Nurse educators’ perspectives on supportive supervision in Ghanaian nursing academic institutions: an exploratory qualitative study

Supportive supervision is a critical mechanism for enhancing nurse educators’ professional development and teaching effectiveness, yet its conceptualisation and practice within Ghanaian nursing academic institutions remains poorly understood. This study explored nurse educators’ perspectives on the meaning, essential elements, nature, and types of supportive supervision in nursing academic institutions in Ghana. An exploratory, descriptive qualitative study was conducted, and data were collected using in-depth interviews with 14 purposively sampled nurse educators from one public university, two private universities, and one diploma-awarding nursing training institution in the Greater Accra Region. Data were managed using QDA Miner and analysed thematically, guided by Braun and Clarke and Hsieh and Shannon, with Knowles’ Theory of Andragogy and Transformational Leadership Theory serving as interpretive frameworks. Four themes emerged: the concept of supportive supervision; elements of supportive supervision; nature of supportive supervision; and types of supportive supervision. Findings revealed an evolution from inspection-oriented to empowering supervisory conceptualisations, with joint problem-solving, constructive feedback, open communication, teamwork, and peer assessment identified as core elements. Mentoring, coaching, and guiding characterised the nature of supervision, while formal and informal types were identified — with informal supervision predominating. Supportive supervision in Ghanaian nursing academic institutions is characterised by relational, empowering practices consistent with andragogical and transformational supervisory principles. However, the dominance of informal supervision may reflect structural and policy gaps that warrant further empirical investigation. Developing formal supportive supervision frameworks through regulatory standards and educator preparation programmes warrants serious consideration as a means of strengthening equitable and transformational supervisory practice nationally.