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BRIGITTE GEIRLER-PILTZ — ÉVA NEMES
map shows blind spots which need to be explored thoroughly; increasingly so
because supervision and coaching without research could find itself stuck on
a pre-professional station.
Looking critically at the European supervision and coaching research scene,
and on the conference itself, we notice:
+ Most European research literature is written in the language of the
respective country. Unless supervisors and coaches master the language
of the contribution, or unless it is translated in their native tongue, the
scientific insights thus presented remain out of reach To be accessible to
all, relevant research will have to be presented in English, the language of
science; otherwise it would do no more then carve out a niche existence.
s Even in ANSE, where there are numerous opportunities for exchange
between supervisors from member countries, most European supervisors
have little knowledge of research outcomes produced by researchers from
other countries than their own.
+ In some countries researchers are very active in writing in English,
even though it is not their mother tongue. Consequently, they may be
interested in — and more influenced by — what is produced in the USA
and in Great Britain. Unfortunately, those concepts of supervision differ
from the continental European ones, and little effort is made to overcome
the differences.
¢ Taking into account the growing complexity in our field of practice, there
is no agreement on what is understood when speaking of supervision
or coaching. The ANSE ECVision project results mark great progress
in supporting agreed definitions. But the project manual was not yet
published at the time of the conference.
+ "Ihe different speeds and stages of development of supervision in Europe
lead to different kinds and depths in research. In countries where the
tradition of supervision is well settled, we find a good selection of research
projects. In other countries we see first steps in supervision and coaching
research beings taken, and a developing effort to master the necessary
skills and competences.
ANSE provides a platform to discuss and meet these differences on a European
level, and to exchange relevant issues and experiences. And so, the Research
Conference in Budapest took place on the basis of the assumptions above, and
surprised critics and sceptics, who were impressed by the academic quality of
this pilot meeting. Most research reports were provided and worked through
on a basis of solid theories and tried methods.
The evident differences in research approaches and the vibrant discussions
+ 12 +