The experiences of social work supervisees in relation to supervision within the Department of Social Development in the Johannesburg Region

Abstract

Social work was declared a “scarce skill’’ in 2003 by the Minister for Social Development, Dr. Zola Skweyiya. In response to this, the National Department of Social Development developed the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for Social Workers. This strategy identifies supervision as a critical area requiring definite attention, if the retention of social workers is to be realised. Social work supervisees’ voices need to be heard on this issue and hence this study was undertaken. The main purpose of this study was to explore, describe and gain insight into the experiences of social work supervisees in relation to supervision within the Department of Social Development, Johannesburg Region. A qualitative research approach was used, and qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using Tesch’s model in Creswell (2009:186). The researcher followed a systematic process of data analysis. The findings of this study reveal amongst others, a lack of supervision for social work supervisees, and raises questions about the quality and effectiveness of the service rendered by the social work supervisees.