Work Supervision for Master’s Degree Students in Management in the Social and Health Care Field

This study targets university students of development and management in the social and health care field, and its goals were to discover 1) how does group supervision suit supporting college students, 2) what benefits can students receive from supervision and 3) how can group supervision be developed? The Tampere University of Applied Sciences’ supervisor training program piloted a supervision program for master’s degree students (N=30) in management in September 2021. The purpose of the study was to chart the possibilities of supervision in advancing students’ team formation and commitment to their studies. The master's students in management were divided into teams of 4-6 people and each team was supervised by one work supervisor. There were five team meetings during the six months. The supervisor trainees could practice their skills while the master’s students could process feelings related to their studies and receive peer support in their challenges. The results show that team formation was successful and deepened during the process. The supervision received by individual teams affected the entire group’s class spirit and commitment. Developing the contents of supervision should focus on good planning, structure and initiation. The supervisor’s role was emphasized in development, particularly their approach, activity and reinforcing dialogue between participants. Based on the positive experiences, collaboration between the supervisor training and master’s students will be continued and developed further. Keywords: work supervision, Master’s student, team commitment, team spirit, Finland