Masters Degrees (Social Work)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Social Work) by Author "Brandt, Shanell"

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    Beginner maatskaplike werkers se ervaring van volwasseneonderrig in supervisie
    (2019-12) Brandt, Shanell; Engelbrecht, Lambert Karel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The declining quality in South African supervision practice and social service delivery is attributed to the shortage of competent and trained supervisors as well as the lack of supervision. The failure of social work supervision is often attributed to inadequate education during supervision. The education function in supervision of especially novice social workers is essential for effective and quality service delivery. Despite this, the education function is neglected during supervision while the administrative function takes precedence. The social work practice mainly utilizes a traditional education process that is based on pedagogical principles. This process is by no means relevant to adults and thus (beginner) social workers' learning needs. Adult education, also known as andragogy, is fundamental to the supervision of social workers to ensure that quality services are provided to service consumers. Existing literature shows that social workers and supervisors are unfamiliar with this important and indispensable aspect of supervision. Against this background the research study aimed to gain a better understanding of novice social workers' experience of adult education during supervision. A qualitative research approach was used to explore novice social workers' experience of adult education during supervision. The study utilized both an exploratory and descriptive research design to obtain detailed information and insight into the participants' experience. For the purpose of this study, snowball sampling method was used to recruit participants. A semi-structured interview schedule was followed during interviews with 20 participants. This research report consists of five chapters. Chapter one provides an introduction to the research study, followed by chapters two and three that represent the literature review of the study. Chapter two describes the supervision process and social work context of novice social workers, while chapter three provides a description of adult education within the context of supervision. Chapter four of this research study presents the empirical study, and Chapter five the conclusions and recommendations. Key findings and conclusions from the study highlight the absence of education and the lack of application of adult education principles during supervision. It seems that pedagogy, rather than andragogy, is supervisors' approach to education. The supervision practice in social welfare organizations neglects the education function that especially disadvantages novice social workers' growth and development in the profession as well as the quality of service they deliver to service consumers. Influences of neoliberalism and a managerial approach in social work practice mean that social work supervision in welfare organizations is not regular and structured. Informal supervision (on the run) has become increasingly common in social welfare organizations and contributes to the decline in quality service delivery. Supervisors in the social supervision practice do not follow a supervision process during which novice social workers are assessed and consequently a personal development plan is not compiled to determine the growth and development of the worker. Supervision in the social work practice is experienced negatively and not performed as prescribed by standards of the South African Supervision Framework.