Evaluating social work supervision

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The question of whether the practice of professional supervision is effective, and how its effectiveness can be measured, has been debated by both social work and other professions. This study explored how practitioners, supervisors and managers in Aotearoa New Zealand currently evaluate the supervision they receive, provide and/or resource. The study was interprofessional involving counsellors, mental health nurses, psychologists and social workers. This article focuses on the findings from the social work cohort.METHODS: Through an on-line Qualtrics survey participants were asked: 1) how they currently evaluated professional/clinical supervision; and 2) how they thought professional/clinical supervision could be evaluated. Data were extracted through the Qualtrics reporting functions and thematic analysis was used to identify themes. A total of 329 participants completed the survey of which 145 (44%) were social workers. FINDINGS: A majority of the social work participants reported that they evaluated supervision in some form. No culture or policy emerged regarding supervision evaluation, but social workers expressed interest in training and resources to assist evaluation and some saw a supportive and endorsement role for the professional or regulatory bodies. An unexpected finding was reports of unsatisfactory and harmful supervision.CONCLUSION: Evaluation of supervision is an activity with which social workers engage, but further research is needed to explore how evaluation can be embedded in supervision practice. More critically, a broader audit is required to reconsider the definition and model of social work supervision in Aotearoa New Zealand and the environments within which supervision occurs.

The supervision of registered social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand: A national survey

“…When analysed by frequency, 84.2% of 273 registered social workers' evaluations occurred within their sessions to some extent, and, for 39.2%, this occurred a lot or almost always. This finding differed from that of Davys, May, Burns, & O'Connell (2017) who reported that 27% of the supervisees in their study reported evaluating on a session-bysession basis. The reasons for this difference may be due to the differences in the samples and how the questions were framed.…”

Registered social workers who are supervisors: A national survey

“…When analysed by frequency, evaluation occurred within their sessions to some extent for 96.2 % of 135 supervisors, and it occurred a lot, or almost always, for 52.6%. This differed from that of Davys et al (2017) who noted that 36.7% of the supervisors in their study reported evaluating on a session-by-session basis.…”

“…While principle ten, concerning keeping accurate records and using technology effectively, requires supervisors in principle 10.8 to adhere "to the standards that apply in face to face practice" (SWRB, 2016, p. 26 In Aotearoa New Zealand, an extensive social work supervision literature base has been established over the past 20 years which provides supervisors with practice wisdom, theory and research (Beddoe, 2016;O'Donoghue, 2018;O'Donoghue & Tsui, 2012). The research details the views of social workers and supervisors about what is good and best about their supervision (Davys, 2002;O'Donoghue, 2010;O'Donoghue, Munford, & Trlin, 2006), how to improve their supervision (O'Donoghue, 2008(O'Donoghue, , 2010, how evaluation occurs (Davys, May, Burns, & O'Connell, 2017), the influence of culture and cultural approaches (Eketone, 2012;O'Donoghue, 2010), Māori approaches (Eruera, 2005;Murray, 2017), inter-professional and crossdisciplinary supervision (Beddoe & Howard, 2012;Howard, Beddoe, & Mowjood, 2013;Hutchings, Cooper, & O'Donoghue, 2014), reflective supervision in communitybased child welfare (Rankine, 2017), the recording of supervision (Gillanders, 2009), strength-based supervision (Thomas, 2005), and spirituality within supervision (Simmons, 2006). To date, there has not been a national survey that has specifically explored the backgrounds, experiences and views of registered social workers who are supervisors.…”

Social work supervision in child and family services: Developing a working theory of how and why it works

“…Bostock's work has been instrumental in helping to identify key components in the relationship between certain forms of group systemic supervision and the practice skills demonstrated by workers (Bostock, Forrester, Patrizo, Godfrey, & Zonouzi, 2017;Bostock, Patrizo, Godfrey, Munro, & Forrester, 2019). Davys, May, Burns, and O'Connell (2017) have also looked at how supervision is evaluated in practice by supervisors and supervisees in Aotearoa New Zealand. Research from America has helped identify how supervision can improve workers' knowledge of theory and practice models (Smith et al, 2007) and self-efficacy (Collins-Camargo & Royse, 2010), as well as influencing job satisfaction and retention rates (Mor Barak, Travis, Pyun, & Xie, 2009).…”