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Journal of Social Work Practice:

Psychotherapeutic Approaches in
Health, Welfare and the Community
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The Role of Supervision in Professional

Development of Social Work Specialists
Ana Caras & Antonio Sandu
Published online: 26 Feb 2013.

To cite this article: Ana Caras & Antonio Sandu (2014) The Role of Supervision in
Professional Development of Social Work Specialists, Journal of Social Work Practice:
Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Health, Welfare and the Community, 28:1, 75-94, DOI:
10.1080/02650533.2012.763024

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 Journal of Social Work Practice, 2014
Vol. 28, No. 1, 75–94, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2012.763024

Ana Caras and Antonio Sandu

THE ROLE OF SUPERVISION IN

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF
SOCIAL WORK SPECIALISTS
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The professionals use social services supervision as an educational and administrative

process, meant to support. Supervision is a relatively new field introduced in the Romanian
social welfare institutions. The article approaches the role of supervision in the process of
professional development of social workers, following a research based on Grounded theory.
We conducted this research into an elite NGO, in the North-Eastern Romania, in the
domain of child protection. Supervision is a social practice based on the relationship between
a person with extensive professional experience and a professional effectively involved in case
management. Supervision is seen as a prerequisite to quality social services organization.
Effectiveness of the supervision process may be an indicator of the quality of social work
practice in an organization. The data were collected through interviews of participants in
the research. The interviewed subjects operate with a definition of the supervision as being a
practice based on individual or group interview, formal or informal, consisting in a series of
specific phases (initial, development, end). Supervision involves the establishment of
professional relationships between the participants and the quality of services and training
received. This definition is partially different from those in the literature.

Keywords supervision; professional development; social work; Grounded

theory

Introduction

The article treats, in an exploratory mode, the role of social services supervision (SSS)
in the professional development of social workers who specialize in child protection, in
the North-Eastern Romania. The questions of the research were (1) How is SSS
perceived by the specialized social workers from the NGO environment? and (2). How
does SSS contribute to the development of professional skills of specialists in the field of
social work?
The first part of the article consists in a supervision literature review, which
exposes some considerations about this process in the practice of professionals. We
chose to expose those aspects in order to be able to compare the answers given by
interviewees with the general accepted definitions in the field.

q 2013 GAPS
 76 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

We used a Grounded theory methodology in order to answer to these research

questions. Data were collected through interviews applied to social workers in the field
of child protection. The purpose of the interviews was to examine the perception of
SSS by specialists, taking into account that SSS is relatively new in the Romanian social
context.
Supervision may be distorted because of misunderstandings and uncertainties that
are generated among social workers. They associate this process with terms of control,
evaluation and less with the guidance, learning or advice.
The importance of approaching this research is represented precisely by the
necessity of knowing the true role of supervision in the professional development of
social workers, and the operation of this newly introduced process in the social work
practice, in Romanian context.
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In these concrete conditions, we will focus on how supervision is implemented in

an elite organization of social service system, whose quality of services is recognized
and accredited.

Romanian context
In the following lines, we intend to expose a brief presentation of social work
supervision in Romanian context.
The relationship between supervisor, supervise and beneficiary is constantly
mentioned during this research (through the term beneficiary we refer to a social
service user). In Romanian legislation, the clients of SSS are the beneficiaries. Since
2004 the Romanian government requires mandatory minimum standards of operation
of human resources supervision for child and family SSS.
The need of supervision emerged in Romania’s public and private institutions,
practicing social work. This need occurred due to the failure of introducing a functional
supervision process during the Communist era.
Most institutions in Romania refer to supervisory and managerial positions as
interchangeable. The supervision itself, as practice, is rather made by managers than by
professional supervisors.
A real supervision relationship, established at a professional level, should
contribute to the achievement of organizational performances and to the development
of specialists.

Supervision – literature review

Supervision requires a learning alliance (Holloway, 1994), which empowers the person
to acquire relevant skills and knowledge for his profession. This alliance aims to
develop interpersonal skills in supervision relationship. The practice of social workers,
regarding the social services offered to beneficiaries, is influenced directly by their
relationship with the supervisor. The benefits of supervisor – supervised relationship
can be found in the quality of services provided by the stakeholders. Supervision is
defined as an educational (Robinson, 1949) and administrative (Barker, 1995) support
process for professionals, as an assurance of service quality and a decision-making
 SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK 77

mechanism for the organization to develop a mentoring process (Cojocaru, 2005).

Supervision is in essence an integrative process (Bradu & Sandu, 2009).
From Kadushin’s perspective, supervisors were first considered as being trainers,
consultants, therapists, managers and even directors (Kadushin & Harkness, 1976).
Supervision is an essential part of a profession and one of the elements that make the
difference between an occupation and a profession (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004;
Plugaru & Ponea, 2010). The traditional definition of SSS is built on administrative,
support and educational functions (Kadushin and Harkness, 2002). According to the
clinical supervision integrated model developed by Rich (1993), supervision is about
facilitation, professional development, staff socialization and services delivery.
In social work, the supervisor’s role is to manage and support the social workers,
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where the supervisor is an individual who does not provide direct services to the
clients; however, the supervisor coordinates the activities of the organization. The
supervisor is a professional who provides directions, rules and values to employees
(Cojocaru, 2010).
The supervised should be motivated to use the supervision relationship for learning
professional experience. The supervised should be guided to develop new skills (Sandu,
2012). Supervision should aim to promote personal and professional development
opportunities. The SSS process is about providing learning opportunities for employees
in order to improve the quality of services.

Methodology of the research

Grounded theory
During the analytical process of the data, the researcher creates conceptual categories
to explain emerged themes (Sandu et al., 2010), with a level of generality of growing
up, explaining the subject investigated. In Grounded theory (Goulding, 1999; Hossain,
2011) the theoretical construction is inductively derived from the phenomenon. This
theoretical construction must meet four central criteria: (1) matching theory and
background data, (2) easy understanding by all involved in the study, (3) the generality –
the theory applies in a variety of contexts and (4) control regarding the action towards
a phenomenon (Strauss & Corbin, 1990; Corbin & Strauss, 2007).
For this research, we used Grounded theory because through the inductive process
we created a data presentation on supervision, a field not enough developed in
Romanian context. Therefore, this exploratory research can represent a starting point
for a larger research in the future. Since there are no theories on supervision, the data
provided through this research can be used as part of a greater theory in the future.
Grounded theory design is about understanding the data collected via interviews.
Therefore, by understanding the responses of the interviewed participants, themes
emerged via content analysis of the interview data by an analysis of categories,
keywords and keyword frequencies. Table 1 contains the frequency with which each
term was used and its categorization such as professional development factors.
We mention that the original table contains all categories; this category is
presented in Table 1, as it is now being just an example of the working process.
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TABLE 1 Category: professional development factors.
Category Keywords
Professional Achievements/results
development [Realizări/rezultate]
factors
I evolved/evolution [am
evoluat/evolutie]
Orientation [orientare]
Deficiencies [carente]
I succeed [reuşesc]
Role (consultative,
organizing)
78
Frequency Envivo text
6 In the individual discussion with the supervisor all the aspects are clarified, an improvement plan is
made for the social worker’s activity, the supervisee is made aware of cases where she/he successfully
coped with and the achievements of the year are presented to him. (Social worker 2, May 2011)
Important are the results/achievements of the supervision. (Social worker, May 2011)
I often used the support version, I used the encouragement, result orientation and less to deficit or on
what they didn’t succeeded to do. (Supervisor, May 2011)
I know the supervision steps, I know their needs and so on, and I adapt them depending on what
everyone has to do, how can be done and also how pressing is the result. (Supervisor, May 2011)
3 I evolved, I improved the quality of services, and working with clients; I manage to perform duties
properly. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
3 The social worker must orientate first to him/her self, before s/he reports to the clients. (Social worker,
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
May 2011)
I often used the support version, I used the encouragement, result orientation and less to deficit or on
what they didn’t succeeded to do. (Supervisor, May 2011)
1 There were deficiencies in their activity, but those deficiencies were smaller then the positive results
that were accomplished in other departments where they worked. (Social worker, May 2011)
6 I succeed to accomplish duties correctly, for example when I started to work I had no experience, I didn’t
know how to operate with the data I had, but now I do all my duties very easy, I succeed to work properly.
(Social worker, May 2011)
Just because our work is supervised we succeed to make the difference between the persons that need
our services and those persons they don’t. (Social worker, May 2011)
We succeed to change our vision and the services that we offer to our clients, and that is the supervisor
contribution. (Social worker, May 2011)
3 Supervision has an important role in organizing and planning the activities, the human resources and
material resources. (Social worker, May 2011)
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TABLE 1 Continued

Category Keywords Frequency Envivo text

[rol consultative, de
organizare]
Planning [planificare]
Objectives [obiective]
Feedback
Supervision has the role to expose the exposing the performances of the organization, shows the
structuring and planning level of the organization. (Supervisor, May 2011)
For me, supervision has a consultative role, because we meet all kinds of cases, with some beneficiaries
is easy to work with others not, and then you need a second opinion when you have to take a decision.
(Social worker 2, May 2011)
4 Supervision has a role to organize and plan activities and resources both human and material, to expose
the performances of the organization, to show the structuring and planning level. (Supervisor, May
2011)
Supervision has the role to expose the exposing the performances of the organization, shows the
structuring and planning level of the organization. (Supervisor, May 2011)
In group supervision is made a planning of the activities, of the results and of the resources.
(Supervisor, May 2011)
3 In the individual supervision sessions were set the objectives, the strategies of solving the cases and
many other aspects. (Social worker, May 2011)
The supervisor aims to accomplish in working with the supervisee, some objectives according to the
thinks that he observed during the previous supervision sessions. (Social worker, May 2011)
With the supervisor we set work objectives. (Social worker, May 2011)
5 The feedback I was receiving from my supervisor, the coordination and the evaluation of my work
activity, all those help me to balance my emotional status, the supervisor is guiding me constantly.
(Social worker 1, May 2011)
Because we received feedback in our work, we succeeded to improve our professional activity. (Social
worker 1, May 2011)
It is offered to the social worker a objective feedback. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
We are receiving a feedback in working with the beneficiaries, a feedback to my attitude regarding the
SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK

organization and respecting a deadline. (Social worker 1, May 2011)

79
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80

TABLE 1 Continued

Category Keywords Frequency Envivo text

Services [servicii] 4 The supervision helps you to maintain the quality of the services you offer to the beneficiaries. (Social
worker 1, May 2011)
We succeeded to change our view and our services. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
Supervision follows that social worker to offer good services. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
The most important function of the supervision is that of support for achieving the quality of the
services. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
Improvement 4 Any type of supervision can bring only improvements to the professional activity, when is offered with
[imbunatatire] professionalism. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
It is made an improvement plan for the social worker activity. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
I improved myself the quality of the services I offer and also my work with the beneficiaries. (Social
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

worker 1, May 2011)

Problems [probleme]
Important [important]
2 There were followed the problems that I faced with, or what objectives I have to accomplish, in order to
solve a case. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
We are facing with a common problem of many NGOs: the overload of the various duties, we are doing
tasks that should be done by many specialists, we are overload. (Supervisor, May 2011)
6 It is very important to have somebody who can teach you how to do your job. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
The guidance is the most important function of the supervision for me. When we are speaking at the
team level, another important function for us is the coordination. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
The finalization of our tasks is the most important aspect and shows us that we are in line, we are
functioning correctly and qualitative. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
I consider that the supervisor should have a great capacity of flexibility, to be a good listener, to give a
maximum importance of the professional development of the supervise, because all these things show
the quality of our work. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
The most important are our results. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
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TABLE 1 Continued
Category Keywords
Competence [competenta]
Style [stil]
Decision [decizie]
Risk [risc]
Flexibility [flexibilitate]
Direction [directie]
Stage/level [treaptă/nivel]
Frequency Envivo text
2 When we are going to the supervisor with a case evaluation report, he guide us and tell us what we can
offer to the beneficiary, if it is in our competence as NGO to help him. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
We must offer good quality services which reflects our professional competences. (Social worker 1, May
2011)
3 I developed my own style. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
Each of the social workers has his own style of work. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
The difference of the supervision style is give by the personality of each supervisor. (Social worker 1,
May 2011)
2 For me the supervision has a consultative role, because we face many types of cases and then you need
a second opinion when you are taking a decision. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
2 On short term exists the risk to become subjective in working with the beneficiaries and the supervision
helps you to be objective. On long term the supervisor transforms you into a professional. (Social worker
1, May 2011)
Not being supervised you risk to emerge to the emotional part of your work in taking the decisions.
(Social worker 1, May 2011)
1 I consider that the supervisor should have a great capacity of flexibility, to be a good listener, to give a
maximum importance of the professional development of the supervise, because all these things show
the quality of our work. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
2 When we start to work under supervision each of us found his/her own place in the organization. The
supervisor offer us a direction, we become a team. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
I think that each social worker leads the supervision process in the direction s/he needs. (Social worker
1, May 2011)
4 When you know that a colleague on the same level as you are, becomes superior to you in function,as
supervisor, and you must report all your activity to her /him, then there is a problem of perception and of
SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK
reporting at you supervisor. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
81
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TABLE 1 Continued
Category Keywords Frequency
Performance
[performanta]
Development [dezvoltare]
Progress [progres]
Responsibility
[responsabilitate]
I/we become [am devenit]
82
Envivo text
Even you achieve the same level of knowledge as your supervisor, that is not a reason for not ask him for
support or feedback. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
At start I had a different supervisor, I have seen how to work under two types of supervision. (Social
worker 1, May 2011)
4 The performance of the organization are in relation with the quality of supervision, because if you do not
have quality in this process, neither the services you offer are not of high quality. (Social worker 1, May
2011)
Supervision has a role in exposure of the performances of the organization, it shows the level of
structuring and planning. (Supervisor, May 2011)
The supervisee improves himself the professional performances, by the fact that s/he is controlled,
verified, but also supported. (Supervisor, May 2011)
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
3 I developed myself personal and professional, I felt I evolved. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
I consider that the supervisor should have a great capacity of flexibility, to be a good listener, to give a
maximum importance of the professional development of the supervise, because all these things show
the quality of our work. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
1 The greatest progress I made is that I don not involve myself emotionally in the cases I work with. (Social
worker 1, May 2011)
2 It gives you some comfort when you take a decision regarding a case, by consulting with someone that
you know s/he is responsible for the advice s/he is giving you and s/he is assuming the responsibility for
any important decision you take starting from s/he advice. (Social worker, May 2011)
The individual supervision comes to accentuate the responsibilities of each specialist and how each of
those faces with their tasks, if s/he can work with a team, if s/he assumes or not the tasks. (Supervisor,
May 2011)
2 I become more pragmatic, more realist and less manipulated. (Social worker, May 2011).
We become a team with well set tasks for each of us. (Social worker, May 2011)
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TABLE 1 Continued

Category Keywords Frequency Envivo text

Need [nevoia]
Beginner [incepator]
Experience [experienta]
11 I felt the need of supervision, I asked for support from my colleagues, but none of them is not obligated
to form me, we all have needs. (Social worker, May 2011)
I think that each social worker leads the supervision process in the direction s/he needs. (Social worker
1, May 2011)
If I need guidance I ask for it and it s provide to me by the supervisor. (Social worker, May 2011)
I am convinced that supervision is very useful, you need it especially when you are at the beginning of
your career. (Social worker 1, May 2011)
The beginners needed technical and organizational guidance. (Supervisor, May 2011)
Social workers need support and guidance in their activity. (Supervisor, May 2011)
They needed guidance just like beginners, they needed support in presenting the instruments, in
practicing the methods, in working with the beneficiaries, they needed feedback regarding at their
work. (Supervisor, May 2011)
I know the supervision‘s steps, I know their needs and so on, that why I adapt the process, according to
their needs. (Supervisor, May 2011)
2 For a beginner as I was, it was very benefit the support that I received. (Social worker, May 2011)
The supervision has a great impact on the beginner social workers. (Supervisor, May 2011)
3 It is said that the supervisor has a bigger experience than yours and s/he can support you to develop
yourself. (Social worker, May 2011)
When your supervisor has a superior experience, s/he can offer you the feedback you need. (Social
worker, May 2011)
Even if you get at the same level of knowledge or experience with your supervisor that doesn’t stop you
to appeal to him. (Social worker, May 2011)
SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK
83
 84 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

This selection is due to the requirements of the publishable text, where the dimension
is limited (see Table 1).

Research questions.
1. How is SSS perceived by the specialized social workers from the NGO
environment?
2. How does SSS contribute to the development of professional skills of specialists in
the field of social work?
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Participants.
The participants were staff members of a child protection organization in North-
Eastern Romania. Three supervised social workers who work in direct connection with
the beneficiaries and the supervisor at the research site agreed to participate in
interviews with the researchers.

Discussions
Implications of the text translation
The interviews were taken in Romanian and were translated into English for the
publication purpose of the article. The translation process took into account the
implications of the discourse of the respondents. We put in brackets the Romanian
equivalent of the keywords that were discussed during the analysis.
In the analysis, categories of keywords were established, such as effects of supervision,
quality of supervision, intensity of supervision, professional development factors, process of
supervision and type and functions of supervision. Through professional development factors we
refer to the determinants of supervision that influence the professional development.
After the translation was executed, the text of our paper was checked by a native
English speaker.

Exploratory nature of the research and local relevance of the results

The research has an exploratory value, based on inductive method, derived from
Grounded theory. Because it is a small study, the generated theory cannot be extended
to other organizations. It has a local value, particularly for the analyzed organization.
Given the context of supervision development in Romania, as we previously discussed,
we consider that this study may represent a starting point in knowing the supervision
practice in the Romanian organizational environment. It can be worthwhile at least in
Iasi county organizational context. From this point, we consider it as a pilot study that
aims to allow the construction of some large theoretical models. Those models could
be useful to professionals who can develop the supervision practice accordingly to
international standards but taking into account the local context.
Unlike traditional epistemological models that are based on a series of hypotheses
to be tested, Grounded theory is completed by generating hypotheses with validity of
the sample investigated exclusively in terms of research.
 SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK 85

Data collections and analysis

The generated theory may not apply to other similar organizations to the research site
in Romania; however, given the context of supervision development in Romania, the
findings of this study could be a starting point for the social workers’ practices in
Romanian organizations located in Iasi. The data were collected from a Romanian
NGO in the field of child protection, which functions as a branch in Romania with its
head office in the USA. Since 1994, this organization became autonomous as a
Romanian NGO; even if the process of supervision was not officially implemented in
the country, it was present within the NGO through the educational programme for
social workers. In October 2008, the Romanian Foundation has been accredited by the
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Accreditation Commission of Social Services Providers in Romania. The organization

provides foster care services for children with specific needs and services to prevent
separation of children from their biological or extended families. Romanian NGO has
been the research site for its supervision processes for the social workers in the field of
child protection.
All the chosen participants have been supervised in their professional activities.
Three participants were selected because they were social workers who participated in
SSS processes and were supervised. The participants were not administrative or
management staff members. Four individual interviews were conducted to understand
the perceptions of the participants of SSS. Data collection instruments included an
interview guide, which included a set of open-ended questions. The participants signed
a consent form to participate in the interviews that were audio taped. The interviews
were held at the research site. Data from the interviews were transcribed.

The analysis of the inductively built categories

Using Grounded theory, seven categories emerged from the content analysis of the
interview transcripts. Each category was defined by a number of keywords that can be
found in the expressions of the respondents. The categories are effects of supervision
[efectele supervizarii], quality of supervision [calitatea supervizarii], intensity of supervision
[intensitatea supervizarii], professional development factors [factori ai dezvoltarii profesionale],
process of supervision [procesul supervizarii] and type [tipul] and functions of supervision
[functiile supervizarii].
Using open and axial coding, the category professional development was identified as
the main category (see Figure 1).
After several readings, we identified the inner meanings of the text, which we
consider being more profound and rich in significations. This process allows us to
reconfigure the structure of categories.
For the analysis of data obtained through the interview process, we used
triangulation of researchers, which involved negotiating the coding processes. In open
coding process, we agreed on representative keywords for the topic of the work. The
categories had undergone some changes.
The category effects of supervision was renamed to efficiency of supervision, because
the participants presented the effects of supervision in terms of efficiency of the
process. Quality of supervision was viewed by the participants as a necessity of qualitative
 86 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Effects of Quality of
supervision supervision

Supervision Frequency of
type Professional supervision
development

Professional
Functions of development
supervision factors
Process of
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supervision

FIGURE 1 The networking of categories in the initial phase of analysis.

supervision resulting in the rename of the category to the necessity of superior quality
supervision.
In terms of frequency of supervision, subjects are ambivalent on the regularity and
optimal supervision meetings. Professional development factors are presented by
interviewers as a filter that determines bilaterally, both the supervision and the
professional development. The process of supervision appears, in the subjects’ data, in
double valence: on one hand directly related to efficiency, the need for quality of
supervision and the supervision ambivalent attitude and, on the other hand, as a set of
phases for conducting the process of supervision which becomes an independent category
(see Figure 2).
In the process of axial coding, we focused on interconnection of groups of words as
well as on the process of defining the categories already established in open coding.
Through the analysis, we have established a central category: process of supervision. This
category merges to the other categories by relations of determination. Analysing those
aspects we have seen that supervision is independent.
The next process was the selective coding, which involved building a model to link
categories, building a story about ‘the subtle operation’ of the studied organization, as
it appears in the speech of interviewees. This is a subtle criticism of supervision and of
its role in professional development.
In the final analysis, a separate set of theoretical sentences resulted with
hypothetical value that represents the end of theoretical construction (Creswell, 2007).

Theoretical generation by relating categories

The categories identified in the analysis were related by keywords that were found in
more than one category. From the study of keywords frequency, we noticed that their
meaning can characterize one or more categories. Therefore, the first word is quality
[calitatea], whose significance merges effects of supervision and quality of supervision
categories. Quality is required by both the supervisor and the supervised.
Another aspect of quality is found as linking these two categories, using the term by
the book [ca la carte], and also standards [standarde] which indicate the quality of services’
 SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK 87

Supervision Ambivalent Supervision Necessity of

process stages attitude on efficiency a superior
frequency of quality
supervision supervision

Supervision Supervision types

functions

SUPERVISION
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Professional development factors involved in the

supervision process

PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

FIGURE 2 Representation of categories reporting in the theory generation.

optimization offered by the organization through specialists, words present in the

newly established category: necessity of supervision’s quality.
The participants reported that quality of standards had been lowered over time. When
a supervisor refers to the lowering of standards by stating ‘I content myself with . . . [ma
multumesc cu...]’, this phrase indicates a change in the profession in order to increase the
workload to achieve results. Outputs [rezultate], performances [performante] or progress
[progres] and development [dezvoltare] were common keywords reported by the participants
for both professional development factors involved by supervision and the steps of the
supervision process. The relationship between these two categories is one of determination.
Another report of determination between categories is shown by the word control,
found in the category of supervision functions and the efficiency of supervision. Control is
perceived by the supervisor as beneficial to the success of finalizing assigned tasks.
The exercise of control is due, according to the respondents, to supervision, which
favours structuring and planning of activities and resources. But control is also
perceived differently: the supervisor assigns the role of control for supervision of the
supervised, word associated with the superiority in the context in which supervision is
intended to be a peer process. Checking and controlling are associated by the specialists
precisely for establishing their report in the supervision relationship.
Control is perceived as a function of shaping the specialists’ activities. Therefore,
the supervisor sees this function as an opportunity to organize the NGO’s activities.
The supervision relationship [relatia de supervizare] is one of the common points of all
categories of this analysis. In terms of its importance, the supervision relationship could be
an independent category. There are different perceptions among social workers about
supervision relationship. This relationship is described both as a frustrating and well-
developed one.
The main category we chosen from the data analysis is professional development factors
(Table 1) including achievements [realizari], becoming (a team) [am devenit o echipă],
 88 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

(consultative, organizing) role [rol consultativ, de organizare], planning the resources

[planificarea resurselor], objectives [obiective], feedback, services [servicii], improvement
[imbunatatirea], issues [probleme], skills [abilitati], style [stil], decision [decizie], risk [risc],
(professional) level [nivel profesional], performance [performante], responsibility [responsabil-
itate], (fulfilling the) needs [satisfacerea nevoilor], (status of beginner) novice [statusul de
incepator] and (having) experience [a avea experienta].
The participants reported that achievements [realizari] depend on professionalism.
One of the participants reported that:

In the individual discussion with the supervisor all aspects are clarified, an
improvement plan is made for the social worker’s activity, the supervised is made
aware of cases where she/he successfully coped with, and the achievements of the
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year are presented to him. (Social worker 2, May 2011)

The employees’ supervised work is reflected at the end of the fiscal year.
Participant 2 reported that the individual supervision allows the supervised to reflect on
his/her own results during a discussion with the supervisor.
Analyzing the supervisor’s responses, which we find in keywords that are
mentioned above, we noticed that the result itself is considered as the defining element
in the professionals’ work. The supervisor reported that that she/he adapts supervision
within the limits established by the skills of each supervised. The supervisor participant
reported that:

I know the supervision steps. I know their needs and so on, and I adapt these steps
depending on what everyone has to do, how it can be done and also how pressing is
the result. (Supervisor, May 2011)

Adaptation of supervision to the needs of the supervised is perceived by the

supervisor as a significant part of the professional development process. The supervised
uses the term evolution to describe his/her professional and personal growth. One of
the participants reported that his evolution can be observed in the improvement of the
work with beneficiaries, through the quality of the services provided and the successful
completion of his tasks:

I evolved. I improved the quality of services, and work with clients; I manage to
perform duties properly. (Social worker 1, May 2011)

Both supervision and the supervisor are perceived as the interventions that cause
the change in the work of specialists. Instead one of the social workers sees in
supervision the reason of his personal and professional development, another one
believes that the relationship with an empathic and flexible supervisor can guarantee his
professional development.
Both lack and weakness refer to the supervision dysfunction, which are
acknowledged and accepted by both the supervisor and the supervised. The supervised
feels lack of supervision when there is uncertainty in performing tasks:

I felt the absence of the supervisor. (Social worker 2, May 2011)

 SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK 89

The supervisor of the organization has identified gaps in the activity of the
supervised, but according to him/her is not a cause for concern or a dysfunction of the
process, because the supervised has positive results in other departments.

There were gaps in their work, but those gaps are less than the positive results in
other departments where they worked. (Supervisor, May 2011)

Planning represents a decisive factor in the development of the specialists, fact

inducted by the frequency of the word planning.

Supervision has a role to organize and plan activities and resources both human and
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material, to expose the performances of the organization, to show the structuring

and planning level. (Supervisor, May 2011)

Feedback is another keyword with value of information in the discourses analysis.

The feedback I was receiving from my supervisor, the coordination and evaluation
of my work activity, all those help me to balance my emotional status, the
supervisor is guiding me constantly. (Social worker 1, May 2011)

Feedback generates confidence and encouragement in the work environment.

Feedback towards the supervised is used to identify strengths and weaknesses following
an assessment by the supervisor.
Because we are not treating this topic as an ideal, it is understandable that there are
weaknesses as we have outlined above, there are also differences of opinion and
perception, thus implicitly problems. The organization’s problems arise when there are
different mentalities and characters in organizing the activities not only around the
office but also on the management level.
A fundamental issue, which was mentioned by the supervisor, is that the
supervised is overloaded with tasks. High workloads may affect the employee’s needs.
The supervisor reported:

We must provide services which reflect the professional skills. (Social worker 3,
May 2011).

The decisions that specialists are making in solving their cases represent a key
factor in their professional development. Advisory role of supervision, observed in
relation with the supervisor, may facilitate the process of making the right decisions:

For me, supervision has a consultative role because we meet all kinds of cases, with
some beneficiaries is easy to work with others not, and then you need a second
opinion when you have to take a decision. (Social worker 2, May 2011)

The supervisor reported:

Supervision has a role in exposing the organization’s performance, showing the

level of structuring and planning. (Supervisor, May 2011)
 90 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

The supervisor also stated:

The supervised improves his job performance. The fact that the supervised is being
monitored, controlled, checked and supported helps him/her a lot, because the
situation is predictable for him/her. (Supervisor, May 2011)

The supervisor states that supervision exhibits the performances of the

organization. It shows the design and planning of the organization, and it provides
transparency from the outside.
Responsibility is a keyword reported by the participants. The supervised reported that
responsibility is needed to continue to work. Responsibility is considered an ethical factor with
implications emphasizing the interest of the clients. They should act in the idea of doing well
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as a central element of ethical action (Frunza, 2011). Administrative responsibility of

the supervisor turns to social responsibility. Their services contribute to the
development of the public welfare. The main beneficiaries are the social worker’s
clients.
We consider that the supervised transfers the responsibility to the supervisor to
carry out certain actions. The transfer of responsibility is not an opportunity to develop,
from our personal perspective. This aspect transforms the supervisor into a gatekeeper
of professional development of the specialists, partially because of a paternalistic
approach of the supervision relationship.

It gives you some comfort when you take a decision regarding a case, by consulting
with someone that you know is responsible for the advice she/he is giving you and
she/he is assuming responsibility for any significant decision you take starting from
his/her advice. (Social worker 2, May 2011)

However, the supervisor perceives the responsibility differently than the

supervised. She/he assigns the word significance to both partners of individual
supervision.
With a frequency of 11 words in the text, the term need [nevoia] was the
keyword used especially by the supervised. The need for supervision perceived by
social workers is due precisely to its absence at some point in their professional
development process.

I felt the need for supervision. I was asking for advices from my colleagues, but
nobody is forced to train me and to leave his work aside. (Social worker 2, May
2011)

A social worker with 7 years of work experience (Social worker 3) stated that he
was always supervised. Another specialist employed 3 years later than the other
participant, with experience of 4 years (Social worker 2), stated that he worked for 2
years without supervision. We concluded that supervision is interpreted subjectively,
and what one considers supervision, the other sees as control.

I think every social worker leads the supervising in the direction he needs. (Social
worker 3, May 2011)
 SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK 91

If I need guidance, I ask for it and the supervisor gives me what I am asking for.
(Social worker 2, May 2011)

Different needs can be noted in the text: the need for guidance, support and
feedback.

I am convinced that the supervision is extremely useful, especially when you are at
the beginning, when you need lots of guidance. (Social worker 2, May 2011)
Beginners have substantial need of technical and organizational guidance.
(Supervisor, May 2011)
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The most vulnerable and dependent in the supervision relationship proves to be

beginners. The beginner social workers are those who have not been supervised.

They needed guidance just like beginners: they needed support in presenting
the instruments, in the implementation of methods, in working with the
services users, they needed feedback on what they achieved. (Supervisor, May 2011)

In the final analysis of professional development factors of supervises, we will

exhibit the last keyword: experience.

When your supervisor has a superior experience than you, certainly she/he can
provide the feedback you need. (Social worker 3, May 2011)
After five years of experience, I have come to be supervised by someone who has
with a bit more work experience than me. (Social worker 3, May 2011)

Experience was frequently reported by supervises with the longest work experience
in the organization. His/her speech shows that she/he worked with two different styles
of supervision, but also that his/her experience is not much smaller than the
supervisor’s.

It is assumed that the supervisor has more life and professional experience than you
and she/he can support you. (Social worker 3, May 2011)

Frustration and dissatisfaction were reported by using have come [am ajuns],
according to Participant 2 who reported: After 5 years of experience I have come to be
supervised by someone who has a little more work experience than I have.

The theoretical construction process

Following the analysis performed in the open and axial coding stages, we have identified
professional development as central category, the other groups placing around it. The
circular placing means the equivalence between the identified categories (see Figure 1).
Theoretical construction process envisages the explaining of professional
development phenomenon through supervision, starting from the categories identified
in axial coding process.
 92 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Relations between categories are highlighted as being of determination rather

than of coordination. Supervision’s functions effectively determine the stages through
which the supervision will take place: efficiency [eficienta], required quality [calitate
ceruta] and the frequency [frecventa] with which it is appropriate to carry out. Professional
development factors involved in the supervision process becomes a buffer category between
supervision and professional development (see Figure 2). Those categories determined
each other in the process of supervision. In the end of encoding stages, the
information in this phase is schematically organized to prefigure the coding paradigm
(Creswell, 2007).
The main purpose of supervision is to facilitate the practice and not to perpetuate
dependency. Supervision requires mediation, agreement between the organization and
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social worker. The supervisor is acting as an advocate for the organization and the social
worker to carry out the professional objectives of the work (Kadushin, 1992). Supervisor
meets in this process a gatekeeper function of the organization’s ethical policies,
programs and practices. The whole process is based on providing learning opportunities
in order to improve the quality of services and professional activity (Figure 2).
Based on the opinions of subjects, we made the following operational definitions of SSS:

. Supervision is a social practice based on the relationship between a person with

professional, extensive experience and high knowledge in social welfare and a
social worker involved in case management.
. Supervision efficiency can be an indicator of the quality of social practice into an
organization.
. Specialists see supervision as a prerequisite of quality in social services provided by
the organization.
. Supervision process is a system of practice based on individual or group interview.
This involves the establishment of professional relationships between participants
and follows the quality of services.
Supervision is a key dimension in human resource management in the field of social
services organizations. This process involves functions such as peer evaluation and
support for professionals in the process of integrating in organization. Both beginners
and experienced social workers are gathered by the supervisor in order to get deep into
their organizational culture and environment.
Professional development can be understood as a need for specialists of building
new skills and enhancing existing ones in order to maximize efficiency of services
provided to clients.

Conclusions
We have formulated the conclusions by extrapolation and generalization, so that they
can describe the phenomenon studied for a wider phenomenon class. This research can
be the starting point of other studies that aim at assumptions validation.

In a social welfare organization between efficiency of supervision relationship and

professional development of the supervised might be a direct correlation.
 SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK 93

Experts see the process of supervision as a prerequisite quality of social services

organization.
The support offered to specialists in the supervision process should be a co-variant
factor with their professional development.
We started with two questions. During analysis of data, we got the following
conclusions:

1. How is SSS perceived by the specialized social workers from the NGO
environment?
The meanings of supervision in accordance with the views of interviewees are the
following: control [control], guidance [indrumare], monitoring [monitorizare], evaluation
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[evaluare], consulting [consultare], training [formare], learning process [proces de invatare],

testing [testare] and support [suport]. From these meanings, we conclude that
supervision is defined in relation with its functions as it appears in everyday
practice.
2. How does SSS contribute to the development of professional skills of specialists in
the field of social work?
The adaptation of supervision to the needs of the supervised is perceived by the
supervisor as a significant part of the professional development process. In the
perception of professionals, the quality of services is given by the development of
social work professionals.
In the explored organization, a paternalistic model of supervision is implemented
based on investing the supervisor with a quasi-formal authority which almost turns it
into a managerial position. Paternalistic model of supervision applied requires an
increased professional competence of the supervisor, which should be transferred to
the supervised. This transfer creates a form of dependence manifested by the
supervised by awarding credit for their successes to the supervisor’s professional
influence. This practice limits the real empowerment and appears to be related to the
characteristics of the supervisors’ personality.
Supervision is a key dimension in human resource management of organizations in
the field of social service, with functions such as peer review, support for professionals
in the process of integrating both beginners in the organizational culture and
environment and also the continuous improvement of experienced social workers.
Professional development can be understood as a need for specialists of building
new skills and enhancing existing ones in order to maximize efficiency of services
provided to clients.

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Ana Caras is a research assistant at the Lumen Research Center in Social and
Humanistic Sciences. Address: Tepes Voda, nr. 2, CP 3, OP 780, Iasi, Romania; PhD.
Candidate at Faculty of Philosophy and Social-Politics Sciences within Alexandru Ioan
Cuza University from Iasi, Romania. [E-mail: ana.caras.15@gmail.com]

Antonio Sandu is a researcher at Lumen Research Center in Social and Humanistic

Sciences, Iasi; Associate Professor at Mihail Kogalniceanu University from Iasi,
Romania; Postdoctoral researcher within the project ‘Postdoctoral studies in the domain
of ethics in health policies’ at ‘Gr. T. Popa’ University of Medicine and Paharmacy, Iasi,
Romania. [E-mail: antonio1907@yahoo.com]