The Points of School Directors on Peer Observation as a New Professional Development and Supervision Model for Teachers in Turkey

Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine the views of school managers’ towards peer observation as an alternative
teacher professional development and complementary supervision model. The study was conducted through a mix
research model which combines quantitative and qualitative methods based on convergent parallel design. 121
school managers voluntarily joined the study at the end of the conference to which the researcher was invited as
guest speaker. The results of the study in quantitative dimension indicated that peer observation was considered by
school managers as an alternative teacher development model to promote cooperation among teachers;
self-awareness of teachers; motivation; solving their problems cooperatively; learning new methods. The qualitative
results also indicated that majority of the participants were in favour of peer observation as an alternative personal
development method for teachers; the participants recommended that it should be carried via volunteers between
different schools; just friendly and positive feedback should be given to the teacher who teaches the same subject;
should be carried in a friendly school climate where there is no rivalry among teachers. On the other hand, some
participant expressed their negative concerns as there wouldn’t be enough teachers and time; the teacher would
hesitate to be observed because of political and professional rivalries, lack of confidence and trust among teachers.