SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK , ALFRED KADUSHIN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1992, new

york, third edition.

Selection of workers for the position of supervisor is most frequently made from direct service staff. The rationale for this source of
candidates is that supervision requires a knowledge of direct service
practice. In addition to direct service practice, experience and educational credentials such as an MSW are sometimes required. Years of
practice experience can, however, often be substituted for educational
credentials.(PAG 293) Educational supervision is concerned with helping the worker learn
what he needs to know in order to do his job effectively. Educational
and administrative supervision have the same objectives, and educa
tional supervision supplements administrative supervision by further. ..
Different occupations attract and produce different occupational
personalities. The conjecture is that people with particular kinds of
personalities are attracted to different professions; that the process of
professional socialization then tends to reinforce those aspects of per
sonality that are congruent with, and conducive to, smooth adjustment
to the professional subculture. It has been said that in choosing an
occupation, one is choosing a means of implementing a self-concept.
Some of the selective personality characteristics of social workers
may have relevance to the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Gock
el's nationwide study of undergraduate students who major in social
work indicates that they are "significantly less likely to express a desire
for freedom from supervision than are those who remain out of the
field. . . . They bring their acceptance of supervision (whatever its
genesis) to the career decision when they decide to shift into social
work" ( 1967:95-96).
The supervisor's principal responsibility in educational supervision is
to teach the worker how to do the job. Our task here is to delineate

what promotes effective teaching and learning. The teacher can orga
nize content, provide a suitable atmosphere for learning, and make
learning available but cannot ensure its acceptance and certainly not
its use. This only the learner can do. Teaching is essentially the "art of
assisting another to learn." As Robinson says, "Teaching provides the
subject matter, the stimulus, the materials, sets the tasks and defines
the conditions. But learning is the process of utilizing opportunity and
limits in one's way for one's own ends" ( 1936:128). Learning is a
creative personal experience. (PAG 182)
Supervisors also are subjected to a variety of job-related stresses. The
transition to supervisor is a difficult change involving a reorientation
of relationships with colleagues, and alterations in self-perception and
in attitudes toward agency goals and procedures. The additional re
sponsibility, along with the lack of preparation, ongoing support, and
clarity in role differentiation, combined with conflicting demands, all
contribute to supervisors' feelings of tension. The problems of race
and gender in supervisory interaction are other sources of stress.
Satisfactions, however, balance some of the dissatisfaction for supervi
sors. Games played by supervisors can help supervisors in their efforts
to cope.(pag 293)
Evaluation in supervision is defined as the objective appraisal of the
worker's total functioning on the job over a specified period of time
( Schmidt and Perry 1940). It is a process of applying systematic pro
cedures to determine with reliability and validity the extent to which
the worker is achieving the requirements of his position in the agency.
An evaluation should be a judgment based on clearly specified, realis
tic, and achievable criteria reflecting agency standards. It is job re
lated and time limited. It is concerned with both the "quality of
performance and the quantity of accomplishment." Evaluation is an
administrative procedure that should, and can, contribute to profes

sional growth. It is therefore a component of both administrative and

educational supervision. It is further a component of supportive super
vision. Explicit feedback helps the worker get a sense of meaningful
achievement, reduces the tension associated with role ambiguity, and
provides the positive reinforcement for good work well done.(pag 391)
Written, signed evaluations have legal implications as well as sup
portive, educational, and administrative implications. Due process
requires that a worker be periodically informed of the acceptability of
his performance to the agency.
An objective appraisal of the worker's total functioning on the job over
a given period of time, in terms of clearly defined criteria reflecting
agency standards, has value for the supervisee, supervisor, agency,
and client. It is a responsibility of administrative supervision.
Supervisors dislike evaluating because they are reluctant to accen
tuate status differences, feel dubious about their entitlement and
ability to evaluate, perceive evaluation as an indirect assessment of
supervision, regard it as contradictory to the ethos of social work, and
fear the strong negative affect which might be evoked.
Evaluation should be a continuous process that encourages active
supervisee participation and input. It is based on defensible related
criteria that are openly shared with the supervisee. It takes situational
factors into consideration, is tentative and concerned with both strengths
and weaknesses. It is enacted in the context of a positive relationship,
and the supervisor is ready to accept an evaluation of his own perfor
mance.
Both supervisor and supervisee prepare for the evaluation confer
ence by reviewing the work done during the evaluation period.(pag 401)

EDUCATIONAL SUPERVISION IN SOCIAL WORK: A TASK CENTRED MODEL FOR FIELD INSTRUCTION
AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT, JONATHAN CASPI, WILLIAM REID, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2002,
NEW YORK

This chapter continues the discussion of features of effective

educational supervision, focusing particularly on the relationship between
the supervisor and the supervisee. This relationship is, perhaps, the most
critical part of the learning experience. An abundance of literature discusses
its importance (Bogo 1993: Fortune et al. 1985; Fortune and Abramson
1993; Webb 1988).
The supervisory relationship has a tremendous impact on the develop
ment of the supervisee and the effectiveness of supervision. In simple terms,
a positive relationship is likely to result in a productive learning experience,
and a poor relationship is likely to result in a negative and less productive
experience. Therefore, supervisors should do their best to implement strate
gies to maintain a productive supervisory relationship: a context in which
the supervisee is challenged to try out new skills, attitudes, and interpersonal
behaviorsessentially, to take chances. The supervisee needs to feel com
fortable to be open, ask questions, and risk exposing him- or herself (Gitter
man 1989). This can only be accomplished in a trusting, straightforward,
and respectful learning environment.
This chapter presents strategies for promoting a positive supervisory
relationship. It begins with an overview of the centrality of the supervisor
supervisee relationship, considers it as an interdependent social system, dis
cusses the importance of attending to the affective components of supervi
sion, and promotes open discussion of the supervisory relationship as a way
to teach and learn about relationships and to resolve relational difficulties.(PAG 96)
must take the lead in developing the relationship and has a great impact on
the success of the encounter. However, the person of the supervisor has
received little attention, so it is considered in some depth.

TCS is presented in chapters 7 to 11. Illustrative vignettes show how the

model looks in action. The book concludes with discussion of the various
applications and uses of the model and a chapter on the application of the
model in various educational and practice environments.

A Note About the Development of TCS

TCS was originally developed for educating social work students during
their practicum experiences (Caspi and Reid 1998). Therefore, both the
model and this book primarily focus and draw upon social work field
instruction practices, concepts, and literature. Because its central function is
supervisee learning, field instruction knowledge provides a solid foundation
for educational supervision practice. Though it was developed as a field
instruction model, TCS procedures and principles have clear applications
for educational supervision with staff, with peers, and in consultation
arrangements. Thus, we offer this book for those engaged in educational
supervision of any type. If you would like to get an overview of TCS at this
time, refer to the appendix, which provides the model's guidelines.
The objective of this chapter is to briefly introduce you to educational
supervision and TCS. It begins by discussing the nature of educational
supervision and clarifying terms used in this book. Then it provides a sum
mary of TCS and a vignette of a typical TCS supervision meetinga look at
the model in action. This chapter concludes with an overview of the
remainder of the book.

What Is Educational Supervision?

Supervision can be defined as the overseeing of another's work with sanc
tioned authority to monitor and direct performance, to ensure satisfactory
performance (which includes client safety). How this is accomplished and

what this entails widely differ among supervision arrangements. Processes

vary according to whether or not supervisees are staff, student interns, peers,
or people who have contracted for clinical consultation.(PAG 2)
Preparing for the Start of Supervision
Prior to meeting for the first time, supervisors should carefully consider
the needs of the new supervisee. They should go out of their way to be wel
coming and provide the best setting for successful work and supervision.
Indeed, there is evidence that initial impressions of supervision are related to