Abstract

In most areas of social practice professional supervision is taught, promoted and required. Conferences on supervision are held and books are written but, when it comes to supervision of teaching academics in the area of social practice, literature is very scarce and practices are left to individual initiatives almost closeted from the public eye. The consumerist approach to education creates an atmosphere of defensiveness where academics are becoming protective over their positions and a context for true collaboration is becoming a rarity. Power issues within academia and a hierarchical nature of most universities, although supportive of collaborative research, are not encouraging sharing and daring to talk about difficulties and possible improvements of teaching methods and practices. As a result, academics are developing their expertise in specific fields of their interest, but rarely in novel teaching methods and ways of reaching students from various cultural backgrounds. This paper examines a simple cost-effective method of supporting academics to share and improve their knowledge and practices through peer-supervision and explores its relevance in creating culturally respectful and sustainable learning organisations.