Functions Of Social Work Supervision And Expectations Of Supervision

Educational function of social work supervision

Question:

Discuss about the Professional Practice for Education and Administrative.

Supervision is a crucial component of the reflective practice together with an important part of the social work. Within the theoretical progression of the social work supervision there have been distinction of the numerous functions of supervision (Carpenter, Webb, Bostock & Coomber, 2017). The functions which are observed and even reviewed are associated with the tasks of supervisor. The quality of the social work supervision is key to the improvement as well as the upkeep of the high standards of the social work practices (Carpenter, Webb, Bostock & Coomber, 2017). The primary intent behind the professional supervision have been to aid competent, independent practice and it will not perpetuate dependency. In this task it will examine on the main function of supervision based on my understanding of the reflective process in supervision.

The social work supervision encompasses on the following functions; education, administrative, as well as the motivational functions.

The educational feature of the social work supervision is related to the education of the social worker which he needs to understand to perform his job and assist in learning it (Davys & Beddoe, 2010). Educational supervision is more focused on teaching the knowledge, competencies in addition to attitudes which are essential to functionality of the social wok tasks through the detailed evaluation of the social workers interaction with client.
The educational function of the social work supervision could possibly be thought to be the practice by which the social worker is competed in order to implement their responsibilities as the social worker correctly (Payne, 2015). By means of the education means of the supervision the social worker is competed in the capabilities as well as the knowledge which he need so as to accomplish more effective interaction with the customers (Kadushin & Harkness, 2014). Educational supervision is the major component when it comes to the professional development of a given worker. The aspect of communication could be viewed as the prospective vehicle to which creating the knowledge source of the social work profession, by conceptualization of the practices of the social worker (Kadushin & Harkness, 2014). This supervision function is aligned on the development theory of supervision, which is on the notion that the individuals are continuously growing. When individuals combine their experiences with the hereditary predispositions they tend to develop strengths as well as development areas. The objective of supervision from this kind of perspective would be to improve along with recognize growth that is required for future.

Administrative function of social work supervision

This could be regarded as the process of getting the work done and maintaining the control of the organization as well as its accountability. When it comes to implementing of the administrative function of supervision, the supervisors usually organizes the work place as well as the organizational together with human resources so as to attain the administrative aims based on the policies and practices of the organization (Payne, 2015). The functions of the supervisor could entail activities such as orientating, planning, delegating, allocating as well as evaluating. These activities usually takes place within the framework of the relationship between the supervisor and social worker along with the relationship between the supervisor and the management of the organization (Payne, 2015). The Kadushin’s model has been helpful in examining on this function by highlighting how the supervisors could promote and retain the high-quality standards of work, organize on the practice with the policies of the administration, and the guarantee of economical and smooth functioning of the workplace.

Motivation is the essential part of the social work supervision. The supervisor needs to encourage as well as activate the social worker to be able to perform effective together with an efficient services to the clients (Payne, 2015). It is significant for the supervisor to have the knowledge of various theories of motivation that are known in the literature. One of the theories which the supervisor ought to have knowledge with are the physiological (Hawkins & Shohet, 2000). The central feature as well as strength of these theories is to identify the basic motivational impact to each individual. It is important to understand that the behavior of all the human beings are usually impacted by the existence of the basic needs so they are determined more to gratify their natural or perhaps their physiological needs (Payne, 2015). The social worker behavior will need to be influenced by various factors and the supervisor should identify them. The supervisors should also relates to the cognitive theories in order to identify the significance of the conscious along with the rational decision making which is the major factor that influence on the behavior of the social workers.

There are various expectations as a student I would like to negotiate with the supervisor when I go for a placement. One would be on the aspect of promoting of the morale. This entails the actions which the supervisor in promoting the positive moral and the job satisfaction. As the supervisor I would like him to provide conductive environment where I can work; this would be through forwarding my grievances as soon as they arise to the relevant department as well as supporting and encouraging me while I work to effectively perform. I would also want that if he could promote cultural supervision aspect. This is all about the cultural accountability as well as cultural development (Beinart, 2014). As a supervisor it is important to ensure that the aspirations of all the cultures are respected as well as explored within the supervisory relationship. It is important for the supervisor to ensure that the services are delivered through culturally responsive, effective as well as practices which are accepted.  I would expect the supervisor would follow the cultural rituals of engagement and encounter, along with affirming the cultural roles and responsibilities (Beinart, 2014). Another expectation which I would negotiate with the supervisor is the continual learning aspect. This would enable me to increase on the contribution to the company through learning new skills so as to improve the job related knowledge, skills as well as personal adjustment (Tangen & Borders, 2016). The supervisor may offer support and offer a suggestion to the management that will offer the learning platform and support. Moreover, the supervisor could also guide me since am new in the organization and become my mentor so that I could learn on various aspect to gain experienced in the duties assigned.

Motivational function of social work supervision

There are various factors which will contribute to good supervisory relationship. One of the aspect is the continuous feedback. The component of supervision is significant in the sense that the supervisor providing feedback to the workers which is needed to better on their performance. When the supervisor provides feedback to the employees they will get motivated towards their working performance. Another factor is suitable incentives and environment (Tangen & Borders, 2016). The efficiency as well as the capability of an employees could decrease if they are not inspired and encouraged. Through effective supervision, the supervisor could offer incentives and create a work environment that is conducive (Pyhältö, Vekkaila & Keskinen, 2015). Another factor is through regular monitoring. This enable the supervisor to evaluate on the performance of the subordinates. This is an important part of supervision since the workers are evaluated and a definite motivating method could be applied (Cliffe, Beinart & Cooper, 2016). Nonetheless, there are various skills and knowledge I intend to develop so as to become an effective social practitioner (van, Gulikers, Biemans & Mulder, 2017). One of the aspect is the communication skills. Having an effective communication is significant so as to perform on the duties more effectively especially when dealing with the client. Additionally, it is important to develop skills in the human relations (van, Gulikers, Biemans & Mulder, 2017). It is important to establish and adopt employee centered approach as the supervisor rather than work centered approach. It is important to always treat the subordinates and the workers as human being along with encouraging them positively (Holloway, 2016). Additionally, I intends to gain the aspect of impartiality when I intends to be open minded and fair when dealing with the day to day issues of the work group.

The following highlights an example of a professional feedback I received from my supervisor for missing numerous teams meetings which we usually hold every week on Friday so as to discuss the target we have achieved and new ideas on the way forward (Tangen & Borders, 2016).

“I noticed that you have not shown up for the last two team meetings. I am worried that you missed some significant information. Can we meet so as to discuss what you missed?” This feedback clearly highlights that he focused on the behavior rather than me (Brookhart, 2017).

On my response towards the supervisor I highlighted the following in our discussion. “I did not miss the meeting because I had clients who had asked we discussed on the funding on the project they were undertaking. They wanted to know about the facility we were offering and I had to go to their place of work so as to close on the deals.”

Components of constructive feedback

1. Focus on the description rather than on the judgment. Highlighting on the behavior is a way to report what has taken place, while judging behavior is the aspect of evaluation of what has taken place whether it is right or bad ( Kleijn, Meijer, Brekelmans & Pilot, 2015). When one avoid evaluation language, there is reduction of personal response defensively (Tangen & Borders, 2016).
2. Focus on the observation rather than interference: observation highlights what one can see or even hear in regards to individual behavior while interferences highlights the assumptions as well as interpretations one makes from what they see or hear (Holloway, 2016). It is important to focus on what the person did and one’s reaction (Beinart, 2014).
3. Focus on the behavior rather than the person. Entails what an individual does rather than what one imagine.
4. Provide a balance of the positive as well as negative feedback: When one consistently provide positive or even negative feedback, individuals will distrust the feedback and it will become useless.
5. It is important to be aware of the overload feedback: it is important for one to select two or three very important point which one want to make and offer feedback in regards to those points (Beinart, 2014). When one is overloaded with the feedback, they will get confused about what needs to be improved or even changed.

Conclusion

In this research, it has highlighted on the development of a good supervisory practice especially on a practical perspective of a student. It has examined on various tasks such as the main function of supervision in social practice, specific expectations of supervision and the supervisory relationship, and factors contributing to good supervisory relationship. Additionally, it has examined the components of constructive feedback.

References

Beinart, H. (2014). Building and sustaining the supervisory relationship. The Wiley international   handbook of clinical supervision, 255-281. 

Brookhart, S. M. (2017). How to give effective feedback to your students. ASCD. 

Carpenter, J., Webb, C., Bostock, L., & Coomber, C. (2017). Effective supervision in social work and social care. Health. 

Cliffe, T., Beinart, H., & Cooper, M. (2016). Development and validation of a short version of the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 23(1), 77-86. 

Davys, A. & Beddoe, L.(2010).  Best practice in Professional Supervision; A guide for the Helping Professions. london; Jessica Kingsley. 

de Kleijn, R. A., Meijer, P. C., Brekelmans, M., & Pilot, A. (2015). Adaptive research supervision: exploring expert thesis supervisors' practical knowledge. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(1), 117-130. 

Hawkins, P., & Shohet, R. (2000). Supervision in the Helping Professions ( 2 ed.). Buckingham & Philadelphia: Open University Press. 

Holloway, E. L. (2016). Supervision essentials for a systems approach to supervision. Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. 

Kadushin, A., & Harkness, D. (2014). Supervision in social work. Columbia University Press. 

 Payne, M. (2015). Modern social work theory. Oxford University Press.

Pyhältö, K., Vekkaila, J., & Keskinen, J. (2015). Fit matters in the supervisory relationship: doctoral students and supervisors perceptions about the supervisory activities. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 52(1), 4-16. 

Tangen, J. L., & Borders, D. (2016). The supervisory relationship: A conceptual and  psychometric review of measures. Counselor Education and Supervision, 55(3), 159-181. 

van Ginkel, S., Gulikers, J., Biemans, H., & Mulder, M. (2017). The impact of the feedback source on developing oral presentation competence. Studies in Higher Education, 42(9), 1671-1685.