This study aimed to develop and validate a tool for measuring supervisee self-reflection in the context of supervision. In supervision, counselors assess their overall counseling practices, enhance their knowledge and skills, and grow as professionals...
This study aimed to develop and validate a tool for measuring supervisee self-reflection in the context of supervision. In supervision, counselors assess their overall counseling practices, enhance their knowledge and skills, and grow as professionals. Supervisees utilize supervision as a platform to reflect on and evaluate their experiences, enabling their development as practitioners. Thus, fostering supervisees' capacity for self-reflection is a critical goal in counselor education. However, in Korea, there has been a lack of quantitative research addressing supervisee self-reflection due to the ambiguity of the concept and the absence of tools to measure it. Therefore, this study defined self-reflection specifically for supervisees and conducted the research accordingly. Self-reflection for supervisees was defined as "an attitude of actively and exploratively examining oneself through interactions with the supervisor when faced with uncomfortable, confusing, or dilemma situations during supervision." The findings of this study are as follows. First, Through a review of previous studies, four components of supervisee self-reflection were identified: "attitude of revealing oneself honestly," "attitude of exploring oneself as a professional," "attitude of accepting the supervisor's guidance," and "attitude of acknowledging one's limitations”. Second, Structured in-depth interviews with five supervision experts were conducted to explore practical aspects of supervisee self-reflection. From these interviews, five higher-order categories and 17 subcategories were identified. Four categories—self-disclosure, self-exploration, feedback acceptance, and acknowledgment of limitations—aligned with findings from prior research. Additionally, the category of "supervision relationship" emerged. Third, Data collected from 97 supervisees were analyzed using the CQR-M method. Five domains were identified: self-disclosure, self-exploration, defense reduction, acknowledgment of limitations, and trust in the supervisor. "Defense reduction" was specific to situations involving negative feedback, representing an aspect of feedback acceptance. The domain of "trust in the supervisor" highlighted the importance of the supervisory relationship. Based on these five domains, frequency analysis, expert review, content validity, and face validity assessments were conducted, resulting in a preliminary scale of 65 items derived from 464 statements. Fourth, To verify the appropriateness of the preliminary items and the factor structure, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with data from 273 participants recruited with consideration of supervision relationships. Item analysis led to the removal of 14 items, and EFA identified 25 items across 5 factors. These factors were renamed to better represent their content: "open communication," "expanded self-understanding," "acceptance of negative feedback," "acknowledgment of professional and personal limitations” and "trust in the supervisor”. Fifth, Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed with data from a new sample of 300 participants to examine the validity and reliability of the scale. The analysis yielded significant model fit indices (χ²=552.31, df=260, p<.001, IFI=.91, TLI=.90, CFI=.90, RMSEA=.061). Convergent validity was confirmed through correlations with the Counselor Self-Reflection Scale, and criterion validity was supported through significant correlations with supervision working alliance and countertransference management. The lower correlation with counselor development indicated a distinction between counselor and supervisee development. The scale demonstrated satisfactory reliability, confirming its utility as a tool for measuring supervisees self-reflection. Implications of this study are as follows. First, This study identified specific attitudes necessary for supervisee self-reflection in supervision. Second, By defining supervisee self-reflection and distinguishing it from counselor self-reflection, a measurement tool tailored to supervisees was developed. Third, The inclusion of supervision relationships in the scale highlights the need to understand supervisee-supervisor interactions to foster self-reflection. Fourth, The detailed content of supervisee self-reflection provides a foundation for developing programs to enhance this capacity. Limitations and suggestions for future research are as follows. First, The "acceptance of negative feedback" subscale consisted entirely of reverse-scored items, suggesting the need to mix these items with other subscale items to create a balanced format. Second, As the scale relies on self-reports, participants' responses may be subject to distortion. Future research should compare and verify supervisee responses with those of supervisors. Third, Further studies should examine the relationships between supervisee self-reflection and various supervision-related variables to confirm the scale’s utility.
Keywords : supervisee, self-reflection, supervision, scale development, scale validation, CQR-M, supervision relationship