Effective supervision on placement
Learning Objectives
After considering this resource, you should be aware of the importance of an effective relationship with your supervisor on placement, how you might build such a relationship and how you can address difficulties if they arise.
Arguably, an effective relationship with your supervisor on placement can be instrumental to your whole learning experience in a practice setting. As with all relationships though, it requires work to ensure each party is getting the most out of it. In the following article, Victoria Hart discusses the importance of a successful relationship with your supervisor, and acknowledges the constraints that the relationship is expected to be built within. She goes on to focus on how you can participate in the construction of a good working dynamic with your practice educator, getting the most out of it you can, with a view that a good experience of supervision can propel you far beyond the immediate placement and into practice.
Reflective Questions
- What can you bring to a supervision session?
- What do you want to gain from a supervision session?
- How is the power relationship in a student/supervisor relationship similar to and different from, the power relationship between a service user and a social worker?
- What have your previous experiences been of supervising or managing, or being managed by others? What have you learnt from this?