Supervision of Instruction and the Role of Subject Matter Knowledge in the Training of Economics Teachers

This study investigated the nature and quality of supervision given to Economics student teachers and the relevance of possession of Economics subject expertise by university and school-based supervisors in the preparation of Economics teachers. The indicative small-sample case study design was used to gather data from trainee teachers of Economics, their university supervisors and cooperating teachers to whom they were attached during teaching practice. Results suggest that the training and development of Economics teachers could be enhanced if both university and school-based cooperating teachers are well-versed in the contentand pedagogy of Economics.