The Changing Nature of the Role of the University Supervisor and Function of Preservice Teacher Supervision in an Era of Clinically-Rich Practice

Given the movement to enhanced clinical experiences and school–university collaboration emphasized in the NCATE Blue Ribbon Report, the field of teacher preparation would benefit from an understanding of the research related to preservice teacher (PST) supervision. This article uses qualitative meta-analysis to generate new knowledge about PST supervision using research published from 2001 to 2013. Using a search of three different databases, the findings of 32 studies became the data to address the research question: What are the core PST supervisory tasks and practices that support the developmental nature of PST learning within the clinical context? Through the meta-analysis, the authors identified five tasks and twelve practices of PST supervision. The tasks include (1) targeted assistance, (2) individual support, (3) collaboration and community, (4) curriculum support, and (5) research for innovation. These results indicate that PST supervision and the role of the PST supervisor is changing as the field moves towards strengthening clinical practice.