M.A. (Social Work) / The study aimed at determining the nature of social work supervision in welfare agencies in the Sedibeng Region, Gauteng. The research was of an exploratorydescriptive nature. A questionnaire was used as a data collection tool and was self administered by the respondents. A total population of 57 social work supervisors are employed by non-governmental organisations (NGO), community-based organisations (CSO) and government departments in the Sedibeng region and were included in the study. Fifty one completed questionnaires were returned. The research revealed that the majority of the respondents held a management position within the organisation and it is therefore concluded that supervision of social workers formed part of their management function. In addition, the supervisors rendering social work supervision were in possession of a Social Work Degree, which indicated that supervisors met the basic educational requirement to supervise social workers. Fifty eight percent of supervisors had six or more supervisees under their span of control. This is above the current norm set by government of one supervisor to five social workers. Respondents felt they had the knowledge, experience, infrastructure and resources to supervise staff including relevant policies and procedures to guide supervision. Key supervisory roles and qualities that are relevant to supervision were identified by the respondents. Four key roles were identified by supervisors namely, motivating and inspiring staff (88%), facilitating skills development and increasing the knowledge of supervisees (84%), facilitating professional development of supervisees (76%) and developing the social worker to use him/herself more efficiently and effectively (76%). The most important qualities of a supervisor that were identified are: first, openness, Willingness to help and learn from others (76%), second, a supervisor should be calm, focused and goal-orientated (74%). Finally supervisors should be able to deal with conflict (70%). These three qualities were highly rated among the respondents. Barriers to supervision included: increasing work pressures and demands (74%), high staff turnover (54%) and the emphasis on quantity instead of quality social work services (56%). Recommendations included policies that set minimum norms and standards for supervision. The need to prioritise supervision as part of a management function in social welfare settings within Governmental and Non Governmental Organisations, forums to promote dialogue, capacity building and monitoring and evaluation tools are needed to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of supervision provided and its impact.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:8024 |
| Date | 04 February 2014 |
| Creators | Deonarain, Pushparani Perumal |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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