What are we thinking? Supervision as the vehicle for reflective practice in community-based child welfare services

Abstract

Community-based child welfare social work within Aotearoa New Zealand has undergone major alterations in service delivery in response to a government neoliberal-driven agenda. To combat the challenges facing social work practice in community-based child welfare services, there is a necessity for reflective supervision to critique practice outcomes for practitioners and service users. An exploration of critical theory and, in particular, Bourdieu’s key concepts of habitus, field and capital, allow for a critical examination of reflective supervision in community-based child welfare, and the investigation of alternatives to social work practice in this study. This study aimed to explore reflective supervision practices within the current context of community-based child welfare services in Aotearoa New Zealand and to develop strategies that support reflective supervision. A qualitative critical reflection methodology provided a detailed understanding of reflective supervision in community-based child welfare through the participation of key informants and supervisory dyads. Bourdieu’s concepts were utilised in the critical analysis of the key informant findings and revealed that reflective supervision within community-based child welfare social work provides the social worker with an opportunity to develop self-awareness; identify their professional relationships and associated power dynamics; and explore the state’s influence on community-based child welfare social work. Key findings from the supervisory dyad data indicated that social workers utilised reflective supervision for developing self-awareness; understanding the tensions experienced within professional relationships; and discussing uncertainty within the organisation. However, the reflective supervision observed lacked a deeper analysis and critical examination of wider structural and environmental factors. The findings of this study suggest community-based child welfare social workers need to employ a deeper analysis within reflective supervision to assist in the development of social justice informed strategies in their work with service users. Greater critical exploration is needed regarding the socio-cultural and political factors impacting on community-based child welfare social work in the Aotearoa New Zealand context, the power between agencies and disadvantaged groups, and the development of the social worker’s self-awareness. The significance of this study is in its contribution to understanding the current supervision context within community-based child welfare and the thinking aloud process and the four-layered practice model as strategies to support reflective supervision.