Public school supervision in the United States has been historically influenced by its roots in western Europe and unique characteristics of the American educational system. Much history of school supervision describes it as a series of disjointed and unrelated events. And supervision appears to simply reflect greater social and educational…

This paper proposes that the Council of Professors of Instructional Supervision (COPIS) start a journal devoted to the study and practice of instructional supervision and examines the history of "The Journal of Educational Method" to support the contention that the proposed new journal could thrive. An opening section argues that the…

In the early twentieth century, supervisors began to move toward increasing professionalism in their positions. In the late nineteenth century, supervision was characterized by bureaucratic methods in a centralized school management system. Research reveals that after the turn of the century, there was a concerted effort by supervisors to…

A persistent problem for supervisors and curriculum workers has been the unresolved tension between the demands of the organization and the drive for professionalism. Emerging in the late nineteenth century, the problem was greatly influenced by the transformation of the school system along bureaucratic lines. Supervisors and curriculum workers…

Focusing on factors which shaped and influenced public school supervision, the paper investigates educational developments in the late 19th century. During this period the movement toward centralization in urban public schools gained considerable momentum. Educational historians have largely ignored the role school superintendents played in the…