The Supervision Process through the Eyes of the Supervisor

This study builds on a previous article (Manley & Meijen, 2009) in which advice for in-training practitioners was provided through the shared reflections of experienced and accredited professionals. One of the tips was to choose a supervisor well. This is especially relevant given that the British Psychological Society (BPS) offer some Society-defined roles and expectations of in-training practitioners as part of the candidate handbook for the qualification in sport and exercise psychology. The British Association for Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) offers similar guidance for supervisors and supervisees affiliated to their own process of accreditation through supervised experience (SE). In addition, higher education institutions will often provide PhD supervisors with some guiding principles and expectations with regard to the work they conduct with research students. However, useful as these suggested roles and guidelines are, it could be argued that they are less transparent to students and aspiring practitioners who may want to understand more clearly what it is that potential supervisors expect from their supervisees. Thus, the aim of the current article is to provide students with an overview of some of the common expectations supervisors have of their supervisees and to offer some practical advice to students on how to get the most out of their relationship with their supervisor. To do this, we contacted five supervisors in the field of sport and exercise psychology asking them to respond to a number of open-ended questions (available on request from the authors) in relation to their expectations of the supervisee. The questions were related to issues such as previous qualifications, attitude, preparation before meetings, perceptions of their relationship with supervisees, and how to encourage critical thinking and professional development. The respondents are currently supervising PhD students and/or in-training practitioners (i.e., BPS Stage 2 leading to chartered status or BASES SE). The data were analysed by the authors using thematic analysis in order to identify common threads articulated within the obtained responses. The main themes emerging from the questions will be summarised, followed by practical advice for supervisees

Reflections on the accreditation process: Advice for in-training practitioners

As professional and public interest in sport and exercise psychology continues to grow, so too the number of students enrolling on sport and exercise psychology courses is on the increase. As a result, the number of graduates looking to embark on a period of supervised experience within this domain is also expected to rise. The importance of practitioner training cannot be understated. It is intended to provide a standardised route to attaining accepted levels of competence in relation to knowledge, skills, and professional conduct. The accreditation process also doubles as a safeguard designed to ensure that the public can identify and are therefore protected from individuals practicing sport and exercise psychology who have not met accepted standards of professional competence. Given the necessity for such a process of training and accreditation, it is imperative that in-training practitioners are offered appropriate levels of information and support to ensure they are able to satisfy the specific criteria outlined by the relevant accreditation guidelines. Following the recent approval of the Society’s Stage 2 qualification in sport and exercise psychology, this article aims to provide current and aspiring in-training practitioners with helpful tips and advice regarding the accreditation process, outlining some of the key considerations that will help individuals successfully navigate the various obstacles they must overcome

Bursting onto the big stage: Presenting at an international conference for the first time

Attending a prestigious international conference and contributing to proceedings by delivering a poster or oral presentation is an excellent opportunity for sport and exercise psychology students to gain valuable experience and meet people from different parts of the world. In this article, we will focus on presenting at an international conference for the first time. An international conference presents different challenges compared to annual national and regional conferences. It will often be held in another country, and may be organised once every four years. There are likely to be a larger number of delegates, a broader variety of topics, and usually an array of established names amongst the list of attendees and presenters. Additionally, for presenters who are not native English speakers, the perceived language barrier may instil feelings of discomfort. In this article, we will discuss our experiences of presenting at the 2007 FEPSAC conference in Halkidiki, Greece, highlighting the lessons we have learned and how others can benefit from our reflections on the event

Sport as a privilege in Spain

The reduction of Physical Education hours in the Spanish curriculum originates from a false premise: families are already aware of the importance of physical activity, and attempt to compensate for the lack of it at school with an extra schedule. It seems then, that there is an assumption that classes that are available after school are only related to physical activity: this is not the case. Furthermore, only those families that are fully aware of the consequences of their children’s inactivity, and who can (and want to) invest in those extra classes and engage in some kind of physical activity after school. But the reality is that Physical activity only is important for some families

An exploratory investigation examining male and female students' initial impressions and expectancies of lecturers

The aim of this study was to examine the informational cues that male and female students perceive to be influential when developing initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. University students (n 752) rated the extent to which 30 informational cues influence their initial perceptions of a lecturer. Following exploratory factor analysis (EFA), a five-factor model (i.e. appearance (APP), accessories (ACC), third-party reports (TPR), communication skills (CS) and nationality/ethnicity (NE)) was extracted for male students and a five-factor model (i.e. ACC, TPR, APP, interpersonal skills (IPS) and engagement (ENG)) extracted for female students. Inspection of mean scores identified that male students rated CS (e.g. clarity of voice) and TPR (e.g. qualifications) and female students IPS (e.g. control of class), ENG (e.g. eye contact) and TPR to be influential factors in forming initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. The findings further identify the potential for expectancy effects within student lecturer interactions

Athletes' perceived use of information sources when forming initial impressions and expectancies of a coach: An explorative study

The study aimed to identify the sources of information that athletes perceive as influential during their initial evaluation of coaching ability. University athletes (N = 538) were asked to indicate the influence of 31 informational cues (e.g., gender, body language or gestures, reputation) on the initial impression formed of a coach. Following exploratory factor analysis, a 3-factor model, (i.e., static cues, dynamic cues, and third-party reports) was extracted. Mean scores revealed that although static cues (e.g., gender, race or ethnicity) were rated as relatively unimportant during impression formation, dynamic cues (e.g., facial expressions, body language or gestures) and third-party reports (e.g., coaching qualifications, reputation.) were viewed by athletes as influential factors in the formation of expectancies about coaches. Such findings have implications for the occurrence of expectancy effects in coach-athlete relationships and the way in which coaches seek to present themselves. © 2008 Human Kinetics, Inc

Processing fluency effects: can the content and presentation of participant information sheets influence recruitment and participation for an antenatal intervention?

Objective: To assess the extent to which the title and font of participant information sheets (PISs) can influence pregnant women’s and trainee midwives’ perceptions of an antenatal intervention. Methods: Pregnant women (n = 35) and trainee midwives (n = 36) were randomly presented with one of four PISs where the title and font of the PIS had been manipulated to create four experimental conditions (i.e., Double-Fluent; Double-Awkward; Fluent Title-Awkward Font; Awkward Title-Fluent Font). After reading the PIS, participants rated their perceptions of the intervention (i.e., attractiveness, complexity, expected risk, required effort) using five-point Likert scales. Results: A 4x2 factorial multivariate analysis of variance revealed that pregnant women rated the Double-Awkward condition as significantly more complex than the Double-Fluent (p = .024) and Awkward Title-Fluent Font (p = .021) conditions. Conclusion: Font influenced pregnant women’s ratings of intervention complexity. Practice Implications: Results have implications for ethical recruitment, and in turn, the optimisation of corresponding interventions