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All content in this area was uploaded by Sandile Ntethelelo Gumbi on Dec 24, 2021
Content may be subject to copyright.
Exploring the Experiences of Social Work Practitioners and Supervisors on the
Implementation of Social Work Supervision in the Department of Social
Development: A Case Study of King Cetshwayo District Municipality.
Sandile Ntethelelo Gumbi
(219073275)
Submitted for the fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Social
Science (Social Work)
Discipline of Social Work
School of Applied Human Sciences
College of Humanities
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Supervisor
Mbongeni S. Sithole (PhD)
January 2021
I
Declaration
I, Sandile Ntethelelo Gumbi declare that the work in this dissertation titled, “Exploring
the Experiences of Social Work Practitioners and Supervisors on the Implementation
of Social Work Supervision in the Department of Social Development: A Case Study
of King Cetshwayo District Municipality” is the result of my work. All the sources and
other resources cited from others are well-acknowledged and indicated through a
complete reference and acknowledgment.
Student number : 219073275
Initials and Surname : S.N Gumbi
II
Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to the following
institutions and individuals that played a significant role during the time this research
was in progress:
I would like to thank God, the Father our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given me
the strength and courage to undertake this research through the unlimited
power of the Holy Spirit.
I would like to thank the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Social Work
Department, for granting me the golden opportunity to pursue this study.
I would like to thank my Supervisor, Dr. M.S Sithole, for the continuous support,
encouragement, and insights throughout this study. You went beyond your line
of duty as Supervisor to assist me but also became a Father, Mentor, and
Inspiration.
I would like to appreciate Miss Fikile Malambule and Miss Netho
Smanethemba Vilakazi for their incredible support and encouragement that
they have continually shown throughout this course.
I would like to pass my special appreciation to Shadile Ntuli, with whom we
travelled this academic journey. Your support and assistance made me reach
this far. I wish you all the best in your academic journey.
I would like to appreciate the Department of Social Development at the
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial, District, and Service Offices for allowing me to
conduct this study in their offices.
Last but not least, I would like to thank all the social workers and supervisors
who participated in this study. This study would’ve been not successful without
your participation.
III
ABSTRACT
Supervision has been a subject of study for many decades and has been at the centre
of social work practice as it exerts its unique significance in the profession. As social
work practitioners and supervisors are the key role-players in the process of
supervision, it was necessary to understand their experiences. The main aim of the
study was to explore and describe the experiences of social work practitioners and
supervisors in the Department of Social Development at King Cetshwayo District, so
as determine how these experiences have impact on the service provision. The
objectives of the study were to explore the nature of supervision that exists; examine
the context within which supervision takes place; explore how social work practitioners
and supervisors experience supervision, and examine the experiences of social work
practitioners and supervisors to understand how supervision is executed. The study
was qualitative that utilized the interpretive paradigm as the philosophical worldview.
The study utilized an exploratory-descriptive research design to explore and describe
the aspects of the research topic to gain a deeper and in-depth understanding of the
researched topic. The purposive sampling was utilized to intentionally sample
participants that fit the prearranged criteria. A maximum of seventeen participants was
sampled, where thirteen participants were social workers and four participants were
social work supervisors. Both telephonic and face-to-face interviews were used, as
data collection method. The participants were sampled from three different service
offices under King Cetshwayo District. The research findings revealed that most
participants in the Department of Social Development at King Cetshwayo District have
unpleasant experiences on how supervision was being implemented. Participants
stated factors such as, amongst others, insufficient time, high workloads, and
disorganized working environment as negatively impacting the implementation of
supervision in their service offices. The main conclusion drawn from the findings was
that almost all service offices were unable to appropriately implement supervision in a
manner that strikes a balance on different functions of supervision appropriately. The
recommendations were divided into those that related to the study as a whole and
those that suggested for future studies.
Key Words: Experiences, Social Worker, Supervision, Supervisor
IV
ACRONYMS
DSD : Department of Social Development
EPMDS : Employee Performance Management and Development System
(PMDS).
IDP : Integrated Development Plan
KPA : Key Performance Area
SACSSP : South African Council for Social Service Professions
SWP : Social Work Practitioner
SWS : Social Work Supervisor
UKZN : University of KwaZulu-Natal
V
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE 1
GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 1
1.1. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE OF THE STUDY 1
1.2. LOCATION OF THE STUDY 4
1.3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 5
1.4. AIM AND OBJECTIVES 6
1.4.1. AIM 6
1.4.2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 6
1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 6
1.5.1. MAIN QUESTION 6
1.5.2. SUB QUESTIONS 6
1.6. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 7
1.7. PRELIMINARY LITERATURE REVIEW 8
1.8. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 9
1.8.1. RESEARCH PARADIGM 9
1.8.2. RESEARCH DESIGN 10
1.8.3. STUDY POPULATION 10
1.8.4. SAMPLING PROCEDURE 11
1.8.5. DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS 12
1.9. DATA ANALYSIS 13
1.10. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 13
1.10.1. INFORMED CONSENT 13
1.10.2. CONFIDENTIALITY 14
1.10.3. ANONYMITY ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
1.10.4. VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION 14
1.10.5. DEBRIEFING PARTICIPANTS 14
1.11. TRUSTWORTHINESS 14
1.11.1. CREDIBILITY 14
1.11.2. TRANSFERABILITY 15
1.11.3. DEPENDABILITY 15
1.11.4. CONFIRMABILITY 15
1.12. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY. 15
1.13. CHAPTER OUTLAY 16
CHAPTER TWO 16
LITERATURE REVIEW 16
2.1. INTRODUCTION 17
2.2.1. DEFINING SUPERVISION 20
2.2.2. PURPOSE OF SUPERVISION 21
VI
2.2.3. FUNCTIONS OF SUPERVISION 22
2.2.3.1. Administrative function 22
2.2.3.2. Supportive function 23
2.2.3.3. Educative function 25
2.2.4. OBJECTIVES OF SUPERVISION 26
2.2.5. ROLE OF SUPERVISION 26
2.2.5.1. ROLE OF A SUPERVISOR IN SUPERVISION 27
2.2.5.2. ROLE OF A SUPERVISEE IN SUPERVISION 28
2.2.6. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE OUTCOMES OF SUPERVISION 29
2.2.6.1. ROLE CLARITY 29
2.2.6.2. ROLE SECURITY 30
2.2.6.3. EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE AND EMPATHY 30
2.2.6.4. ACCURATE OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT 30
2.2.6.6. PLANNING 31
2.2.7. SUPERVISION TYPES 31
2.2.7.1. INDIVIDUAL SUPERVISION 32
2.2.7.2. GROUP SUPERVISION 32
2.2.7.3. PEER SUPERVISION 33
2.3. OVERVIEW OF EXISTING RELATED RESEARCH 33
2.4. CONCLUSION 34
CHAPTER 3 35
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 35
3.1. INTRODUCTION 35
3.2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 35
3.2.1. RESEARCH PARADIGM 35
3.2.2. RESEARCH APPROACH 36
3.2.3. RESEARCH DESIGN 37
3.2.4. SAMPLING 37
3.2.4.1. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS 38
3.2.4.2. SAMPLING PROCESS 39
3.2.5. METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION 40
3.2.6. DATA ANALYSIS 42
3.2.6.1. FAMILIARIZATION AND IMMERSION 43
3.2.6.2. CODING 43
3.2.6.3. INDUCING THEMES 44
3.2.6.4. ELABORATION 44
3.2.6.5. INTERPRETATION AND CHECKING 44
3.3. DATA TRUSTWORTHINESS 44
3.3.1. CREDIBILITY 45
3.3.2. TRANSFERABILITY 45
3.3.3. DEPENDABILITY 45
3.3.4. CONFORMABILITY 46
3.4. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 46
VII
3.4.1. GATEKEEPER 46
3.4.2. VOLUNTARY 47
3.4.3. ANONYMITY ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.4.4. CONFIDENTIALITY 47
3.4.5. INFORMED CONSENT 48
3.4.6. NO HARM TO PARTICIPANTS 49
3.4.7. DECEIVING PARTICIPANTS 49
3.4.8. DEBRIEFING PARTICIPANTS 50
3.5. CONCLUSION 50
CHAPTER FOUR 51
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 51
4.1. INTRODUCTION 51
4.2. PROFILING OF THE PARTICIPANTS 52
4.3. OVERVIEW OF THE THEMES, SUB-THEMES, AND CATEGORIES 53
4.3.1. THEME 1: EXPERIENCES OF SOCIAL WORKERS AND SUPERVISORS ON
SUPERVISION. 54
4.3.1.1. SUB-THEME 1.1: SUPERVISION AS A DEMANDING ROLE AT IMPLEMENTATION
LEVEL 55
4.3.1.2. SUB-THEME 1.2: PREOCCUPATION WITH THE HEAVY WORKLOAD 57
4.3.1.3. SUB-THEME 1.3: CENTRALIZING ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTION OVER EDUCATIONAL
AND SUPPORTIVE COMPONENTS 61
4.3.2. THEME 2: CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH SUPERVISION TAKES PLACE IN THE IDENTIFIED
ORGANIZATION. 63
4.3.2.1. SUB-THEME 2.1: LACK OF HUMAN AND CAPITAL RESOURCES 64
4.3.2.2. SUB-THEME 2.2: LACK OF PROPER ORGANIZATION OF WORK 67
4.3.2.3. SUB-THEME 2.3: ATTITUDES OF PRACTITIONERS TOWARDS SUPERVISION 71
4.3.3.1. SUB-THEME 3.1: INCONSISTENT METHODS OF SUPERVISION APPLIED IN THE
ORGANIZATION 75
I. SERVICE OFFICE 1 75
II. SERVICE OFFICE 2 76
III. SERVICE OFFICE 3 77
4.3.3.2. SUB-THEME 3.2: SUPPORT GIVEN TO SUPERVISORS 78
4.3.3.3. SUB-THEME 3.3: COMPETENCE OF SUPERVISORS 80
4.3.4. THEME 4: UNDERSTANDING OF PARTICIPANTS ON HOW SUPERVISION SHOULD BE
ADMINISTERED 82
4.3.4.1. SUB-THEME 3.1: IDEAL SUPERVISION 83
3.4. CONCLUSION 86
CHAPTER 5 87
CONCLUSIONS AND FINDING 87
VIII
5.1. INTRODUCTION 87
5.1. SUMMARY OF THE STUDY 87
5.1.1. CHAPTER 1 87
5.1.2. CHAPTER 2 88
5.1.3. CHAPTER 3 88
5.1.4. CHAPTER 4 88
5.2. CONCLUSIONS 89
5.2.1. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 89
5.2.2. CONCLUSIONS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO SUPERVISORS 90
5.2.3. CONCLUSIONS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO SOCIAL WORKERS 90
5.3. RECOMMENDATIONS 90
5.3.1. RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE STUDIES 91
5.4. CONCLUSION 92
6. REFERENCES 93
7. APPENDICES 101
IX
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1.1 : Social Work Practitioners and Supervisors that participated in
the study
Table 4.3.1 : Themes and sub-themes
X
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1 : Gatekeeper Letter
Appendix 2 : UKZN Ethics Approval Letter
Appendix 3 : Consent Form
Appendix 4 : Interview Guide
Appendix 5 : Letter of the Language Editor
1
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
1.1. Background and Rationale of the Study
Social work practitioners and supervisors have different views on supervision due to
their different experiences and exposure. A glance at the history of social work practice
worldwide depicts supervision to have been at the heart of the practice, with the
evolution of practice exerting a direct influence on supervision (Pecora, Cherin, Bruce
& de Jesus Arguello, 2010). Pecora et al., (2010) further mention that social work
supervision has drawn on the practice traditions that emerged when the profession of
social work began. Kadushin and Harkness (2014) point out that the literature to social
work supervision was scarce before 1920 as supervision was not viewed as an area
of interest. Kadushin and Harkness (2014) also assert that, even though the concept
of supervision existed by then, it appears that it was mainly applied in the context of
and with the purpose of assessing and evaluating the programs in institutions, as
opposed to the supervision of individuals. This might have been that the practice of
supervision became infused with other additional duties.
Social work supervision in the South African context is marked by uniquely South
African history, which ranges from the colonial and apartheid to a democratic era.
Mathonsi and Makhubele (2016) argue that during the apartheid era in South Africa,
social workers were supervised according to their races, as a result supervision was
differently applied across different races. Mathonsi and Makhubele (2016) further note
that it became a common practice that the newly graduated white social workers were
allocated the supervisory roles, based on their race. This practice could be viewed as
having resulted to the exploitation of social workers from other racial backgrounds and
the deprivation of their professional growth, which subsequently increased their
workloads and stress levels.
Nicholas, Rautenbanch, and Maistry (2010) note that the adoption of the White Paper
for Social Development (1996) led to the reconstruction and transformation of social
welfare in South Africa. The year 1994, was characterized by legislative transformation
and marked the end of apartheid and the introduction of the democratic era. This
became a turning point for social work practice and supervision practice. The
2
enactment of the White Paper for Social Welfare (Department of Social Development,
1997), was one of the main changes in social services, and social work in particular.
Maupye (2016) states that in 2003 the Department of Social Development in South
Africa declared social work as a scarce skill. This led to the formation of the document
titled the Recruitment and Retention Strategy that led to the recruitment of social
workers across the country. Maupye (2016) adds that at that time the Department of
Social Development did not view supervision as a significant practice.
After some years of trying to deal with the matters concerning supervision within the
social work profession, the South African Council for Social Service Professions
(SACSSP) and the Department of Social Development (DSD), 2012 developed a
national framework titled, ‘Supervision Framework for the Social Work Profession in
South Africa’ in 2012. This framework was also referred to as a Supervision
Framework. Accordingly, the Supervision Framework, advances its main aim to
provide a framework for effective supervision of social workers, student social workers,
social auxiliary workers, learner social auxiliary workers, social work specialists, and
private practitioners (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). The framework seeks to ensure that the
country has competent professional social work practices that serve the best interests
of service users in South Africa, (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). The researcher argues that
the formulation of this supervision framework was an acknowledgment by DSD,
SACSSP, and the sector at large. The DSD and SACSSP also acknowledge that
South Africa has a problem in areas such as effective and quality supervision in the
social work profession.
There is a wide consensus on the importance of supervision in literature. Scholars on
the social work supervision like Wannacott (2012) emphasise the importance
supervision in social work practice. Harkness and Kadushin (2014) mention that
supervision has always been an important part of the profession of social work.
Considering the extent of literature that concurred on the value of supervision in social
work practice, it became apparent that conducting a study that seek to explore the
implementation of supervision was inevitable. Although the importance of supervision
has been emphasized a great deal, there are limited cases on how social work
practitioners and supervisors experience supervision, at the practice level. Wannacott
(2012) states the focus of supervision should be on improving its quality of supervision
3
as this could have important and widely applicable effects. Wannacott (2012) adds
that this could be cost-effective in ensuring that the organization is turned around.
This study aimed at exploring how social workers and supervisors experienced the
implementation of supervision within their organization. It also aimed at exploring how
the social workers’ and supervisors’ experiences on supervision impacted positively
or negatively on their practice in delivering quality, effective and efficient services to
their service users. It also explored how supervision impacted their performance
towards their organizational and professional mandate.
Supervision, in this study, was guided by Wannacott (2012:23) definition of supervision
which says that it is a “process by which one worker is given a responsibility by the
organization to work with other worker(s) to meet certain organization, professional
and personal objectives which together promote the best outcomes for service users.”
The rationale of the study arose from the professed need that the social work
profession requires social workers to be engaged in the ongoing enhancement of their
professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills to realize the required ability to provide
effective services. Wonnacott (2012) argues that good social work involves the ability
to maintain and grow relationships, make good decisions and judgments, and manage
the emotional levels of work. This author also notes that this is a challenging task. It
would however bear fruits if social work practitioners are encouraged to deeply reflect
on their day-to-day practice and develop their skills and knowledge continuously,
(Wonnacott, 2012).
During the fieldwork practical, the researcher observed a lack of supervision in the
organization. This negatively impacted on social workers’ conduct towards their
profession, organization, and clients. The lack of supervision could be attributed to
differential experiences of social work supervision within the organization, more
particularly the way supervision was implemented. The researcher decided to
undertake a study on the experiences of social work practitioners and supervisors in
DSD at King Cetshwayo District Municipality. The study aims to contribute to the
uniform implementation of the supervision practice. Therefore, this study aimed to
explore and understand how social work practitioners and supervisors experienced
supervision within their organization. This was done to determine how those
experiences impacted the way they work within the organization. Considering that
4
supervision is, by nature, an interactive and context-dependent phenomenon (Sithole,
2019), the views of both social work practitioners and supervisors within a specific
context were viewed as crucial in this endeavor. It was through the divergent views of
key actors in supervision were understood. This was done in a corroborated manner
within a specific context, namely service offices at King Cetshwayo District
Municipality.
1.2. Location of the Study
The study was located and conducted in KwaZulu-Natal at the DSD, at King
Cetshwayo District Municipality. This district is in the north-east of KwaZulu-Natal
province. The respective district is also composed of five municipalities such as the
City of uMhlathuze, uMfolozi, Nkandla, Mthonjaneni, and uMlalazi. It is also a home of
five (5) DSD service offices that serve the people residing in the respective district.
The main reason the researcher chose this locality was that this district was reportedly
servicing communities that are situated in both, rural and urban settings, which depict
the traditional and state dualism. The coexistence of traditional and state dualism is
referred to as polity dualism. Holzinger, Kern and Kromrey (2016) assert that polity
dualism depicts the coexistence of two political and lawful frameworks within the same
individuals: the state and traditional administration. The co-existence of dual
administration, state arm (Municipal) and Traditional Authorities pose its own
dynamics in how social services are provided in the society. This area provides an
appropriate example of the dual nature of the South Africa’s administration.
Holzinger, et al. (2016) state that the results from the coexistence and interaction of
government and traditional establishments join in unexpected ways in three spheres:
majority rule government, conflict, and advancement. The importance of traditional
societies, regardless of the state could be democratic or autocratic; developed or
underdeveloped will all influence the fundamental processes. On this basis, the
service offices under this district are likely to face challenges that are fundamentally
different from those which are faced by their counterparts. There is a notion that social
work practitioners and supervisors servicing these settings are likely to provide a
combination of unique views.
5
1.3. Statement of the Problem
The way social work practitioners and supervisors experienced and understood
supervision was crucial in providing insight into their knowledge about supervision at
an individualized level and how it is being undertaken within the organization.
Kadushin and Harkness (2014) echo this view in their exploration of the role of
supervision and its significance. Supervision helps the workers to grow and develop
professionally and maximizes their knowledge and skills to the point where they can
perform autonomously. The process of supervision enables the supervisees to deliver
effective, efficient, and quality services to their clients consistent with the
organization's mandate and professional practice, (Kadushin and Harkness, 2014).
Based on this view, social work practitioners and supervisors, they became the target
population, for this study. They were specifically chosen because they were key role-
players and ultimate beneficiaries of supervision. Social work practitioners are the
cadres who interface directly with the clients and consequently should be afforded an
attention to ensure that their practice is still relevant in line with their organization’s
goals and professional standards. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the
involvement of supervisors is essential to empower social work practitioners to deliver
effective, efficient, and quality services.
The social work practice in general at the DSD, is described as in constant evolution.
As a result, the experiences of key role-players must be from time-to-time explored.
Phungwayo (2012) supports this view by stating that the DSD is the custodian of social
services that purport to empower the vulnerable groups in South Africa. It is therefore
paramount for the organization to be accorded attention so that effective and efficient
services may be provided. This means that for the DSD to remain relevant in its
mandate in delivering effective and efficient services, it needs to pay attention to
quality supervision to social workers who are the first-line force to ensuring that
services are delivered to the service users. This will enable social workers to be
effective in delivering services to individuals, families, groups, and communities. In
addition, this could enable practitioners to actively advocate for policy that seeks to
empower their clients. This view is in line with Makoka (2016) who argues that the
process of effective supervision assists supervisees to grow professionally and to
utilize their skills and knowledge in service delivery.
6
Understanding the implementation of supervision from the social work practitioners’
experiences was key, considering that they are not just the direct recipients of
supervision, but key role players in supervision. Wannacott (2012) regards social work
supervision beneficial to clients, although the recipients of supervision are frontline
social workers. Therefore, understanding the social work practitioners’ experiences
was crucial in the sense that their experiences on the role of supervision shaped their
attitudes and conduct towards delivering services.
1.4. Aim and Objectives
1.4.1. Aim
This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of social work practitioners
and supervisors on the implementation of supervision in the DSD, so as determine
how these experiences affected service provision.
1.4.2. Objectives of the Study
1.4.2.1. To explore and describe the experiences of social work practitioners and
supervisors on the implementation of supervision in the Department of
Social Development.
1.4.2.2. To examine the context within which supervision takes place in the
identified organization.
1.4.2.3. To explore the nature of supervision that exists within the identified
organization.
1.4.2.4. To examine how social workers and supervision understand the
execution of supervision in the identified organization.
1.5. Research Questions
1.5.1. Main Question
1.5.1.1. What are the experiences of social workers and supervisors on the
implementation of supervision in the Department of Social
Development?
1.5.2. Sub Questions
1.5.2.1. What is the context within which supervision takes place in the identified
organization?
7
1.5.2.2. What is the nature of supervision applicable in the identified
organization?
1.5.2.3. How do social work practitioners and supervisors experience
supervision in the identified organization?
1.5.2.4. How is social work supervision executed in the identified organization?
1.6. Theoretical Framework
The proposed study was underpinned by the role theory. According to Tuner (2006)
the role theory focuses on how social behavior is organized at both, collective and
individual levels. Tuner (2006) adds that the individual’s behavior in an organization
or social context is planned and enforced through the roles. Bess and Dee (2012) state
that the role theory studies roles by critically evaluating and exploring the effects of
these roles on the members of the organization and the organization. Biddle (2013)
states the role theory is more concerned with configuring how people behave within
their roles, identities, and social contexts, including social positions. Biddle (2013)
adds that the central concern of the theory are patterns of human conduct within roles,
expectations, identities, social positions, context, social structure as well as individual
responses. Biddle (2013) further points out that role theory has several fundamental
propositions that underpin it. Below are the prepositions that underpin the role theory
as suggested by Biddle (2013):
(i) Role theorists outline that certain conducts are patterned and are characteristics
of people within certain roles.
(ii) Roles are related to a group of people who share a similar goal and identity who
then form social positions.
(iii) People are aware of their roles and in most cases, their roles are then
administrated by their awareness through expectations.
(iv) People should be educated about roles and in doing so they find enjoyment or
unhappiness in fulfilling their roles thereof.
This theory was relevant for this study because it focuses on supervision, the roles
involved, that is, the role of a supervisor and supervisee. This theory provides an
understanding of the roles of social work practitioners within supervision. It also
elaborates on how the experiences of social work practitioners and supervisors impact
their roles as cadres for ensuring quality service to service users. The use of this theory
8
was necessary because supervision is, primarily, aimed at ensuring that the key role-
players of supervision within the organization can fulfill their roles for the betterment
of service users and the organization. This theory was also useful for this study
because it helped the researcher to examine how individuals perform their roles as
informed by their experiences of supervision in their organization.
1.7. Preliminary Literature Review
This section presented preliminary literature on social work supervision. The section
briefly described the significance of supervision in the social work practice with specific
reference to the DSD. The principles and functions of supervision were briefly
discussed to provide insight into the importance of supervision within the social work
practice.
According to Kadushin and Harkness (2014), history depicts supervision as a
fundamental part of social work practice. Beddoe and Maidment (2015) concur and
state that supervision is at the center of social work practice and that it is on that basis
that it needs in-depth investigation and scholarly attention. This is essential in
contributing towards the generation and expansion of current knowledge available
about supervision. Beddoe and Maidment (2015) assert that supervision does not only
provide a context for learning different activities but that it also serves as a platform
for the improving knowledge, advancement of skills, and quality assurance which
helps in assessing challenges likely to be encountered in everyday practice. This
means that supervision is the main channel through which both social workers and
supervisors engage in a critically reflective manner. Beverley and Worsley (2010)
explore the phenomenon of supervision and describe the principles of supervision that
are fundamental when dealing with supervision practice. Beverley and Worsley (2010)
put forward the following three principles: (1) supervision should ensure that the needs
of clients and agency are being met and the social work practitioners have to be
accountable to both; (2) supervision should assess and evaluate the practitioners'
work-related needs and their ability to practice within their organization; and lastly, (3),
supervision informs the practitioners’ practice. These principles are important and that
if applied they can ensure that the process of supervision produces desired outcomes.
This is likely to exert a positive impact on how social workers and supervisors perform
their roles within the organization.
9
Gasker (2019) argues that social work supervision is not the same as supervision in a
corporate setting, considering that it is not merely preoccupied with the purpose of
monitoring productivity. Key in social work supervision, is the notion that it strives to
incorporate the three main functions and interface among them, namely
administrative, educational, and supportive functions (Gasker, 2019). Kadushin and
Harkness (2014), state that the educational function ensures that the ability of the
worker to perform his or her tasks more effectively and efficiently is improved. These
authors point out that this is firstly realized by enabling the worker to grow and develop
professionally and help the worker to do his or her job more effectively and capitalize
on clinical knowledge and skills to the extent where the worker can work
independently. Secondly, the administrative function aims to ensure that the worker is
within a working space that allows him or her to perform the work more effectively
(Kadushin and Harkness, 2014). Lastly, the authors assert that supportive function is
described as ensuring that the worker maintains the love and passion for what he or
she is doing.
The presented preliminary literature provided sufficient ground for the researcher to
contextualize the phenomenon of supervision and to explain the study based on its
aim. The sought to explore and describe the experiences of practitioners and
supervisors in the DSD at King-Cetshwayo District. The researcher was, therefore,
guided by literature to arrive at the findings of the study, including drawing conclusions
and recommendations that emerged.
1.8. Research Methodology
Bhattacharyya (2013) points out that a research methodology is a scientific and
systematic way to solve research problems. According to Creswell (2013), research
methods include the procedures in which data will be collected, analyzed, and
interpreted. As a result, this section presents the methods used to collect data and
how it was analyzed and interpreted to answer the research questions.
1.8.1. Research Paradigm
Creswell (2013) views a research paradigm as a general philosophical orientation
about the world and the nature of research that a researcher brings to a study. This
study was qualitative in nature. It used an interpretive paradigm. According to Rubin
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and Babbie (2010), an interpretive paradigm is a research paradigm that seeks to gain
an empathic understanding of how people feel, gain in-depth feelings and meanings
of their reasons for their behaviors, and also pursuing to understand people's everyday
experiences. In this type of paradigm, the researcher aimed to gain a subjective in-
depth understanding of the lives of people (Rubin and Babbie 2010).
According to Carey (2012), interpretive approaches seek to discover meaning and also
attempt to unearth the way people understand and also interpret their experiences in
the social world. Carey adds that in this instance, a researcher attempts to gauge,
reach, and understand the perceptions, thoughts, emotional reactions, and attitudes
held by the participants. The researcher utilized this paradigm to gain an empathetic
understanding of how social workers perceived and felt about supervision within their
organization. The researcher used this paradigm to discover practitioners’
experiences, opinions, and emotional responses through the research questions and
to satisfy the research objectives.
1.8.2. Research Design
Sahu and Singh (2014) describe the research design as a researcher's choice about
his research components and the development of certain components of the design.
Gray (2014) adds that research design is a tactical plan for a proposed research study
that sets out the characteristics and broad structures of the research. As the study was
qualitative, it used an exploratory-descriptive research design. The researcher used
this research design to explore and describe the aspect of the research topic to gain
an in-depth understanding of the proposed topic. Kumar (2010) states that the
exploratory research is used when a study is undertaken to discover where little is
known about a subject or investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular
research study. Likewise, Sahu and Singh (2015) state that one of the most
fundamental purposes of descriptive research is to provide a clear description of the
situation as it currently exists.
1.8.3. Study Population
Omari (2011) defines the population as the totality of any group of units that have one
or more characteristics in common that are of interest to the researcher. The study
population involves a large group of people or institutions that has one or more
11
characteristics in common on which a study focuses, (Omari 2011). The study
population for this project consisted of social workers and social work supervisors
employed on a full-time basis in service offices of the DSD under King Cetshwayo
District Municipality. The researcher selected specifically social workers and social
work supervisors. The study did not include student social workers, social auxiliary
workers, or social work volunteers. The two categories were chosen on the notion that
they are the key role-players in supervision. On one hand, social workers were the
direct beneficiaries of supervision who empower clients to receive the best services
from the organization. On the other hand, supervisors were the ones entrusted with
the responsibility of implementing supervision to social workers.
1.8.4. Sampling Procedure
Gray (2014) defines a sample as a set of objects, occurrence on individuals selected
from a parent population for a research study. Sampling may be defined as the
selection of a subset population for inclusion in the study (Daniel, 2012). For the
purpose of this study, the researcher used the non-probability type of sampling in the
form of purposive sampling. Kumar (2010) states that purposive sampling is possibly
concerned with the choice of a sample explicitly because of particularly interesting
features of each element. The researcher utilized purposive sampling, where the
researcher sampled a minimum of fifteen (15) to twenty (20) participants. A maximum
of thirteen (13) social workers and a maximum of four (4) social work supervisors. f
This category of participants was selected because of their suitability to provide in-
depth and rich information on the research study. The proposed sample was identified
as follows:
a. Esikhaleni DSD Service office-5 Social workers and 2 supervisors
b. Richards Bay DSD Service office-5 Social Workers and 2 supervisors
c. Lower Mfolozi DSD Service office-5 Social Workers and 1 supervisor
The following criteria was used in selecting participants:
(i) The participant should be registered with the SACSSP as a social worker;
(ii) The participant should be working directly with clients;
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(iii) Participants must have a minimum of three years (3) of experience at DSD;
(iv) The participants who are social workers should be under supervision;
(v) The participant should be a social worker employed by the DSD in one of the offices
under the King Cetshwayo District Municipality;
(vi) Supervisors should have a minimum of two years’ experience in supervising social
workers.
1.8.5. Data Collection Instruments
This section discusses the method and the procedure used to collect data. The
searcher used interviews as the data collection instrument. Babbie (2011) defines an
interview as a data collection tool in which the interviewer asks questions to the
interviewee or participant. The interviews were semi-structured in nature to allow the
researcher to be flexible in asking questions to gain as much information as possible.
The researcher used face-to-face interviews to interviews. The researcher also used
telephonic interviews where participants felt that it was appropriate and safe due to
the COVID-19 epidemic. Aristovnik, Keržič, Ravšelj, Tomaževič, and Umek, (2020)
assert that, in early 2020, the COVID-19 widespread stunned the world, almost
bringing it to an exceptional halt leaving students with difficulties to continue pursue
their studies at all levels. It was on this basis that the interviews were conducted both
physically and telephonically. The researcher used telephonic interviews as a means
of obtaining data from the participants. Gray (2014) mentions that telephonic
interviews are advantageous because the researcher may obtain data more quickly at
low costs. For the researcher to gather as much information as possible to the
participants, the interview sessions took about 50 to 60 minutes per interviewing
session.
In as much as the sample of the study was well versed in English, the researcher
decided to allow participants who wished to use IsiZulu during the interview. This was
functional in creating a conducive and flexible environment for the participants. For
instance, the participants may easily express those feelings and thoughts that could
not be easily translated in either of the two languages without losing their exact
meanings. The researcher interviewed two (2) participants through the telephone and
fifteen (15) participants face to face. During the telephonic and face-to-face interview,
the researcher utilized the audio recorder tape to record the conversations for
13
maximum capture of salient points of discussion. The researcher asked for permission
to record before interviews. In tandem with that, the principle of confidentiality was
maintained.
1.9. Data Analysis
After the collection of data, the researcher commenced with the analysis of data. The
researcher used thematic data analysis to analyze data. Liamputtong (2011) states
that thematic data analysis is referred to as a process for identifying, analyzing, and
reporting patterns (themes) within the data and it is perceived as the foundational
method for qualitative analysis. The researcher analyzed data following the five steps
proposed by Terre Blanche, Durkheim, and Painter (2006). The first step is the
immersion and familiarization of data. The researcher immersed himself in the study
and familiarized himself with the collected data. The second step is coding, which is
the key process in analyzing qualitative data through the process of classifying or
categorizing individual pieces of data (Babbie, 2011). The third step was inducing
themes, where the researcher labeled categories by emerging themes and in keeping
with the aims and the fourth step was elaboration, the researcher engaged with the
data that has not been captured by the original coding system. The final step was the
Interpretation and checking of data, where the researcher interpreted the data against
the literature review and theoretical framework (Terre Blanche, et al. 2006).
1.10. Ethical Considerations
The researcher considered amongst others, the following ethical aspects, that are
crucial to be observe in a qualitative research study.
1.10.1. Informed Consent
According to Wiles (2013), informed consent involves informing the research
participants with the necessary and comprehensive information about what
participating in the research study will involve and giving them the right to choose
whether not to participate or to participate in a study. The researcher explained the
nature and the purpose of the study to participants and then offered them an
opportunity to willingly decide on whether to be involved in the study or not.
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1.10.2. Confidentiality
Muratovski (2016) postulates that confidentiality is when the researcher knows the
names and any other personal information of the participants but cannot and will not
disclose this information to others. The researcher guaranteed confidentiality by
assuring participants that all the information they shared would not be disclosed
publicly but only used for the purpose of the study.
1.10.3. Voluntary Participation
De Vos, Strydom, Fouché, and Delport (2011) state that participation should always
be voluntary and that no one should be forced into participating in a research study.
The researcher upheld this ethical principle by ensuring that the participants were well
informed about the nature of the research study and have fair opportunity to decide to
participate in a study or not.
1.10.4. Debriefing Participants
According to Muratovski (2016) the main purpose of the debriefing session is to
minimize the impacts of participating in the study and remedy any possible
misconceptions that the participants might have because of the study. After the
research was completed, the researcher debriefed participants to assess whether they
were any problems caused by the research to correct those problems.
1.11. Trustworthiness
According to Sensing (2011), trustworthiness implies that the research findings can be
trusted and that the study is worthy attention. Sensing adds that trustworthiness is the
umbrella term for issues of credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability.
The researcher focused on the study's trustworthiness by considering these issues:
1.11.1. Credibility
Babbie and Mouton (2001) assert that credibility refers to how confident the researcher
is in the truth of the research study’s findings. The researcher ensured credibility
through member checks, frequent briefing sessions between the researcher and
supervisor. Through member checks, the researcher asked participants to review both
the data collected during the interview and the researcher's interpretation of that
interview data to correct errors of facts.
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1.11.2. Transferability
According to Kumar (2014) transferability refers to the degree to which the results of
qualitative research can be generalized or transferred to other contexts or settings.
This research study can be transferred to Non-Profit Organizations where Social
Workers offer similar services offered by DSD and have a similar supervision style as
DSD.
1.11.3. Dependability
Dependability is concerned with whether we would obtain the same results if we could
observe the same things twice, (Kumar, 2014). The researcher made known the steps
within which findings were concluded so that if the supervisor was interested to
observe whether the research findings were the same.
1.11.4. Confirmability
Kumar (2014) suggests that confirmability refers to the degree to which results could
be confirmed or corroborated by others. To fulfill this research principle the researcher
allowed the supervisor or any interested party in the research to confirm the result
findings.
1.12. Limitations of the Study.
According to Marshall and Rossman (2011) all proposed research projects have
limitations and none is perfectly designed. These authors add that the demonstration
of the study’s limitation demonstrates that the researcher understands the reality that
the researcher will make no overwhelming claims about generalizability or
conclusiveness about what he has learned. Therefore, even though this research
study was intended to produce findings that were to be helpful through the exploration
of the research topic, aim, and research questions, the researcher also recognized
that it was likely to have its limitations.
The possible limitations anticipated by the researcher were:
The research study location was likely to limit the researcher because it only
involved few DSD service offices that were under King Cetshwayo District
Municipality.
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The sample size for the study was relatively small because it consisted of only
a maximum of 17 participants (social workers=13 and supervisors= 4). The
researcher sampled a maximum of 5 social workers and 2 supervisors per DSD
service office under King Cetshwayo District Municipality, which also limited the
amount of information gathered for the study.
The participants might have withheld certain information because of certain
insecurities they felt or experienced within their organization. The researcher
assured participants of the purpose of the study as well the ethical principles to
be observed, mainly confidentiality.
1.13. Chapter Outlay
The research report is organized into the following chapters:
Chapter 1: Provides the overall overview of the entire study. It also alludes to
how the research was to be conducted
Chapter 2: Provides the review of literature that discusses supervision in details
Chapter 3: Provides the details on data collection and how data was collected
on participants.
Chapter 4: Provides the discussion on the analysis and finding of data arising
from the research.
Chapter 5: Provides the summary, conclusions, and recommendations from the
analyzed and interpreted data.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
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2.1. Introduction
Practitioners' experiences on the implementation of social work supervision can be
better understood through consulting a wide range of literature that deals with social
work supervision that is effective, efficient, and of the best quality. Ling-Pan (2016)
states that the literature review helps the researcher to be critical in summarising and
examining the available literature on a specific selected topic. Ling-Pan 2016) points
out that the researcher evaluates all the available evidence, and evaluates the theories
that are relevant. The researcher also notes the gaps that exist in literature and then
paints a picture of the current state of existing research in a particular selected topic,
(Ling-Pan, 2016). The researcher took note of all the literature that was available and
had been researched before and then find the basis within which to locate the study.
Makoka (2016) argues the fundamental goals of the literature review are to institute
credibility and depict the researcher’s understanding with the knowledge body;
demonstrate track of existing research on the topic and demonstrate how the
undertaken research links to it. The literature review allows the researcher to learn
from others, which ultimately helps in the stimulation of new ideas, (Makoka, 2016).
Carey (2010) adds literature review does not only accomplish the main tasks such as
allowing the researcher to be able to define clearly research objectives and reveal
what other researchers have discovered previously but it also assists the researcher
to understand better the topic being studied and research problem. As a result, the
researcher utilized the literature review to gain a better insight into the problem being
researched. The literature reviewed stimulated new ideas that revealed the gaps that
exist in the literature.
Makoka (2016) states that the literature review helps the researcher to broaden his
prospects and assists in ensuring that the researcher does not redo work that has
been researched already by other researchers. The researcher used the literature
review to get information on the work of other researchers on his research topic. This
was done to ensure that the researcher did not duplicate their work but learn from their
findings to enhance the study being undertaken.
In this chapter, the researcher focused on social work supervision. The researcher
began by describing supervision practice in the DSD at King Cetshwayo District
because it was where the study was located. This description of the location of the
18
study was important because it explained the reasons why the study was undertaken
under the respective district specifically. The researcher also discussed and described
the concept of social work supervision and its role within the DSD.
2.2 Supervision Practice in King Cetshwayo District.
The DSD at King Cetshwayo district is largely serving the people that reside mostly in
rural areas that are the beneficiaries of the services offered by the department.
According to the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) of 2017/18-2021/22 of King
Cetshwayo District Municipality (2017), the district had a total population of about 917
135 people that particular year and this number may have increased substantially over
the years. The IDP further mentions that out of that previously stated number of the
general population about 162 381 households are in the rural areas and represent
80% of the population and leaving about 40 595 households that are in the urban
areas that only represent 20% of the general population. This ascertains that the DSD
in this respective district experience unique needs of clients when compared to their
other DSD counterparts that are located in urban areas.
social workers who provide services to clients who reside in a locality are engaged in
a continuous effective reflective practice to remain relevant while providing efficient
and sustainable services. According to Hughes (2010), supervision is a crucial part of
the reflective practice and an integral part of the social work profession. Hughes also
states that supervision has, over time, given social workers the opportunity to reflect
on their practice and managed them the needed forum to reflect, assess, examine,
create inventive solutions. For social workers to be able to reflect on their practice,
they should have good and competent supervisors who help their supervisees through
a supervisor-supervisee relationship to do their jobs efficiently and offer services that
are in the best interest of their clients.
According to Hawkins and Shohet (2012), great supervision centers a few of its
considerations on the elements of the supervisees. The authors point out that this must
continuously emerge out of work-related issues and be tired with the benefit of
understanding and being able to oversee the work better. This kind of supervision
empowers social work practitioners to be able to be effective in delivering services to
their clients and fulfil the organisational mandate. The DSD Annual Performance
Report of (2016) outlines the mission of the DSD, which is to transmute society by
19
building cognizant and able citizens through the arrangement of comprehensive,
coordinated, and feasible social advancement services. For social workers employed
in this district to be able to carry out their mandate by fulfilling the organisational vision,
they require effective, efficient, and quality supervision within the department through
their supervisors.
Officer (2011) stresses that supervision must be the tool and a resource that will
empower and support supervisees to build effective proficient relationships, engage in
good practice, and be able to reach for themselves professional judgment and
discretion in decision making. Officer (2011) also argues that for supervision to be
effective it needs to put together a performance management approach with an
empowering, dynamic, and enabling supervisory relationship. The DSD at King
Cetshwayo District is not excluded from offering services to its people even though the
district is largely rural and has to function within traditional norms and practices of the
respective communities. The department must use supervision to empower social
workers to be able to build professional relationships with their clients so that they will
be able to use professional judgments to provide sustainable and quality services to
service users (Officer, 2011).
Makoka (2016) points out that the process of social work supervision is the outcome
of numerous processes where the supervisor and social worker attempt to find
answers to address issues relating to proficient improvement, the standard of training,
moral behavior, equity, and service delivery. Officer (2011) adds that supervision must
improve the quality of practice, support the development of integrated working, and
ensure continuing professional development. Supervision ought to contribute to the
advancement of a learning culture by advancing an approach that improves the
certainty and competence of managers in supervision skills, (Officer, 2011).
Phungwayo (2012) mentions that the DSD offers services through three broad
programs namely, Social Security, Social Welfare, and Community Development.
Phungwayo (2012) adds that these fundamental programs of the department are
offered by social workers to people who are in need and these services are viewed as
important in assisting the department of social development to deal effectively will
many kinds of social problems that exist in the society.
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Lastly, it is evident that supervision becomes the only place where social workers in
the King-Cetshwayo District can solve the problems they experience. The problems
arise from the complexities of working in cultural and traditional communities when
trying to deliver services to their clients as part of fulfilling their professional, and
organization mandate. Therefore, the need to effectively implement and execute
supervision in this District cannot be over emphasized. This is the reason why the
researcher undertook this study to understand the implementation of supervision
2.2.1. Defining Supervision
The term supervision has been the subject of study for many decades, especially in
the profession of social work, and has received several definitions. Therefore, the
concept of supervision has a plethora of definitions. However, Howe and Gray (2012)
assert that supervision is an exceptionally vital portion of the profession of social work
because social workers utilize supervision to survey their practice and decision
making; arrange their leaning and advancement; work through the significant
emotional and personal demands that their job demands on them.
Hawkins and Shohet (2012) define supervision as a mutual endeavor through which
the supervisee with the assistance of the supervisor attend to themselves as an
important part of the formation and maintaining of worker-client relationship, their
client’s needs, and the wider universal context so that they maintain the quality of their
work, develop themselves and be agents of change. It is within this context that social
workers should draw many benefits from supervision that helps them be the best in
their field, organization, and interventions.
Moreover, Howe and Gray (2012) believe that supervision is primarily the means
through which an organization's supervisor empowers staff either collectively and
individually and also that the standards of practice are well maintained. Supervision
aims to ensure that the supervisees are productive and effective as they carry out their
job responsibilities, (Howe & Gray, 2012). Having said that, supervision in the DSD at
King Cetshwayo can play a significant role, if well undertaken, to help social workers
deal effectively with their unique set of challenges posed by their location. Effective
supervision could assist the organization to carry out its mandate efficiently while
ensuring that its employees are well capacitated in their personal, professional, and
organizational functioning.
21
For this study, the definition of supervision was guided by Wonnacott’s (2012:23)
definition of supervision in which it is described as a “process by which one worker is
given a responsibility by the organization to work with other worker(s) to meet certain
organizational, professional and personal objectives which together promote the best
outcomes for service users.” This definition points out that a supervisor is the
employee of an organization appointed and entrusted to supervise a certain portion of
the workforce in an organization. This is done to ensure that the organizational,
personal, and professional objectives are realized. This definition also points that the
primary and main objective of the process of supervision is for the supervisees to be
at their best so that they can deliver services to their clients efficiently and effectively.
2.2.2. Purpose of Supervision
The process of supervision exists for a particular specific purpose and plays a
significant role in the profession of social work. Hughes (2010) explains that the
purpose of supervision is to enhance the social workers’ professional skills,
knowledge, and attitudes to achieve competency in providing quality care. Hughes
(2010) adds that supervision also aids in proficient growth and advancement and
makes improvements in results. The overarching objective of supervision is to
encourage advanced best for clients by keeping up existing great practices and
persistently endeavoring to progress them, (Hughes, 2010). This assertion by Hughes
implies that supervision exists so that the supervisees can be the best at what they do
and be able to render services that are of the best quality. This also points to the
rationale of this study as it aimed to explore how social workers and supervisors
understand and experience supervision. The participants’ experiences helped to
unearth the good practices of supervision that were currently in place that needs to be
kept and improved. Their experiences also highlighted those practices that needed to
be done away with that have form part of the bad supervision culture in their respective
organization.
The work of social workers and supervisors requires them to adapt to certain
environments that their organization are based and at the same time required to be
productive in terms of the work they do in that environment. For the social workers to
have this adaptive ability to any environment they might be working in, they need
supervisors who will prepare them by employing the educative and supportive function
22
of supervision on them. Godden (2012) agrees that the work of the social worker can
be demanding because it takes place in a complex adaptive environment where the
role of professional judgment is significant (Godden, 2012). This stresses out the
needs of the social work supervision that is continuous and can be adapted to their
constantly changing environment and be productive when they provide services to
clients.
2.2.3. Functions of Supervision
Poulin and Matis (2016) state that social work supervision can be thought of in terms
of three primary domains: support, administration, and education. Larkin (2018) states
that while both field instructors and agency supervision engage in the principal cluster
functions of supervision (administrative, educational, and supportive) but their
effective implementation is even more difficult. One of the objectives is to explore the
nature of supervision that exists within the identified organization (Larkin, 2018). In this
objective, the researcher aimed to discover whether the application of the functional
approaches to supervision at the King Cetshwayo District are equally and well-
executed as they are all significant to the supervisory purpose.
2.2.3.1. Administrative function
Administrative function is one of the core functions of social work supervision and
administration is one of the most important responsibilities for social work
professionals. According to the Supervision Framework for Social Service Professions
the administrative function of supervision has its primary focus on effective, correct,
and appropriate executions of organizational procedures and policies, (SACSSP &
DSD, 2012). Howe and Gray (2012) add that the administrative function is the
qualitative or normative function of supervision. This function is often viewed as the
managerial function of supervision, where the supervisor is concerned with certain
standards and quality of work, because of the line management responsibility and
accountability (Howe and Gray, 2012). According to the Supervision Framework for
Social Service Professions, the primary goal of the administrative function is to ensure
observance of procedure and policy (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). Thus, the work of a
supervisor is to ensure that the policies of the organizations are implemented.
Silence (2017) acknowledges that the administrative function has its focus on the
formation of good work standards that are sustainable and in compliance with sound
23
practice, organizational, and professional policies. Runcan (2013) points out that the
goal of administration supervision, is to create an instrumental context for good
organization activity. Hawkins and Shohet (2012) argue that the administrative
function of supervision provides the quality control function in work with people.
The administrative function of supervision is important in terms of educational and
supportive functions, respectively. It is in the administrative function that supervisors
and social workers work in adherence to organizational policy and procedures. This is
where social workers and supervisors concerns themselves with delivering best quality
services to their clients while keeping good clients records. Therefore, supervision
cannot be fully functional when the administrative function is not well executed but in
a balanced manner with other functions.
2.2.3.2. Supportive function
The supportive function of supervision is different from other kinds of supervision
because this is where the supervisees are provided with emotional support, (Silence,
2017). Silence adds that this support is necessary for ensuring that social workers are
in a good state of work and are able to do their work effectively as expected. Runcan
(2013) points out that in the supportive role of supervision, the supervisor aims to
provide support to a supervisee to deal with work-related stress and advancing
professional performance. Thus, the focus in this function is to ensure that after social
workers have done their work and faced some challenges that emotionally disturbed
them, and then they are restored to the normal state that will enable them to carry on
with their work much effectively (Runcan, 2013). Howe and Gray (2012) also second
the previously mentioned view by stating that the supportive function is the restorative
or resource function.
According to the Supervision Framework for Social Service Professions, the primary
purpose of the supportive function is on worker morale and job satisfaction (SACSSP
& DSD, 2012). Its main objective is to improve how a job is executed; improve morale
and the quality of work (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). Hawkins and Shohet (2012) state
that this type of function involves working together with the supervisee to unpack
personal and emotional impacts associated with working of professionals in a highly
distressing and complex situation. Social work is a demanding profession and requires
sufficient support from an organization through a competent supervisor. Social
24
workers at King Cetshwayo District may find it difficult to offer quality help to their
clients because of the social functioning in their district that is culturally and
traditionally influenced. In this case, social workers would require the supportive
function of supervision. The Supervision Framework for Social Service Professions,
further states that in the supportive function of supervision is where an empowering
environment is made by the supervisor to the supervisee to enhance desired
outcomes (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). The framework also mentions that the supportive
function is typically seen more particularly as an asset to assist the supervisor and
supervisee to bargain with the job-related pressures and stressors, which may in case
unattended impede the work to the hindrance of benefit conveyance, (SACSSP &
DSD, 2012). Hawkins and Shohet (2012) argue that the supportive function must be
understood as a way of reacting to social workers who are locked in individual work
with clients who are influenced by trouble, torment, and fragmentation of the clients.
This requires time to become mindful of how these influences affected them and to
bargain with any reactions. The social work profession may become very stressful to
its practitioners if they are not well supported within their organization. The lack of
fundamental support could impact negatively on social workers in terms of
implementing their duties effectively and personally as individuals.
Mathonsi (2016) views the supportive function of supervision as maintenance
supervision. Mathonsi (2016) adds that supervisors in social work supervision are not
seen as authority figures but rather people who understand the needs of their
subordinates by listening, leading, and motivating them. Supervisors provide
psychological and interpersonal support to enable the worker to mobilize his emotional
energy for effective job performances, (Mathonsi, 2016). For one to become a
supervisor, in the DSD one must be a social worker with a certain minimum required
experience. The department stipulates that the supervisor should be a social worker
who is competent and well informed about supervision (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). This
would mean continuous training for capacity building to ensure that supervisors are in
a proper state to offer supportive supervision in the organization (SACSSP & DSD,
2012).
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2.2.3.3. Educative function
The educational function of supervision deals with ensuring professional development.
This is done by allowing the supervisee to upgrade their professional knowledge and
skills to ensure that they are relevant in their working environment. The Supervision
Framework for Social Service Professions states that the primary aim of the
educational function of supervision is to help the supervisees improve their skills,
knowledge, and attitude so that they will be able to acquire excellence when executing
their professional duties. The framework also mentions that this function of supervision
maintains individualized focus since it is focused on the educational needs within the
context of the workload allocated to a supervisee (SACSSP & DSD, 2012).
Hawkins, and Shohet (2012) categorize the educational function as the developmental
function. These authors add that the developmental function is about developing the
skills, and capacities of the supervisees. Through the educational function, the
supervisee is enabled to develop new competencies that will ensure that in pursuing
their allocated work they will be enabled to gain new abilities and strategies to execute
their work (Hawkins and Shohet, 2012). The Supervision Framework of Social Service
Professions mentions that supervisees in the educational function are empowered to
be able to intervene in different situations, (SACSSP & DSD, 2012).
Hawkins and Shohet (2012) proposes the benefit of supervisees to be engaged in the
educational supervision as follows:
Supervisees gain a better understanding of their clients;
Supervisees become more aware of their reactions and responses to the
clients;
Supervisees gain more understanding about the dynamics of the interactions
between supervisees as workers and their clients;
To look at how they intervened and the sequences of their interventions.
For social workers in the King Cetshwayo District to be very effective in their
interventions they need to be engaged in the educational function of supervision. This
is where social workers could gain better insight through the acquisition of theoretical
knowledge that is intended to help them understand their environments and function
better. Without the continuous development of supervisees educationally, it would be
difficult to acquire necessary skills to assist clients. Through the educational function
26
of supervision, the supervisor educates the supervisees from experience in specific
cases. The supervisor also uses different approaches to assist the supervisees to
understand how they should approach and intervene in certain hard cases.
2.2.4. Objectives of Supervision
Kadushin and Harkness (2014) state that social work supervision objectives are both
short and long. These authors add that the short-range objectives of the educational
supervision are simply to promote worker's capabilities to do/her work more efficiently;
assist in growing workers professionally and assist the workers to make the best use
of his/her clinical skills and knowledge. The short-term objectives are not the end goal
of supervision themselves, but are rather, the means for achieving the long-range
objectives of supervision.
According to Wonnacott (2012) supervision’s objectives ensure that the decisions
made are of best quality; enable and improve management, and organizational
accountability. Wonnacott (2012) adds that they address and identify problems that
are associated with managing workload and caseloads, and lastly, help identify and
achieve personal learning, career, and development opportunities.
If supervision does not fulfill these objectives, it means that there is a lack in the
implementation and execution of supervision and the supervisees are not well
capacitated to deal with the work environment (Wonnacott, 2013). The absence of
competent supervisors could lead to failures in addressing problems and achieving
intended goals of the organization.
2.2.5. Role of Supervision
As supervision forms an important aspect of the social work profession, it, therefore,
a profession with its important roles that social work supervisors and supervisees need
to understand so that the outcomes of supervision will be effective. According to
Hughes (2010) supervision plays a predominant role in good social practice as it does
not give benefit on how services are delivered in the organisation but also in building
effective personal relationships. Silence (2014) states that supervision has a variety
of roles in an organization such as to monitor, evaluate and improve the employee’s
performance; give specific feedback to employees; facilitate communication and
mutual understanding; discuss difficulties and sources of conflict; help employees
27
manage conflict. The researcher understands that these important roles cannot
happen without a competent and well-resourced supervisor. Nickson, Carter, and
Francis, (2019) affirm that supervision is a highly valued and vital activity in the
profession that needs both the supervisors and supervisees to take charge of their
roles with the process of supervision. Supervision cannot happen without a supervisor
being at the forefront in the process of supervision ensuring that supervision takes
place in the organization (Nickson, et al., 2019).
2.2.5.1. Role of a Supervisor in Supervision
Supervision cannot exist without the supervisor and as a result, a supervisor in
supervision has an important role to play. According to Marc, Makai-Dimeny, and
Osvat (2014), the roles of a supervisor are to be a trainer, mentor, consultant and
assessor. This means that the supervisor must be well capacitated and skilled to be
able to maneuver across these different roles to the benefit of the supervisee, client,
and organization (Marc, et al., 2014). As a trainer, the supervisor assists the
supervisees to apply academic knowledge and integrate other relevant information
(Marc, et al., 2014). These authors add that as a mentor, the supervisor supports and
assists the supervisees in ensuring that they are well adapted to their work
environment; as a consultant, the supervisor solves challenging problems and
develops a reflective practice and as an assessor, the supervisor provides appropriate
feedback to the supervisees, (Marc, et al., 2014).
Runcan (2013) states that supervision applies to any other human relationship, an
exchange founded on a kind of professional communication specific to a supervisor-
supervisee relationship. It involves both the supervisors to transfer their
communication action at confronting and analyzing them and concomitant perception
of the supervisee’s actions (Runcan, 2013). Hughes (2010) states that a great open
supervisory relationship between a supervisor and supervisee will often lead in most
cases to profitable sessions and genuine insightful feedback. Trust, openness,
attitude, positivity, and honesty are qualities that a core in a good and productive
supervisory relationship (Runcan, 2013).
Runcan (2013) states that the qualities of a supervisor in their relationship with a
supervisee are extremely important for effective supervision. Runcan (2013) further
argues that this relationship is deeply rooted in both the education of the supervisor,
28
their communication and relationship skills (with words as the main working tools), and
the supervisor's personality traits.
According to Marc, et al., (2014), the supervisory relationship between the supervisor
and supervisee remains at the core of the supervisory process and effective
supervision and this depends to an extraordinary degree on the supervisor. The
supervisory process alludes to advancing and continuous arrangement of more or less
intentioned organized discrete occasions by which a supervisor and supervisee finish
their work (Marc, et al., 2014). This means that the supervisory process is what the
supervisor and supervisee do as they work together over time (Marc, et al., 2014)
.
2.2.5.2. Role of a Supervisee in Supervision
The success of the supervisory process does not only depend on the supervisor but
also on the supervisee and the organization within which the supervisor and the
supervisee operate. Wonnacott (2012) regards good supervision as not only the
responsibility of the supervisors but that it is a joint venture between the supervisor,
supervisee, and their organization, with all having a role to play in making the best
possible use of supervision. Therefore, to ensure effective supervision outcomes
social workers must understand their roles with regards to supervision to ensure the
success of the supervisory process (Wonnacott, 2012). Kadushin and Harkness
(2014) agree with Wonnacott (2012) by stating that a supervisory relationship is
established through the authority delegated to the supervisor by the agency and
through the supervisee’s reciprocal acceptance of the supervisor’s legitimate
entitlement to authority.
According to the Supervision Framework for Social Service Profession, (SACSSP and
DSD, 2012), the supervisee has the responsibility to ensure that they attend agreed
supervisions; keep abreast with new developments in the professional field; plan and
prepare for the supervision session. These roles are crucial as they guarantee the
success of the supervisory process (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). Nickson, et al., (2020)
point out a certain concern that threatens the supervisory process when they mention
that in many organizations, supervision is not given high priority and may be cancelled
at short notice when other work pressures and crises are attended to. Nickson, et al.,
29
(2020) note that gaps in available supervision have contributed to worker burnout and
difficulties in the recruitment and retention of social workers, particularly noted in rural
areas, (Nickson, et al., 2020). Therefore, social workers in the supervisory process
cannot be over-emphasised.
2.2.6. Factors Influencing the Outcomes of Supervision
Wonnacott (2012) regards supervision as essential in social work practice for its very
contribution in improving the supervision outcomes and subsequently service delivery.
Makoka (2016) acknowledges that supervision happens inside a proficient relationship
between a supervisory relationship, with an extreme objective of encouraging basic
reflection upon the activity, people, forms, and setting of the practice of social work.
Supervision could be influenced by several factors that could yield good supervisory
outcomes if well considered (Mukoka, 2016). There are six factors that describe and
link what should happen in supervision to ensure that what happens in practice is of
the best quality, (Wannacott, 2012). These factors include role clarity, role security,
emotional competence and empathy, accurate observation and assessment,
partnership and power, and planning (Wonnacott, 2012).
2.2.6.1. Role clarity
Role clarity is about the extent to which a supervisee understands their job description
which ultimately allows the supervisee to perform their duties with absolute clarity.
Suan and Nasurdin (2013) state that role clarity refers to the extent to which an
employee receives and understands the information required to perform his/her job.
Stone and Harbin (2016) add that for a social work supervisee to be effective and
develop professionally, the supervisee needs to be clear about their role. This implies
that the supervisor must be clear of their roles first and then assist their supervisees
to clarify their role in the time of role confusion or ambiguities (Stone and Harbin,
2016).
Wannocott (2012) supports the above-stated view by mentioning that role clarity
involves the supervisor precisely understanding their roles and having them assisting
their supervisees in clarifying their roles concerning their work with the clients. The
ability of the supervisee and supervisor to clarify their roles will influence positive and
30
quality supervision outcomes (Wonnacott, 2012). For the supervisee to come into a
reasonable function of their roles, a supervisor may be required to perform an
educational function of supervision.
2.2.6.2. Role security
According to Wonnacott (2012), supervision should provide a safe environment in
which the supervisee will be able to resolve and explore anxieties and confusion. This
leads to expanded certainty in practice and inspires a state where clients can be more
likely to develop confidence because of the competence of the supervisee, (Wonnacott
2012). Wonacott (2012) adds that the role security can be achieved after the
supervisee and the supervisor have achieved role clarity. Role security ensures that
the supervisee is confident within their roles and can best perform to their roles. Role
security could be best achieved through a supervisor ensuring that the supportive
function of supervision is continually carried out to ensure that all work-related
anxieties and stresses are appropriately dealt with to help the supervisee build
confidence and feel secure in their role as a social worker (Wonnacott, 2012).
2.2.6.3. Emotional Competence and Empathy
Stone and Harbin (2018) state that emotional competence and empathy draw attention
to the emotions at play for both parties within the supervisory relationship. This talks
to the ability of the supervisor and the supervisee to be aware of their emotions within
the supervisory process to achieve the best supervision outcomes. Wonnacott (2012)
points out that this where the supervisor-supervisee relationship empowers an
investigation of feelings, predispositions, and mistakes and models the significance of
attunement to the feeling within the social work task. In this instance, he supervisor
and supervisee have a common understanding and may reach where trust is built
within the supervisory relationship (Wonnacott, 2012). This trust is necessary because
it will help stimulate growth on the part of the supervisee.
2.2.6.4. Accurate Observation and Assessment
Wonnacott (2012) points out that accurate observation and assessment is where the
environment or atmosphere in supervision permits a precise evaluation of the
supervisee's competence and inspires a joint approach towards problem-solving that
can be deciphered into the style of the work with the clients. The supervisor in this role
31
acts as a superior authority and an assessor that looks closely at how a supervisee
can carry out their roles (Wonnacott, 2012). The supervisor also assesses the level of
competence of a social worker and finds ways of how a social worker can be assisted
where there are gaps and shortfalls in practice (Wonnacott, 2012). This includes the
quality of work and the ability of the supervisee to align her practice with professional
and organizational ethics and policies. The administrative function of supervision
comes in helpful at this level.
2.2.6.5. Partnership and Power
Stone and Harbin (2018) state that partnership and power are meant to achieve
appropriate and purposeful power relationships in supervision which is the very
foundation of good practice. Wonnacott (2012) adds that partnership and power are
not one or the other collusive nor correctional but empowers the supervisee to utilize
his authority suitably with clients. In a social work practice, the social worker is
expected to work with clients in an ethical manner governed by the principles of
respect, ubuntu, and others. Partnership and power allow the supervisee to be aware
of their powers when dealing with clients and can utilize them in a manner that is
helpful and empowering to clients (Wonnacott, 2012). This creates a healthy and
professional partnership between the client and a social worker and also a partnership
between clients with the organization as a whole.
2.2.6.6. Planning
Wonnacott (2012) perceives planning as effective within supervision and enables the
supervisees to utilize supervision as a blueprint and role model to create a clear plan
that would benefit their clients. The supervisees undertake the administrative role to
ensure that their intervention with clients is well planned are in line with organizational
policies. The supervisor also plans together with the supervisee on how they will go
about growing the supervisory relationship to assist the supervisee deal with the ever-
changing environment of social work practice (Wonnacott, 2012).
2.2.7. Supervision Types
There are different types of supervision in social work, these include individual
supervision, group supervision, and peer supervision. This section discussed three
32
types of supervision in the context of how they can be best utilized at the DSD at King
Cetshwayo District.
2.2.7.1. Individual Supervision
Individual supervision is one of the most important types of supervision where the
supervisor is engaged in a supervisory process with a single employee of the
organization. Wonnacott (2012) states that supervision can take many forms, such as
the one-on-one session, where the supervisor and the supervisee meet for supervision
purposes. Brueggemenn (2014) describes individual supervision as one that is
administered at the individual level which is often used for consulting and providing
clear direction and includes teaching skills. According to the Supervision Framework
for Social Service Professions, individual supervision promotes the personal
development of the supervisee, as it is intense (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). It also
mentions that the supervisor's role includes the educational, administrative, and
supportive functions, (SACSSP & DSD, 2012).
Individual supervision is valuable because it gives a supervisee time alone with the
supervisor to engage on different matters that affect the supervisee. In that process,
the supervisor notes the problems of a supervisee and deal with them in such a way
that the supervisee is empowered in levels that the supervisor saw necessary for
empowerment.
2.2.7.2. Group Supervision
The second type of supervision is group supervision where the supervisor engages in
a supervisory process with the group of employees. Kadushin and Harkness (2014),
define group supervision as the supervision method that uses a group setting to fulfill
the duties of supervision. The Supervision Framework for Social Service Professions
presents group supervision as a method often facilitated by the supervisor as the
group leader and frequently used as a supplement, but not to substitute individual
supervision (SACSSP & DSD, 2012)
In group supervision, the supervisor is responsible to provide the support,
administrative and educational responsivities for individual supervisee in the group
that is being combined to fulfill their professional responsibilities (Kadushin and
Harkness, 2014). The Supervision Framework for Social Service Professions outlines
33
that in this method of supervision the social work supervisees get the opportunity to
share their knowledge and experiences within the group situation. It also states that
this method becomes more effective in the context of educational supervision,
(SACSSP & DSD, 2012). Kadushin and Harkness (2014) state that the primary
ultimate objective of group supervision is to be more effective and efficient in the
delivery of services to agency clients.
The main advantage of group supervision is that it saves time. Many supervisors may
be attempted to neglect individual supervision because of that advantage. That should
not be the case because all these methods of supervision are crucial to a supervisee
and should reap the benefit of having to receive them all consistently.
2.2.7.3. Peer supervision
According to Silence (2017), peer supervision is the one where workers of the same
level engage in the supervisory process to meet certain goals. In this type of
supervision there is no leader, but all members viewed as equal, (Silence, 2017). This
is where the workers get an opportunity to reflect on their practice and share
challenges they encounter during their cause of work. They get an opportunity to share
their work-related issues and receive possible solutions from their co-workers (Silence,
2017).
The Supervision Framework for Social Service Professions, mentions that the peer
function of supervision does not rely on a designated supervisor; all members
participate equally (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). Therefore, this type of supervision does
not depend on the supervisor for administrative, supportive, and educational needs of
workers but depends on the co-workers that form the peer supervision process. It
suffices to indicate that this kind of supervision is very rare in the identified organization
(SACSSP & DSD, 2012).
2.3. Overview of Existing Related Research
The researcher acknowledges that this study was not a ground-breaking study, and
there were several related kinds of research studies that were conducted on
supervision especially within the DSD in South Africa. In 2016 there was a study
conducted by Mathonsi in the Limpopo province on the ‘Evaluation of Social Work
Supervision on Job Performance in the Department of Social Development’. The
34
researcher evaluated how supervision in social work can affect job performance in the
Department of Social Development at Polokwane Sub-District.
Another study was conducted in the Gauteng province in the Johannesburg region by
Mokoka in 2016. The study was on ‘The Experiences of Social Work Supervisees
concerning Supervision within the Department of Social Development in the
Johannesburg Region’. Mokoka (2016) explored and described social workers'
experiences with regards to social work supervision. Mokoka (2016) used the findings
of the research to formulate recommendations that seek to improve supervision within
the region to improve service delivery. This study was in the Gauteng province and
possibly serviced people in suburbs and townships and cannot be generalized to the
population such as the King Cetshwayo District living in rural areas.
2.4. Conclusion
Social work supervision plays a predominant and significant part in the profession.
This chapter discussed supervision in greater detail. It also defined supervision and
provided a detailed description of the location of the research. In addition, it presented
the functions, roles, and types of supervision, and gave a brief overview of other
existing research that had been done by other researchers on supervision in the DSD.
The next chapter will focus on the process of data collection and provide a detailed
discussion of how the researcher went about collecting data from the participants at
the DSD at King Cetshwayo District.
35
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Introduction
The previous chapter presented literature on supervision and it was broadly discussed
through citing international and local scholars on the subject. This chapter presents
the methodology that was used to collect the data for the study. The chapter provides
a detailed discussion of the research paradigm, sampling techniques, research design,
data collection instruments, and the process of data analysis and interpretation
techniques that were adhered to. This chapter, further discuss the issues of research
reliability and validity; and ethical considerations that were observed during fieldwork.
Lastly, the chapter provide a detailed discussion of the limitations of the study and
conclusion of the chapter.
3.2. Research Methodology
This section briefly describes the research methodology that the researcher utilized
when data was collected. According to Mills and Birks (2014) methodology is a specific
social clinical discourse (a manner of appearing, questioning, and speaking) that
resides in a center ground between discussions of techniques and discussions of
issues in the philosophy of social science. The research methodology reveals how the
researcher perceived the study that was undertaken and how data was collected from
the participants. The research methodology includes the research paradigm, research
approach, and research design. Below is the detailed discussion on the research
paradigm, approach, and design that were used by the researcher when data was
collected at the King Cetshwayo District at the Department of Social Development.
3.2.1. Research Paradigm
Hennink, Hutter, and Bailey (2011) describe a paradigm as a model that researchers
use to make understandings and observations that shape both what we see and how
we understand it. In this study, the interpretivism paradigm was found to be relevant.
Adekunle, Alharahsheh, and Pius (2020) state that interpretivism is focused greatly on
extensive variables and factors associated with a context, considers humans as
different from physical phenomena as they invent similarly depth in meanings with the
belief that people cannot be explored similarly to bodily phenomena. The interpretivism
36
considers variations inclusive of cultures, occasions, in addition to instances main to
the development of various social realities (Adekunle, et al., 2020).
This interpretivism paradigm was essential during the data collection process. It
allowed the researcher to understand the context within which the social workers and
social work supervisors were functioning. It enabled the researcher to dig deeper into
the minds of the participants and figure out how they perceive, interpret, and analyze
their environment, feelings, and experiences without being misunderstood by the
researcher.
3.2.2. Research Approach
Creswell (2013) defines qualitative research as an approach for investigating and
comprehending the meaning of people’s or group’s credit to social or human issue.
The research process includes developing questions and procedures, data ordinarily
collected within the participants’ setting, information investigated inductively building
from particulars to common topics, and the researcher making elucidations of the
meaning of the information, (Creswell, 2013). Lapan, Quartaroli, and Riemer (2012)
state that qualitative research is an approach that enables researchers to explore in
detail social and organizational characteristics and individual behaviors and meanings.
The researcher used a qualitative research method to gain an in-depth understanding
of the collected data.
Leavy (2013) states that researchers utilize this method to investigate, explore and
learn about social marvel; to unload the implications of individuals' credit to activities,
circumstances, and occasions, to construct a profundity of understanding around few
measurements of social life. The standards underpinning qualitative research
incorporate the significance of people's subjective encounters and meaning-making
forms and securing a depth of understanding, (Leavy 2013). For this research, the
researcher utilized qualitative research methods because it allowed the researcher to
investigate and understand the phenomenon under study.
Klente (2016) explains that an interpretivist assumes knowledge and meaning are acts
of interpretations; hence, there is no objective knowledge, which can be independent
of thinking, reasoning human beings. The interpretive researchers accept that the
meaning of human activity is inborn in that the activity which the researcher has pursue
is to find meaning, (Klente 2016). The researcher utilized this type of paradigm to
37
discover meanings on how social workers and supervisors experience the
implementation of supervision in their organization, particularly at King Cetshwayo
District, DSD.
3.2.3. Research Design
Gray (2013) characterizes the research design as the main strategy for collection,
estimation, and examination of data. A research design depicts the reason for the
study and the sorts of probes being addressed, the methods to be utilized for collecting
information, the methods of choosing samples, and how the information is intended to
be analyzed (Gray 2013). Babbie and Mouton (2017) describe research design as a
detailed plan or blueprint that stipulates how the researcher had gone about when the
study was conducted. As the research was conducted in the qualitative form, the
researcher used the exploratory-descriptive research design. The researcher utilized
this type of research design to explore and describe the fundamental aspects of the
research to fully gain an in-depth understanding of the research topic under study.
According to Rubin and Babbie (2014), qualitative exploratory research allows the
researcher to conduct in-depth, unstructured and probing interviews that assist the
researcher to unearth critical and deep information from the participants. Likewise,
Sahu and Singh (2015) mention that one of the most fundamental purposes of
descriptive research is to provide a clear description of the state of affairs as it currently
exists. The researcher felt that an exploratory-descriptive research design was
suitable for this study. The design provided thick descriptions of social work
practitioner's experiences on the implementation of social work supervision in the
Department of Social Development at King Cetshwayo District and provide a clear
description of the state of supervision that exist thereof.
3.2.4. Sampling
For the research to bear desired outcomes and have its research questions answered,
there has to be a sample for the study that was selected through the process called
sampling. Guest, Namey, and Mitchell (2013) define sampling as the process of
selecting a subset of items from a defined population for inclusion into a study.
Thompson (2012) adds that sampling consists of selecting some part of a population
to observe so that one may estimate something about the whole population. When
sampling is well undertaken it can yield certain advantages for the researcher such as
38
saving money, time, and effort but still be able to deliver credible and valid results
(Thompson, 2012). This is because in sampling the researcher only selects the subset
of the population for the inclusion of the study (Daniels, 2012).
The researcher used purposive sampling to select the research participants for the
study. Kumar (2014) states that purposive sampling is possibly concerned with the
choice of a sample explicitly because of particularly interesting features of each
element. The researcher intentionally sampled participants that were suitable for the
participation of the study by following sampling the criteria put together by the
researcher. Guest, et al (2013) argues that the most intuitive way to think of purposive
sampling is that you choose study participants based on the purpose you want your
informants to serve, and you go out and find some. Guest, et al (2013) add that the
rationale and control of purposive sampling lie in choosing information-rich cases for
the ponder in the study, and these information-rich cases are those cases from which
one can learn an incredible bargain in the issues of central significance to the main
goal of the study.
Donnelly and Arora (2012) point out that, in purposive sampling, the researcher
samples with a purpose related to the kind of participants you are looking for. These
authors further states that with a purposive sample you are likely to get opinions of
your target population, but you are also likely to overrepresented subgroups in your
population that are more readily accessible. Therefore, the use of the purposive
sampling in the study was advantageous because it allowed the researcher to save
time, resources, and energy while managing to ensure that the information discovered
during data collection was rich and did representative of the experiences of the entire
intended sample. This was because the researcher had a choice to decide which
participant could participate in the study based on a well-set criterion that the
researcher had developed.
3.2.4.1. Selection of Participants
In this study, specific inclusion criteria were established for the selection of
participants. The study focused on the DSD with specific reference to King Cetshwayo
District. The purposive sampling was guided by this set of criteria developed by the
researcher:
39
The following criteria was used in selecting participants:
a. The participant should be registered with the South African Council of Social
Service Profession (SACSSP) as a social worker;
b. The participant should be working directly with clients;
c. Participants must have a minimum of two years (2) of experience at DSD within
the respective District;
d. The participant should be under the supervision or be a supervisor.
e. The participant should be a social worker or supervisor employed by the
Department of Social Development in one of the selected offices under the King
Cetshwayo District Municipality.
3.2.4.2. Sampling Process
The study was conducted at the DSD at King Cetshwayo District Municipality in the
province of KwaZulu-Natal. The researcher adhered to qualitative research methods
and utilized purposive sampling to deliberately sample a minimum of fifteen (15) to a
maximum of twenty (20) participants. The researcher requested the gatekeeper letter
from the KwaZulu-Natal Head of Department in the Department of Social Development
in April 2019. The researcher managed to secure the gatekeeper letter from the
Department of Social Development in August 2020, (see APPENDIX 1). This
gatekeeper letter gave the researcher access to conduct the study in the identified
department and district. Following the receipt of the gatekeeper letter the researcher
then received a response from the UKZN Research Ethics Committee in August 2020
(see APPENDIX 2). This was the full ethics approval letter that the University issues
for the research projects that complied with all academic research ethical codes and
laws. This led to a researcher moving with speed to start a recruitment process at the
identified District of the DSD. After acquiring these letters, the researcher
communicated the letters with the King Cetshwayo DSD, District Director who then
gave a green light for the researcher to enter the identified service offices for actual
research purposes. The Director gave verbal permission to the researcher to do data
collection as he had seen the letter from the KwaZulu-Natal Head of Department. The
researcher went on to meet with service office Managers to introduce himself and then
began the recruitment process with their help.
40
Since the department had been recovering from the strict lockdown measures of
Covid-19, like the entire country, there was so much business to be taken care of, so
it was difficult for the researcher to begin the initial recruitment process because
supervisors and social workers worked in shifts according to their different internal
organizational arrangements. The researcher had to rely much on supervisors for the
selection of social workers who fit the sampling criteria. The real test was getting social
workers, to agree to participate in the study since most feared that they had negative
things to say about the department because they had bad supervision experiences.
It is an undeniable fact that supervision is understood as an important practice in social
work, especially with regards to rendering the services to clients. Therefore, the
research participants for this study consisted of social workers and supervisors. Social
workers were selected to be part of the sample because they are considered to be the
main and direct recipients of supervision that should enable them to be effective when
dealing with their clients. Supervisors were also selected to be part of the sample
because they are the ones entrusted with administering supervision within the
organization to ensure that social workers perform, and the organizational vision is
realized.
In recruiting social workers per organization under the district, the researcher used the
help of the Service Office Managers and Supervisors to help identify social workers
who fit the criteria for inclusion in the research study. After carefully identifying the
social workers who met the criteria for participation in the study, the researcher
deliberately visited their offices to recruit them. The researcher had to put emphasis
on the principle of confidentiality and explained clearly the purpose of the study. The
participants were provided with the consent form (see APPENDIX 3) before the actual
interview session but the researcher realized that most social workers did not sign nor
read the consent form and that called for the researcher to briefly summarize the
consent form at the actual meeting. Initially, the researcher aimed to interview fifteen
(15) social workers and five (5) supervisors but the researcher managed to interview
thirteen (13) social workers and four (4) supervisors.
3.2.5. Methods of Data Collection
The researcher used in-depth semi-structured interviews to collect data. According to
Guest, et al. (2013), in-depth semi-structured interviews permits the researcher to
41
receive detailed responses to their questions from "experts" on the matter at hand.
Guest, et al. (2013) state that in general, the researcher uses in-depth interviews
because he is seeking depth and is attempting to gain understanding concerning some
elements that pertain to human experiences that are beyond general facts. The
researcher selected in-depth semi-structured interviews as the sole method for data
collection because it allowed the researcher to go deeper and get more insight into the
topic under investigation. This benefit of semi-structured interviews directly helped the
researcher to solicit information that was rich from the participants.
This type of data collection method also allowed the researcher to be flexible in asking
questions and have the freedom to follow up on the responses given by participants
to ensure that their responses are clear and that they answer the research questions.
Ravitch and Carl (2016), explain that when utilizing the semi-structured interviews, the
researcher must employ the interview instrument to organize and direct the interview
but can moreover incorporate, custom-fitted follow-up questions within and across
interviews. Ravitch and Carl (2016) state that the interview instrument incorporates
questions to be inquired to all participants. These authors add that the order of
questions and wording of questions and sub-questions take after a special and
customized conversational way with each participant. The researcher prepared the
interview guide (see APPENDIX 4) that guided the interviewing process but also
allowed the researcher to ask more questions that emanated from the participant's
answers. The questions were open-ended to allow participants to answer freely.
Gubruim, Holstein, Marvasti, and McKinney (2012) outlined that once the participant
has given consent to participate in the research project, the researcher must begin to
ask questions and record answers. After the participants had agreed to participate in
the study the researcher offered his gratitude for agreeing to participate in the research
study. Participants were initially asked a general question that attempted to allow them
to identify themselves such as who they are and how long they have been in the
department. This was for participants to start by covering familiar territories and for the
researcher to collect valuable information about the participants at the same time
(Denscombe, 2010). This made the participants feel comfortable and free and, in some
way, created a safe environment for the participants to participate.
42
The researcher emphasized to the participants that their participation was voluntary
and explained that they participate as individuals and not as representatives of their
organisation and service office. This was done because most social workers felt like
they had to defend and speak well of the department which could have hindered the
sharing of their own experiences. As the participants were assured of the principle of
anonymity, they felt comfortable sharing their own experiences. Before they got this
assurance, many social workers believed that they could be exposed and be targeted
by the department to be victimized for their views on the subject being investigated.
The DSD had just returned to operations like the rest of the country after the hard
lockdown due to Covid-19. There were a lot of activities that were taking place and
social workers, supervisors, and office managers were very much occupied with
internal office work and other responsibilities. This made it to be hard to recruit and
secure interview appointments with participants. Most participants were very busy and,
in many instances, could not honor the appointments which then delayed the
researcher to finish and cover all participants. The researcher initially intended to
interview 15 social workers and 5 supervisors but ended up getting 13 social workers
and 4 social work supervisors. The researcher discovered that the participants were
already sharing the same information and saw no need to solicit more information from
the participants by the way of getting more interviews. Each interview took lasted
between 28 to 55 minutes.
3.2.6. Data Analysis
When data has been collected, it then needs to be analyzed to fulfill the research
objectives and to answer the research questions. Richard, Grinnell and Anrua (2008)
argue that the core purpose of analyzing data in qualitative research is mainly to sift,
sort, and organize the huge contents of raw data that has been acquired by the
researcher during the collection of data in such a way that the themes and
interpretations that result from the process address the original problem statement that
the researcher identified previously.
As part of data analysis, the researcher embarked on the process of transcribing the
data and to formulate a plan on how data should be analyzed and interpreted. Richard,
et al. (2008) state that in data analysis the researcher has to follow two steps which
43
are to prepare data in a transcript form and then develop a preliminary plan that the
researcher uses in proceeding with data analysis.
The initial stage of data analysis that the researcher h embarked on was to transcribe
all the data. Richard, et al. (2008) identify a transcript is the written record of your
interviews and any other written material that you have gathered. This written record
of the researcher's interview consists of more than mere words spoken by each person
during the interview, such as the comments that reflect non-verbal interactions such
as pauses, laughs, and crying.
For the purpose of this research, the researcher used thematic data analysis to
analyze the collected data. Liamputtong (2011) describes thematic data analysis as a
process of identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) within the data.
Thematic data analysis is perceived as the foundational method for qualitative
analysis, (Liamputtong 2011). Themes do represent and re-contextualize the data to
which they relate, but this can be of value in creating new readings and renderings of
that data. The researcher followed the five steps of thematic content analysis
described by Terre Blanche, Durkheim and Painter (2006), namely: Familiarization
and immersion, inducing themes, coding, elaboration, and interpretation, and
checking.
3.2.6.1. Familiarization and immersion
This is the first step of analyzing the data that has been collected from the research
participants. Bloor and Wood (2017) state that in the initial stage, the researcher
organizes information for familiarization with the information through an arrangement
of rereading to get a common sense of their meaning. They moreover specify that data
immersion is ordinarily carried out on a small segment of the complete information set.
The researcher at this level reread the transcripts fully to understand the collected
data. This immersing that the researcher did create the general sense that helped
when the coding phase was supposed to be done.
3.2.6.2. Coding
Mayer (2011) defines coding as the systematic way of key terms analysis,
categorizing, and data interpretation. Mayer adds that the coding process entails the
marking of different sections of the data as being instances of, or relevant to, one or
44
more of your themes. In this section, the researcher used different highlighters to mark
different sections of data that were relevant enough to answer the research questions.
3.2.6.3. Inducing themes
According to Guest, et al. (2012), the theme is the subject or phrase that points out
what the segment of data is about and its meeting. The authors argue that themes as
theoretical frameworks build and interface not as expressions found in content but
expressions found in pictures and objects. The researcher labeled the categories of
data by developing themes and in keeping with the aims and research questions of
the study.
3.2.6.4. Elaboration
Mayer (2011) states that the themes and coding processes allow for text to be
reconstructed in the new order, thereby providing new perspectives and views on the
groupings, issues, and sub-issues appearing in the text. Elaboration allows themes to
be explored in more depth (Mayer, 2011). This procedure allowed the researcher to
repetitively read the transcripts, therefore, at this stage, the researcher engaged with
the data that had not been captured by the original coding system (Mayer, 2011).
3.2.6.5. Interpretation and Checking
Mayer (2011) regards the interpretations as leading to a thick description of the data
by explaining, elaborating, rearranging, and reflecting on them. Interpretation and
checking allowed the researcher to personally make reflections on his role both as the
researcher who had been collecting data and as well as the data interpreter on the
study dealing with the “Practitioners' Experiences on the Implementation of Social
Work Supervision in the Department of Social Development”. This personal reflection
helped the researcher to guard against any biases or any unethical conduct that might
be reflected in the research and ensure that the researcher desists from such unethical
conduct. The researcher interpreted the data against the literature review and the
theoretical framework.
3.3. Data Trustworthiness
This section discussed the forms of data trustworthiness such as credibility,
transferability, dependability, and conformity.
45
3.3.1. Credibility
Efrom and Ravid (2019) state that credibility is concerned with the study's accuracy
and integrity. Trochim, Donnelly, and Arora (2012) add that credibility also involves the
researcher's ability to ensure that the qualitative research findings are believable from
the standpoint of research participants. All the participants in the study agreed to be
audio recorded. This allowed the researcher to capture data that could have been
missed in the note taking procedure. The researcher transcribed data word by word
without having to translate it into another language. All participants preferred to answer
in isiZulu and mixed it with English a little. The researcher first transcribed the
interviews done in isiZulu and then transcribed them into English paying attention not
to lose the initial original version.
3.3.2. Transferability
According to Efrom and Ravid (2019), transferability focuses on whether the study
findings may be applied to other similar settings. Trochim, et al. (2012) mention that
transferability is defined as the point to which the qualitative research findings can be
transferred or generalized to other contexts. Trochim, et al. (2012) state that the
researcher can enhance transferability by doing a comprehensive and in-depth job of
appropriately describing the context of the research and assumptions that were central
to the research.
The researcher used a detailed description of the information in the write-up of the
research findings to show that the research findings can be applied to other contexts.
The researcher provided the readers with a full and purposive account of the context,
participants, and research design to make the readers make their own decision about
transferability. The researcher realized when conducting the interviews that most
concerns and experiences of social workers and supervisors are similar and result
mainly from how the department is structured and functions currently. This allowed the
research to be transferable to other service offices and districts of the Department of
Social Development.
3.3.3. Dependability
According to Trochim, et al (2012), dependability emphasizes the need for the
researcher to account for the ever-changing context within which the research occurs.
These authors further state that the researcher is responsible for providing a detailed
46
description of the changes that happen in the setting and the effects of these changes
on the conclusions. In most cases, the researcher faced the problem of time. Most
participants came to an interview session in a hurry to get back to work because of
work-related duties. The researcher had to be very specific and focused on ensuring
that the interview session is not too long but yields the best results even in a short
time.
According to Efrom and Ravid (2019), dependability assesses whether the procedures
used during the inquiry are appropriate for the study's question(s) and were adequately
implemented. As every interview session had been different in its way the researcher
had to keep a reflective journal where the researcher wrote on how he felt about
interviews and other aspects that related to the research especially the data collection
process. This helped the researcher to assess his impact on the research and where
to improve with the purpose of ensuring that the research interview sessions were
productive.
3.3.4. Conformability
According to Efrom and Ravid (2019), conformability considers the extent to which the
study's findings represent the data accurately rather than reflecting the researcher's
bias. Trochim, et al. (2012) states that confirmability refers to the degree to which the
results could be confirmed or corroborated by others. To ensure that the researcher
ensures conformability, the researcher audio recorded the interviews so that they
could be transcribed on a verbatim basis. This helped the researcher in the
transcribing process not to distort and misrepresent the participants’ feelings, opinions,
and responses. This also helped in ensuring that the findings were not biased.
3.4. Ethical Considerations
As the researcher was involved in the data collection process, the following ethical
principles were observed to guide the process:
3.4.1. Gatekeeper
Kara (2018) regards the gatekeeper as someone who has the power to put the
researcher in contact with potential participants. One ethical approach that minimizes
this is to involve gatekeepers in designing research, which may increase their sense
of ownership and so lead to them being supportive, (Kara 2018). The researcher wrote
to the Department of Social Development in April 2018 to the Head of Department
47
requesting permission to conduct the study. The HOD approved the request in August
2020 (see APPENDIX 1). The researcher then submitted the gatekeeper letter from
the Department of Social Development to the UKZN Research Ethics Committee in
August 2020 (see APPENDIX 2). The researcher received full approval from the UKZN
Research Ethics Committee in September 2020.
After receiving these letters from these respective institutions, the researcher
approached the District Director of King Cetshwayo District to inform the District about
the study approval that must take place under the district. The Director gave verbal
permission that the researcher may commence with collecting data. This allowed the
researcher to go to the selected office for the recruitment of participants.
3.4.2. Voluntary participation
De Vos et al., (2011) explain that participation should always be voluntary and that no
one should be forced into participating in a research study. After the researcher had
recruited the participants who fit the set criteria, the researcher had to inform the
participants that their participation in the research was voluntary. The researcher also
explained to participants that their participation was free and had no forms of rewards
for participation. The participants agreed to participate with a clear mindset that they
were participating voluntarily without any form of compensation. Participants had a
right to withdraw from being part of the research at any time.
The researcher included this ethical principle on the consent form that was given to
participants so that it was also in writing that their participation was voluntary. It was
noticed by the researcher that this created an environment with no high expectations
from participants and made them free to share whatever information they wanted to
share with the researcher. It made them feel in control of the process and know that
the researcher depended on them for the researcher to finish his study.
3.4.4. Confidentiality
McLaughlin (2014) argues that confidentiality guarantees that the provenance of
comments in a research report cannot be connected to a specific individual or
participant. The author also mentions that this incorporates both coordinate
attributions, where comments are connected to a particular participant’s name or title
and attribution where the collection of characteristics may make it conceivable to
48
recognize a participant. Muratovski (2016) postulates that confidentiality is when the
researcher knows the names and any other personal information of the participants
but cannot and will not disclose this information to others. Social workers and
supervisors understand the principle of confidentiality because in their line of duty it is
demanded when they are dealing with their clients. This made the researcher extra
careful when dealing with social work professionals on this principle.
During the first introductory meeting with service office managers of each office, the
researcher requested office space so that there can be a safe in private place for each
interview. This was requested because the Department of Social Development is in
shortage of offices and, in most cases, social workers share offices. Conducting an
interview where other social workers were present could have defeated the purpose
of the research and limited how responses were given. In some offices, the researcher
was afforded special office space to conduct interviews while in other offices the
researcher had to ask for the supervisor to help secure space for each interview
session. This caused problems because sometimes other social workers entered the
office while the interview was in progress. In such cases, the researcher paused the
interview and only continued when it was safe. The researcher guaranteed
confidentiality by assuring participants that every information they shared was not be
disclosed publicly but only be used for professional purposes.
3.4.5. Informed consent
According to Wiles (2013), informed consent includes informing the research
participants with the necessary and comprehensive information about what
participating in the research study will involve and also giving them the right to choose
whether not to participate or to participate in a study. The researcher explained the
nature and the purpose of the study to participants and then offered them an
opportunity to willingly decide whether to be involved in the study or not.
The consent form (see APPENDIX 3) was prepared by the researcher for all
participants to read carefully and then sign when they agree with it. The researcher
handed the consent forms to all participants for their perusal and they were expected
to bring them back on the day of the interview. The researcher noticed that all
participants did not read nor sign the consent form until the day of the interview. This
called for the researcher to summarize the consent form to the participants and then
49
allow them the space to decide whether to participate or not. Participants agreed to
participate in the study and they were allowed to sign the consent form and provide
necessary details. The reason for failing to go through the consent form had to do with
pressure from work. Participants’ time was consumed with meeting deadlines hence
they forgot to honor the arrangement they made with the researcher.
3.4.6. No Harm to Participants
According to Bryman (2012), harm can entail several facets such as harm on the
participants’ improvement, harm to self-confidence, and stress. According to Babbie
and Rubin (2015), this includes not only physical harm or serious forms of
psychological harm, but also harm associated with revealing information that may
embarrass them, make them feel uncomfortable, or endanger their jobs or
interpersonal relationships. The study explored the social worker's and supervisor's
experiences on the implementation of supervision in their respective organizations
where they work. It did not involve any harmful full experiments or types of questions
that could pose harm, stress, loss of self-esteem, or even embarrass them.
The researcher observed that the participants were comfortable during interview
sessions and even mentioned that the topic being researched was important for them.
They used the opportunity to answer questions and express their deepest concerns
and problems they faced that they could not tell the authorities. The research provided
the participants who participated with an opportunity to debrief. This gave the
researcher satisfaction that the research is doing a lot good than bad to participants.
The researcher noticed that after interview questions were over some participants felt
like they could say more which necessitated an opportunity for further data collection
within the scope of the research study. Some participants used the opportunity to voice
personal and work-related concerns and also to provide recommendations on how to
help restructure and effectively enforce supervision.
3.4.7. Deceiving Participants
According to Bryman (2012), deception happens when the researcher portrays their
work as something other than what it is. Rubin and Babbie (2015) also state that
deceiving participants involves having to answer if the research participants will be
deceived in any way. To adhere to this ethical principle, the researcher presented the
correct details of the research proposal and explained the research title, objectives,
50
and the aim of the research. This assisted participants to understand the nature of the
research and what the research hopes to achieve so that their participation would be
based on the truth, not on any form of deception.
3.4.8. Debriefing Participants
Muratovski (2016) points out that the main purpose of the debriefing session is to
minimize the impacts of participating in the study and remedy any possible
misconceptions that the participants might have because of the study. After the
research was completed the researcher debriefed the participants to ensure that there
was no damage done by the research on participants. The researcher was pleased to
know that the participants were all happy with the research process. Participants
reported that the research gave them the space to share their concerns that they could
not share within the department or with colleagues because of their fears.
3.5. Conclusion
This chapter has explained and described the research methods that were used as
the means of collecting qualitative research data for this study. The researcher
conducted a descriptive-exploratory research study. As part of the sample, thirteen
(13) social workers were interviewed and four (4) social work supervisors were also
interviewed on their experiences on supervision. The sampled participants were
interviewed using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Ethical considerations were
also discussed as well as explaining how the study was conducted when the data was
collected. The next chapter presents and evaluates the findings of the research.
51
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
4.1. Introduction
the previous chapter discussed the research methodology that was used to collect
data from the participants. In this chapter, the researcher presents the findings from
the collected data. The researcher followed the six steps that were pioneered and
proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). The six steps include data familiarisation,
forming codes, inducing themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes and,
producing a report. To analyze the data, the researcher used thematic data analysis,
based on its relevance and compatibility with the qualitative study. As Braun and
Clarke (2006) assert, the thematic analysis can be applied across a range of
theoretical and epistemological approaches. According to Liamputtong (2011),
thematic data analysis is a process for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns
(themes) within the data.
The first step was for the researcher to transcribe all the audiotaped interviews so that
there could be verbatim written responses. This allowed the researcher to familiarize
himself with the data by reading it several times. As the researcher was engaged in
this process, he was also highlighting important segments of data that answered the
research questions. Then the researcher arranged the important data into categories
which were then grouped into themes for elaboration and interpretation. The
researcher in this chapter attempts to answer these research questions:
i. What are the experiences of social work practitioners and supervisors on the
implementation of supervision in the Department of Social Development?
ii. What is the context within which supervision takes place in the identified
organization?
iii. What is the nature of supervision applicable in the identified organization?
iv. How social work practitioners understand the execution of supervision in the
identified organization?
52
4.2. Profiling of the participants
This section provides a profile of the participants. This is important because each
response relates to specific service office of the DSD under King Cetshwayo District
execute supervision and how participants in this district experience supervision. The
researcher has hidden the true identities of the names of the participant and used
codes to adhere to the principle of confidentiality which is very important in qualitative
research. The researcher sampled both social workers and supervisors. The codes
SWS and SWP are used to represent the social work practitioners and social work
supervisors respectively. There were thirteen (13) social workers and four (4) social
work supervisors who participated in the study. These participants work at the King
Cetshwayo District in the Department of Social Development. The tables below show
social workers and supervisors that participated in the study, respectively.
Table 4.1.1. Social Work Practitioners and Supervisors that participated in the
study
Participant
Name
Experience
Service Office
Date
SWP 1
11 years
Lower Mfolozi
05/11/2020
SWP 2
11 years
Lower Mfolozi
05/11/2020
SWP 3
11 years
Lower Mfolozi
05/11/2020
SWP 4
9 years
Lower Mfolozi
06/11/2020
SWP 5
5 years
Lower Mfolozi
06/11/2020
SWP 6
10 years
Richards Bay
11/11/2020
SWP 7
3 years
Richards Bay
11/11/2020
SWP 8
10 years
Richards Bay
11/11/2020
53
SWP 9
11 years
Richards Bay
11/11/2020
SWP 10
8 years
Richards Bay
11/11/2020
SWP 11
10 years
Ongoye
12/11/2020
SWP 12
8 years
Ongoye
13/11/2020
SWP 13
12 years
Ongoye
17/11/2020
SWS 1
26 years
Richards Bay
10/11/2020
SWS 2
10 years
Lower Mfolozi
10/11/2020
SWS 3
10 years
Ongoye
12/11/2020
SWS 4
14 years
Richards Bay
18/11/2020
4.3. Overview of the Themes, Sub-Themes, and Categories
In this section, the researcher gives an overview of all themes, sub-themes, and
categories that arose from the collected data as it was being scrutinized. After this
brief overview, the themes, sub-themes, and categories were discussed in detail with
the actual extracts from the interviews with the participants.
Table 4.2 shows the themes, sub-themes, and categories that emerged as data was
being analyzed.
Table 4.3.1 Themes and sub-themes
Theme 1: Experiences of Social workers and Supervisors on Supervision
Sub-theme 1.1: Supervision as a demanding role at implementation level
Sub-theme 1.2: Preoccupation with the heavy workload
Sub-theme 1.3: Centralizing administrative function over educational and
supportive components
54
Theme 2: Context within which supervision takes place in the identified
organization
Sub-theme 2.1: Lack of human and capital resources
Sub-theme 2.2: Lack of proper organisation of work
Sub-theme 2.3: Attitudes of practitioners towards supervision
Theme 3: Nature of supervision applicable to each organization
Sub-theme 3.1: Inconsistent methods of supervision applied in the organisation
Sub-theme 3.2: Support given to supervisors
Sub-theme 3.3: Competence of supervisors
Theme 4: Understanding of participants on how supervision should be
administered.
Sub-theme 4.1: Ideal supervision
4.3.1. Theme 1: Experiences of Social workers and Supervisors on
Supervision.
The effectiveness and purpose of supervision cannot not be fully examined without
critically engaging on the social workers’ and supervisors’ experiences. Hafford-
Letchfield and Englebrecht (2019) state that social work supervision is considered to
be the core feature in the development of social work professional identity and practice
and provides an important vehicle in which its outcomes are mediated and supported.
Therefore, good quality supervision has been cited as a pivot upon which the integrity
and excellence of the practice can be maintained. This is true for a well-functioning
organization where employees can carry out their roles in a fair, just, and conducive
environment. Having said that, the researcher needed to conduct a study that seeks
to explore the experiences of both social workers and supervisors on supervision. The
reason to embark on this study was that most studies focus on either one of the two
categories or seldom both.
Furthermore, in developmental state, supervision should be aligned with the
developmental approach to social welfare, as it would allow the vision and the mission
of the countries purposed social development goals to be attained. Ncube (2019)
points out that supervision in social work provides a blueprint on how to provide quality
55
welfare services, making the profession of social work a key role player in the
implementation of the White Paper for Social Welfare. It is within this context that the
experiences of both social workers and supervisors are significant in understanding
how they experience the implementation and execution of supervision in their
organisation. This would allow the researcher and any other party that may draw
benefit from the research to see whether the execution of supervision in the concerned
district is aligned to the realization of the developmental state agenda of social welfare
or not.
As the data was being collected, it became clear that almost all social workers and
supervisors who participated in the study had unpleasant experiences concerning
supervision. These experiences were largely connected to the way DSD operates.
DSD does not give them time for proper supervision to take place or give their
Supervision Framework space if being implemented in their organizations.
4.3.1.1. Sub-theme 1.1: Supervision as a Demanding Role at Implementation
Level
In a district that experiences the effects of polity dualism, supervision may not be an
easy task to perform. The Supervision Framework for the Social Work Profession
(2012) acknowledges that in South Africa supervision can take place in many different
contexts and employments (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). It appears that little is being done
in practice to follow through with the Supervision Framework to ensure that though
supervision may be applied across different context but is being unified to overcome
supervision inconsistencies across the sector. Bak (2004) states that this is because
the role of social work in the implementation of developmental social welfare as
prescribed in the White Paper for Social Welfare 1997 is ambiguous. This ambiguity
arises from the fact that very few scholars had investigated the role of social work
within the confines of a developmental state and how supervision could be used to
ensure that social development goals are fulfilled.
Social workers and supervisors were asked to share their experiences on supervision
that they currently experience in their respective service offices. They firstly described
it as a demanding process that turns out to be unpleasant for them.
These are the accounts of the experiences of participants with regards to supervision:
56
If you are serious about implementing supervision, you must consider the
ratio… we have a supervision framework that says the ratio should be 1:15 or
1:13 depending, but only to find that that ratio on the framework is too high to
practice practically on supervision… you cannot provide effective supervision…
at least they must say maybe 1:5 or 1:6… so it ends up not implementable
practically. SWS 3
Mhhhh my supervision experience is draining… it’s draining… even for
supervisors when I look at them it is draining. They are always stressed and so
it is not a kind job that you’ll see someone excited about it… sometimes you
see them assigning work that should be done by them to us as supervisees,
which means even the supervisors are overloaded in terms of work. Because
they are overloaded with work, they tend to target certain social workers to do
some work for them that falls within their duties. SWP 3.
Eeey, when I started working, my experience of supervision was actually better.
I do not know whether it is the exhaustion of the supervisors that makes them
not to be much helpful to their supervisees, but at first, my experience was good
but now it is difficult. It is alternating because at the beginning when I started
working my experience was good but now it is very bad. SWP 6.
These accounts of supervision experiences from participants may look slightly
different and may lead one to hardly draw a common conclusion as far as they are
concerned. Reaching a common conclusion on these accounts is not impossible
because these accounts reveal that participants in the DSD, at King Cetshwayo
District face similar challenges in supervision. The accounts from participants reveal
that they acknowledge that while supervision exists, to a certain degree, some
situations make their experiences unfavourable towards it.
Supervision in the DSD should strengthen the efforts to achieve the goals of the
developmental state without compromising the actual role players in the supervision
process. There is a Supervision Framework that seeks to unify and bring a basic
understanding of what supervision and how it should be implemented across the entire
57
organisation which was highly appreciated. In practice, there are enormous challenges
posed by the department on both supervisors and social workers that make it very
difficult to administer supervision in adherence to the supervision framework.
4.3.1.2. Sub-theme 1.2: Preoccupation with the heavy workload
When participants were asked to share about how they experience supervision in their
organization, common among their shared experiences was their frustration
emanating from the heavy workload. The expectation to address the heavy workload
tended to contribute to their negative experiences of supervision. They reported that
they were frustrated and had unending workload. This was a negative factor that
impacted on their experiences with supervision. Parker mentions that high workload is
manageable if support levels were high as good supervision helps social workers to
improve their self-efficacy, confidence, resilience, retention and stress levels.
In the study, I noticed that when participants were commenting on the issue of the
heavy workload, they pointed to issues of lack of planningwhich was a serious concern
and cause for most social workers to have a negative attitude about their work.
Participants also highlighted serious concerns about the quality of their work.
According to Tsui (2009) social work is considered a high-risk profession in terms of
stress and burnout because of the high level of demands from various stakeholders
but low degree of support.
Below are the experiential accounts of two supervisors interviewed:
I think having to deal with all of the programs as a supervisor is problematic
because there’s no way that you can effectively deal with everything equally
and still be accountable for all of them at the end of the day. This is what creates
a challenge because you cannot fully acquaint yourself with the rules of
supervision equally across all of these programs. If we were placed according
to a particular program, maybe each supervisor would have been allocated for
specific services. For instance, there would be a supervisor for children and
families, another supervisor for restorative services. By so doing, we could
make the role of supervision to be fully effective rather than more effective. As
58
the thing stands, there is too much work that makes supervision difficult. SWS
2.
Eeeehmmm supervision should be structured as we are supposed to do it
according to the supervision framework that guides us. Maybe it should be
conducted once a month for social workers with a lot of work experience but for
other social workers who are new in the field maybe twice a month or weekly,
However, because of the high workload and the number of social workers
allocated, you end up failing. The work becomes too much in such a way that
you won't even schedule supervision sessions appropriately. There must be
structured supervision sessions with an agenda that you have carefully planned
as a supervisor and do everything according to the framework but the pressure
we get from this too much work makes us unable to rely on structured
supervision… you'll end up supervising a social worker as he/she comes with
a case that gives him/her problems. SWS 1
These accounts from supervisors reveal the pressure under which the social workers
operate every day in their organization. Both of these participants who are supervisors
demonstrate an understanding of their roles and expectations. According to the role
theory, different role players in a supervisory relationship must be able to define their
roles with the organization. Parker (2020) suggests that role theory concerns itself with
the extent to which people understand their roles in an organization and how the
organization ensures employees do not have conflicting roles. Due to the
circumstances that these supervisors find themselves operating under, they are forced
to neglect some of their important functions.
This research was of great importance because, with it, both social workers and
supervisors were able to share their own experiences on how the high level of pressure
arising from the heavy workload negatively affects them. The participants who are
social workers also had lots of frustrations arising from the notion that lots of work they
have is hard to manage. Most participants mentioned that the type of work that they
normally find themselves busy with is mostly unplanned and requires them to have
59
their weekly and monthly plans disturbed. I In most cases, the work that comes from
the top management is needed as a matter of urgency.
There was one participant who had the least experience of all the social workers that
participated in the study. This participant had three (3) years of experience in the field
and was supposed to be under close supervision. This participant had this to say on
the matter concerning having too much work to do with little or no supervision:
Just like myself, I’m still new in the field but my supervisor does not have time.
I’ve never had an opportunity to explain to her when I have problems with
certain cases… what helps me is that I just approach senior social workers like
my office mate because she has many years in the field and this office…
whenever I go to my supervisor I’ll find her very busy and would sometimes tell
me to go to any social worker to ask for assistance… she will just push me to
other social workers… I do not get it from her… here, there is no time for
supervision… whenever you have a personal problem you must take leave and
deal with it… there is no time. SWP 7
This response reveals the negative effects that the heavy workload poses on both
social workers and supervisors. This negative impact directly influences supervision,
because it limits time for any formal supervision. This challenge could be viewed as
relating to the assertion made by SWS 1 when she said:
…but the pressure we get from this too much work makes be unable to rely on
structured supervision… you'll end up supervising a social worker as he/she
comes with a case that gives him/her problems.
Therefore, it is evident that this factor plays a major role on how supervision is
implemented in the DSD at King Cetshwayo District. From these assertions, one could
see that when supervision becomes hard to implement as the participants mention, it
would be very difficult for the department in this district to achieve the social welfare
objectives and goals.
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More experienced social workers that participated in the study revealed that, in as
much as supervision is not fully functional, it does exist in their organization. They
mentioned that even though they experience the heavy workload on their part and the
parts of their supervisors, they have come to understand that this situation could not
be blamed only on the leadership in their service offices. This notion of having social
work practitioners also taking responsibility concurs with the assertion by Sithole
(2019), who argues that supervision in social service organizations is also
characterized by the reciprocal process. This could also be interpreted as indicative of
the view that most of the experienced social workers at King Cetshwayo District had
reached this fundamental professional maturity that allows them to be loyal in their
duty despite the challenges they face. These are the accounts of experienced social
work participants when responding to their experience in supervision:
Okay, it differs from supervisor to supervisor… but as far as supervision
expectations are concerned, it does not happen the way it is supposed to
happen but we understand the reasons. Let me say, I understand the reason
that there is no sufficient time due to the workload. SWP 7
Supervision ends up being not implemented the way we are expecting it to be
implemented, however, I end up understanding even though I'm not sure
whether that it's okay or not. I think it is because I am a social worker who has
been in the field for some years. I can see how the department functions and
the pressure there is, and everything. Supervision ends up not implemented
accordingly because of too much workload. I can also say that even our
supervisors end up having a lot of work to do - they end up failing to organize
themselves. I will be very honest here; they fail to organize themselves because
when a supervisor is still supervising her supervisees there would be something
else that requires her attention urgently. I’m sure that they also have a correct
understanding of what is supervision and how it should be conducted, but due
to the situation in the department and the way the department functions they
end up failing to do supervision accordingly. SWP 3
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4.3.1.3. Sub-theme 1.3: Centralizing Administrative Function over Educational
and Supportive Components
Most participants treat their supervisors as their peers with just more experience and
a higher position than them. This is because the role of a supervisor in their practice
has not been properly role played to produce effective outcomes, especially, on the
supportive and educational function of supervision that are very important for social
workers. Parker (2020) mentions that it becomes a concern when the purpose of
supervision increasingly gets concerned with management oversight and surveillance
rather than focusing much on providing supportive and educative functions of
supervision. In the same vein, a study conducted by Engelbrecht (2012) six years ago,
found that South African supervisors mainly view supervision's primary goal as to
develop their supervisees into independent and autonomous practitioners.
From the other segments of data that have been analyzed before, it became evident
that all the functions of supervision in the DSD at King Cetshwayo District are hardly
implemented. This was due to many factors that influence how supervisors and social
workers operate in their agencies. These factors resulted in supervisors neglecting
their supervisees and social workers having to find other ways of ensuring that they
can do their work without the need for supervision. Most participants revealed that in
the absence of effective supervision, they resort to executing their duties without
looking for any support from the supervisor. These are some of the accounts from the
participants:
Actually, ever since I arrived in the department, I have never received good
supervision… There was never a time where I got the support that I was looking
for from the supervisor. I have learned to be my own supervisor… I only consult
my supervisor when there’s something that really needs her signature but
normally, I just work without her… if there’s something I do not understand I ask
other social workers. SWP 1
Supervision has never been something that made any positive effect or brings
any positivism to me because, like I’m saying, it has never been a good thing
or much helpful to me because I work independently. I’m a hard worker and I’m
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committed. If you could ask me about my experience with supervision that is
taking place, I’m actually puzzled and twisted because I supervise myself in my
own way. As you’re asking me how has it been, I’ll say it has not been a good
experience for me because you have to do things in your way and it is not nice-
it is not good and it is not helping. SWP 8
Social workers have opted not to rely on supervision for various reasons. This does
not only affect them but also the quality of their work, clients, organization, and
interpersonal relationships within a working environment. Tsui (2009) states that social
work supervision has been recognised as a core fundamental factor in sensing job
satisfaction levels of social workers and the delivery of efficient and quality services to
clients though it has not received much attention as other components of supervision.
The study reveals that the absence of supervision is detrimental to execution of social
workers job as well as their wellbeing. This is also detrimental to their profession,
clients, and organisation. The DSD has to intervene to strengthen the need for
supervision within the department and make conditions favourable for its effective
execution.
It was evident that supervision has not been receiving much attention in the
organization. This has negatively impacted on the quality of work that is being done.
Therefore, there must be a way to make direct attempts to improve the implementation
of supervision with much assistance from the National, Provincial, and District offices.
The department needs to create a conducive environment favourable enough for the
implementation of supervision. This will help social workers, supervisors, clients, and
the department in ensuring that they all meet their goals.
In conclusion, the realization gathered from the above responses is that the way
supervision is implemented currently does not aim to fulfill the social developmental
goals as supervision is not a well-taken process to those who are role players in it and
to clients who must benefit from it. Ncube (2019) points out that social work supervision
has mostly been isolated from the developmental approach which the White Paper for
Social Welfare advocates for and this has caused problems in the delivery of services
to clients. These participants' experiences reveal that there is still much that needs to
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be done to ensure that supervision is administered in a way that fits the vision and
mission of the White Paper on Social Welfare.
4.3.2. Theme 2: Context Within Which Supervision Takes Place in the Identified
Organization.
The main purpose of having this theme as part of the study was to ensure that the
researcher understands the context within which social workers and supervisors
operate and how supervision is executed within that context. It is apparent that the
DSD is an organization governed by its policies and legislations. This organisation has
the mission of transforming the South African society through the provision of
comprehensive, integrated, and sustainable social development services, (DSD,
2019/2020 Annual Performance Plan). Therefore, supervision in this organisation
should be implemented in such a way that the mission of the organisation is fulfilled
by helping employees to carry out their roles effectively.
This organization has done much in trying to make the concept of supervision
understood and implemented effectively. The Supervision Framework for the Social
Work Profession (2012) developed both by the DSD and South African Council of
Social Service Professions served as a milestone in ensuring that there is at least a
basic understanding of the concept and execution of supervision in this organization.
Though the organisation’s efforts are duly acknowledged and recognised, there is still
a lot that must be done to ensure that supervision that enhances the social
developmental perspectives goals.
Hughes and Wearing (2013) believe that social work supervision is not significant for
professional endeavors only but also for organizational development and change. This
is the reason why it was important for the researcher to examine the context within
which supervision takes place. The presence of good supervision in the organization
benefits all involved. This view was confirmed by Sithole’s (2019) study which found
that the managerial and professional formations of supervision ere not only viewed as
coexisting and interplaying within the organization but that also informed the
organizational context in which supervision is taking place.
Glicken (2011) points out that bad supervision often happens when the management
in organizations impose excessive changes and require supervisors to ensure that
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changes do happen. This is often unfavourable and disadvantageous to the
organization and its workforce (Glicken, 2011). Therefore, the excessive changes that
the management might pose in the organization become the context for the work
environment within which the employees’ function. This context is necessary to be
examined because, to a certain extent, it directly impacts the attitudes of social work
practitioners inside the organization. It also has some effects on how the organization
operates. The sub-themes below will extend this theme and provide more
enlightenment as participants shared their understanding and experiences within the
context where supervision takes place in their respective service offices.
4.3.2.1. Sub-Theme 2.1: Lack of Human and Capital Resources
Participants reported that the lack of human and capital resources within the DSD was
the major challenge that exerted a negative impact on the implementation of
supervision. They described the context or the environment within which supervision
is currently executed as an environment characterized by the lack of resources both
capital and human.
Rosa, Sankaran, and Rajeev (2015) state that the shortage of staff normally affects
the supervisors and managers daily because they struggle to meet t performance
standards. As evident in the DSD at King Cetshwayo District, participants consistently
mentioned that the organisation is characterized by a shortage of staff – involving both
supervisors and social workers. This shortage in human resources has a direct impact
on time management and distribution of tasks. Shortage of staff results in the
exploitation of time set aside for supervision in trying to meet performance standards.
A social work supervisor described the challenges encountered in the organization:
Mhhhhh resources are a great impact and serious internal factor. By resources,
I mean human and capital resources. It is human resources in the sense that
we are short-staffed in the admin section, as well as with supervisors and social
workers in this office. Internally we are short-staffed and we cannot keep control
of files because files need to be sent to the registry for records. So, filing needs
to be done properly but it is not done properly in this office. So internally I would
say it is both capital and human resources… (silence) Oooh it can be that social
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workers are sharing offices so it now defeats the whole purpose of
confidentiality when social workers are dealing with particular clients. Even if
the client is just coming in to elaborate a short story, you’ll find that they will
elaborate and there’s another social worker because they are sharing office
space. And that time, depending on whatever matter they are working on they
will attend the matter in the presence of other colleagues. Even though as an
office we have set the policy that states that there are consultation rooms
downstairs that need to be utilized when the social worker interfaces with
clients. SWS 2
According to the Supervision Framework for the Social Work Profession in South
Africa (2012) developed by the DSD and SACSSP, a supervisor is required to
supervise not more than ten supervisees if he/she is not committed to other
responsibilities and if that is not her/his only performance area. The framework also
states that for the supervisor who has other performance areas to fulfil, then the ratio
should be 1:6. It was clear that the workload of supervisors at King Cetshwayo District
did not only involved supervision. In addition to the supervision of social workers, these
supervisors were also required to accomplish and fulfill other tasks that sometimes
took them out of the office, for days.
It was also clear that supervisors have lots of supervisees to supervise however, the
norms and standards from the supervision framework were not adhered to. This
caused inconveniences as far as the process of supervision is concerned. If the DSD
has a will to overcome the challenges that concern supervision, they will have to
attempt to adhere to the framework that was constructed in good faith. The researcher
fully agreed with the supervisors of the King Cetshwayo District, DSD. The human and
capital resources do pose a threat to the process of supervision, and, as a result, the
full implementation of supervision becomes difficult. There has to be a proper plan that
the DSD puts in place in ensuring that the supervisors under these circumstances are
being supported so that they can ensure that they can provide efficient and quality
supervision to their supervisees.
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It was not only the supervisors who raised concerns over human and capital
resources. The social workers were concerned about the lack of staff concerning
social work supervisors. Social work supervisors remain the insufficient staff in the
King Cetshwayo District and do not match the large but insufficient number of social
workers working in this district. Social workers expressed concerns that this small
number of supervisors makes it difficult for them to acquire and receive supervision.
This has led to social work burnout and immature independence of social workers.
These are the accounts of social workers on the matter of social supervision:
The greatest challenge we have in this department is that we do not have
enough supervisors… how could two supervisors help thirty-two social
workers?... it is impossible!... we need supervisors and the department must
employ them or else build another layer for mentors… mentors must be very
experienced social workers inside the office… I’ve never been with a supervisor
alone because every time there would be other social workers looking for
help… sometimes we would be four/five, all in one office trying to get
assistance…” SWP 1
I personally think that if the department can employ more supervisors in such a
way that they are enough, there won’t be a problem… the current supervisors
are competent and do the work very well even under lots of challenges, it is just
that they are very much overwhelmed. If there were more supervisors, I do not
think there would be more problems because they would be available every
time. But currently, they end up struggling to practice supervision and they will
just attend you whenever you consult… as social workers we do not have the
opportunity to attend planned sessions… they are very few and we are too
many as social workers. SWP 4
There should be more supervisors employed… there would be a division of
social workers within an office where say, for instance, one supervisor to six or
seven social workers. Like we are 32 here and we need maybe 3 supervisors.
At least there will be quality work. So, the key element is that we need more
supervisors…. And then adhere to the norm that says one supervisor against
6/7 social workers. Not 32 social workers against one person. SWP 8
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Social workers seem to understand supervision well. They knew how supervision
should be and how it must assist them. They also understood and appreciated the
problems that prevented them from receiving quality supervision. On these accounts,
it was apparent that the main fundamental factor that social workers consider as
impactful to supervision is the insufficient number of supervisors in their offices. The
King Cetshwayo District has almost two supervisors per office and at least
approximately more than fifteen social workers per office.
According to Bissel (2012), most social workers consider supervision as the most
fundamental relationship that may exist in the workplace. This is because a good
supervisory relationship has advantages for social workers in their professional,
personal, and organizational development. Carrol and Tholstrup (2001) point out that
supervision contributes enormously and fundamentally towards the understanding of
the organization and leads to the process of team and organizational development.
Carrol and Tholstrup also mention that this important contribution towards the
development of quality organizations and their services is accomplished through the
continuous application of functions of supervision such as individual, peer, and group
supervision.
The study revealed that it is important for the DSD to critically develop strategies or
come with solutions that will ensure that there are deliberate ways to overcome the
problem of the insufficient number of supervisors within the district. Notwithstanding
the challenges the Department is facing at all its hierarchical levels, the district must
find ways of mobilizing the capital resources that would assist the social workers and
supervisors at the service office level to work much more efficiently.
4.3.2.2. Sub-theme 2.2: Lack of Proper Organization of Work
As the aim of the study was to examine the context or environment within which
supervision takes place, many participants described their context or environment as
largely defined by disorganized work delegated by the top management. Most
participants described this disorganized work delegated to them as unplanned. This
work came as a directive hence it had to be executed urgently. Participants also
described it as urgent in nature and required them to drop everything to attend to it.
Bissel (2012) states that when supervision is inappropriately implemented it becomes
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characterized by massive dumping of workloads and stress, a conspiratorial
atmosphere, competition with other departments, and career disorientation. When
supervision is implemented in this manner it creates problems for both social workers
and supervisors and defeats the entire idea and purpose of purposeful planning.
All social workers are required by policy to submit their weekly plans to supervisors.
These weekly plans provided details of how social workers were going to undertake
their work daily. In most cases, their planning did not involve working with their clients.
When these plans are deliberately disturbed the whole system of assisting vulnerable
clients and communities gets affected and disturbed. Most participants including
supervisors raised concerns about their inability to plan and have the freedom to follow
their work plans. The participants reported that the effects of such work force them to
neglect and disregard their weekly plans so that they could comply with the directives
and complying with the new imposed urgency.
There are the accounts of the participant that were social workers on this theme:
Another thing there's a lot of work plus improper planning by the national or
provincial department. Now, here you cannot have a weekly plan… there’s poor
planning… they want something right now and they will tell us to leave
everything that we are doing because we have this urgent work to complete…
so the internal factor is poor planning and a lot of workloads… (silence) SWP 8
Mhhhhh okay, (breathing aloud) maybe it is how our work in this department is
disorganized!... the work is very disorganized because you'll just be called to a
meeting that would take the entire day with a lot of unplanned work that is
needed on an urgent basis… we have made appointments with people and
planned that on this particular day I meet with these clients… and now when
this urgent work comes, it messes up your entire plan because you have to stop
everything and focus on that work… so that is why supervisors will not have
time for their supervisees because even them they push us to submit so that
they can report… so they do not have time because of this disorganized
department we are in… the work here is very disorganized. SWP 7
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(Lowering the voice)….it is this thing of being disorganized within the
department… (Laughing)… it this tendency of being disorganized in such a way
that the due dates don not give sufficient time for one to work… every time
something needs to be done and it needed to be completed so quickly… so
supervisors do not have time to organize themselves and their work because
even the ratio I do not think it is well balanced… SWS 5
(Laughing) it’s being disorganized…(laughing)… it’s being disorganized… those are
things impacting supervision not to happen the way it is supposed to happen… it's
being disorganized… most of the times in this department everything that is needed
or that comes have a "Now"…it forces the supervisor to drop everything she doing that
she has planned and attend to this “Now”… we make weekly plans for ourselves…we
plan what we will do this week and for all weeks… but only to find that in most cases
we are supposed to leave everything and attend to this “now”… likewise the
supervisee is also told to attend this “Now”… (exhaling hard)… so at the end of the
day the work you were supposed to do has not been done and that is the work that fits
in your job description… then now you will find that you have not met deadlines, having
files that lapsed and you'll be required to explain again why that happened and be
seen as an incompetent social worker… eish where we are it is disorganized. SWP 3
The participants’ responses suggested that when it comes to the execution of their
work in the department, they had no control because most of the time they got
directives on what they must do. Grant and Kinman (2014) states that employees who
feel more in control of their work and time are less stressed, healthier, more satisfied
with their work, and have a better work-life balance. It was evident that participants
feel less in control of their work and time simply because they were dissatisfied with
the kind of work that normally comes and interrupts their working schedules.
The experiences the participants revealed that their ability to set and prioritise goals
was taken away from them by the uncertainties of their working environment. The
result of this is that most social workers are not satisfied with their working environment
and that negatively interferes with their working morale. Therefore, it is necessary for
the DSD at King Cetshwayo to review this working arrangement so that there could be
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jobs satisfaction that creates high working morale and a better work-life balance for
both social workers and supervisors.
Social work supervisors provided the following accounts with regards to this theme:
If I could say, the environment that I work in is unquestionably demanding, one,
in a sense that you would plan your daily activities as they are and you'd come
in the office probably having scheduled the supervision sessions with your
supervisees, and then you would come with the hope to work according to your
plan but be told that no, you need to go and attend this… or there would be a
call from district office telling that you need to coordinate this quickly and then
you need to drop what you have planned to do and attend what needs to be
done which now defeats the whole purpose of planning. So, this is the type of
environment that we are working in as supervisors. Eeeh however, and there
are not enough hours in a day to fit in everything that needs to be done. SWS
2
Mmmmm people normally think being a supervisor is easy in this department…
(Silence)… It is not… you hardly supervise because every time you'll be
expected to attend meetings and neglect your supervisees… sometimes you
go out of office or days… in most cases, you'll get those directives from the
district or provinces requiring us to do unplanned work urgently and report it
back… like it is crazy in here… you cannot have a plan and encourage your
supervisees to plan because you are always the one disturbing them… we ask
social workers to submit weekly plans because they need them but they mean
nothing actually… so this environment is like that. SWS 1
In this study, it was noted that it is not only social work practitioners who experienced
a lack of proper organized work plan but also supervisors experienced the same issue.
The above accounts of social work supervisors revealed the pressures and problems
they experienced every day had a potential to impact the quality and standards of their
work. This is supported by Apgar (2018) who states that the setting in which social
work is practiced incorporates a significant impact on both the quality and standards
of proficient activities. In this regard, it was concerning to note key social work
practitioners like supervisors entrusted with implementing and upholding supervision
had these kinds of responses regarding their environment. Supervisors must be
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assisted in ensuring that the environment within which they operate is conducive for
the implementation and execution of supervision. It is an indisputable fact that
supervisors are key role players in the process of supervision and without them, there
can be no supervision.
From the responses of both social workers and supervisors, it is clear that the King
Cetshwayo District is faced with enormous challenges t at the service office level.
These challenges contribute to the high levels of dysfunctionality within the
department. As a result, the department finds it difficult to deliver sustainable, efficient,
and quality services to service users that are the core mandate of a developmental
state.
4.3.2.3. Sub-Theme 2.3: Attitudes of Practitioners Towards Supervision
The attitudes of both social workers and supervisors played a significant role in how
they administered and/or received supervision. The attitudes of social workers and
supervisors on supervision are directly linked with the environment they work in. If the
environment is conducive and allows them to work effectively with satisfaction, their
attitudes around the matters of supervision would likely be positive because the
process bears intended outcomes. The participant's attitudes were also linked to the
nature of a supervisory relationship there is in a supervisor-supervisee relationship.
Ncube (2019) points out that in a well-functioning social welfare agency, both the
supervisor and supervisee have sufficient knowledge and understanding about their
agency's mandate. When supervisors and social workers have the necessary
knowledge and understanding of their agency's mandate, it means that they also
understand their roles within the organisation. The organisation should provide
sufficient time for its employees to execute their roles to fulfill the organisational
mandate.
The participants described supervision as either “functional”, “dysfunctional”, “partially
functional”, and some could not say anything because they believed supervision did
not exist. Most social workers believed that they did not need supervision because it
only wastes their time and they gained nothing from it. This study revealed that
supervision was the most undesirable process for most social workers. Below are the
accounts of social workers attitude towards supervision:
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(Laughing) Sometimes supervision is functional and in other cases, it is not
functional. SWP 10
It is partially functional… (laughing)… partially functional… I cannot say it is
dysfunctional as if I do not have a supervisor that I consult to when I need her.
SWP 3
(Frowning) Eeeeeey supervision is not fully functional… (silence) It needs to
be improved. SWP 8
No, for me supervision is dysfunctional…(Laughing). SWP 9
Mmmmhhh no I believe supervision is very dysfunctional. SWP 7
I never received supervision in this department… (laughing)… so I cannot
honestly say supervision is functional or not. SWP 5
In a developmental state, there has to be a concern when the developmental social
welfare system’s custodians such as social workers believe that supervision in their
organisation is not fully functional or worse dysfunctional. Francis, La Rosa, Sankaran,
and Rajeev (2015) believe that the main goal of supervision should be ensuring that
service users receive the best services in the organisation. The King Cetshwayo
District is a district that is mostly rural and has many people who use or rely on services
from the DSD. Therefore, supervision should empower those who receive it so that
they can be fully effective in providing quality and sustainable services to their clients.
Most social workers believed that supervision did exist at the DSD at King Cetshwayo
District. However, the study found that is is just that it is not a fully functional process.
The study also found that there were those social workers who believed that
supervision was a dysfunctional process. A small percentage believed that supervision
did not exist at all and they have never received it. All these responses were a cause
of concern because supervision is the key tool in ensuring accountability, support,
learning, professional development, and service development.
Langan-Fox and Cooper (2011) point out that the role of the supervisor and managers
in their organization is to ensure that they create a conducive working environment
that reduces work-related stresses. This could be possible in an environment with
limited internal problems that are easily managed and dealt with. From the responses
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given by supervisors it very clear that the DSD at King Cetshwayo District had
competent and well-experienced supervisors. These supervisors understood their
roles and responsibilities very well. From their responses, the researcher realized that
supervisors were not proud to be in a position where they could not fulfill their duties
to their supervisees. These were their responses on their supervision:
Oooh my Gosh… (Laughing)…. You know, I'll say it's a functional process… I'll
say supervision is a functional process within the department because who will
be helping to grow in their profession without supervisors? You cannot just
function in an organization without supervision. You need to have somebody
that is going to guide you whether it's administrative, educational, or support…
but it's functional… it is functional… it is functional… Even though it is not
properly implemented. SWS 2
Ehhhh…if it was done according to the supervision framework supervision is
functional but practically it does not happen very well so it is safe to say it is not
adequately functional… practically there is no time to implement it. SWS 1
For me it is dysfunctional… the supervision framework is clear and we know
our responsibilities as supervisors… but because we are always rushing
everything does not happen as it must happen. SWS 3
Supervision in this department can be said as not perfect… as a supervisor, I
cannot say it is fully functional when I fail to honor structured sessions with my
supervisees… so it becomes a tiring process that is not functional because of
our working conditions. SWS 4
The responses were diverse concerning social workers’ perceptions of supervision.
The study found that participants had similar perceptions. This suggests that
supervision still needs to be improved in their offices or district, specifically.
Participants had a fair understanding of the framework. They reported that if
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supervision was implemented according to the framework, it would be more functional
than it currently is.
According to Apgar (2018) for clients' needs to be effectively met, social workers and
supervisors, should be working in an environment that largely supports ethical practice
and is committed to standards and good quality services. Apgar further argues that
for this to be achieved employers must understand social work practice and provide
supervision, workload management, and continuing professional development
consistent with best practices. This will assist in ensuring that the attitudes and morale
of supervisors are kept at a high level and allow e them to deliver in adherence to the
supervision framework developed by the Department of Social Development and
South African Council for Social Service Professions.
4.3.3. Theme 3: Nature of Supervision Applicable in the Organization
In practice, supervision takes place in various forms in organizations. This is because
each organization is unique and experiences challenges that make it different from the
other. Therefore, there would be a unique undertaking of supervision in response to
specific challenges experienced by each service office under the organisation called
the Department of Social Development. The Supervision Framework for the Social
Work Profession in South Africa, (2012) points out that supervision can be conducted
in many forms with different emphasis placed on key functions administrative,
supportive, and educational function. The time spent proportionately on these
functions is likely to reflect the organization's mission, vision, and human resources
practices, (SACSSP & DSD, 2012).
As the researcher took note of the experiences of social workers and supervisors with
regards to supervision, it was then necessary to attempt to understand the nature or
form of supervision that exists in each service office at King Cetshwayo District,
Department of Social Development. What was evident from the responses given by
social workers was that they viewed supervision as a matter of consultation and
nothing more.
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4.3.3.1. Sub-Theme 3.1: Inconsistent Methods of Supervision Applied in the
Organization
The Supervision Framework for the Social Work Profession in South Africa, (2012)
outlines three supervision methods that could be utilized in social work organizations
such as individual supervision, group supervision, and peer supervision. Each
supervision method bears its importance and should be practiced fully. The researcher
noted that most participants did not recall all the methods of supervision and presented
conflicting answers about which method that is predominant in their service office. This
was mainly because most social workers had many years in practice and had in some
way forgotten the theoretical part when it comes to supervision. Most identified
consultations with their supervisors as one of the predominant methods that exist in
their service offices.
When social workers were asked about the type of supervision that was predominant
in their service offices their responses varied according to their specific or relevant
service offices. Therefore, in this section, there can be no generalization but responses
are service-office-specific. The inconsistent methods of supervision applied in a single
service office could be viewed as a matter of concern since it is likely to impact the
execution of supervision in the entire organisation.
The responses of the participant will be categorized according to their service offices.
i. Service Office 1
No, it is only consultations here… there’s no one-on-one or group
supervision…(smiling). We tried to do it but it was difficult to do those things in
this service office. We do plan things but end up not happening because of
internal factors… it is consultations only that are present here. SWP 9
I do not know… (silence)…I do not know… what did others say?... I can say it
is consultative even though I do not know when does it happen… even the
supervisor is overworked and mostly away from attending meetings. SWP 8
We should be having supervision sessions… What ends up happening is that
when we are being called to meetings, we end up sharing cases because we
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do not have time with supervisors. After all, they are over-committed… so I do
not know how I could categorize it whether it is peer supervision or what… what
is normal is consultations where you come with a case to a supervisor needing
some help or clarity. SWP 4
In this service office, it is evident from the responses of participants that there was no
single form of supervision that took place according to the Supervision Framework.
This puts social workers in a position where they cannot be the recipients of
supervision in its entirety. As one of the participants indicated, they end up discussing
cases on the platform that was designed for a meeting then that becomes unethical
practice. The social workers reported that it is not the will of the supervisors to
intentionally neglect their roles but the pressures that they found themselves working
under. This is the service office that had a single supervisor for a long time who was
responsible to supervise at least 30 social workers.
ii. Service Office 2
Mhhhh most of the time group supervision dominates because I believe it works
for a supervisor since it saves time and that she can share the information with
her supervisees all at once… we end up sharing a lot of things… most of the
time it is group… one on ones are very rare but we can say it if we are if we
want to look good to someone but it is not there… I’ve not had more the five
one-on-one sessions. SWP 3
Its consultations normally… you just go to the supervisor because you’ve got a
case that troubles you and needs assistance… (pause)… it is consultations that
are predominant… when my supervisor was appointed, she tried to supervision
correctly but ended up failing to keep up because of work… sometimes group
supervision happens. SWP 5
In this service office, it was observed that there were certain efforts put in place to
ensure that social workers are supervised. Though these efforts may not be sufficient,
supervisors found ways to ensure that social workers received some support. The
researcher also realized that in this service office, participants frequently mentioned
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that they received group supervision but mostly they do consultations which is not a
method of supervision according to the supervision framework.
iii. Service Office 3
It is one on one… yes, it’s one on one because ever since I worked here, I’ve
never seen group supervision happening. Sometimes it becomes scheduled
and other times it is consultations. SWP 11
There is a one on one and there's group supervision… we do one on one every
time we feel the need to see the supervisor but it is rarely prearranged… Mhhhh
for the group supervision it is not usually mostly implemented… this last year I
do not remember being called to supervision with my other colleagues. SWP
12
In this service office social workers, like in other service offices, tended to confuse
one-on-one supervision and consultations. The researcher noticed that they did
consultation but these were prearranged one-on-one sessions with the supervisors.
The group and peer supervision were reportedly not the methods that are used in this
service office.
In conclusion, the study found that in all service offices of the Department of Social
Development at King Cetshwayo District, there was lack of the proper and consistent
implementation of supervision across the district. All the offices did not fully implement
nor attempt to implement all the three supervision methods outlined in the Supervision
Framework for the Social Work Profession in South Africa developed by the DSD and
SACSSP, (2012). This had a negative impact on how social welfare services is
delivered to clients but most importantly, the impact on social workers who should be
assisted by the supervisor on process. The study revealed that the inability for the
DSD to provide supervision accountability structure created the inconsistencies in
service offices to execute supervision in a unified way. This also created the conflicting
of roles within the services as it was left to their discretion on how they execute
supervision. Therefore, it is important for the DSD to create a unified way within which
supervision could be accounted for.
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4.3.3.2. Sub-theme 3.2: Support Given to Supervisors
In this theme, supervisors were asked whether they believe they were given enough
support by the DSD to execute supervision to their supervisees. Supervision is not a
simple task and most of the time very challenging to supervisors. According to
Wannacott (2012) the supervisor’s role is very challenging as supervisors ought to see
themselves and be perceived by others, as a pioneer of practice with a key role in
advancing the most excellent conceivable results for the clients of social work
administrations, supervisors require strength to do their work, and tools to assist them
in their day to day work.
Social work supervisors were aware that the work that they were expected to do was
challenging and not easy. In as much as they faced challenging times, they persevered
to work under hard conditions. These social work supervisors were competent,
passionate, and well experienced and required more support to help them be able to
fulfill their roles. The study revealed that this support was fundamental in giving
supervisors a fair chance to execute their responsibilities to ensure that their
supervisees are well capacitated.
When supervisors were asked whether they thought the support they received from
the department was sufficient for them to fulfill their duties, they stated that it is not
sufficient. Other supervisors mentioned that the DSD was trying to address their needs
but they were concerned about the slow pace of filling vacancies. Other supervisors
were frustrated with the department for not lending enough support with their
challenges. The following were the supervisors’ accounts:
Mostly we do get support from the provincial and district offices… but the
support we get… eeeehmmm… I’ll say it is insufficient… it’s incomplete
because as a supervisor… well I know people at a district office and the
functionality is different. After all, at a district level, you have coordinators that
are dealing with certain programs but when you come to the service office-level
it is not the same as the way they operate at the district level…. At the service
you have one supervisor who's responsible to ensure that all of these programs
are implemented, reports are typed and returned to the district office. The
support we get is in terms of capacity building from the district office… we do
get that and if you do not understand something you can consult coordinators
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at the district office. We also do get support from the office manager… she is
there if you do not understand anything… I also have a supervisor… but the
model needs to change at the service office level to be aligned with what is
happening at the district level. SWS 2
No, they are not supported… usually supervisors are being taken for granted
as if they are very low, the only well-recognized person is a manager… so we
feel that way because everything that requires the office to function is being put
upon us and it ends up looking like it them who are managers whereas our
salaries are very different… so everything needed for the office to operate the
supervisor is the engine because even the supervisees are supposed to be
assisted by the supervisor… in everything, it has to be a supervisor… so we do
not have the support that we need. SWS 3.
Eeeey the support we get is that we get pieces of training… but it takes a long
time to fix the issue of staffing within the department but off late they are trying
to fix the problem of vacant posts… they try to ensure that in each office at least
there are two supervisors. SWS 1.
In all the responses that supervisors had given, it was evident that all supervisors
regardless of whether they acknowledged the efforts that the department is trying to
inject to support them, but they seemed to agree with a certain sense of frustration
that they need more help. This advanced help required from the Department would l
enable social work supervisors to be more effective and efficient trustees of
supervision. One of the supervisors mentioned that they also needed debriefing
sessions because their work was overwhelming. She said sometimes they were
victims of burnouts and end up affected with balancing family-work life. The supervisor
stated it as follows:
We also need serious support because sometimes we end up with this
burnout… I may not have one… but you end up being a victim of burnout if
you're not careful as supervisor… then now you'll be affected even at home
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because we also have children and we leave the office very late because of
work.… maybe if the department should organize an active forum and
meetings for supervisors where we will share experiences as supervisors every
month or quarterly… in a place where we will relax and give us wellness
personnel to assists us to deal with our problems…. This job ends up affecting
our families with all the stress and burnout it carries... When we are not well the
office is affected as much as our families are affected too. SWS 4
This is a sad account given by a social work supervisor concerned about their
wellbeing and emotional burdens that the supervision role comes with. Supervisors
were expected to be the support system for their supervisees but when they go through
these emotionally frustrating states themselves, it became impossible for them to
provide the supportive function. Therefore, it is within these grounds that the
researcher believes that there must be mechanisms in place to help support
supervisors beyond trainings. In order for supervisors to carry the administrative,
supportive and educational functions of supervision the emphasis must be on helping
supervisors in all ways feel supported and emotionally taken care of.
4.3.3.3. Sub-theme 3.3: Competence of Supervisors
As supervisors are seen as key role players in supervision and that they are
supervising social workers with different work experiences, it was necessary to check
the views of the supervisee about the competence of their supervisors. This was
important because the researcher aimed at discovering whether the problems that the
supervisees experienced in supervision were also caused by the lack of competence
in their supervisors.
The social workers were asked to give their opinions on whether their supervisors were
well prepared for their supervisory role in their respective service offices. The
participants responded as follows:
I can only speak for them… they are not prepared because of the workload that
they carry… my supervisor always has tablets medication that assists her to
block pain and cope with daily stresses… right now she's on sick leave not
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because she easily gets sick but it is the workload and stress that their work
has… so they are being made to work with high workloads and so they are not
fully prepared. SWP 7
Yah they are prepared… they are prepared even though they are short-
staffed…you prepare yourself as I told you how there are things here. In a day
there are a lot of people who come in… sometimes we leave here at
22:00/23:00… The schedule of the day that you prepared, like a weekly plan
that we submit every Friday, but you completely and dismally failed to follow
through it… so I cannot say they are not prepared because they are
supervisors. How come a supervisor cannot be prepared? They are prepared
but because of work overload and this short notice kind of work that comes
unplanned all the time. SWP 8
(Smiling) mhhhh…, I think that because they did interviews and got their posts
fairly that means they are prepared to undertake supervisory functions and
were ready to do the job… maybe they were distracted when they were doing
the actual job but maybe if they could be taken out of this department and be
put on other organizations that are organized I think they can do it well. Maybe
what makes them look like they are not prepared it's because this department
is very disorganized… which makes them look like they are incompetent
supervisors. SWP 3.
From the responses granted by the social workers, one could extract that the debate
of participants is not that their supervisors were incompetent. They did not blame the
inability of supervisors to adequately fulfil their roles on supervision mainly on the
incompetence of supervisors. All participants mentioned that the internal departmental
factors made supervisors to look as if they were unprepared or incompetent to be
supervisors to their supervisees. If the internal departmental factors that impact
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negatively on supervision may be resolved, supervisors may be effective in
undertaking their duties.
4.3.4. Theme 4: Understanding of Participants on How Supervision Should be
Administered
The context of the practice of social workers and supervisors is non-routine,
unpredictable, non-standard, imperceptible in nature, and highly individualized which
then requires and demands supervision, (SACSSP & DSD, 2012). For more
knowledge to be gained in the subject of supervision, more research needs to be
constantly done to keep up with the unpredictable and non-routine nature of social
work practice. This puts social workers and supervisors mainly at the centre of the
need for the advancement of the knowledge base on supervision because they are
the ones in the field and constantly having first-hand experience on the challenges
they encounter in the field.
The Recruitment and Retention Strategy of the Department of Social Development
(2006) points out that South Africa has a problem of poor-quality supervisors who are
unable to conduct supervision at a professional level which creates a lack of structured
supervision. From the time this strategy was formulated to this point the department
has made significant progress in ensuring that supervisors at least do receive training
and get the necessary support in as much as supervisors themselves believe to be
insufficient. Supervisors also perpetuate the social development agenda through the
reinforcement of supervision for social workers to be effective when dealing with their
clients. However, it becomes impossible if they do not understand the social
development theories and perspectives.
Ncube (2019) states that supervisors ought to be able to observe the application of
suitable theories to meet the objectives and vision of their organisation. Ncube (2019)
also mentions that an understating of the different theories and viewpoints is significant
for deciding social work intervention techniques within the social development
perspective. The author concludes by stating that lack of understanding the
social development practice demonstrates that the application of this concept of social
work supervision will be difficult.
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In this theme, social workers and supervisors were asked to give their opinions on how
they believed supervision must be undertaken in their organization. This was to pave
a way for the researcher to understand how the participants think their negative
experiences can be dealt with. The researcher noticed that participants did not
comment much on whether they should be any changes on the ‘Supervision
Framework for the Social Work Profession in South Africa’. Most participants believed
that the supervision guidance by the framework is best and can be implemented
appropriately. Participants believed that supervision could be implemented in their
department by strictly following the ‘Supervision Framework for the Social Work
Profession in South Africa’ and by fixing internal all the external factors they raised.
4.3.4.1. Sub-theme 3.1: Ideal Supervision
When social workers were asked about how they thought supervision should be
implemented within the department, they provided solutions to their perceived
problems. Most social workers believed that for supervision to be ideal and fully
functional factors such as time and shortage of supervisors must be addressed so that
working will be easy. Social workers responses were as follows:
Mhhhhh (laughing)… as a social worker in this organization, there's a time
where you wish everything could be started afresh…. I think we should start
from scratch and follow the framework… supervisors must be given good
workshops that would enable them to know what is it that they are supposed to
do… I think supervisors must be compelled by policy to report every month or
quarterly on the supervision sessions they conducted… that would strengthen
the framework and ensure that it is properly followed… there must be
something they report to their superiors on their core function. SWP 3
We need more supervisors and they need to have a supervision norm… they
need somebody to monitor all our caseloads… they must employ more social
work supervisors so that we can be able to do work efficiently and have quality
outcomes without us having to stress… so we need more staff of supervisors
to be employed… where there is time and more staff there is quality. SWP 8.
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The main problem in this department is this lot of work that comes from the
management and disrupts everything… if they can fix that it can be good… if
they can train these supervisors and give them time and space to do their work
it could be much better. SWP 13.
From the responses of the social workers above, it is apparent that most of them
believed that supervision may be executed best if the internal factors like shortages of
staff of supervisors and social workers were resolved. Hughes and Wearing (2013)
state that ideal supervision would create a safe environment for people to discover
their learning edge, build competence, and utilize the energy generated by excitement
and challenges in practice. At the time of the study, it seemed the DSD invested little
in ensuring that a safe environment is created for supervision to be effectively so that
it could build competence and solve practice related challenges. The department must
seek ways to ensure that challenges such as high caseloads are effectively dealt with.
Therefore, the ability of the DSD to help eliminate the concerns that the social workers
raised. This would directly ensure that there is ideal supervision that would ensure that
there is a safe environment for practitioners to build competence.
When supervisors were asked to give their opinions about how supervision must be
implemented in their services offices. Most of their responses touched on their
personal experiences on supervision that prevented them to effectively supervise their
supervisees. These were their responses:
I think maybe, considering the history of this office and everything I have stated
about this office… I'd say when we look at the issue of fraud, as a supervisor I
need to have more systems in place to ensure that these are valid cases that
are being brought by supervisees… I should have valid IT systems that are in
place… If I could have valid IT systems that are in place that could validate that
no this child was not born by this person, but this child’s parents are now
deceased… when it comes to how I render my supervision at this office, it would
be benefiting as well if I could have surprise supervision session… today I'm
coming to sit-in and just listen to the interviewing session you know that would
be good. I do not know if it will be properly achievable or not but to employ that
on supervision, just to check if are these cases authentic… to check whether
the work they bring is legitimate or not… unfortunately, that is the background
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I was employed from in this office, not that I do not trust social workers but there
is that connotation that does not end in this office of having cases that are
fraudulent by the clients and that is how they present them to social workers.
So, I think if supervision can be like that in this office could be awesome would
be awesome. SWS 2
I think supervision can be functional in my service office if I am always
available… be it in the office or outside of the office but there must not be a time
when my supervisees cannot find me…it is very difficult when your supervisees
need you but have to tell them that "I do not have time", "I do not have time”…
even to me it is painful if I say those words every time…I just wish that I could
be available for them…when I’m available I could give them the support they
need all the time. SWS 3
I think if we could have more time to do one-on-ones because social workers
work different areas and they have different cases … it will create that
professionalism that is needed… it will also give the supervisee a chance to
speak things that they would not say when there are with their peers… I think
as a supervisor if we had time, we could even address more things from our
supervisees. SWS 1
Mhhhh supervision as I said before is demanding currently… I think if
supervisors can be supported much by the district to deal with emotional and
administrative issues it can be much easier… no supervisor wants
to be unavailable for her supervisees but we cannot be available when our work
is scattered all over. SWS 4
Most supervisors who responded directly or indirectly touched on the matter of time in
supervision. Supervisors reported that time is a major contributing factor in making
supervision difficult to implement. Time is the most important factor in the supervisory
process and insufficient time allocated for supervision is the root cause of almost all
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the problems the supervisee will face. According to Kadushin and Harkness (2014)
time is a necessary prerequisite to fulfill any of the required tasks of supervision. It is
therefore the department’s duty to ensure that supervisors and supervisees are given
all resources necessary to execute supervision. At this point supervisors carry out too
much administrative work that ends up disadvantaging them from performing their core
functions. There must be deliberate efforts by the DSD to review the work structure of
supervisors or employ more supervisors to assist in ensuring that there is a reasonable
distribution of the workload. This will help the department to develop the supervision
practice that is effective and solves issues that mostly confront social workers when
dealing with their clients.
The responses of both social workers and supervisors on what they believed to be the
ideal supervision, does not come from a certain source of literature but their day-to-
day experience. These participants' experiences are necessary to initiate a certain
degree of change within the organizations but there must be deliberate efforts to
conform the current supervision framework to the goals and objectives of a
developmental perspective and then fix problems such as the ones noted as the
participant’s experiences to supervision. Francis, et al (2015) affirm that supervision is
important in social work practice as it also describes how social work will look in the
future. Therefore, to fulfill the goals of the developmental social welfare goals it is vital
that supervision is fixed and be aligned with such goals and objectives.
4.4 Conclusion
This chapter began by outlining the objectives that were meant to be answered by the
collected data that was to be analyzed. It gave a detailed profile of the participants that
had participated in the study. It also gave an overview of the themes that were to be
used in the process of data analysis. Finally, four themes and subsequent subthemes
and categories were established and thoroughly analyzed. These themes included
experiences of social workers and supervisors on supervision, the context within which
supervision takes place in the identified organization, the nature of supervision
applicable to the organization, and participant’s understanding of how supervision
should be administered. The next chapter will present various conclusions drawn from
the empirical study. Besides, appropriate recommendations following established
conclusions will be presented.
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CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS AND FINDING
5.1. Introduction
The previous chapter dealt with the data analysis and findings emanating from the
collected data from the participants. The main aim of the study was to explore and
describe the experiences of social work practitioners and supervisors in the DSD, so
as determine how are their experiences have an impact on the provision of quality and
sustainable services to their clients. This chapter presents the summary of how the
study was conducted and conclusions and recommendations arising from the
empirical findings and the body of literature that was utilized to verify findings.
The objectives of the study were:
i. To explore and describe the experiences of practitioners and supervisors on
the implementation of supervision in the DSD.
ii. To examine the context within which supervision takes place in the identified
organization.
iii. To explore the nature of supervision that exists within the identified
organization.
iv. To examine how social work practitioners, understand the execution of
supervision in the identified organization.
5.1. Summary of the Study
The study had four previous chapters and these chapters included, research proposal,
literature review, data collection, and data analysis and findings. The last chapter
concludes the study and provides recommendations. Below is the summary of each
chapter of this study:
5.1.1. Chapter 1
This chapter was mainly concerned with laying the foundation and the overview of the
whole study and providing the reader with an insight into what the study is all about.
This chapter provided the reader with the aim and objectives of the study,
accompanied by the research questions linked with the research title. The review of
the literature and theoretical framework that was going to guide the study were also
discussed. It also provided an overall research methodology that was going to be used
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when the study was conducted. The overview of the ethical considerations, target
population, and sampling techniques was also discussed in this chapter.
5.1.2. Chapter 2
This chapter focused on providing a literature review on social work supervision and
its significance to the DSD. The chapter provided a unique description of the DSD at
King-Cetshwayo District as it was the focus of the study was provided. The role,
functions, objectives, and purpose of supervision were outlined in detail. Much focus
and scrutiny were also given to the role theory as the main theoretical framework to
guide the study in an attempt to of facilitate an understanding of the implementation of
social work supervision, where roles are significant.
5.1.3. Chapter 3
In this chapter, the researcher discussed the method that was used in collecting data
from the participants. Research paradigm, research design, research instruments,
sampling method and process, data trustworthiness, and ethical considerations were
appropriately discussed in this chapter.
5.1.4. Chapter 4
This chapter presented findings from the collected data from the participants and a
detailed analysis of those findings. The researcher interpreted the data findings. The
research findings were then presented through the formation of themes, sub-themes,
and categories. This was done in the direct application of the qualitative research as
outlined in the first chapter.
Presented below are conclusions and recommendations that emerged from the
findings of the study. Key on both conclusions and recommendations, particularly the
latter is that they were raised with the view to suggest how the implementation of social
work supervision in the DSD at King Cetshwayo District could be strengthened to
better respond to service user needs without compromising the well-being of social
workers and supervisors.
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5.2. Conclusions
After the in-depth and detailed analysis and interpretation of data, the researcher
made some conclusions. Since the study explored the experiences of both supervisors
and social workers, the conclusions may be irrelevant for others and that made the
researcher separate conclusions into the three categories, (general, social workers,
and supervisors). General conclusions are those conclusions applicable to both social
workers and supervisors. There will be conclusions based on supervisors and social
workers specifically. The conclusions are as follows:
5.2.1. General conclusions
The main conclusion drawn from the collected data was that at King Cetshwayo
District, the DSD has no unified supervision strategy. Almost all service offices
were unable to appropriately implement supervision in a manner that strikes a
balance on different functions of supervision appropriately. In this regard, both
social workers and supervisors placed emphasis on the administrative
functions with the educational and supportive functions pushed to the periphery.
The detrimental nature of this practice cannot be overemphasized.
All participants understood the significance of supervision in their practice and
profession and had a reasonable apprehension of supervision.
Supervision becomes an enormous and demanding task to appropriately
implement according to the Supervision Framework developed by DSD and
SACSSP, with the shortage of supervisors and social workers identified as the
main reason.
Time was identified by all participants as a major factor that was believed to
prevent the execution of quality supervision in almost all service offices. Lack
of investing time for supervision could be viewed as degrading this crucial
responsibility to be the mere discretionary activity that is undertaken when time
permits. In tandem with this view, there is a notion that supervision is not
integrated as the key performance area (KPA) in the employee performance
management and development system (PDS).
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5.2.2. Conclusions that are specific to Supervisors
The pressures mounting from the high workloads of supervisors hindered their
ability to balance their roles within the supervisory relationship which often
portrays them as incompetent and unprepared to their supervisees.
Most supervisors believed that the Department had not done enough to support
them with trainings and emotional support services. They feel neglected and
without sufficient help to enable them to operate as expected.
5.2.3. Conclusions that are specific to Social Workers
Social workers value the significance of supervision and had a fair basic
understanding of how supervision should be assisting them. Most social
workers had negative experiences of supervision and believed that supervision
was dysfunctional or partly functional within the Department.
Most social workers do not rely on supervision nor supervisors because of their
negative experiences. This is mostly immature independence that Social
workers resort to as a means of finding other ways to support and help
themselves to carry out their roles within the Department.
Most social workers consider the ward-based system that was adopted by the
Department as a cause of high levels of workload. However, some believed
that it was the inabilities of the Department to plan and organize itself that
contribute to high levels of workload.
5.3. Recommendations
The following recommendations were made, based on the conclusions of the study:
5.3.1 Recommendations in relation to the study
It became apparent that supervision in the DSD is left to the discretion of
supervisors to implement it as they wish. There were no compelling
departmental policy or/and performance requirements for supervisors
concerning the implementation of supervision. Therefore, it is recommended
that the DSD ensures that supervisors report on the supervision of social
workers becomes one of the main performance areas. This will help ensure that
at least methods of supervision are implemented in the Department.
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It is also recommended that the Department at a District level is engaged in
intense strategic and performance planning. This will ensure that there are no
continuous interferences on the schedule of service offices that end up
disorganizing the functioning of service offices and the impact on supervisors
and social workers negatively.
It is recommended that the DSD relooks at the ratio between the supervisor
and the supervisee. There may be a need for employment of more social
workers and supervisors to ensure that there are no gaps and over-tasking of
the currently employed staff.
It is recommended that the DSD at King Cetshwayo District puts measures in
place to ensure that issues such as lack of capital resources and unmanaged
workloads are dealt with as a matter of urgency.
It is also recommended that the DSD form a partnership with Universities that
offer social work studies for the continuous training and development of
supervisors concerning the matters of supervision training and capacity
building.
It is recommended that the DSD migrate from the manual system of
administration to the digital system. That will reduce some of the internal
problems that social workers and supervisors deal with daily. Digitizing the
administrative function would mean less time spent on administration and give
more time for other organizational activities to be undertaken more effectively.
As social work practice is very challenging and demanding for both social
workers and supervisors, it is recommended that the DSD at King Cetshwayo
District employs a reasonable number of Employee Assistance Practitioners to
deal with work and non-work-related issues faced by both social workers and
supervisors. This service should be formally structured and must not undermine
the supportive function within the service office.
5.3.2. Recommendations for Future Studies
This research only focused on the DSD at King Cetshwayo District. The findings in this
study demonstrate that there is still a need for further extensive studies that focus in
the DSD at District, Provincial, and National level that seeks to explore supervision.
These recommended studies should focus on attempting to make contributions on
how supervision in social work practice could be best implemented and executed
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within all levels of the department. This will help the people who largely depend on
services provided by the Department. Researchers should also engage in studies on
how social work supervision could be linked with the South African context,
considering the country’s adoption of a social developmental approach as a policy
directive to social welfare. Supervision should be localized to help serve the needs of
the developmental approach adopted by the government. This will help in the
generation of literature that would help educate aspiring social workers in tertiary
institutions and make supervision specific to our context of social work practice.
Therefore, the DSD should be an open field for researchers who seek to better the
organization and contribute to ensuring it realize its mandate.
5.4. Concluding Remark
While recognizing the efforts made by the DSD at King Cetshwayo District in ensuring
that supervisors and social workers receive the support they need, there’s still a lot
that needs to be done. Supervision is proving to become the sole hope of social
workers to cope with their demanding and ever-changing environment while
supervisors feel that they do not have enough resources to help social workers cope
and function effectively in their environment. These research findings show that the
supervision process is still overwhelmed with many factors that end up negatively
affecting its proper implementation. From the research that the researcher undertook,
it was clear that both social workers and supervisors have no time due to high
workloads. It was also evident that there is a lot of interference from the upper
structures of the department on services offices that end up interrupting the way
service offices function because of the work they impose that changes the entire
working schedules for social workers and supervisors. This was evident when the
participants responded to the research question that aimed to understand the
experiences of social workers and supervisors on the implementation of supervision.
This research, therefore, grants an opportunity to the DSD at King Cetshwayo District
to employ efforts that are meant to improve the process of effective supervision. It also
grants them an opportunity to advocate for their district services and resources they
do not have powers to deliver. they, however, need to ensure that their workers are
satisfied with the working environment to the Provincial and National offices. The
researcher stands by the research recommendations provided as ways that could help
if implemented in good faith, improve supervision within the department.
93
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7. Appendices
APPENDIX 1: GATEKEEPER LETTER
102
APPENDIX 2: UKZN ETHICS APPROVAL LETTER
103
Interview Schedule for the Study
Research Tittle: Exploring the experiences of social work practitioners and
supervisors on the implementation of supervision in the Department of Social
Development: A Case Study of King Cetshwayo District Municipality.
Part A: For Social Workers
Objective 1: This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of practitioners
and supervisors on the implementation of supervision in the Department of Social
Development.
a. What is supervision, according to your own understanding?
b. Is your understanding of supervision different from the type of supervision at
play in this organization?
c. In your own understanding how supervision should be administered to social
workers?
d. How you experience supervision in this organisation?
Objective 2: To examine the context within which supervision takes place in the
identified organization.
a. What background do most of your clients come from?
b. Can you describe how do your organisational supervision help you serve your
clients?
c. What impacts or effects do this type of context you described impact on your
day to day duties as a social worker?
d. How functional or dysfunctional supervision is in the manner which social
workers fulfil their professional mandate towards their profession, organization
and clients?
APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW GUIDE
104
Objective 3: To explore the nature of supervision that exists within the identified
organization.
a. According to your own understanding what type of supervision exist in this
organization?
b. How does this type of supervision make you feel about your job?
c. How would you then describe the nature of this supervision towards you
and your work as social worker?
Objective 4: To examine how social work practitioners understand the
execution of supervision in the identified organization.
a. As a social worker how do you think supervision should be executed in
this organization?
b. How will this help you towards carrying your social work duties?
c. What advantage will it have to your clients?
Part B: For Social Work Supervisors
Objective 1: To explore and describe the experiences of practitioners and supervisors
on the implementation of supervision in the Department of Social Development.
a. What is supervision, according to your own understanding?
b. Is your understanding of supervision different from the type of supervision that
you provide in this organization?
c. In your own understanding how supervision should be?
d. Can you describe the challenges you experience you encounter with providing
supervision to social workers?
Objective 2: To examine the context within which supervision takes place in the
identified organization.
a. What background do most of your clients come from?
b. Can you describe how do your organizational supervision to social
workers help your organization serve your clients?
c. What impacts or effects do this type of context you described impact
social workers that you supervise?
105
d. How do you help your supervisees adapt to everchanging needs of your
clients or organization?
Objective 3: To explore the nature of supervision that exists within the identified
organization.
a. With the knowledge of your supervisees needs what kind of supervision do
you provide?
b. How does this type of supervision assist your supervisees to implement
their duties?
c. What challenges as a supervisor that you encounter dealing with social
workers who work with clients of this location?
Objective 4: To examine how social work practitioners understand the
execution of supervision in the identified organization.
a. As a social worker how do you think supervision should be executed in
this organization?
b. How will this help you towards carrying your social work duties?
c. What advantage will it have to your clients?
106
APPENDIX 4: CONSENT FORM
Appendix 1: Informed Consent Form for Social Workers and Supervisors
Name : Sandile Ntethelelo Gumbi
Student number : 21901730
Reference Number : HSSREC/00002004/2020.
UKZN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEE (HSSREC)
FOR RESEARCH WITH HUMAN PARTICIPANTS
INFORMED CONSENT RESOURCE
Note to researchers: Notwithstanding the need for scientific and legal accuracy, every effort should be
made to produce a consent document that is as linguistically clear and simple as possible, without
omitting important details as outlined below. Certified translated versions will be required once the original
version is approved.
There are specific circumstances where witnessed verbal consent might be acceptable, and
circumstances where individual informed consent may be waived by HSSREC.
Information Sheet and Consent to Participate in Research
Date: 2020/01/29
My name is Sandile Ntethelelo Gumbi. I am a Master’s student from Social Work Discipline in the
School of Applied Human Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
You are being invited to consider participating in a research study titled, “Exploring the experiences of
social work practitioners and supervisors on the implementation of social work supervision in the
Department of Social Development: A Case Study of King Cetshwayo District Municipality”. The aim and
purpose of this research is to explore and understand the practitioner’s experiences on the
implementation of social work supervision in the Department of Social Development at King Cetshwayo
District. The duration of your interview will be approximately 50 minutes to 60 minutes. The study is not
funded by any organization or individuals.
107
This study has been ethically reviewed and approved by the UKZN Humanities and Social Sciences
Research Ethics Committee and has the approval number HSSREC/00002004/2020.
Please note that:
• The information that you provide will be used for scholarly research only.
• Your participation is entirely voluntary. You have a choice to participate, not to participate
or stop participating at any stage during the research. You will not be penalized for taking such
an action.
• Your views in this interview will be presented anonymously. Neither your name nor
identity will be disclosed in any form in the study.
• The interview will take about 50 minutes to 60 minutes.
• The record as well as other items associated with the interview will be held in a password
protected file accessible only to myself and my supervisors. After a period of 5 years, in line with
the rules of the university, it will be disposed by shredding and burning.
• Please note that there will be no form of reward or compensation if you choose to
participate in this research.
In the event of any problems or concerns/questions you may contact the researcher via email on
gumbisn4@gmail .com or telephonically at 082 842 8114. You can also contact my supervisor Mr. M.S.
Sithole at SITHOLEM3@ukzn.ac.za/ or telephonically at 031 260 3802 or the UKZN Humanities & Social
Sciences Research Ethics Committee, contact details as follows:
HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH ETHICS ADMINISTRATION
Research Office, Westville Campus
Govan Mbeki Building
Private Bag X 54001
Durban
4000
KwaZulu-Natal, SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: 27 31 2604557- Fax: 27 31 2604609 Email:
HSSREC@ukzn.ac.za
108
CONSENT FORM
I have been informed about the study entitled by the UKZN
Humanities and Social Science Research Ethics Committee (HSSREC) and the KZN Department of
Social Development by the researcher, Mr. Sandile Ntethelelo Gumbi.
i. I understand the purpose and procedures of the study.
ii. I have been given an opportunity to answer questions about the study and have had answers to
my satisfaction.
iii. I declare that my participation in this study is entirely voluntary and that I may withdraw at any
time without affecting any of the benefits that I usually am entitled to.
iv. I have been informed about any available compensation or medical treatment if injury occurs to
me because of study-related procedures.
v. If I have any further questions/concerns or queries related to the study I understand that I may
contact the researcher on email at gumbisn4@gmail.com or telephonically at 0828428114.
vi. If I have any questions or concerns about my rights as a study participant, or if I am concerned
about an aspect of the study or the researchers then I may contact:
HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEE
Research Office, Howard Campus
Private Bag X 54001
Durban
4000
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Tel: 27 31 2604557
Fax: 27 31 2604609
Email: HSSREC@ukzn.ac.za
Additional Consent
I hereby provide consent to Audio-record my interview: YES/NO
Signature
109
To whom it may concern
Re: Editorial/proof reading
This letter confirms that Yove Editors edited and proofread Mr S. Gumbi’s MA dissertation. The work
done included language and rearranging paragraphs. This was cosmetic proofreading and editing,
the content of the work was not altered.
We are delighted to do business with you.
Sincerely,
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APPENDIX 5: LETTER OF THE LANGUAGE EDITOR
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