Introduction
8 Characteristics that Define Relationship-Based Work
Learning—in the Context of Relationships
A Collaborative Dialogue
Building on Strengths
The Carryover Effect—Parallel Processes
Overcoming Barriers to Reflective Supervision
References
Utilizing reflective supervision in your Head Start program and setting
a good foundation for best practices.
Mary, a new Head Start teacher, is having difficulty with Sarah again.
Every time the class sits down for a family style meal, Sarah refuses
to behave. If Mary can even get Sarah to sit in a chair, she begins to
throw food and kick other children under the table. She typically becomes
violent when Mary tries to quiet her. Sarah’s behavioral difficulties
are consuming the majority of Mary’s time and energy, and increasingly
Mary has less of herself to devote to the other kids in the classroom.
Lately, Sarah’s behavior has become even more unmanageable, and
other children in the class are beginning to act out as well.
Mary knows she cannot handle this problem alone. She has met with
Sarah’s mother, Susan, who shrugs off the behavior. Susan claims
there is nothing she can do, she has other children to worry about, and
she cannot enforce the behavioral management plans at home that Mary has
tried to put in place in the classroom.
Mary is hesitant to tell her supervisor, Carlos, that she is having
problems with her new job, but she decides to speak to him. When she approaches
Carlos, he tells her he is too busy with more urgent problems. Mary begins
to feel helpless and alone. Eventually, the children begin to control
things and Mary loses confidence in her ability to be successful in her
new role. What more can she do?
8 CHARACTRISTICS THAT DEFINE RELATIONSHIP - BASED
WORK
The following concepts should appear in daily routines to reinforce
positive child development (adapted from Bertacchi 1996):
- Safety and Trust
- Mutuality of Shared Goals
- Commitment to Evolving Growth and Change
- Commitment to Reflecting on the Work
- Respect for and Getting to Know Staff
- Sensitivity to Context of the Work Environment
- Open Communication
- Standards and Ideals for Staff to Strive Toward
This scenario is familiar to anyone working with young children. Mary
is presented with a problem that becomes unmanageable. She has tried everything
she knows to solve it and has even asked for help, but no one seems willing
to work with her. Mary may begin to feel like a failure at her job when
actually, everyone involved has failed.
How could this situation have been handled differently? How can supervisors
ensure that their coworkers and peers do not feel alone? The answer may
lie in creating a workplace environment where reflective supervision is
integrated into the overall framework of the agency.
Learning—in the Context of Relationships
The most powerful environment for learning takes place in the context
of relationships—people learn and are most apt to be influenced
when interacting with other people. Leaders in the field, including J.
Bertacchi and T. Norman-Murch (1999), emphasize that reflective supervision
promotes learning in the context of the relationships and interactions
in which it occurs. It takes into account the process of learning as well
as the content that is learned. The collaborative process between supervisor
and teacher becomes as important as what was actually discussed since
the communication and problem-solving techniques used in the dialogue
are part of what is learned. Often, when we see certain behaviors modeled
in relationships, we tend to mimic these behaviors in later situations—at
times intentionally, such as when the behavior seemed particularly effective,
and at times subconsciously, such as when we have only been exposed to
one way of handling a situation.
Reflective supervision entails the supervisor taking on the roles of teacher
and coach. The learner in the example above would be Mary. If reflective
supervision had been the guiding principle, in addition to talking about
the issue at hand—in this case, behavior management—the supervisor
would have modeled behaviors that the teacher, Mary, could then use in
the classroom when working with the children or with colleagues or parents.
By working collaboratively to reflect on the situation at hand, Mary’s
supervisor would have been able to teach her best practices.
A Collaborative Dialogue
Reflective supervision is essentially a collaborative process that requires
open-ended communication, and is most effective within a trusting relationship.
Supervisors should encourage staff to express themselves and freely share
their perspective on challenges and possible solutions. Clear and comfortable
communication will make it easier for the supervisor to accurately assess
problems and the level of assistance needed by the teacher. By engaging
the teacher in a two-way conversation about the problem, and genuinely
listening to her perspective and ideas, the supervisor is also modeling
effective techniques for solving frustrating dilemmas. In effect, the
supervisor takes on the role of coach as he supports the teacher in her
professional growth and in the resolution of her specific problem.
Building on Strengths
Reflective supervision is also a strengths-based approach. The supervisor
should concentrate on the teacher’s positive qualities and work
in collaboration with the teacher to solve the problem. The focus on Mary’s
strengths and appropriate actions taken will allow both Mary and her supervisor
Carlos to assess accurately the problem and find the best solution. This
focus also reinforces Mary’s positive steps and so increases her
confidence in her ability to handle her job.
By using many of the characteristics that model effective relationship-based
work (see side bar), Carlos could have set the tone for a meaningful and
instructive interaction. In essence, his reaction of not sitting down
and listening to Mary was modeling only one thing—that her problems
were not important. Allowing Mary to express her concerns in an open-ended
conversation may have let her effectively talk out the problem. By reflecting
on the situation and working through the problem together, Carlos would
have also shown a willingness to invest his time and expertise in the
development of his staff—the front-line people whose skills determine
the quality of the services provided by the Head Start program.
By ignoring Mary’s request for help, Carlos lost an important opportunity
to create a "teachable moment" in which he could model behaviors
that Mary could then follow when working with children and families. In
listening to her frustrations and concerns, he would have objectively
been able to assess the situation, and then ask Mary for the type of feedback
that would be most beneficial to her. For example, he could have offered
to send Mary to in-depth training on behavioral difficulties in young
children. He could also have offered to bring in an outside consultant
to assess Sarah’s behavior and help Mary develop a more effective
behavior management plan. He may have been able to ask targeted questions
that would have helped Mary come up with the solution on her own, allowing
Mary to build her confidence and giving her a useful technique that she
could then use in speaking with Susan’s mother. Or maybe listening
to Mary was all that Carlos needed to do in this case. Reflective supervision
would have allowed the best solution to surface.
The Carryover Effect—Parallel Processes
The relationships we model in the workplace carry over into the interactions
we have with families. In the case of Mary and her supervisor, Carlos,
his lack of interest in Mary’s difficulties with Sarah might have
carried over into the way that Mary handled Sarah in the classroom. Mary
may have written off Sarah’s behavioral difficulties as unimportant—as
Carlos did when Mary approached him—and allowed the behavior to
continue. Susan, Sarah’s mother, may have come to Mary down the
road with problems she was having at home with her daughter. Mary may
have acted similarly to the way Carlos had treated her, such as telling
Susan that she could not help her because she has too many things to handle
just in her classroom.
Mary would probably not have been aware of the connection between her
interaction with Susan and her earlier interaction with her supervisor,
yet that earlier interaction set the tone and modeled the way—even
if inappropriately—to handle a difficult situation. Improving inter-staff
relations and processes is crucial to the outcome of the services we provide,
since the relationships within the agency often parallel those that staff
members experience with families.
Overcoming Barriers to Reflective Supervision
To create a "win-win" situation for all people involved, all
levels of the organization must work together to create an environment
for shared learning. Obstacles may be encountered when first trying to
implement reflective supervision. For example, it is sometimes difficult
for staff to get past the traditional views of and attributes associated
with supervisors, such as being authoritarian figures who are only there
to judge teachers’ competency. A teacher may feel that her supervisor
does not understand her problems and is too far "removed"
from the classroom. Over time, the two-way conversations and sense of
collaborative decision-making that are a central part of reflective supervision
help create an environment where teachers do not feel isolated and supervisors
are no longer "removed" from the daily interactions and challenges
of the classroom. With time and practice, these supervisor stereotypes
can be broken down, and ideally, the teacher will feel at ease discussing
her problems.
In developing an environment for shared learning, it is important to stress
common beliefs, such as Head Start’s family-centered approach to
services where the family’s well-being is put at the center of all
problems and concerns. Although the supervisor and teacher have different
job roles, and at times different perspectives, both are working toward
a common goal—improving the lives of children and families. The
commitment that staff members feel toward their jobs can be a persuasive
reason to put differences or discomfort aside. This is important motivation
for encouraging teachers to overcome obstacles in the classroom.
The way we interact with each other within our Head Start programs can
have serious implications for our work with children and families. All
members of the agency have an important responsibility to children and
their families that begins with the recognition of the power of a seemingly
simple interaction. Supervisors and teachers have critical roles. They
are both responsible for modeling best practices—for their colleagues,
the parents, and ultimately, the children.
References
Bertacchi, J. 1996. Relationship-based organizations. Zero to Three
17(2): 1-7.
Bertacchi, J. & T. Norman-Murch. 1999. Implementing reflective supervision
in non-clinical settings: Challenges to practice. Zero to Three
20(1): 18-23.
Jackie Pflieger was a Project Assistant with the National Head Start
T/TA Resource Center.
