The historical development of knowledge in social work supervision: Finding new directions from the past

Abstract

This article draws on research studies and journal articles to examine the historical development of knowledge in social work supervision. The findings highlight the process and details involved in supervision. In addition, organizational culture, empirical studies, cumulative knowledge, and contextual environment are of critical importance to the formation. In the future, supervisory practice will need to take account of the balance of administrative and educational functions of supervision, to create more opportunities for professional autonomy, and the demands of implementing evidence-based supervisory practice.

An ally or an enemy? Developing a trusting relationship between supervisor and supervisee

“…In the initial stages of professional social work, the supervisory relationship was conceptualised in a manner similar to a teacher-student relationship or the masterapprentice model, and the supervisor was regarded as a respected and reliable source of knowledge and skills, professional authority and social status (Mo et al, 2020). This teacher-student approach was later superseded through the work of scholars such as Shulman (2010) and Kaiser (1997).…”

“…Similarly, Shulman (2010) identified a parallel process whereby the way in which supervisors related to practitioners tended to have an impact on the way social workers related to their clients. Thus, the rise of social constructionist theories in the early 21 st century placed greater emphasis on supervisor-supervisee interactions and how they constructed their reality within a supervisory relationship (Mo et al, 2020).…”

“…Yet the issue of supportive supervision is largely absent in the literature. For example, a recent study posits that supervisory practices need to consider a balance between the administrative and educational functions of supervision to create more opportunities for the development of professional autonomy (Mo et al, 2020). But what about the supportive function?…”

“…Mamaleka (2018) advocates for collaborative supervision, while Ncube (2019) proposes that social work supervision should be guided by a social development approach to service delivery. Different from the more traditional approaches that pitch supervisors and supervisees in different "camps", contemporary views foreground the centrality of the supervisory relationship in social work supervision (Mo, O'Donoghue, Wong & Tsui, 2020). This chapter thus focuses on the supervisory relationship as one of the determinants of supervision.…”

Türkiye’de Çalışan Sosyal Hizmet Uzmanlarının Süpervizyon İhtiyaçlarının Değerlendirilmesi: Keşfedici Nitel Bir Çalışma

“…The COSs have published a guide for the case assessments and have developed a supervision system. This way, it provided knowledge and skills training for the case studies (Munson, 1978;Mo et al, 2020).…”