Social workers’ perspectives and recommendations with regard to the training needs of social work supervisors

Abstract

Social work supervision is vital for the success of social work practice. A shift towards a developmental paradigm to address community needs and reduce inequality has increased the demand for social work services and put a stronger focus on supervision to support social workers. However, current supervision practices are not aligned with this developmental paradigm, and supervisors often lack the necessary training to provide adequate support. The literature confirms the scarcity of training, leaving supervisors unprepared for their roles. To address this gap, a qualitative study guided by four of the six phases of the Design and Development (D&D) model was conducted to develop a training programme for supervisors in a development context. This article presents the findings of one phase in which individual semi-structured interviews with social workers were conducted to explore their experiences and perceptions of supervisors’ training needs. Participants were selected using non-probability purposive sampling. The findings of this study confirm the lack of training for social work supervisors. The themes and subthemes that emerged through thematic analysis highlighted the training needs of supervisors and also recommended training in, amongst other aspects, supervisory roles and responsibilities, contextual and practical supervision, functions of supervision, systemic challenges and leadership.