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

Etymology

The English noun "supervision" derives from the two

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

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

academia An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

, supervision is aiding and guiding of a postgraduate research student,

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and st ...

, 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.

Business

In business, 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 ...

, where the latter has wider authority.

Counseling

In clinical supervision, 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 ...

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 ...

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

Society

society A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politics, political authority an ...

, supervision could be performed by the state or corporate entities to monitor and control its citizens. Public entities often do supervision of different activities in the nation, such as bank supervision.

References

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