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.

Supervision of Chinese social work students during field practice: Harmonising a student-focused, egalitarian approach with traditional teaching and learning

“…In An et al's (2017) study, although students desired a collaborative and supportive relationship with their supervisors, supervisors appeared to be either unable or unwilling to adopt a collaborative approach. Students were reported as using various descriptors for their relationship with their supervisor: these included teacher, life coach, mentor, counsellor, supporter, mediator and friend (Mo, 2016;Mo and O'Donoghue, 2019).…”

“…This difficulty, viewed from both student and supervisor perspectives, may be a distinctive feature of social work education in China, where a significant number of students on a social work programme may initially have little commitment to a career in social work (Gallagher et al, 2019). The need to provide both emotional support and practical advice to aid students' professional development has been voiced in previous studies by both supervisors (Mo and O'Donoghue, 2019) and students (Chen et al, 2018). A commitment to a social work career may develop through exposure to social work practice during the BUIBRI training programme, a model shared by supervisors during their training, which they found helpful.…”

“…Only one study examined agency supervisors’ experiences (An et al, 2017). Other studies reported perspectives of external supervisors from Hong Kong who provided supervisory support for qualified social workers (Hung et al, 2010; Mo, 2016; Mo and O’Donoghue, 2019).…”

“…Supervision was valued by students for the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, to consider how to work effectively with service users using various theoretical lenses and ethical frameworks. There was support for the idea that supervisors should encourage students to write reflective diaries about their practice (Hung et al, 2010; Mo and O’Donoghue, 2019) to facilitate critical examination of personal beliefs, social work values and application of skills. Students appreciated more guidance from supervisors to help them develop critical reflective thinking for further professional development (An et al, 2017), which in turn facilitates defensible decision-making about the work they undertake with service users.…”

The internal/external debate: The tensions within social work supervision

“…Mo and Tsui (2018) also highlighted the relevance of the socio-political context in Shenzhen, China influencing external supervision arrangements. An external supervision initiative was developed by Hong Kong supervisors in order to develop professional capability and capacity of social workers (Mo & O'Donoghue, 2018). External supervision had important implications in this environment for reflective, developmental, educational and contextual awareness for social workers in organisations.…”