Exploration of an ancestry of supervisor–student relationships in social work field education

There is a body of the literature that suggests the practice of supervision in social work field education is integral to the success experienced by the student, the practitioner, and the agency for whom they work. Literature outlines the features of the supervisor–student relationship for fostering optimum learning, however there is a gap in terms of exploring how learning about supervision is handed down across generations, and to what extent that learning is helpful for the contemporary social work environment. With this paper, the authors aim to capture experiences across five generations of social workers to explore how an ancestry of supervision influences how supervisees conceptualize their framework of supervision for future students. We have situated the research to incorporate some elements of autoethnography, as two of the investigators are part of the ancestry. We explore themes generated from interviews and written reflections from participants to understand what styles and practices have lasting legacies of supervision across the generations. The research informs a more nuanced framework for the passing on of social work knowledge, skills, and values through a supervisor/student learning experience.