An ethnographic or anthropological perspective is useful for the reexamination of the assumptions and taken-for-granted nature of the practice of supervision. An indepth survey of literature on supervisors illustrates supervisory roles and the existence of a separate "supervisor culture". Specifically, the relationship between novice teachers and supervisors is viewed as an interactive socialization process. Application of an ethnographic viewpoint aids in understanding the supervisory enculturation process and shows how underlying cultural aspects of thought and behavior affect the practice of supervision. (26 references) (LMI)