Clinical supervision and symmetrical communication : towards a critical practice of supervision

The central argument of the thesis is that the dominant modes of the supervision of teaching are in need of critique and reconstruction. From a critical perspective, supervision is viewed as a political and ideological process enacted through asymmetrical relations and structures of communication. It is underpinned by a discourse of technocratic rationality and control Clinical supervision, a currently popular model of teacher supervision, has (despite its emancipatory origins) been accommodated by the dominant ideology and is employed as a hegemonic mechanism of evaluation, control and even dismissal of teachers. However, historical analysis reveals that teachers have contested and resisted authoritarianism and centralized control in favour of developing more democratic and participatory forms of professional development. In these moves can be found a rationale for a reconstruction of the theory and practice of clinical supervision around the concepts of symmetrical communication and critical pedagogy. The researcher engaged in a self-reflective study with a group of supervisors and teachers in N.S.W. schools to explore the possibilities and limitations of a critical and counter-hegemonic practice of supervision. The outcomes, in the form of three case studies, are analysed in terms of a dialectic of reconstruction and maintenance of the status quo. The evidence reveals that some of the research participants sought to reconstruct their supervisory relationships in ways which challenged the bureaucratic structures of their workplace. Others, however, rejected the emancipatory possibilities and resolved to maintain their traditional hierarchical relationship.

Doctoral research and scholarly communication : candidates, supervisors and information literacy

This study investigates information literacy and scholarly communication within the processes of doctoral research and supervision at a distance. Both doctoral candidates and supervisors acknowledge information literacy deficiencies and it is suggested that disintermediation and the proliferation of information may contribute to those deficiencies. Further to this, the influence of pedagogic continuity—particularly in relation to the information seeking behaviour of candidates—is investigated, as is the concomitant aspect of how doctoral researchers practise scholarly communication. The well-documented and enduring problem for candidates of isolation from the research cultures of their universities is also scrutinised. The contentious issue of more formally involving librarians in the doctoral process is also considered, from the perspective of candidates and supervisors. Superimposed upon these topical and timely issues is the theoretical framework of adult learning theory, in particular the tenets of andragogy. The pedagogical-andragogical orientation of candidates and supervisors is established, demonstrating both the differences and similarities between candidates and supervisors, as are a number of independent variables, including a comparison of on-campus and off-campus candidates. Other independent variables include age, gender, DETYA (Department of Education, Training & Youth Affairs) category, enrolment type, stage of candidature, employment and status, type of doctorate, and English/non-English speaking background. The research methodology uses qualitative and quantitative techniques encompassing both data and methodological triangulation. The study uses two sets of questionnaires and a series of in-depth interviews with a sample of on-campus and off-campus doctoral candidates and supervisors from four Australian universities. Major findings include NESB candidates being more pedagogical than their ESB counterparts, and candidates and supervisors from the Sciences are more pedagogical than those from Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Education. Candidates make a transition from a more dependent and pedagogically oriented approach to learning towards more of an independent and andragogical orientation over the duration of their candidature. However, over tune both on-campus and off-campus candidates become more isolated from the research cultures of their universities, and less happy with support received from their supervisors in relation to their literature reviews. Ill The study found large discrepancies in perception between the support supervisors believed they gave to candidates in relation to the literature review, and the support candidates believed they received. Information seeking becomes easier over time, but candidates face a dilemma with the proliferation of information, suggesting that disintermediation has exacerbated the challenges of evaluation and organisation of information. The concept of pedagogic continuity was recognised by supervisors and especially candidates, both negative and positive influences. The findings are critically analysed and synthesised using the metaphor of a scholarly 'Club' of which obtaining a doctorate is a rite of passage. Recommendations are made for changes in professional practice, and topics that may warrant further research are suggested.

Cross-cultural issues in the supervision of a Chinese socio-legal PhD student

The purpose of this co-authored paper is to explain how culturally specific features of Chinese students impact on the processes by which they commence their socio-legal research degrees by research candidature. The presentation by the co-authors of the paper will include a simulation of the first meeting between the candidate and the supervisor. This simulation will show how specific features of Chinese culture and the Chinese education system create a massive culture shock when Chinese research students are exposed to Anglo-Australian academic culture. We will explain how the underlying principles of Chinese culture impact on the candidate‘s expectations in relation to: the role of the supervisor; the requirement of original contribution; expectations in feedback on written work and communication more generally . We will then propose strategies for reducing the impact of culture shock and improving the experience of the candidature and the performance from each party to the relationship in terms of timely completions and reduced attrition. These strategies derive from the authors‘ experience in relation to doctoral research management and cross-cultural communication.

The nature of supervision in forensic psychology : some observations and recommendations

Purpose – Supervision is often regarded as an important aspect of forensic psychological practice and yet little evidence exists to support the idea that supervised practice leads to better outcomes for either clients or organisations. This paper seeks to discuss some of the aims of supervision in relation to the needs of forensic psychologists, such that practice in this area can be developed further.

Design/methodology/approach – The current published literature on the nature of forensic supervision is reviewed and discussed.

Findings – A number of different models of supervision have been proposed and supervisory experiences can vary markedly according to both the individuals involved and the setting in which the work is conducted. There is a need to develop specialist models of supervision for those who work in forensic settings. Further research is needed to establish an evidence-base for supervisory practices.

Originality/value – There has been very little previous consideration of the nature of post-qualification forensic supervision despite the need, and in some cases requirement, that forensic practitioners receive supervision. This paper discusses some of those issues that are considered important to effective supervision in the forensic setting.

Professional supervision : a workforce retention strategy for social work?

Retaining social workers in the workforce is a significant challenge and a considerable amount of research has focused on identifying and examining the reasons why social workers choose to leave the profession. This paper presents findings collected as part of a small-scale exploratory study into why some social workers have chosen to remain in the social work profession for many years and who consider themselves to be passionate about their careers. In particular, the paper focuses on the potential of effective professional supervision as a factor that can facilitate social worker workforce retention. Supervision was mentioned by all participants in the study as being important for their wellbeing, either throughout their social work career or at particular points along the way, and supervision was also cited as one of the reasons they were still social workers. On the basis of this research, the authors argue that regular professional supervision can increase the retention rate of social worker employees; and it is, therefore, false economy not to allocate sufficient resources for effective supervision.

Social work supervision and discrimination

This article outlines a ‘mutual inquiry’ based approach to supervision using techniques,  concepts and insights drawn from social work supervision experience, a current Ph.D. institutional ethnographic research project and intersectionality. Good supervision of social work students and staff can progress efforts towards identifying and combatting discrimination, important steps towards a more socially just society. Reducing  discrimination also improves the quality of service provision with clients, often members  of the most marginalised groups in the community. Supervision to reduce discrimination needs to be shaped by humility rather than the more popular goal of competence. Humility is fostered when a supervisor and supervisee consider their work together from the standpoints of clients, and purposefully contemplate their complicities in the creation  and maintenance of discriminatory practices. This supervision approach aims to create the  vision, and ability, to challenge discriminatory policies and practices as they are normalised  and inflect at individual, supervision, organisational and societal levels.

The coordination role in research education: emerging understandings and dilemmas for leadership

Changes in expectations of research education worldwide have seen the rise of new demands beyond supervision and have highlighted the need for academic leadership in research education at a local level. Based on an interview study of those who have taken up local leadership roles in four Australian universities, this paper maps and analyses different dimensions of the emerging leadership role of research education coordination. It argues that while there is increasing clarity of what is required, there are considerable tensions in the nature of the coordination role and how coordination is to be executed. In particular, what leadership roles are appropriate and how can they be positioned effectively within universities? The paper draws on the Integrated Competing Values Framework to focus on the activities of coordination and on ideas of distributed leadership to discuss the leadership that characterises coordination. It is argued that without acknowledgement of the influences that coordinators need to exert and the positioning and support needed to achieve this, the contemporary agenda for research education will not be realised.

'Peer learning' as pedagogic discourse for research education

Research education has been dominated in recent years by policy-driven preoccupations with doctoral completions, funding and contributions to the economy. This has led universities to focus on enhanced institutional support for research degrees, with an emphasis on supervision, in particular the training of supervisors, and provision of a richer environment for students. This article uses examples from interviews with research students to show how the provision of a rich environment is not in itself sufficient. A new discourse is needed so that students are able to take up opportunities that are available. The article questions the current emphasis and argues that a new focus on pedagogy is explicitly needed. It challenges the dominant focus on supervision and 'provisionism' and suggests that a more appropriate pedagogic discourse should draw on the familiar notion of 'peer' from the world of research. It argues that peer learning, appropriately theorized and situated within a notion of communities of research practice, might be a productive frame through which to view research education. © 2005 Society for Research into Higher Education.

Detonating the research plan: exploding the supervisory process

Bomb making is dangerous work. And not just because what you’re creating can blow up in your face. Even as you type in your search terms – how to make a bomb – you wonder who is watching, what algorithm might throw you up into the light of surveillance and trigger the knock at the door. (McKnight, 2014, p. 1)AbstractSo begins Lucinda’s PhD. In this dialogic paper of interwoven stories we employ a critical auto-ethnographic approach to explode moments of our lives and work together as we worked through the “research plan” at the heart of the supervision timeline. Lucinda’s thesis highlights the way curriculum emerges from the struggles of ideological becoming (Bakhtin 1981) as she and a group of teachers, sought to produce and perform both individual gendered identities (Butler 1997, 2007) and plans for the identities of student subjects, while negotiating subject positions made available to girls and women in broader social contexts. The link between the personal and political is created by a methodology combining narrative inquiry and discourse analysis as a heteroglossic (Bakhtin, 1981) text. In this paper we detonate the research plan developed in the first months of the PhD timeline as Jo responds to Lucinda’s narratives with her own, and we share jointly written narratives that try to capture some key moments of the process. We rework our own stories of the supervised and the supervisor through the competing discourses of our work and lives.