-anization the influence of scientific studies in education.

Supervisors work to establish the habit among syhool people' gen-erally of postponing selection of textbooks in all instances untilthere 4has been ample opportunity to examine carefully, with the11Fe of criteria, representative publications.

Treet the marked present-day demand on the part of teachersfor self-teaching practice and corrective materials, commercialequipment of hi1gh standard, adapted for drill and instructionalpurposes in such subjects as reading, language, and arithmetic, isavailable. Trained psychologists have recently given considerableattention to tiv development of this kind of equipment.

Materials properly selected and used (1) lend themselves to thedevelopment of social-group consciousness, the cooperation of chil-dren in timing work done, in pronouncing words, in correctingAvrigen exercises, and the like; (2) indicate the mental level ofpupts, due to the fact that intelligence is an important factor inthe standard of achievement reached by pupils working with cer-tain kinds of materials; (3) permit assignment on a pieceworkbasis, thus stimulating backward, average, and superior pupils towork to the limit of their respective caRacities and to retivh appro-priate goals and (4) enable teaChers (at to make adjusfments toindividual pupil needs and (b) to check progress made. Checkingprogress becomes possible when materials "are at. hand which arevaried in content but equivalent in difficulty to those usedpreviously.

Among the social and integrating values of auditorium programspromoted by superfisors are the following: (1) .Pupils of differentgrades learn from one another; (2) pupil auditors ask questions ofpupils participating; (3) different pupils participate in programsof successive assemblies; (4) following the auditorium periodpupils discuss the programs in their own classrooms and are heldresponsible by teachers for respones appropriate to heir mentaland educational status; (5) pupils discuss and vote for the featuresin a series of auditorium programs which they have most enjDyedor which have added most to their fund of infoimation.

Evaluating school textbooks, John Guy Fowlkes, The selection of textbooks, Char*Robert Maxwell; and Measuring textbooks, Frank Ellsworth Spaulding.

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APPROACH TOWARD SOLUTION OF PROBLEMS 15

IV. FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Farther developments relating to the achievements consideredha this bulletin are urgently needed. The following pages presenta few suggestions and some information as to present tonditions/tind their causes. Reltommendations made in conferences orprint by various State and local supervisors and members of staffsof teacher-preparing institutions have been drawn upon freely intheir preparation.

1. Educational officers, especially supervisors, should redoubletheir efforts to the end that teachers tie employed who have stand-ard preparation (high-school graduation"followed by two years ofProfessional training).

2. In the adaptation of supervision to the needs of varying teach-ing groups, supervisors need to develop skill in helping' inexperi-enc'éd normal-school graduates to make such adjustments and adap-tations as are necessary to enable them to fit into a practical class-room situation, and to understand and to suggest remedies for theconditions which beginning teachers find unsatisfactory whether inor outside the schoolroom.

3. Supervisors and instructors in teacher-training institutionsshould interchange points of view and formulate a practical pro-gram for unifying the preservice and inservice preparation ofteachers. In carrying out the above objectives instructors andsupervikrs should inform themselves as to progress made in eachother's respective fields; they should reach an undeittanding as towhat constitutes a good teacher; they should cooperate in the useof promising new techniques, such as a comparison of the ratings ofteachers in training and teachers in service, and job analyses of thework of rural teachers.

4. Interest in the supervisory needs of large rural schools is belcoming so keen that progreiss in working out a type of supervisoryprogram especially adapted to this purpose may be anticipated.Studies of the elementary-school principalship in rural crnrnuni-ties are not yet available in large numbers. Experience indicatesthai many principals employed in such schools are interested pri-marily ik high-school work. They- aspire ta hold in the future suc-cessive principalships of increasingly larger high schools. Consid-erable difficulty is met by administrative officers in finding princi-pals equally well prepared for supervising both scondary and Itelementary grades.

One plan proposed for rural schools including secondary andelementary grades is: Assignment to the principal of administrativeresponsibility for both departments, tuperviaory responsibility forinstruction in 'the high-school department, and the teaching -of one

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or more high-school classes, depending on the size of the schoolplant; and to an assistant the supertision of the grades with teah-ing duties from one to four hours a day, depending upon the num-ber of elementary teachers. This plan avoids dual control ofelementary and secondary education : it does not demand The impos-sible of principals; and it affords opportunity for the principal and

uiupervisor to become intimately acquainted with the problems ofthe teachers.

5. Rural school super\-- should become increasingly effectivein research activities in order to meet the needs of better preparedteachers and toprovide more equitable instructional'- opportunitiesfor rural school pupils. As more teachers receive definite prepara-tion for promoting and utilizing the results of research in teacher-preparing institutions they will not only stand ready to cooperateWith supervisors in carrying on research activities but will expectsupervisors to provide opportunities and guidance.

6. It may be expected that State and university research bureauswill devote an increasing share of attention to the scientific study ofrural-school administration and instructional problems and will ini-tiate an increasing number of such studies as rural-school superin-tendents and supervisors show an appreciation of` the value ofresearch.

7. Adequate provisions for the education of mental defectives inrural communities should be Made.

8. The development of a higher type of teachers meletings isneeded. This will require many degartures from tradition andprecedent, and the freest encourage&nt of teachers' cooperativeefforts in vigorously attacking vital instructional problems to the endthat work done in teach-ers' meetings shall be as truly and soundlyeducational as that performed in teachers colleges.

The distribution among teachers and discussion by them of re-ports of educational conferences of vaiious types, in which the pro-grams attain high standards, is suggested. The two following para-

.* graphs illustrate the wealth of appropriate material availablé:A recent magazine article contains a good account of a successful effort in

Lamar County, Ala., to Integrate the year's series of teachers' meitingswith the supervisory program. The iteeption of the effort arose from a studyat the first teachers' meeting of the year of typical current errors 'made byteachers of theocounty in their letters of application for teaching positions.TINS study resulted in a determination to vitalize language teaching and toformulate objectives for a supervisory program, including a series of teachers'Meetings witb this in View.

OPAnother example of an educational program reaching a high standard may be

cited: The National Council of Geography Teachers, which met in cooperationwith the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at Philadelphia,

1?ecember'14, 15, and le, 1926, placed 'on the program 41 wellknown geot. 400

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FÙRTHER DEVELOPMENTS 17

raphy teachers and supervisors representing 14 Sta4es. The three sectionalmeetings were devoted respectively to geography teachini in the elementarygrades, in junior and senior high schools, and in teacher-training institutions.In each of the sections demonstration teaching etercises and round-table con-ferences were held. The topics conskThred °concerned modern objectives and

(-aims in and procedures for the teaching of geography such as: (1) Familiariz-ing pupils with the technical vocabulary of geography ; (2) formulating criteriafor the choice and use of geographic materials ; (3) concentrating on the betterfunctioning of socialized recitatiTmA, so that the information, acquired thereinwill influence more out-of-school discussion and interchange of opinion; (4) cre-ating enthusiasm for acquiring geographical knowledge because of its erihance-went of the enjoyment of leisure.

CONCLUSION

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This study of developments in :supervision discloses em'ouragingevidence of progress in improving the professional equipment oftPachers, in utilizing results of i'esearch, and in selecting moreNintel-ligent approaches to the solution of instructional problems.

Much reinains to .be done. Progress along the above andvotherlines should become increasingly effective and rapid. to the extentthat (1) educational resources connected with agencies such as Stateeducational associations, State departments of education, the FederalBureau of Education, iìlstitutions for the preparation of teachers,and those *still more vital resources inherent in the creative energieself, teachers. are available to and used by ruraléducTit adminis-trative and supervisory officials; a0 (2) conditions under whichsupervisors work enable them so to limit their supervisory loads thatthey arè able to initiate a long-time program and periodically to takestock of achievements and to check the effectiveness of the prop umns it progresses.

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