Oldal 175 [175]
DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS" PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH SUPERVISION
seniority were more competent in managing their emotions than teachers
with longer one. Ihat statement could seem contradictory at first. However, if
taking into consideration the flexibility, the accepting of new knowledge and
the adjustability of teachers,?? it becomes clear that it is quite logical. Senior
teachers tend to have more difficulties with accepting diversity, are more rigid
in their ways of thinking and expressing emotions, which means they spend less
time on finding ways to regulate their emotions, as opposed to their younger
colleagues.
One of the presumptions in this study was that supervision participants
apply active and direct methods for coping with stressful situations more often
than non-participants. However, the results showed that was not true. The
way teachers respond to stress is subject to multiple factors, with some of
the most frequent methods being cognitive evaluation of the event, personal
competence, school climate, and school management method.*?
The purpose of the qualitative part of the study was to determine which
tasks teachers found the most important, or, in other words, what were the
elements of good teaching and how teachers monitored and analyzed their
instruction. The creation of encouraging environment, the ways of instruction
implementation and instruction analysis were listed by teachers as some of
the elements of good teaching. Through further education in the supervision
process, teachers gained better insight into their responsibilities and learned
new problem-solving strategies. However, the most important benefit was the
realization that their way of thinking had a powerful effect on their emotions.
That insight helped them to change the way they handled and responded in
professional situations.
CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion it can be stated that education through supervision does
influence the professional growth of teachers. The purpose of this study
was to determine in what way it affects the teachers’ understanding of their
basic tasks and responsibilities, the higher level of reflection and emotional
competence, and the use of active coping strategies. Some steps into the
direction of higher professionalism were detected, and could at some levels
even be considered statistically significant. In supervisees, progress can be
22 A. Hargreaves, Mixed emotions: teachers’ perceptions of their interactions with students,
Teaching and Teacher Education 16 (2000) 811-826.
3 Slivar, Dejavniki, strategija.
e 173"