Matthew Floding introduces this collection of essays on excellence in supervision, as a needed update of how supervisors in the Association for Theological Education think about supervision and their formation work with students.

Floding, Matthew

English

Reflective Practice - Formation and Supervision in Ministry (E-Journal)

Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in MinistryISSN 2325-2847 (print)*  ISSN 2325-2855 (online)* © Copyright 2020 Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in MinistryAll Rights ReservedSECTION 4EXCELLENCE IN SUPERVISION  REVISITEDEditor’s IntroductionIn 1993, the Association for Theological Education (ATFE) adopted a statement titled “Excellence in Supervision” at the ATFE Biennial Con-sultation in Austin, Texas.1 Twenty-seven years later, much has changed in church and ministerial contexts, theological education and varieties of delivery platforms, and our understanding of contextual learning. On theo-ries of learning, for example, Jane Vella’s Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults had not yet been published, nor had Étienne Wenger’s Communities of Practice. Several important books ad-vancing the conversation about supervision in field education by William Pyle and Mary Alice Seals, Regina Coll, Ann Garrido, and others were all published after 1993. It seems timely and important to provide a review of current resources, theories of supervision, and perspectives of field educa-tors, supervisors/mentors, and students as a resource for readers of Reflec-tive Practice.The relevance of our research is a concern for all field educators and can be framed as a question: To whom are we entrusting our students in ministerial contexts? Indeed, we all face this question once a student leaves our campus or engages in supervised ministry at an approved site through a distance learning program. Are we confident in the supervision? This is not a hypothetical question when a student in the Distance Program at Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia, does field education in a rural community in Saskatchewan or a Duke Divinity School student leaves Durham, North Carolina, to spend the summer in Chicago. Each of us as field educators depends deeply on the quality of supervision provided 152in the ministerial formation of the student, whether near or far from our institution.This was underscored by the written questions submitted at the work-shop for new field education directors at the 2019 ATFE Biennial Consulta-tion.2 A sampling of the questions includes the follow:• How do we prepare supervisors/mentors for the work of mentoring?• What are best practices for supervising and resourcing supervisors/mentors?• How much training is needed for supervisors/mentors?• How can we connect with, develop, and ensure the quality of “distance” supervisors/mentors?• How do you mentor supervisors/mentors?• Where can I go to find a collection of best practices for educating, train-ing, and forming site supervisors/mentors?Prior to the 2019 ATFE Biennial Consultation in Asheville, North Caro-lina, an invitation was extended to the general membership to join this re-search project. Twenty-two persons responded and convened following the consultation. A facilitated conversation about the 1993 document on excel-lence in supervision and our experience working with supervisors/mentors resulted in a group of eighteen persons organized into five working teams, each addressing a discrete theme:• literature review• theories of supervision• training sites and supervisors/mentors• practical wisdom from our supervisors/mentors• listening to our studentsThe articles that follow are the fruit of each team’s effort to contribute to a 360-degree view of excellence in supervision in field education in 2020.Matthew FlodingDirector of Ministerial FormationDuke Divinity SchoolSECTION 4 EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION153NOTES1 “Excellence in Supervision,” 1993, ATFE, http://atfe.org/resources/excellence-in-su-pervision-1993/, accessed July 9, 2019.2 This workshop was led by Matthew Floding, John Senior, Dipa Hart, and Mark Hearn. I want to thank all of my colleagues/participants for their helpful questions and ac-tive participation.The Association for Theological Field Education is an international, ecumenical community formed in 1946 whose purposes include maximizing the quality of service to theological field education and providing for optimal growth and development of field education personnel.atfe.orgSECTION 4 EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

SECTION 4: EXCELLENCE IN SUPERVISION

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SECTION 4: EXCELLENCE IN SUPERVISION

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Reflective Practice - Formation and Supervision in Ministry (E-Journal)