Driving ducks onto a perch: the experience of locally trained Shenzhen supervisor

Abstract

The importance of supervision for social work practice has been recognized by the Shenzhen government, which has invested great effort into developing the mentorship model for supervisor training. This pioneering effort has resulted in the emergence of young local supervisors. This paper reports findings of a qualitative study which used in-depth interviews to explore the experience of 14 locally trained supervisors in Shenzhen. The findings reveal participants' pathways to becoming a supervisor, their perceptions about the role and functions of a supervisor, and their struggles in becoming a competent supervisor. These narrative accounts reveal the dominant theme of ‘driving ducks onto a perch’, a metaphor used by one of the participants. These supervisors regard the experience as being too rushed for them to be ready and putting them right on the spot. The findings reveal that policies and practices for nurturing local supervision in Shenzhen are too positive and ambitious. The implications of this study and suggestions for social work development in China are discussed.

深圳市政府确认社会工作实务督导的重要性，并投入很多精力来开发导师模式以培训督导者。此创举产生了本地青年导师的出现。本文报告了一次采用深度访谈的质性研究中，14位深圳本地培训的督导者的经验。研究结果显示参与者成为督导者的途径、他们对督导者角色和功能的看法和他们成为一个称职主管的奋斗过程。这些叙述事例同时突显参与者比喻为「赶鸭子上架」的主题。这些督导者的经验令他们感到被催促做好准备和要他们即时就地开始工作。调查结果显示，深圳市培育本地督导的政策和实践操之过急和野心太大。最后本文讨论了这项研究的含意和社会工作在中国发展的建议。

Keywords::

• Social Work Supervision
• Supervision training
• Social Work in China

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work is supported by Direct Grant Research, CUHK (SS11801).