Ian Brodie, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Glasgow Caledonian University

1. Ian Brodie, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Glasgow Caledonian University Perspectives on supervision within the current practice learning context

2. Introduction Welcome Biographical (brief!) Research undertaken in May, 2009 and published on-line in April, 2012 Focus was on the effectiveness of supervision from the perspectives of students and practice teachers In addition to interviews, the research included the analysis of audio records of 8 ‘live’ supervision sessions

3. Some suggested discussion points to pick up on later To what extent do the research findings accord with your own perspectives on supervision? What benefits might accrue from giving more emphasis to the potential transfer of skills from practice to practice learning? What further research would you suggest as a useful follow-up to this small-scale study?

4. West of Scotland Context Placements are provided through the Learning Network West (LNW). LNW provided 407 placements for 5 universities between August 2013 and March 2014. There has been a noticeable trend in the past five years towards an increasing use of ‘Independent Practice Teachers’ (IPT). In the period noted above, 42% of practice teachers were IPTs. Another trend in the same time-scale is the comparative contraction in local authority placement provision (68%) and a corresponding increase in voluntary sector provision.

5. Research Sample First assessed 65-day placement on the 2 year MSc Social Work programme, Glasgow Caledonian University 8 practice teachers reflecting a range of settings (statutory and voluntary), range of user groups (children and families, older adults, children with disabilities, mental health) and range of experience (had supervised 1-5 students; 6-10 students; and over 11 students) 8 post-graduate social work students Placement dates: February to June, 2009

6. Detailed profile of practice teaching sample 5 out of the 8 practice teachers were experienced (i.e. > 11 previous students) 2 out of the 8 practice teachers were inexperienced (i.e. had 1-5 previous students) 6 out of 8 practice teachers had a practice teaching qualification, with two undertaking one at the time of the study There was an even split between on-site and off-site supervision

7. Detailed profile of student sample Under-representation of males (sample 1: 7; cohort 1: 3) Age profile similar to that of cohort All educated to Honours degree level (course entrance requirement) but 6 out of 8 had less than one year social work experience Distribution of sector, setting and user group similar to that for cohort

8. Findings: overall High level of congruence between students and practice teachers in relation to key perspectives on supervision. Students overall indicated a positive experience of supervision. Positive aspects included openness and honesty in the supervisory relationship and, in supervision, a structured but flexible approach. Negative aspects included supervision that was rushed and last minute, lack of feedback and response to questions, and practical matters concerning ‘off-site’ supervision.

9. Findings: overall Practice teachers identified that the main source of support came from colleagues (team members and other practice teachers) while hindrances came from organisational pressures and a lack of prioritising of practice teaching. The three most frequently coded practice teacher activities within supervision were exploring, expressing opinion and giving feedback. The three most frequently coded student activities within supervision were providing an analysis of a case or practice situation, expressing opinion and describing a case or practice situation.

10. Findings: overall All the practice teachers made significant use of skills associated with social work practice within supervision. The most experienced practice teachers tended to be higher coded in activities directly related to learning and teaching. There was a positive association between practice teacher’s use of exploring and students engaging in the analysis of a case or practice situation

11. Detailed Findings: examples The research provided a number of detailed findings regarding: perspectives on the supervisory relationship; content of supervision; and activities that students and practice teachers typically engage in within supervision. The following examples are highlighted: Essential qualities of a practice teacher Main sources of support to practice teachers Main hindrances to practice teacher’s role Practice teacher activity within supervision

12. Essential qualities of a practice teacher: Student perspective Open and honest Approachable Knowledgeable Providing guidance (about cases and how to ‘break down’ theories) Valuing the student Being non-judgemental about student mistakes “They shape your whole placement” “Never cancels supervision so I know I’m important to her” “Guides me but trusts I will try myself” “Explaining things thoroughly”

13. Essential qualities of a practice teacher: Practice teacher perspective Open and honest Flexible Able to use own experience and knowledge Manage and organise the placement Be accountable Make judgements and assessments Enable learners to reflect “Create a supportive, nurturing, learning and developmental environment and relationship with learners” “Be answerable to something bigger” “Someone has to take ownership”

14. Main support to practice teachers: Practice teacher perspective Colleagues Team members Other Practice Teachers Manager University Tutors A forum for discussion (Practice Teacher’s Forum) Agency Learning and Development Team Link Workers Students themselves! “On the whole, however, I get through it on my own”

15. Main hindrances to practice teacher’s role: Practice teacher perspective Organisational pressures such as workload and constantly changing practices Lack of prioritising of practice teaching Lack of understanding about practice teaching role and responsibility Hypocrisy: agencies wanting to promote and advertise their commitment to practice teaching but don’t support it sufficiently Huge responsibility – Whose responsibility? Lack of agency ownership “The Agency want the kudos and money that comes with practice teaching but really the onus falls on the individual practice teacher to manage that absolute overload” “Provision of practice learning opportunities is a departmental priority and yet when other pressures affect provision the importance of practice placements is forgotten” “Time allocated to practice teaching is massively underestimated if you’re trying to do it to a responsible and ethical standard”

16. Practice teacher activity within supervision: use of exploring The most significant finding emerging from the analysis of the taped interviews was the frequency with which practice teachers used ‘exploring’ in supervision, and its association with students being encouraged and enabled to analyse their practice. Example Supervisor: What about discussing it with him? How might you go about that? Student: Very softly, softly, in discussing it with the child. But I would need to meet the child, and read a bit of background, to see what he’s like, and see what way I would approach it. But I think very softly, softly with him and mum to start with. You know, I wouldn’t go in with a concrete view, saying, “This is this.” I think I’ll just play it by ear, basically. As you say, be flexible.

17. Practice teacher activity within supervision: expressing opinion The activity described as ‘expressing opinion’ is rather broad, and encompasses a range of situations within supervision when the practice teacher provided an opinion on a particular topic or issue connected with the student’s practice or with the placement more generally. Example It is one of the classic dilemmas in social work. About people’s rights to live, the young people at the unit’s right to live in a way that isn’t causing them upset or anxiety or distress. So the young people in the unit have a right to that safe, caring, nurturing kind of environment. Where that’s been disrupted, I think that’s something that needs to be looked at, in terms of how they’re working with the person who, if you like, is potentially upsetting the equilibrium. And as you say, that may potentially be happening, but it doesn’t seem to be impacting on the atmosphere, which is interesting. (PT)

18. Practice teacher activity within supervision: giving feedback It was noted that all practice teachers in the sample made significant use of ‘giving feedback’ in supervision. Example (positive) You were very clear about the reason for visiting. You gave the main carer plenty of time to confirm what their concerns were, and listened well to that. You were very person-centred. Non-verbal communication whilst listening to the main carer was excellent; good eye contact, sitting position—sitting openly, slightly forward in the seat. Genuineness of concern was spot-on as well.

19. Practice teacher activity within supervision: giving feedback Example (developmental) There are other things you could have developed there, I would have said, by pulling her in. That was my only comment there—“That’s interesting” or “You’re saying you have tried that before and it hasn’t worked”. It’s maybe thinking again; respond to that by saying “What kind of things did you try? What was happening there?” Doing that exploring a wee bit more. But other than that, the difference from you then until now is quite diametrically different. (PT)

20. Concluding points Effective supervision can be defined as: The provision of a supportive relationship by the practice teacher, where the student can receive and use critical feedback. This latter component was valued by both practice teachers and students, with the taped sessions providing significant evidence of effective ‘giving feedback’ by the sample practice teachers. The provision by the practice teacher of a range of learning activities. The interviews indicated that practice teachers engaged in considerable planning of activities to promote learning, while the taped sessions revealed that particularly effective use was made of direct observation of the student in practice. Practice teachers providing students with frequent opportunities to engage in conceptualisation of practice. Here the use of ‘exploring’ was found to encourage students to undertake case analysis and self-critique.

21. Discussion Points To what extent do the research findings accord with your own perspectives on supervision? What benefits might accrue from giving more emphasis to the potential transfer of skills from practice to practice learning? What further research would you suggest as a useful follow-up to this small-scale study?

22. Selected References Bogo, M. (2006) ‘Field instruction in social work: a review of the research literature’, The Clinical Supervisor, vol. 24, no. 1–2, pp. 163–193. Brodie, I. (1993) Teaching from Practice in Social Work Education: A Study of the Content of Supervision Sessions, Issues in SWE, vol.13:2. Brodie, I. and Williams, V. (2012) Lifting the Lid: Perspectives on and Activity within Student Supervision, Social Work Education 2012, iFirst Article, pp. 1–17. Bryman, A. (2009) Social Research Methods (3rd ed.), Oxford, Oxford University Press. Richards, L. (2005) Handling Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide, London, Sage.