Open AccessSupervision: Using the evidence to support our practice.
Author(s) -
Wendy Holley
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
kairaranga
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1179-9021
pISSN - 1175-9232
DOI - 10.54322/kairaranga.v6i2.31
Subject(s) - christian ministry , service (business) , service delivery framework , public relations , quality (philosophy) , psychology , function (biology) , medical education , business , political science , medicine , marketing , philosophy , epistemology , evolutionary biology , law , biology
The function of supervision is to make people safe, quality practitioners. They feel able to do the job to the best of their ability and to give their clients the maximum service they can within a cost-effective system and the confines of their service delivery. (Ormond, 2004)Supervision is an activity that, when effective, contributes significantly to service delivery and the ongoing learning and development of staff. Conversely, an organisation dedicating considerable time to an activity that is not benefiting practitioners and clients actually detracts from direct service provision. A national supervision project was commenced in October 2004 to maximise the effectiveness of supervision in the Ministry of Education – Special Education (GSE). One of the goals of this project was to develop a national supervision framework outlining thekey indicators of effective supervision.A reference group was formed of thirteen staff spread across regions, tiers of the organisation, occupational groups and cultural perspectives, as well as extent of experience with GSE and with supervision. The group took an evidence-based approach to the project, with the term “supervision” encompassing professional, clinical and cultural supervision. This evidence-based approach was conceptualised as the intersection between the research evidence, practitioner expertise and the lived experiences of the people involved. Therefore, information was gathered from three main sources: a literature review (the research evidence), interviews with twelve luminaries in the field of supervision (practitioner expertise) and an internal online survey (the lived experience of the people involved). Additionally, reference group members scoped existing supervision practices in their districts and regions.The online survey, which had a response rate of nearly 40 percent, gathered a variety of quantitative and qualitative information on the current practices of staff in relation to supervision. Results from the survey, enhanced with information from districts, were used to develop a snapshot of supervision within the organisation. This snapshot was examined against the effective practices outlined by the literature and key luminaries, and informed the development of GSE’s national supervision framework.This article seeks to synthesise the evidence underpinning each of the key themes, examine them against the current picture of supervision with GSE and translate them into practical ways of enriching supervision practices.Supervision helps a person reach their highest potential in their work and personal life. (Ormond, 2004)