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Based upon themes generated in this qualitative study involving 25 participants nominated as high quality supervisors by student affairs colleagues, "high quality supervision" was defined as an educational endeavor demonstrated through principled practices with a dual focus on institutional and individual needs. Although previous research indicates that staff often view their supervision as inadequate, the findings from this study revealed that high quality supervisors engaged in common sense, ordinary supervisory activities (listening, role modeling, observing, setting the context, motivating, teaching, giving direction, and caring). What seemed to distinguish these supervisors most from less successful supervisors was their persistent and direct approaches.
Winston and Creamer (1997) asserted that the quality of education is connected to the quality of institutional staffing practices: supervision, staff development, and performance appraisals. Of these, they see supervision as the lynchpin. This link between the quality of supervision and the quality of educational services generally is assumed in student affairs, but the actual nature of the relationship remains largely unstudied.
In a large study, Winston and Creamer (1997) found that student affairs practitioners want effective supervision, but too few are clear about what constitutes quality in supervision, and few believe they receive it. Moreover, supervisory behaviors and staff results are related; yet one does not necessarily guarantee the other. This puzzle is what led to this study of quality in supervision. We wanted to explore, What constitutes quality supervision in student affairs? More specifically, we wanted to gain insight into the behaviors, values, and attitudes that characterize high quality supervision. We decided to investigate this through the perceptions of supervisors who have been described by their supervisees as high quality supervisors.
Supervision in Student Affairs
The amount of literature on supervision in student affairs is scant, and some of what is available relies on literature from other fields, mainly business (Schneider, 1998; Schuh & Carlisle, 1991). Likewise, literature on quality practice in student affairs is also rooted in total quality management (TQM) literature (Weinstein & Hadly, 1997; Whitner, Abrahamowicz, Ludeman, & Costantino, 1993). Sources in the literature that do address supervision in student affairs include resources for new professionals (Hyman, 1988; Kinser, 1993; Schneider, 1998), mid-level professionals (Fey & Carpenter, 1996), professionals who work in urban settings (Ginsburg, 1997), developmental theory...