Social Work Supervisors Research Articles

Developing supervision of social work supervisors and their practice in Singapore: A cross-national collaboration

Developing supervision of social work supervisors and their practice in Singapore: A cross-national collaboration

Social Workers and Black Barbers: A Collaboration to Address Mental Health Stigma

ABSTRACT Black men need safe spaces to express emotions free from bias and stigma. They have been underserved in emotional support due to systemic inequalities. Creating nurturing environments can empower Black men to heal from trauma. Stigma plays a crucial role in their reluctance to seek mental health treatment. This research uses a qualitative approach, combining an action research methodology with a generic qualitative inquiry. This study was conducted to answer the following research question: How can social workers and barbers collaborate to address the stigma of mental health treatment among Black men better? In this study, five social workers, five barbers, and five social work supervisors were interviewed to collect data for the study. Audio recordings were transcribed, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data. Several key themes emerged: (a) collaboration strategies, (b) barbershops as safe spaces, (c) overcoming stigma, (d) cultural competence, and (e) challenges and barriers. The research study produced a pamphlet aimed at raising awareness of mental health stigma’s impact on Black men. The implications for the study highlight that partnerships between social workers and barbers can play a pivotal role in dismantling stereotypes and barriers associated with mental health issues among Black men, fostering a cultural shift toward greater mental well-being, acceptance, and understanding.

The process of social work supervision. A reflection on the five-year practice of certified social work supervision in Poland

Analysing the practice of the first five years of certified social work supervisors' activity, it is essential to note the main challenges encountered both by the process organisers and the supervisors themselves. This article presents experiences and recommendations related to organising supervision in social work. We focus on building supervisory relationships and supervision challenges in social welfare. The study's authors, presenting their experiences and reflections, also include the opinions of practitioners and supervisors from the field of social work.

Skills to enhance the efficacy of anti-racist supervision

Summary In a time of increased social division, overt bigotry, and pervasive structural violence, social workers have an opportunity to lead the helping professions in meaningful social transformation. Social work supervisors play a central role in developing and guiding ethical social work practice. Yet, little empirically driven scholarship exists providing supervisors with strategies for disrupting racism and bias in the practice of their supervisees. This exploratory qualitative study employs a grounded theory approach to unearth such strategies. Fifteen participants with social work supervisory experience, who identified as anti-racist, offered insights into in vivo approaches to disrupting racism in social work practice. Findings The findings from this study emphasize the importance of a strong supervisory foundation, comprised of centering race and being in authentic relationship with staff. Further, strategies such as assessing the race consciousness of staff create the foundation to employ competencies for efficacious anti-racist supervision including taking space versus pausing, providing incremental pedagogical scaffolding, and leveraging a foundational supervisory skillset. Applications These strategies represent tangible approaches social work supervisors might employ when engaging in anti-racist practice with their staff.

SOCIAL WORK PRACTITIONERS’ AND SUPERVISORS' CONCEPTUALISATION OF SUPERVISION AT THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, KING CETSHWAYO DISTRICT: A POLITY DUALISM

The historical development of social service supervision reveals that the professional and organisational demands do not co-exist without challenges. The tension that often manifests between professional and managerial supervision is explained using the analogy of “polity dualism”, a concept widely used in political science to describe the co-existence of democratic and traditional rulership. The study adopted a qualitative exploratory-descriptive design underpinned by an interpretive paradigm. Seventeen social workers and supervisors were purposively sampled at the Department of Social Development, King Cetshwayo District, KwaZulu-Natal. The findings were presented in terms of two main themes and two related subthemes. These included participants’ understanding of supervision and relating their understanding of supervision with experience. The recommendations could be summarised to involve the need to limit supervisors’ responsibilities to providing supervision only and to address the challenges posed by polity dualism by relying on professional supervision that offers more support and guidance and encourages collaboration between supervisors and supervisees. Keywords: managerial supervision, neoliberalism, polity dualism, professional supervision, social worker, social work supervisor

The toll of supervising from an anti-racist framework: reflections from a qualitative study

ABSTRACT Persistent race-based disparities in all domains of the US indicate the insidious nature of anti-Black racism. The helping professions have an opportunity to assist individuals and communities in working toward racial reconciliation and healing. Anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice standards represent one means to do so. Supervisors play a critical role in guiding anti-racist clinical practice and modeling these tenets. Little empirical scholarship exists around the strategies for supervising from this framework. Understanding these experiences help inform how to support anti-racist supervisors interpersonally and organizationally. Findings from a grounded theory qualitative study with social work supervisors shed light on these experiences.

Implementing the Supervision Framework for the Social Work Profession: Supervisors’ Views and Experiences

This study focused on social work supervision and its impact on the occupational development and service delivery of supervisees, specifically within the South African Department of Social Development (DSD). While previous research has often examined the views and experiences of supervisees and student social workers, the study uniquely explored the perspective of social work supervisors. Utilising the systems theory as a theoretical framework, qualitative research with semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was employed. The findings revealed significant structural challenges that hindered the alignment of social work supervision with the DSD’s established Supervision Framework. As the scope of the study was limited to the Mahikeng Service Point, North West, South Africa, generalisation is cautioned, necessitating further research in other welfare organisations for a broader understanding.

A Simulated Placement: Using a Mixed-Reality Learning Environment for Social Work Field Education

ABSTRACT COVID-19 presented fresh challenges for social work field education, requiring agile and innovative solutions. To address the scarcity of direct client-facing placements during the extended and unpredictable public health restrictions, Australian Catholic University (ACU) created the Simulated Placement Experience (SPE) for final-year students. The program immersed students into nine practice scenarios over a two-week (70-hour) intensive placement. Real-time feedback and reflective coaching sessions with a social work supervisor offered students enhanced learning and development opportunities applicable to multiple service settings and client presentations. The program was well received by participating final-year students, who highlighted that the experience enhanced their ability to perform and critically reflect on their direct practice skills. This article outlines the model and the initial evaluation of the pilot program using a Student Satisfaction of Simulation Survey tool. The findings of this evaluation reveal the potential for simulation to provide novel, valuable learning experiences to social work students for practice placements. IMPLICATIONS COVID-19 restrictions presented an opportunity for social work field education programs to rethink the structure and nature of placement learning. Simulation-based learning provides social work students with enhanced learning and increased confidence as part of direct practice placements. There is scope to include supported simulation-based learning to enhance future social work field education programs; however, discipline-specific simulation standards and conceptual frameworks are needed.

Performance Management Development System Challenges in Public Hospitals, Mpumalanga Province

One of the fundamental challenges faced by first-time supervisors in supervision relationships often revolves around the hierarchical nature and unequal power dynamics. Becoming a supervisor is one of the transitions applicable in the workplace, which unfold as either an opportunity or a challenge. This article explores the experiences of power dynamics faced by first-time supervisors in the social service professions, using the case study of Social Work supervisors in the public sector. The uniqueness of the public sector lies in its responsibility to render services to citizens in a non-profit manner, which is in direct contrast to the profit motive in case of the private sector. Two challenges worth mentioning are lack of measures for preparing and supporting supervisors for the new role and the notion that the managerial and professional supervision may, sometimes, be characterised by the contradictory needs. This article reports on the qualitative component, a dominant part of the explanatory mixed methods design, with a sample of thirteen social work supervisors selected from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Social Development. The pragmatist episteme and the triangulation of Experiential Learning and the Transition Theory, served as the underlying paradigm and theoretical framework, respectively. In the main, the study found that redefining of existing relations, the relational and social nature of power in supervision and the educational function in promoting adaptation into the new role were three main findings in this study. The article concludes by stating that putting the measures in place is essential in enabling the first-time supervisors to effectively adapt to their supervisory roles. Keywords: Relational power dynamics Social dimension, Social service professions, Supervision,

“Asking the ‘dumb’ questions”.

INTRODUCTION: Reflective social work supervision is essential to professional development, building resilience and client work. However, in child protection, supervision is preoccupied with managing risk and meeting outcomes at the expense of analysis and critical reflection. Oranga Tamariki (OT), the statutory child protection organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand, has recently been scrutinised for poor supervisory practice. The authors worked alongside OT social work supervisors and supervisees to explore ways to generate resilience, learning, self-awareness and develop practices that support reflective capability and well-being in supervision. METHODS: This article presents data from the pre/post online evaluation of an action research intervention study with OT supervisors and supervisees. The aim of the online survey was to measure participants’ supervision practices, and the extent to which perceptions of confidence, reflection, professional learning and resilience improved. FINDINGS: The findings are reported from key areas within OT supervision: the frequency of supervision sessions, the functions of supervision, engagement in reflection, supervision- changing practice, resilience and longevity in social work careers and the supervision of supervisors. CONCLUSIONS: The results from the survey showed social workers had increased confidence as they built reflective capacity, resiliency and improved their supervision practice. The study identified the importance of developing learning spaces that enhance reflective supervision for supervisors and supervisees in child protection.

Striving for Organizational Impact through Individual Impact: A Humanistic Management Approach Involving Social Work Supervisors.

In today's era of new public management, respecting the dignity and worth of social workers in organizational management poses a challenge to social work agencies. This research explores whether individual self-actualization can be integrated with organizational development by using a humanistic management approach. Authors sampled 672 supervisors from Chinese social work agencies. A structural equation model was built and tested to examine the relationships between four latent variables: (1) professional competence (PC), (2) organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), (3) individual impact, and (4) organizational impact, taking into account the moderating effect of professional associations. The results indicate that individual impact is a mediator between supervisors' PC/OCBs and organizational impact. Meanwhile, professional associations play a moderating role in the relationship between supervisors' PC and organizational impact. Findings provide the basis for a humanistic management strategy for social work agencies that focuses on the individual impact of key people to maximize organizational impact. Moreover, professional associations should strengthen the link between individual impact and organizational impact.

Creating the conditions for collective curiosity and containment: insights from developing and delivering reflective groups with social work supervisors

ABSTRACT In this article, we share our reflections and insights from developing and facilitating small group reflective practice spaces over the last 3 years as part of a government-funded professional development programme for statutory children and families social work supervisors and their managers. Based on formal programme feedback and communication with facilitators and participants, there is clear evidence that participants have valued the space to reflect with peers on the diverse dilemmas they face in their role. We begin by setting the context for including small group spaces in the programme, and outline the theoretical and research frameworks underpinning our approach. Drawing from the sources of evidence outlined above, we explore three key thematic reflections: creating conditions for successful reflective groups; understanding roles and functions within the groups and reflecting on group processes. We conclude the paper by highlighting our learning from both in-person and virtual modes of delivery.

The importance of reflective social work practice in a traumatised country like South Africa

ABSTRACT South Africa is a particularly traumatised country that has been characterised and experienced excessive amounts of violence, discrimination and social division. Against this backdrop, South African social workers have a fundamental role to fulfil through their contributions to the healing of the country as they advocate for social justice, reconciliation and equality. Yet these contributions often come at a cost, working with traumatised clients and communities frequently results in social workers being exposed to emotionally intensive and disturbing experiences of their clients and communities. While there are numerous strategies to employ in order to ameliorate the effects of vicarious trauma, reflective social work practice is essential. This paper explores how reflective practice is a crucial approach to practice for social workers who are working with traumatised populations utilising a case vignette to illustrate this process. The role of social work educators and supervisors in this regard is also highlighted.

Supervision of supervisory practice: From idea to practice

Little is known about how social work supervisors can be equipped and supported. A qualitative evaluation of a supervision of supervisory practice (SOSp) training programme with nine supervisors with 2 years of experience was done. Benefits for the supervisors were the application of knowledge and skills that improved the supervisory practice, and the opportunity to receive feedback. However, lack of time was a major obstacle for quality supervision. Supervisees reported experiencing a more collaborative supervision and an increase in confidence and perception of competence in case management. This exploratory study highlights the importance of developing competencies in the education and support functions of supervision.

NASW’s Supervisory Leaders in Aging: one-year practice change outcomes of an innovative training program for social work supervisors

ABSTRACT Social work supervision addresses professional development, staff support, and management of direct service workers. It is important in aging-services settings because of the impacts of complex and evolving biopsychosocial forces in clients’ lives. This article presents findings of the Supervisory Leaders in Aging (SLA) study based on data available one-year post completion. SLA is a 30-hour certificate program for supervisors from aging-services settings addressing best practices in supervision of gerontological practice. The study compares participants’ self-assessment of use of supervisory best practices before attending a 3-month workshop series and at two times following graduation. This article reports findings from the analysis of data provided by 114 out of 129 supervisors who completed the program. Participants increased the frequency of use of best practices at both three and 12 months after graduation. These increases were conceptually meaningful and statistically significant among participants who were low users of best practices prior to the program. SLA has led to significant adoption and maintenance of supervisory best practices among participating social work supervisors and especially among those who have not previously adopted routine use of best practices. The interactive small-group learning activities of SLA’s educational model should be promoted and the curriculum of best practices should be further refined and tested as SLA is implemented in other communities.

Exploring the Use of Power of Social Work Supervisors in Chinese Culture

When Chinese social workers face ethical dilemmas, responsibilities, and obligations conflict, how to make ethical decisions. The aims of this study include demonstrating the ethical dilemma that social workers and resource master confront when they collaborate in Chinese culture. It uses Reamer's ethical decision-making model to explore the ethical decision-making process of Chinese social workers and discuss social workers' ethical choices about whistle-blowing and human relationships. This paper applies the case of social work services for the disabled in Taiwan to analyze and research. The conclusions of this paper are the ethical value judgment and decision-making of social workers; the process of whistle-blowing, and the moral courage and practice of social workers. It is hoped that the discussion in this paper will provide a reference for the ethical decision-making of social workers in the Chinese mainland.

Development and validation of a measure of supervisory best practices in gerontological social work

Agency-based supervision is essential to skilled practice and staff retention, directly impacting the quality of services. The Supervisory Leaders in Aging (SLA) program was designed to strengthen supervision of the aging services workforce. SLA was implemented in four states and trained 134 social work supervisors. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel, comprehensive, and practice-informed measure of supervisory best-practices in gerontological social services. The primary outcome for the SLA program was the Practice Inventory for Supervision in Aging Services (PISAS), which evaluated the frequency of recent use of best practices as identified by the project team and vetted by instructors and an interdisciplinary advisory board. Reliability and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine its psychometric properties. Findings demonstrated the scale had good internal consistency reliability (ɑ = 0.88). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated a three-factor solution, 1) Gerontological Social Work Skills, 2) Program Development Skills, and 3) Supervision and Leadership Skills, accounting for 72% of the variability in the 27 items. Gerontological Social Work Skills captured best practices regarding mental health in late life, heightening awareness of elder abuse, and working with families. Program Development Skills captured assessment, measuring outcomes, and translating evidence into practice. Supervision and Leadership Skills captured individual supervision, group supervision and leadership in interdisciplinary practice. Results indicated that PISAS is a reliable and valid measure of use of best practices in gerontological social work supervision. Further implications and limitations of this measure in assessing outcomes of gerontological education and training programs are discussed.

Hungarian Social Caregivers’ Challenges in Providing Home Care to Older Adults with Cancer

ABSTRACT In Hungary, as in most other countries, faces an aging population. Chronic illnesses, including cancer, among older adults often require assistance from family and formal caregivers. This study’s objective was to understand Hungarian social (formal) caregivers’ challenges providing care in the home for older adults diagnosed with cancer. A focus group design explored the experiences of 28 Hungarian social caregivers and 6 social work supervisors who work for county agencies responsible for formal caregiving services to older adults. The data reveal that the older adults often developed dependence on these caregivers for physical (personal), health-related, and “emotional” care. Caregivers also related difficult interactions with health providers and observation of ethical problems (autonomy, truth-telling, and justice). The complex nature of providing social care for Hungarian older adults with serious illness calls for policies that set increased requirements of educational competence and training.

Field Placement Termination During COVID 19: Lessons on Forced Termination, Parallel Process, and Shared Trauma

ABSTRACT COVID-19 has created a less-than-ideal environment for social work education and practice, especially for student interns trying their best to navigate the ups and downs of the forced termination process. Supporting students in meeting this challenge during an era marked by shifting routines, revised learning plans, altered work environments, and increased collective stress is a daunting task for social work supervisors, agencies, faculty, and university administrators. This article offers a literature review on the following concepts: forced termination, parallel process, and shared trauma. These concepts are then used as analytic tools for understanding the potential effects of COVID-19 on the experiences of student interns navigating the forced termination process. A student case example is presented and analyzed, as is the faculty liaison’s response. Insights and considerations for managing forced termination during the pandemic are offered.

An Off-Site Supervision Model of Field Education Practice: Innovating While Remaining Rigorous in a Shifting Field Education Context

ABSTRACT Traditional approaches to social work field education are being tested due to increasing enrolments, increased competition for placements and reduced availability of social work supervisors. This article presents research findings of one Victorian University's off-site supervision (OSS) model, which examined the experiences of students, off-site supervisors, task supervisors (TS), and the University Field Education (FE) team. Three themes were identified: the benefits, challenges, and opportunities for the development of the OSS model. Nearly all student participants reported good to excellent OSS experiences, could see the merits in external group supervision, and reported having a good placement. However, there is still a perception among students that on-site supervision is preferred over OSS despite many not having experience of the former. IMPLICATIONS The research results suggest greater valuing of the OSS model within The Australian Social Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS). Adequate resources, role clarity, alignment of off-site supervisors with placement context, and effective communication processes are required for off-site supervisors to provide quality placement opportunities. Further research involving stakeholders experienced in both on-site supervision and OSS models is needed into the benefits and limitations of both approaches.