Instructional supervision in the Sultanate of Oman: shifting roles and practices in a stage of educational reform

This article reports on a larger mixed-methods study that examined the perspectives of regional teacher supervisors on their emerging roles and practices in a stage of educational reform in Oman. The study was carried out in the Educational Supervision Directorate in Muscat. Two research methods were employed: a survey distributed to 125 supervisors, followed by 25, semi-structured interviews. Only qualitative data obtained from interviews and open-ended questionnaires are presented here. The results indicated that the supervisors demonstrated good awareness of the reforms and of their impact on supervisory practices. Evidence of democratic and supportive practices among supervisors was found. However, some practices that are considered in the instructional supervision literature to be autocratic were also found.