Nurturing a budding flower: External supervisors’ support of the developmental needs of Chinese social workers in Shenzhen, China

Abstract

This article examines supervision needs and supervision strategies of Chinese social workers in the light of theoretical considerations and recent empirical findings. Through a qualitative study in Shenzhen, the authors explore how a supervisor may provide and further a supervisee’s development. The supervisors from the study used a range of strategies from counselling skills to consultative advice. This highlights the need for social workers to receive education and psychological support from their supervisors. The findings suggest a relationship between developmental needs and the choice of supervision strategies. It is also argued that in order to be an effective supervisor, one should consider the concept and the importance of culture in the supervisory context.