Supervising interpretive research in doctoral social work education

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of academic supervisors guiding PhD students conducting qualitative interpretive research in social work departments. Shifting the analytical lens from supervisees to supervisors, it examines the distinctive commitments, tensions, and dilemmas inherent in interpretive supervision. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, the study draws on in-depth interviews with 12 experienced supervisors from Israel (N = 7, representing three universities) and the United States (N = 5, representing two universities). Three interrelated themes were identified: building collaborative relationships, negotiating power differentials, and grappling with reflexivity. Feminist perspectives on supervision served as a critical interpretive lens through which participants’ experiences were analyzed. A central organizing concept emerging from their accounts is “strained authenticity”—the ongoing tension between supervisors’ aspirations to cultivate collaborative relationships characterized by fluid power dynamics and the institutional, hierarchical, evaluative, and societal structures within which supervision unfolds. The findings underscore the need for institutional frameworks that recognize the substantial time and emotional labor required for interpretive supervision, including dedicated spaces for peer reflection. Strengthening theoretical and conceptual training early in doctoral education in social work may further alleviate supervisory strain and better prepare students for rigorous interpretive inquiry.