Effective Supervisor Development from a Systemic Perspective

This chapter describes a systematic literature review, in which we identified systemic levels, forms, and utility of supervisor development. More than half of the articles we reviewed described supervisory skill development associated with formal training, indicating both positive and critical accounts of training effectiveness, some pointing towards key indicators of effective training. Effective individual and micro-level development efforts often included activities which encouraged reflection. Dialogical approaches were commonly supported in micro-level development initiatives. Few studies explicitly highlighted a research-based foundation of supervision development. A broadened conception of supervisory development, from an individual perspective to a community perspective, serves to build the grounds for supervisory development in a sustainable and ethical manner.