Reflective Supervision in Education
Professional Learning for Facilitators
Reflective Supervision provides professional and confidential conversations over several sessions. It supports leaders in educational settings, including school principals, to understand and respond reflectively to challenges and opportunities for their leadership practice.
The role of school principals in fostering educational achievement is critical, yet Australian schools are facing a crisis in recruiting and retaining educational leaders (Heffernan & Pierpoint, 2022).
Principals and other senior staff in schools experience complex, frequent demands on their time, energy and wisdom, and recent studies report they are facing unprecedented pressure on their mental health and wellbeing (DeMattews and colleagues, 2021).
Reflective Supervision provides one-on-one professional and confidential conversations (peer and group reflective supervision also exist) over several sessions to support leaders as they navigate their professional roles. The sessions also teach supervisees the basics of how to provide supervision to others, encouraging participants to understand and respond reflectively to challenges and opportunities for their leadership practice.
Reflective Supervision (based on the principles of Professional Supervision), with a clear and consistent emphasis on reflecting on practice, has a rich heritage in the helping professions in work with psychologists, social workers and therapists where supportive, formative, and normative dimensions are the main focus of the practice.
Participants in the Reflective Supervision program already have significant experience in education. The program recognises this experience, and the program involves significant self-directed learning through readings, intensive practical sessions, being supervised and supervising and reflective assessment tasks.
Compulsory individual requirements for participation in, and successful completion of, the Reflective Practice in Education course as both supervisor and supervisee include 10 hours of practice in the role of ‘supervisor’ and eight hours in the role of ‘supervisee’.
Supervisee sessions are to be arranged and paid for individually by participants and a list of recommended providers will be supplied.
Please ensure that you are available to attend all of the face-to-face sessions in Camperdown, Sydney, prior to registration as full attendance is required for successful completion.
Additional training is delivered through online course content, including readings. A reflective learning journal must be maintained by course participants.
Geoff Broughton PhD is the Associate Professor in Practical Theology at Charles Sturt University and currently Vice-President of the Australasian Association of Supervision. Geoff has been a pioneer in the professional / pastoral supervision sector, training hundreds of supervisors over the past decade, consulting, and supervising across a range of schools, churches and the armed services. Geoff’s leadership in supervision has been recognised by the UK’s Institute for Pastoral Supervision and Reflective Practice where he is the only non-European associate. Geoff founded the Professional/Pastoral Supervision Network, is Principal of Pastoral Supervision Australia, and has authored several books and articles on supervision in Australia.
Mary Ann Hunter PhD is Associate Professor in Education at the University of Tasmania and a leading professional supervisor with principals, educators, and artists. Originally a secondary teacher, Mary Ann has held educational positions internationally, including at the National Institute of Education Singapore, University of Queensland, and Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. She was a coordinator of IMPACT's global learning exchanges on creative approaches to conflict transformation and continues to work closely with schools as a Practice Leader with 4C Transformative Learning and coordinator of UTAS' Master of Teaching. Mary Ann is a recipient of numerous awards, including an Australian Council for Educational Leaders award.
Cost of course: $6600 (including GST)
A list of recommended providers of reflective supervision will be supplied to course registrants who will need to contact the supervisor of their choice to arrange the time and payment for their individual sessions.
Because full attendance at all face-to-face sessions in Camperdown is required for successful completion, intending participants are advised to ensure they can attend these workshops before registering (and paying) to take part.
The course will run from February to June in 2025. The dates for the intensive sessions, and registration links for each course are published below.
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