SUPERVISION

A process where it enables individual workers who have a direct responsibility

carrying out some of agencies program plans are helped by a designated staff members
to make use of their ability so that they can do their job more effectively with increasing
satisfaction.

According to Charlotte Towle supervision as “an administrative process in the

conduct of which staff development is a major concern. which in this process, the
supervisor has three functions: Administrative, teaching, and helping.”

The 1965 edition of the America Encyclopedia of Social Work defines supervision
as a “Traditional method of transmitting knowledge of social work skills in practice from
the trained to the untrained, from the experienced to the inexperienced student and
worker.

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 organization accountability”.

Alfred Kadushin argues that the current definitions of supervision are incorrect
and requires an additional "expressive-supportive-leadership" function. He defines
supervision as an agency administrative staff member tasked with directing,
coordinating, enhancing, and evaluating supervisees' performance. Supervisors perform
administrative, educational, and supportive functions in a positive relationship with
supervisees, aiming to deliver the best possible services to clients in accordance with
agency policies and procedures.

OBJECTIVES

To implement agency purposes and plans, and to continually deepen the quality
of the services through which the agency expresses its purpose.
 Through sensitive guidance and practical help geared to the known requirements
of jobs and needs of workers handling them, their efforts become progressively more
and more effective.

ASSUMPTIONS

1. Supervision aims towards the agency’s control over services and practice.

a. Supervision always involves intellectual teaching.

b. All supervision has a psychological component, which includes emotional

support, power or use of authority, and self-actualization.

2. Recognizes the fact that supervision is essentially a function of administrative

leadership which aimed at:

a. accomplishment of agency goals rather than therapeutic goals for supervisees;

b. fusion of administrative and teaching activities in one dynamic process; and

c. judicious use of administrative power and authority.

3. Stress 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 social work.

THE SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP

Supervision entails the face-to-face meeting of two or more persons the one who
supervises and the supervisees. This leads to supervisory relationship this are:
 1. To administer effective agency services to clients.

2. an interdependence relationship, with both parties having corresponding

responsibilities.

3. To help workers learn how to give services effectively and to further the
professional growth of each other including the supervisor by enhancing social
work skills, as well as trying to discover newer and more effective ways of
working with people.

Thus, establishing positive relationships between the supervisor and the

supervisee is highly essential in transmitting knowledge and skills.

IMPORTANCE AND ORIGIN

From the time of its origin, the value of staff development and the essential role
of the supervisor. Supervision was considered a means of transmitting knowledge to
attain and maintain a certain quality of service. When casework began to evolve as a
definition method, from the outset supervision was seen as a specific process to be
performed with deliberation where one is expected to possess certain knowledge on
supervisory techniques. Psychotherapy and casework were later differentiated,
practitioners and educators started to look at supervision as a method with skills like,
but still distinct from, casework. It then became clear that the supervisor could not and
should not take on the role of general therapist to the worker; although both can
practice.

DISTINCTIVE CHARCATERISTICS OF SOCIAL WORK

Following are some of distinctive characteristics of the profession that lent to the
significance of the social work supervision:

• Social work is organizationally based, emphasizing the need for supervision.

• The profession recognizes the importance of supervisory structure and control in an
efficient administrative setup.

• The need for supervisory apparatus in welfare agencies is heightened due to public
funding pressures for accountability.

• Social workers' service delivery involves addressing societal values and ideological
commitments in sensitive areas, necessitating external control of agency policies and
internal agency control of worker autonomy.

• Social workers often face personal challenges, such as conflict, illness, death, and
dependency, which require support and encouragement.

• Uncertainty and high risk of failure in social work conditions necessitate the availability
of an administrative representative for support and decision-making.

• Social work activity outcomes are not self-evident or observable, necessitating review
of worker activity for protection.

• The agency provides workers with their clientele and clients are the agencies
'captivates'.

Social Work Organizational Controls and Challenges

• Social work lacks effective professional organizational controls, leading to expulsion

from practice.

• Despite numerous professional organizations like PASWI and NAASWI, their ability to
ensure conduct and competence is limited.

• Limited knowledge and technology for fully trained workers results in insufficient
confidence in operating.

• Workers need to share decisional responsibility with supervisors, leading to less

resistance to supervisory structures.

TEACHING FUNCTIONS
 Supervisors help workers and students learn essential skills for effective
assignment completion. They share knowledge, stimulate thinking, and encourage
conscious thinking. Supervisors also provide opportunities for workers to discuss their
work, evaluate it, and learn helping skills. They teach content related to people,
problems, processes, and job-related aspects. The primary method for teaching
supervision is regular individual or group supervisory conferences, where both
supervisors and supervisees engage in critical analysis of each other's work.

Carrying Out Teaching Functions

1. Planning – plan to work experience for a supervisee which will give him the
opportunity to learn and to progress as a worker.

2. Providing a climate for learning – teaches sensitivity to the needs of the worker
at both the intellectual and feeling level which will enable the worker to integrate feeling
and intellectual functioning in the practice of social work.

Hereunder are some points for effective teaching:

1. Start with a familiar and move to the unfamiliar.

2. Start with the simple and move on the complex.

3. Learning should be done in an orderly progression.

4. Repetition reinforce learning.

5. learning by doing increase motivation and provides opportunities for the correction of
misunderstood principles or theories.

6. Recognition of good work stimulates further learning.

Alfred Kadushin identified the following conditions which are necessary to insure
effective learning in the context of a positive relationship.

People learn best if:

1. they are highly motivated to learn.

2. they can devote most of their energies to learning.

3. learning is attended by positive satisfaction.

4. the learners are actively involved in the learning process.

6. the uniqueness of the learner is considered.

Helping Functions

The helping function of the supervisor is done by:

1. supporting and sustaining the worker through stressful situations.

2. providing a positive climate for learning.

3. managing the supervisory relationship in a helping way.

4. making sure of what he knows about people and their behavior in working with
others.

5. helping workers to identify and modify feelings and other obstacles which are
impeding their progress.

6. helping supervisee deal with job-related stress.

7. develop attitudes and feeling in the workers which are conducted to job performance.

Types of Supervision

1. Tutorial Model- it consists of a supervisor and a supervisee in a one-to-one

relationship. This is to guide the supervisees in their initial and inexperienced
translations of theory into practice. Problems and other difficulties encountered by the
supervisee during work are discussed during individual supervision. E.g. one hour a
week.

2. Group Supervision- there is a designated supervisor and a group of supervisees. This

model is practiced by agencies which lack the necessary number of trained supervisors
to handle the supervision. For group to be effective it should be done in homogeneous
group where the share similar level or facility of communication. Cases are discussed
both to provide direct help to the worker involved and to serve as a springboard for the
discussions.

3. Case Consultation-
Section 6 Supervision of Paraprofessionals

The increasingly growing complexity of modern life and the presence of a great disparity of
wealth distribution bringungen life and thread poverty al over the numbers increased greatly
ringing about widespread pove The limited number of qualified social work pracund for social se
it difficult. if not for them to cope with the demands of their broadened esponsibilities in the
delivery of the required social services. Over the past years, therefore, all over the world, there
is growing recognition that there sa shortage of trained social work personnel to adequately and
effectively respond to the increasing demands for their services. This situation brought sbout
the emergence of aides or assistants who work with trained social workers. These belong to a
new type of workers called "paraprofessionals", an umbrella term which includes all those who
assist the worker in certain social work activities.

Definition

Sylvia P. Montes defines the paraprofessional in the context of the social welfare as "a person
who is highly motivated and committed to share his/ her knowledge, skills and service to
selected individuals, specific groups in a given place or a community for humanitarian cause and
civic efficiency."

On the other hand, Evelina A. Pangalangan defines the paraprofessional as "the worker assisting
the social work staff in direct service functions under the supervision of the professionally
trained worker. He/she may be a community leader or volunteer, a graduate of a certificate
course in community work, or a professional of another discipline, who works alongside 4
trained social worker under the latter's direction and supervision."
Another aspect of a paraprofessional is a development worker who does not have formal
education in social work or community development but who performs a multitude of activities
- assisting, supporting, and facilitating the lanctions of professional workers.

Types of Paraprofessionals

In practice, paraprofessionals are divided into two types:

1. The college graduates of allied disciplines or social sciences who occupy the positions of
welfare aides in public agencies. When they do not practice their disciplines but assist in social
work activities, they fall into the category of paraprofessionals.

2. The community workers, indigenous members of the community, auxiliary workers,

residential aides without college degrees who have been co-opted to participate in the delivery
of social services. They may or may not have taken non-degree training courses for community
workers.

Functions

Paraprofessionals in the social work discipline have these functions:

1. Serve as bridge, a human link between the agency and the community or individuals needing
its services

2. Assist in filling up forms, distribute aid, make home visits, conduct surveys, compute data,
develop simple reports, maintain records, attend meetings, contact leaders, organize groups,
interpret programs, and tap resources

The delegated tasks of the paraprofessionals in a welfare agency are as

follows:

1. Interviewing

2. Conducting surveys

3. Making home visits

4. Preparing simple project proposals

5. Distributing financial and/or material assistance

6. Making referrals

7. Conducting information campaigns

8. Organizing groups

9. Filling up or accomplishing needed forms

10. Writing reports

The Supervisory Process

The supervisors of paraprofessionals have the same role and functions as the supervisors of
trained social workers. These include the administrative forming, and helping functions. Since
these paraprofessionals have no fompal social work background, Since these function have to
be modifies and simplified to suit them.

Administrative Supervision

be supervisors the administrative responsibilities of an ordinary supervisor, of paraprofessionals

have to see to placed" in the agency. This involves the following: it that these people are
1. An interpretation to other workers in the agency as to where the new worker fits in and
his/her specific job assignment

2 Introducing the paraprofessionals to the clerical as well as professional staff

3. Advocating the paraprofessionals entitlement to agency resources

4. Assisting the paraprofessionals in learning and accepting the role of being workers in an
organization, with readiness to be on the job at certain times, follow directions, adhere to
procedures, accept evaluation, discharge responsibilities, and relate to hierarchical authority. It
is best for all aforementioned to be presented as functionally justifiable and useful
requirements by supervisors.

5. Helping the paraprofessionals to successfully manage the dual aspects of their role their
responsibility to the agency and their responsibility to client group of which they may formerly
have been members

6. Including paraprofessionals in staff meetings unless there is an explicitly defined reason for
their not being included

7. Making sure that all pertinent communications are shared with paraprofessionals

Elements in Educational Supervision

General principles of learning are equally appropriate and applicable with paraprofessionals.
The procedures and techniques that facilitate learning for supervisees with professional
education also facilitate learning for paraprofessionals. Supervisors have to pay close attention
to the following:

1. Language may present a problem. The same words may have different connotations to
supervisors and to paraprofessionals so that explicit care needs to be given to word usage in
educational supervision.
2. With older paraprofessionals, their relevant life experiences, which will lead to "give and
take" in this relationship, should be employed.

3. If the paraprofessionals have been out of school for a long time, the supervisor needs to de-
emphasize reading as a source of learning and to depend more on didactic, repetitive, personal
discussions with the paraprofessionals.

4. Straightforward instructions are more acceptable to them.

5. The need to partialize learning is greater here. The supervisor needs to select limited
objectives for each supervisory session; therefore, shorter and more frequent supervisory
conferences are desirable.

6. Didactic, repetitive presentations can be made more effective if materials can be diagrammed
or made visual in some other way.

7. Materials to be taught need to be clearly structured and precisely defined. Theory has to be
translated into action terms, and the behavioral implications or principles have to be specified.
However, the supervisor should know the background of the paraprofessional so that he/she
does not oversimplify.

8. Many illustrations should be used, details should be carefully spelled out and assumptions
should be explicitly stated.

9. Presentation should be well-organized, few digression permitted, and frequent summaries

made available. Breaks in continuity should be minimum or else explicitly designated.

10. Role-playing is heavily emphasized as a preferred teaching

Helping Component in Supervision

The paraprofessionals' lack of social work knowledge and the fact that they have to perform
some social work tasks and activities may somehow create a feeling of anxiety in them. This
means that paraprofessional supervisees may require more supervisory time devoted to
support and maintain morale.

The nature of the tasks often assigned to paraprofessionals may increase the risk of
discouragement and job dissatisfaction which calls for the helping function of the supervisor - to
support and maintain the workers' role.

1. In assigning tasks to any supervisee, the supervisor must try to maintain the balance between
stimulation that encourages learning new skills and excessive requirements that may undermine
self- confidence. In the case of the paraprofessionals whose self-confidence is initially tenacious,
greater care needs to be given in maintaining this balance.

2. The supervisor must reward the good performance of the petoprofessional with frequent
praise. A paraprofessional who has no prior training is even more uncertain than other
supervisees about the supr his/her performance has been sister superactive effort of the
supervisor in praising good work reassures the worker.

3. Paraprofessionals may have to be supported in professionalizing relationship with some

clients, out of self-protection. their

4. Paraprofessionals may also need support and protection from high expectations and
consequent disappointments. their ow

Types of Services
Volunteer work, in general, can be categorized in relation to three levels of functioning:

1. Executive and policy making, such as the level of the board of trustees or directors

2. Administration

3. Direct service

This section deals with direct service volunteers who come in close contact with the agency's
clients.

Supervisory Process

Volunteers, though not remunerated for their services to the agency, are also expected to give
their best, to ensure that agency programs are effectively carried out, both to the satisfaction of
the agency and the volunteers themselves. Hence, the crucial role of the supervisors has to be
emphasized. Just like the paraprofessionals, the tasks of the volunteers have to be specified.

1. The supervisors in their administrative role, first and foremost, have to delineate the
functions of the volunteers from the paraprofessionals'.

2. They have to help the volunteers get "placed" in the agency. This is done by introducing the
volunteers to the professional and clerical staff of the agency.

3. They have to acquaint the volunteers with the policies, procedures, programs, and services of
the agency.

4. They have to assign tasks along the capacity and expectation of the volunteers. Tasks assigned
should not be too overwhelming for the volunteers.
Educational Supervision

1. Volunteers may also need to be supported in professionalizing their relationship with some
clients out of self-protection.

2. Conflicts encountered in meeting organizational demands at the expense of clients' needs

may generate feelings in volunteers of betraying the interests of the clients. Volunteers may
then feel a sense of being marginalized both by the agency staff and the client group. These are
morale problems calling for supportive supervision.

3. Volunteers may also need support and protection from their own high expectations and
consequent disappointment.