Objective The objective of the current study was to compare current supervisory practices in Australia against those derived from pedagogic principles and/or practice guidelines recommended by experts in the field. Three core supervisor competencies, namely goal‐setting, providing formative feedback, and conducting summative assessments, were chosen for scrutiny. Methods One hundred thirteen accredited psychology supervisors in Australia completed an online questionnaire that had supervisors report details about their goal‐setting, feedback, and summative assessment practices in supervision. Results Several aspects pertaining to summative assessment require improvement. Specifically, the limited use of observational techniques was inconsistent with principles of competency‐based pedagogies and with recommendations by experts. A significant percentage of supervisors believed that summative ratings of trainee competence conducted by themselves (58%) and by their peers (66%) were compromised by leniency effects. Further, half the supervisors surveyed reported that summative assessments were made difficult by little or no guidance from training institutions about the benchmarks trainees were expected to meet at the end of placements. Conclusions Supervisory practices concerning goal‐setting were generally consistent with best‐practice guidelines derived from the literature. However, improvements are warranted in key supervisory practices, including more frequent use of observational techniques to inform formative feedback, more effective strategies to counter leniency in summative assessment, and better communication between training institutions and supervisors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.