Supervision in Social Work

SUPERVISION IN
SOCIAL WORK
Jessa M. Alibutdan
07 May 2024
1
UNIT III
In its continuous search for sounder
concepts and better techniques, social work as a
profession has placed a special emphasis on
supervision, for the supervisor has always
occupied a central position in social work
education and practice.
1
SUPERVISION
A large proportion of the instruction and
helping ins SW training as well as practice is
carried out in supervision.
In SW, mastery of professional practice
requires a continuous period of learning and
doing.
1
SUPERVISION
As an arm of administration, supervision
affords a crucial venue for communication and
staff interaction at all levels that are essential
to the effective functioning of an agency.
The supervisor carries the administrative
responsibly of seeing to it that this is
accomplished.
1
SUPERVISION
The history of supervision goes back to the very
beginning of social work as a profession and is
inextricably bound up with its development.
While supervision started off as an administrative
activity, soon supervisors recognized the
importance of its teaching and enabling functions
and henceforth included them as part of their tasks.
1
SUPERVISION
Thus, supervisors not only directed the work of
students or staff; they taught students and workers
ways of helping people based on their own
experiences.
1
SUPERVISION
Supervision- is a dynamic enabling process by which
individual workers who have a direct responsibility for
carrying out some of the agency’s program plans are
helped by a designated staff member to make the best
use of their ability so that theycan do their job more
effectively and with increasing satisfaction to
themselves and to the agency.
1
SUPERVISION
Charlotte Towle defines supervision as “an
administrative process in the conduct of which
staff development is a major concern. In this
process, the supervisor has three functions:
administrative, teaching and helping.”
1
SUPERVISION
The 1965 edition of the American Encyclopedia of
Social Work defines supervision as a “traditional
method of transmitting knowledge of SW skills in
practice from trained to the untrained, from the
experienced to the inexperienced student and worker.”
1
SUPERVISION
On the other hand, the 1971 edition of the
Encyclopedia defines supervision in social work as
“essentially an administrative process for getting the
work done and maintain organizational accountability.”
1
SUPERVISION
However, Alfred Kadushin contends that these
definitions are incorrect as they include only some
aspects of supervision.
He further clarifies that more often than not, the

definitions would only show the administrative and
educational components in the functions of
supervision.
1
SUPERVISION
There is an additional responsibility which he feels has
to be included in this definition and that is the
“expressive- supportive- leadership” function of
supervision.
He thus defines, supervisor as “an agency
administrative staff member to whom authority is
delegated to direct, coordinate, enhance and evaluate
the on the job performance of the supervisees for
whose work is accountable.”
1
SUPERVISION
In implementing this responsibility, the supervisor
performs administrative, educational and
supportive functions in interaction with the
supervisees in the context of a positive
relationship.
The ultimate objective of supervision is to DELIVER
TO AGENCY CLIENTS THE BEST POSSIBLE SERV ICE,
BOTH QUANTITATIVELY AND QUALITATIVELY. in
1
SUPERVISION
Kadushin, therefore, concludes that supervisors
perform indirect service to the clients.
1
OBJECTIVES OF SUPERVISION
The ultimate objective of supervision is to
implement agency purposes and plans, and to
continually deepen the quality of the service
through which the agency expresses its purpose.
1
ASSUMPTIONS OF SUPERVISION
Like all SW methods, supervision is founded upon
some basic assumption which serve as the
guideposts of operation of the supervisory process
and are indispensable to the attainment of its
goals.
These provide the framework of the system of
supervision in the Philippines.
One must know these underlying assumptions to be
able to supervise.
1
1. Supervision aims towards the agency’s control over
services and practice.
a. It always involves intellectual teaching.
b. All supervision has a psychological component,
which includes emotional support, power or use of
authority, and self- actualization.
1
2. Recognizes the fact that supervision is essentially a
function of administrative leadership which is aimed at:
a.Accomplishment of the administrative goals of the
agency rather than therapeutic goals for supervisees;
b. Fusion of administrative and teaching activities
on one dynamic process; and
c. Judicious use of administrative power and
authority.
1
3. Stresses the supervisory process as a learning process
when:
a.There is acceptance of the learner;
b.There is an orderly process of integration of materials
from simple to complex;
c. There is giving of specific knowledge to ease anxiety; and
d. Social Work supervision requires basic knowledge in the
social work methods through formal graduate training in SW.
1
THE SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP
Supervision entails the face to face meeting of 2 or
more persons- the supervisor and supervisees.
This meeting leads to the supervisory relationship.
1
THE SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP
This relationship is:
1. A relationship of 2 or more people working together
not to meet each other’s personal needs, but to
administer effective agency services to clients.
2. An interdependent relationship, with both parties
having corresponding responsibilities.
3. A professional, not social relationship.
THANK YOU

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SUPERVISION IN

He further clarifies that more often than not, the

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