Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight.

Etymology

The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe).

Spelling

The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard English of all English linguistic varieties, including North American English.

Definitions

Supervision is the act or function of overseeing something or somebody. A person who performs supervision is a "supervisor", but does not always have the formal title of

supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...

. A person who is getting supervision is the "supervisee".

Theoretical scope

Generally, supervision contains elements of providing knowledge, helping to organize tasks, enhance motivation, and monitoring activity and results; the amount of each element is varying in different contexts.

Nature of supervision

Academia

In academia, supervision is aiding and guiding of a postgraduate research student, graduate student, or undergraduate student, in their research project; offering both moral support and scientific insight and guidance. The supervisor is often a senior scientist or scholar, and in some countries called

doctoral advisor A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...

Business

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

, supervision is overseeing the work of staff. The person performing supervision could lack a formal title or carry the title

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, where the latter has wider authority.

Counseling

clinical supervision Supervision is used in counselling, psychotherapy, and other mental health disciplines as well as many other professions engaged in working with people. Supervision may be applied as well to practitioners in somatic disciplines for their preparatory ...

, the

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

has talk sessions with another professional in the field to debrief and mentally process the patient work.

Society

In society, supervision could be performed by the state or corporate entities to monitor and control its

citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

. Public entities often do supervision of different activities in the nation, such as bank supervision.

References

{{reflist Management