The role of educational Supervision in the management of public policies

At the time being, we are living a paradoxical process. On the one hand, we can clearly see the remarkable progress on educational policies of many countries with the aim of deregulating, increasing and decentralizing autonomy of local educational units. And, on the other hand, the function of control of the State is being reinforced. In this scenario, several alternatives in the field of Supervision organization arc suggested. We can identify new tendencies that try to explain and give answer to three key questions: politicization versus professionalization of the group; the gap between administrative and pedagogical issues; and the seeming contradiction between control and consulting services. This paper discusses the study of such tendencies highlighting the ones oriented to reinforce the institutional nature of this service. It also points out the challenge that changes in public policies represent and the role of Supervision to move from simple administration of educational systems to the conduction process for improving quality in all school units.