2.4 Supervision in social work
2.4.1 Defining supervision
33 2.3.5 Stage 5: Back to administrative function in the age of accountability (1980- 1995)
Since the 1980s, resources and funding became dependent on the efficient and effective delivery of services. The government and community placed demands that the funding be spent in a
“value for money” and “cost effective manner”. Supervision once again began to emphasise the administrative functions of social work.
“The development of social work supervision was greatly influenced by the demands of the external environment of human service organizations and the internal demands of the professionalization process of social work” (Tsui, 1997).
According to Tsui (1997), some social workers feel that supervision is unnecessary and prefer consultation or autonomous practice. However, according to Kadushin (1992) and Munson (1993), the format and structure of social work supervision has remained constant over the past 80 years. Even though social work is more professionalised than ever before, Kadushin (1992) lists 13 reasons related to political accountability, administrative control, the nature of social work, the educational function and the supportive function for supervision to remain and continue into the future.
According to Kadushin (1992), it is the unpredictable, non-routine, non-standardised, highly individualised, unobservable nature of the job of social workers that makes supervision necessary, as long as social work practice is still embedded in an organizational context in its existing form, social work supervision will continue in the foreseeable future.
34 into practice, in order to facilitate clients receive the highest quality services possible (Itzhaky, 2000).
According to Kadushin (1992), supervision is derived from the Latin word super (“over”) and videre (“to watch, to see”). Therefore a supervisor is defined as an overseer, one who watches over the work of another, with responsibility for its quality. According to Kadushin, supervision can only be fully defined and understood within the context of its functions, objectives, hierarchical position, its relation to service delivery and its interactional process.
Supervision has been defined primarily in terms of the administrative and educational functions.
The first social work text on the subject by Robinson (1936), and the first edition of the Encyclopaedia of Social Work (1965:785), as cited in Kadushin (1992), defines supervision as an educational process highlighting the educational function of supervision. It is the traditional method of transmitting knowledge of social work skills in practice from the trained to the untrained, from the experienced to the inexperienced student and worker. The second (1971) and third (1977) editions of the Encyclopaedia emphasises the administrative functions, in that supervision is a process of getting the work done and maintaining organizational control and accountability.
According to Smith (1996; 2005), supervision is the process of being attached to an expert, of
“learning through doing”. This allows for the novice to gain knowledge, skills and commitment as well as enable her/him to enter into a particular ‘community of practice’. By spending time with the practitioners, looking over their shoulders and participating in the routines and practices associated with the profession, trainees become full members of the community of practice.
Kadushin (1992) elaborates on supervision being an indirect service, where the supervisor maintains indirect contact with the client through the worker and is able to assist the client through the worker. This is supported by the theoretical framework by Brown & Bourne (1996) and Hawkins & Shohet (2006), on the models for supervision, where supervision is considered to entail the skilful interaction between the supervisor and the supervisee with the goal being to render an effective service to the client. Furthermore, Kadushin (1992) describes supervision as an interactional process, a process of a series of conscious and deliberate activities being
35 implemented within a context of a relationship that is based on cooperation and democracy and where participation is mutual, respectful and open.
According to (Brown & Bourne, 1996), “Supervision is the primary means by which an agency- designated supervisor enables staff, individually, and collectively; and ensures standards of practice. The aim is to enable the supervisee(s) to carry out their work, as stated in their job specification, as effectively as possible. Regular arranged meetings between supervisor and supervisee(s) form the core of the process by which the supervisory task is carried out. The supervisee is an active participant in this interactional process”.
These definitions imply that there is a relationship between the two parties, one having authority over the other, the dual purpose being to ensure that agency policy is implemented whilst simultaneously training and empowering the supervisee, with the main aim being, providing the best possible service to the users of the service. It is an interactional process with the supervisee being an active participant and occurs primarily in formally arranged and regular meetings.
Supervision is therefore regarded as both an event and a process and is based on the following fundamental values.
i. Supervision needs to be considered in the structural context of the agency and the wider society.
ii. Social work and community care are essentially collective team-based activities with a high level of interdependence between staff.
iii. Supervision is a person-centred activity that places as much importance on the supervisory relationship, feelings and staff development as on task implementation, regulation and control functions.
iv. The content and the process of supervision are to be anti-oppressive and anti- discriminatory, with a commitment to empower both service users and staff.
v. Supervisees and supervisors are adults who learn best when their learning is self-directed, and a proactive approach is taken to supervision.
vi. Regular supervision is a resource to which every staff member is entitled.
36 According to (Brown & Bourne, 1996) good supervision is an entitlement for all staff and should be enshrined in every agency as a policy priority, with a well-resourced and comprehensive training programme for all supervisors.