Supervision in Denmark – an empirical account of experiences and practices

ABSTRACT

According to several international definitions, the main purpose of supervision in social work is to provide support and learning for social workers in order to help them carry out a challenging job that often has a heavy workload. International studies and reviews stress the importance of the relationship between supervisor and supervisee in relation to fulfilment of the objectives of the supervision. However, several studies indicate that this relationship rarely achieves the desired outcome. This is often due to the supervisor also being the supervisee’s line manager, which means that managerial and administrative concerns are prioritised during the supervision. Scandinavian experience of group-based supervision with external supervisors may serve as a source of inspiration for overcoming this problem. This is the conclusion of the first Danish research project on supervision outcomes in the field of social work with children and young people with additional support needs. The study includes a review of international research literature, incorporating both 34 international and 15 Scandinavian studies of supervision outcomes, a questionnaire survey of practices in Danish local authorities, and a unique observational and interview-based field study of supervision in three Danish local authorities.

RESUME

Formålet med supervision inden for social arbejde med børn og unge med særlige behov er at støtte og skabe læring for socialrådgiverne, der ofte har et presset og udfordrende arbejde. Flere internationale studier peger på, at særligt relationen mellem supervisor og supervisanden er afgørende for at formålet med supervisionen indfris, men de selvsamme studier fremhæver, at dette sjældent lykkes. En forklaring er, at supervisor i mange lande også er supervisanden’s daglige leder, hvorfor de ledelsesmæssige og administrative hensyn dominerer på bekostning af læringen og støtten. Her kan erfaringerne fra Danmark og de øvrige skandinaviske lande være en inspiration. Her er den dominerende supervisionsform den gruppebaserede supervision med ekstern supervisor. I dette første danske studie om supervisionens effekt inden for det sociale arbejde med børn og unge har supervisionen en høj oplevet effekt i form af støtte og læring. En lille gruppe af især nyuddannede og ældre socialrådgivere synes dog at få mindre ud af supervisionen end, hvad flertallet får. Alt i alt kan erfaringerne fra Danmark være en inspiration for supervisionen i de lande, hvor supervisionen udføres af lederen. Studiets empiriske konklusion er opnået gennem et design der omfatter et litteraturstudie af både internationale og skandinaviske studier af supervision inden for socialt arbejde med børn og unge, en spørgeskemaundersøgelse til alle 98 danske kommuner og et kvalitativt studie om brugen af supervision i 3 udvalgte kommuner i Danmark. Her blev både observationer og interview anvendt. Studiet blev gennemført i 2013–2014 og rapporten udgivet i 2015.

KEYWORDS:

• Supervision
• management
• professionalism
• outcomes and comparative study

EMNEORD:

• Supervision
• ledelse
• professionsudvikling
• effekt og komparativt studie

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Jacob Magnussen, is a senior lecturer at University College Copenhagen. Having a degree in Political Science and worked as a civil servant, he did a Ph.D. within the field of politics and administration. In this first Danish study of supervision in social work within the area of children and families, his aim was to describe the use of supervision by using both quantitative and qualitative data and by including an international literature review to challenge the various national assumptions about how supervision should be.

ORCID

Jacob Magnussen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4500-7308

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Socialstyrelsen [The National Board of Social Services in Denmark] [grant number 8932-0245-01 (ANREFUD/ FL.15.16.01.20).].