A pilot study in the application of repertory grid technology for constructing and construing personal models of social work supervision

Abstract

This paper shows how Kelly's repertory grid technique may be used to elucidate supervisors' and supervisees' personal models of supervision. Supervisors and supervisees can learn to elicit and construe their personal constructs of supervision. They can compare the computer analysed results of their grids and discover for themselves and from each other what constitutes good, effective supervision. Comparison between the grids elicited from the supervisor and supervisee who took part in this study showed that there were noteable differences and similarities in the content and structure of their personal models of effective supervision. Both participants confirmed that the grid results validly reflected the way their models had developed.