Field Work Supervision:

The function of the Supervisor

FIELD WORK THE FUNCTION OF THE
SUPERVISOR
Introduction
 Field education constitutes an integral and necessary
part of social work education. It is every bit as
important as other parts of the curriculum and its
purpose is fundamental to a sound education in social
work. Field education, the field placement, is the
opportunity for students to "try out" or "practice" the
practice of social work. Under the direction of a well-
versed and competent social worker who enjoys
working with students, student social workers are given
the opportunity-- sometimes forced to seize the
opportunity--to try out their ideas and skills, to test
themselves, to find out how to practice social work,
how to "be" a social worker. Through the field
education partnership, the right opportunities must be
found for student learning, assuring that students have
a variety of experiences and that there is some growing
depth to what students do and to what is expected of
them.
What is Field work?
Field work education constitutes an integral
and necessary part of social work education
and its purpose is fundamental to a sound
education in social work.

Field work training ¸should be considered

learning through doing.

The students are generally required to put in

12 to 16 hours of SUPERVISION practical work
per week during the 2 years training .
 What is Field work?
Individuals
Practical work with people Groups
Community
What is Supervision?
In field work the term supervision is used
for the process of watching and guiding
the students in their practical work.

In field work the term supervision is used

for the process of watching and guiding the
students in their practical work.
What is Supervision?
 “Supervision is an educational,
administrative and helping process which
is concerned with enabling, teaching and
guiding a supervisee to develop
professional skills, knowledge and attitude
based on the objectives of an educational
programme and the needs of the
supervisor”.
 The core of the supervisory process is the
relationship between the supervisor
and supervisee .
Methods of Supervision

 Individual conferences
 Group conferences
 Seminars
 On-the-spot instruction
Objectives of Supervision

 Enabling the student in the

development of knowledge, skills
and attitudes;
 Create self awareness and growth
 Helping the students to assess his
strengths and weaknesses.
 To provide opportunity for learning.
 To facilitate the achievement of
learning goals.
Administrative Responsibilities of Field
Supervisor

The on-site community based instructor

or other agencies like medical,
factories, correctional setting for the
student weekly for at least one more
hour and prepares written mid-term
and evaluation
Administrative Responsibilities of Field
Supervisor

• Administrative support for

participation in social work education
• Sufficient flexibility in administrative
structure,program and service
delivery to provide a sound learning
atmosphere.
• Conducting orientation visits. The
visits provides an understanding of
the objectives of field education.
Administrative Responsibilities of Field
Supervisor

•Administrative support for participation in

social work education
•Sufficient flexibility in administrative
structure,program and service delivery to
provide a sound learning atmosphere.
•Conducting orientation visits. The visits
provides an understanding of the objectives of
field education.
Administrative Responsibilities of Field
Supervisor

•Field supervisor maintaining ongoing contact with

agencies through site visits, phone calls, mail etc,.

•Assign the student to the field agency after the selection

has been agreed upon by the social work department,
the agency and the student.

•Provide the agency with a calendar of school related activities including

the student’s first and last days in placement, school holidays, and dates
and times of “Field Integration Seminars” when the student will be on
campus.
Administrative Responsibilities of Field
Supervisor

•Provide a manual for field instruction in social work to guide the

field practice experience.

•List the field agencies and maintain a departmental

resource file containing pertinent information on field
agencies.
Teaching and training Responsibilities of
Supervisor
 The field supervisor will be provided
information related to the student’s
academic background to facilitate a focus
on the students learning needs
 The learning contract is developed as a
joint process between the student and
supervisor. Clearly defined learning and
activities, including professional behaviors
and practice skills.
 Conduct a field seminar at least once in
every two weeks to facilitate the integration
of classroom knowledge with field learning
 A field supervisor gives a useful tool to
students in the discussion of educational
and work expectations is the “ Evaluation of
field placement” instrument itself.
Teaching and training Responsibilities of
Supervisor
 The field supervisor is responsible for
submitting evaluations within the
prescribed time periods.
 The field supervisor is also expected to
provide the students with a copy of the
written evaluation.
 Field supervisors are encouraging
students to attain professional
development. Through these experiences,
foundation knowledge is reinforced and
changed and students are further
socialized in the social work profession.
Teaching and training Responsibilities of
Supervisor

 The field instructor will contact the

appropriate faculty liaison immediately if
any problem arise in the field areas that
impair the student's ability to function
effectively.
 Assists the student with questions and/or
concerns about the academic
experience.

 complete a mid-term and final evaluation

of the student’s performance
Service or Helping
 Serves as a link between the School of Social Work
and the field placement agency. The faculty liaison will
assist the field instructor in updating requests for
students, updating placement information, and
keeping the field instructor and student apprised of
learning opportunities associated with the School
 When problems occur during the field internship,
appropriate channels of communication and resolution
should take place. Ideally problems can be resolved
between the person directly involved without a formal
process student should discuss problems with their
field supervisor.
 The field instructor will contact the appropriate faculty
liaison immediately if problem areas arise that impair
the student's ability to function effectively.
Service or Helping
 After completion of the course field
supervisor try to get a better
placement to their students in
various agencies.
Conclusion
 As regards to the nature of supervision in social
work education, a few difference have been
recognised. The field work programme in social
work education is based on the philosophy of
‘Learning By Doing’. In social work education
supervision is regarded as a helping process in
which the supervisor helps the student to learn
to do and helps him to grow in his ability to
serve people.