Shiraz Journal of System Management
Vol. 1, No. 3, (2013), 99-110
Supervision and Evaluation Role in Higher
Education Effectiveness
Seyed Ahmad Hashemi
Department of Management,
Lamerd Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Lamerd, Iran
Abstract. Educational supervision and evaluation is a mechanism
which seeks to improve and correct learning process in all aspects and
will lay the foundation for continuous improvement in education qual-
ity. The nature of supervision and evaluation is related to all the factors
and individuals involved in educational system and deals with the su-
pervision of physical situations and the improvement of contents, meth-
ods, etc. Therefore, developing the view of effective use of all factors
in appropriate evaluation in higher educational system leads to long-
term achievement and will gradually create revolution in higher educa-
tion. This demands applying a correction, supervision, and evaluation
process. In this literature, with regard to the importance of supervision
and evaluation and its effects on education and educational supervision
balance, we seek the role of supervision and evaluation and its effective-
ness on higher education using an analytical and descriptive method.
Keywords: Supervision; evaluation; higher education; effectiveness.
Introduction
Humans are generally going through the process of choosing and select-
ing in their daily life using their logic and experience, and this process
is done with some evaluations. Therefore, what we are discussing here
is the scientific and special evaluation that is based on logical principles
Received: March (2013); Final Revision: June (2013)
99100 S. A. Hashemi
with defendable and authentic results and can be scientifically planned
to improve tasks and aims.
Educational evaluation as a instructional leader is an important
mechanism that leads to developing proficiency and effectiveness in the
quality of education. Thus, knowing the concept of evaluation and its
paradigms and principles is essential to educational implementations.
The reason is that the improvement, revolution and development of the
quality for society and institutions should be established within the ed-
ucational system and its basis be transferred from educational system
into society and institutions (Soltani, 2004, page 9).
In fact, there have been some recent developments in evaluation and
its application in all aspects of social life and the evaluation of educa-
tional quality is known as a special field in higher education and shows
that favorable results can be achieved by administration and educa-
tional policy-making and decision-making. It is obvious that there is
no consensus in the definition and the aim of evaluation. In line with
the definition of evaluation, it can be said that the premier and basic
aim of evaluation is related to the judgment of the value and evaluated
phenomenon. This definition can be conceptualized as the evaluation
of competence and valuation. But the distinction, in this regard, is be-
tween the aims and the roles of evaluation (Mahdavi et al., 2009, pages
11 & 12).
Nowadays, quality is one of the significant components in providing
goods and services for institutions to remain in competition with them,
so is for the education, which gets special priority. Educating qualita-
tive and developed individuals in all aspects in a group can lead to the
educational system that has tendency toward giving qualitative quali-
ties. In this regard, a lot of mechanisms can play roles in improvement
of educational quality and appropriate evaluation in higher education.
Therefore, with regard to the importance of supervision and evaluation,
we discuss the aspects of supervision and evaluation and its effects on
higher education.Supervision and Evaluation Role in Higher ...
2. Discussion
Importance of Educational Supervision and Evaluation
The term Supervisionis derived from Latin and consists of super- (over)
and -vision (sight), which refers to someone who is in charge of an ac-
tivity or a person and makes sure that things are done in a correct way.
Supervising and giving educational guiding refer to all the efforts of
chosen authorities to lay the groundwork for leading teachers and other
staffs toward correcting and improving teaching which consist of profes-
sional appraisal and development of selecting and revising educational
aims and instruments, teaching methods and evaluation. Educational
supervision and guiding is a systematic and comprehensive program for
correcting and developing all significant educational aspects which in-
cludes environment and learning situations (Soltani, 2004, page 1).
Educational supervision and evaluation is not a short-term process.
It requires constant consideration which leads to desired and favorable
results. Consequently, this process of educational provision leads to
learning, particularly in higher education. Quality administration in
higher education is a fundamental discussion and it is constantly dealt
with in higher educational institutions in most societies.
Quality has different meanings for various individuals who desire
qualitative outputs and quality evaluation methods. Quoted from Pazargadi,
Harvey & Green (1993) explain the quality as a partial concept. Qual-
ity is a partial concept for applying this term and within the situation
itoccurs and has different meaning to other individuals; it has different
meaning in practice as well.Harvey & Green, quoted from Pazargadi,
found the relationship between quality and several understandings on
quality in higher education-outstanding quality (related to superiority
of elitism), quality as substitution (improving quality and improving
students’ progress by developing new knowledge). Each of these under-
standings is related to methods and approaches used forgetting favorable
outputs (Pazargadi, 2008).
Education is an essential element of educational quality and learning
in higher education. Well-planned evaluation, particularly in education,
fulfills expectation, and provide chances for students to show their self-
S. A. Hashemi
control to describe and apply them to receiving and giving feedback in
educational environment. Education is an integral part of educational
activities that has three aims as follows:
-Creating effective approaches for learning and appraisals.
-Precise and correct measurement of expected outputs from learning.
-Defining, evaluating and rating according to scientific standards.
Educational evaluation role
It is often given less validity to the connection between evaluation activ-
ities and learners’ quality; However, evaluation condition and temporary
evaluation standards and criteria directly help students in their educa-
tion and indirectly increase their education quality.
Aims of evaluation and supervision
Defining the aims of evaluation, House, quoted from Mohamadi (2009),
believes that evaluation is a democratic and logical development which
is based on thoughts. Quoted from Mohammadi, Mark Henry points
out to four major aims of evaluation as follows:
1. Evaluating competence and value
2. Revision
3. Improving programs and institutions
4. Developing knowledge and value
In this regard, favorable condition (aims and standards) has been
taken into consideration, recognized the inconsistences and found a way
to solve it, because all the deviations and shortcomings are considered as
defectives and problems and consequently, favorable results as outputs
and consequences will not bear fruits (Mohammadi et al., 2009).
Planning and evaluation in higher education is one of the functional
aspects of university administration, and for reaching to the aims of
this system, education function must be prior to other university’s func-
tions. University, after education system, gets into second place in terms
of importance and it is the most fundamental place that has the poten-Supervision and Evaluation Role in Higher ...
tial to flourish the spirit of ingenuity, innovation, self-esteem, and self-
confidence in young generation. University is one of the most valuable
resources that a society needs to be prospered. Nowadays, universities
are in the highest levels of expertise in terms of knowledge and skill
and receive high credibility. They are also known as the factors of so-
cial change. Therefore, they have received more attention regarding
function, general condition and educational quality than other systems
in other societies. The concept of education quality has always been
field-oriented. Hence, current belief about quality in higher education is
focused on environment.
On the importance of giving attention to educational function in
qualitative system of higher education, Yonuskuseh defines fundamental
function of universities as follow:
1. Producing knowledge (Reserching aspect)
2. Transferring knowledge (educational aspect)
3. Disseminating knowledge (Ejtehadi, 1999, page 38)
Obviously, each of the mentioned aspects is important and lack of
concern to each one of them will bring damage to the development qual-
ity of higher education. For instance, a long-term lack of concern in
researching aspect will affect a country’s scientific aspect and gradu-
ally turn it into a solely consumer of other countries knowledge. On
the contrary, giving emphasis to the development factors of educational
functions of faculty members can grow and nourish inefficient and un-
productive human sources. Currently, investigations show the decrease
in the educational quality of faculty members. Therefore, they must
think of developing their qualitative and quantitative research which is
directly related to the aspect of evaluation (Maroofi et al., 2008).
Quality in higher education
As a result of the enthusiasm shown to the development quality in higher
education, some evaluations are necessary in factors presented as follows:
1. Students’ capability in education
S. A. Hashemi
2. Students’ active association in different levels
3. Constant evaluation in course aims.
4. Tangible evaluation
Quality is one of the essentials in higher education that has direct crucial
effect on a country’s destiny, for quality is identified as proficiency, effec-
tiveness, responsibility, innovation power, and educational condition. In
critics’ perspective, higher education has entered a new stage in which
competition and quality are its key factors. One of the challenges facing
universities is the concept of quality and the expectations participant
groups have for their guarantee and assurance (Gritz, 1999).
Improvement and development are emphasized in quality assurance,
supervision and evaluation more than any other aspects. Self-administration
and self-setting are signs of quality; A phenomenon which is the result of
its internal connection and dynamism of system component. Bazargan
(1996) believes that quality assurance in higher education is in accor-
dance with all the activities done to evaluation in international and
Iran’s level. This institution considers quality as a scale for reconcil-
ing systems in the status quo in higher educationwith pre-designated
standards.
In fact, universities are major producers of human sources and the
only supporter of the frameworks that can guarantee the needs for eco-
nomic development in a society and lay the groundwork for a full-scale
development. Defining effective strategy for supervision and evaluation
in higher education is based on the viewpoint and theory we expect from
these components mentioned below:
1. Knowledge
2. Teachers
3. Ubiquity
4. Higher educational institutions
Quality and evaluation systems in higher education adopt their criteria
from these components as well as clear understanding of higher education
and its components.Supervision and Evaluation Role in Higher ...
Supervision role in instruments and methods of implementing
program
We have become familiar with the role of evaluation as a supervisor
on the aims and programs of education. Methods and evaluations in
education provide teachers and plan-makers with the information to
take an effective decision for teaching methods and instruments. For
example, a teacher tries to find out answers to some questions such as
which class must he put the student in? What sort of education and
instruments does he/she need? Teachers seek to find a way to diagnose
causes and problems and solve them afterwards (Nozari, 1996).
Quoted from Seif (2009), Poffam believes that when a teacher af-
fects on education and supervision in learning, then they first prepare
their educational aims using their curriculum and fulfill their educational
program. Therefore, they begin evaluating the aims. When evaluation
affects on education, teachers again provide their educational aims using
their curriculum. The next step is that they provide evaluation instru-
ment based on their aims and finally, they carry out their educational
program.
Supervision and evaluation aspects
Focused evaluation on leadership consists of streams of thoughts, plan-
ning, organization, and evaluation. Thinking and planning are official
tasks. Organizing is program’stask and evaluation is education’s task.
The nature of these supervising tasks interconnects with official and
educational areas. Making connection between these areas is supervi-
sors’ special task in order to emphasize on conceptualization, planning,
organizing and evaluating programs.
Harris considers two kinds of evaluations in respect to planning be-
haviors. An evaluation which continues current activities and educa-
tional level, supports minor changes, performs tasks routinely, and re-
sists against any kind of pressures. Here are some examples of evaluation
responsibilities:
-Performing necessary rules
-Valuating courses’ contents
S. A. Hashemi
-Keeping the ratio of each class number
-Inspectors’ regulatory controlling
-Ultimate edition of lesson guides.
Dynamic evaluation, on the other hand, helps start new activities that
bring changes to the planned program with emphasis on changing con-
ventional traditions.
-Planning staff development
-Teachers’ association in research
-Launching pilot programs
-Reviewing the philosophy of a region’s education
-Evaluating various media
-Introducing new teaching methods
Choosing ideal balance between stabilizing activities in the status quo
and those activities that are toward changing is of supervisors’ respon-
sibility (Translator, Behrang, 2001)
Types of evaluation
To evaluate the educational effectiveness, we need other items such as
program evaluation, data evaluation and internal processing.
Program evaluation
Program evaluation as a systematic function has different complexities
such as data collection, observation, and analysis. This method signi-
fies regular function in respect to the evaluation program quality and
analyzed by one or more components.Evaluation is an instrument to a
good judgment in quantitative and qualitative measurement and it is
considered a valid basis. Evaluation helps draw more results from data
and processing function.
Field evaluation: This evaluation is used to identify aims, desires, and
requirements in an educational system.Supervision and Evaluation Role in Higher ...
Data evaluation: this evaluation is used to identify decisions, as well
as analyzing the quality of available sources, various strategies imple-
mented, and best potentials that can provide facilities.
Processing evaluation: this evaluation is used to define and analyze
administrative decisions and ways to put them into practice. Quality is
the basis of evaluation paradigms in educational aspects applied to the
context of higher education as a system (Anvari, Rostami, 2002).
Measurement can be easily analyzed and repeated; however, the data
can be carried out once and repeatingtheevaluation will consume exces-
sive amount of time. Education must be meticulously analyzed to find
its actual value and the more accurate is the evaluation, the more time
and budget will be consumed. By and large, the more the effect of
education is, the more significant the education will be.
Internal evaluation: Internal evaluation or self-evaluation is the first
level of measuring reliability paradigms. Gulikson (1994), regarding the
definition of internal evaluation, believes that ”evaluation is done by an
educational group or other individuals in a program in internal evalu-
ation.” Quoted from Bob Queen (1994), Arnold Love (1991) described
internal evaluation as a scientific research that supports institutional
development and planned changes. Nevertheless, the role of internal
evaluation is not only analyzing issues and solution-giving, but also cor-
recting mistakes and performing solutions to overcome any weaknesses
and shortcomings.
Bazargan (2002) believes that internal evaluation means that system
authorities should obtain more knowledge in respect to the aims of the
system and the related issues, then evaluate its obtainability in order
to make plans for the future of quality improvement. (Bazargan, 2002,
page 114).
3. Conclusion
Quality improvement is the major challenge in higher education and
universities need technology to gain rapid development. Investigating
S. A. Hashemi
evaluation system is an effective way for change and development in
higher education and the basis of these various observation, evaluation,
and valuation in higher education have powerful effect on students learn-
ing, experience and behavior.
Learning aim is neglected in current evaluations although some eval-
uations are done without adequate skill and knowledge in the easiest
way. Students, in fact, concentrate on temporary learning and pre-
vent any other kind of learning. Some critics have given more emphasis
on more development of evaluation aims. Universities administration
should highlight more on the sub-scale development of education qual-
ity by discovering current obstacles, if they want to be successful in the
face of challenges and problems. Therefore, a revision is required to be
given to the qualitative aspects of education such as the association of
faculty members in decision-making and educational activities as well as
students’ satisfaction rather than emphasizing on quantitative aspects
like the number of students attended in a class or the rate of graduation.
Faculty members must constantly upgrade their knowledge and high-
light more on students sense of discovery and thinking by using their
teaching methods. There are some recommendations with consideration
to the role and importance of higher education:
1. With respect to the connection between teachers social popularity
and students evaluation, it is suggested that students fields of study
must be taken into consideration in order to receive education based on
the nature and the features of each field. This way, accurate results will
be obtained by students practical evaluation of their teachers.
2. University’s major aims in teaching must be in accordance with re-
search and professional and innovative activities.
3. Faculty members must be active in educational evaluations and iden-
tification of premier expectations toward learners’ educational develop-
ment.
4. Each faculty member must be given a chance to get feedback on their
performance in education, teaching and students’ learning development.
5. Each faculty member’s performance is based on ideal criteria thatSupervision and Evaluation Role in Higher ...
consist of all functional aspects of faculty members and use various func-
tional evaluations.
6. Each faculty member’s performance must be evaluated according to
an accurate scheduled program.
7. A comprehensive system of educational evaluation must be estab-
lished and faculty members should be provided with useful feedbacks
on educational process and adequate chance to weigh up their pros and
cons.
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كلام اول 
موضوع: مقالات كنفرانس هاي داخلي
نويسنده: 
تاريخ: 7 مرداد 1393
بازديدها: 1345
