E-Thesis 183 views
Supervision in Welsh adult social work services 2016–2021: The transformative potential of co-production and reflexivity for social work epistemology and practice / HEATHER TYRRELL
Swansea University Author: HEATHER TYRRELL
DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.70221
Abstract
Academic research into supervision for practitioners working in adult services in Wales has been limited in comparison to that undertaken in children services. The premise of this thesis was the symbiosis between supervision and social work and provided the impetus to explore alternative forms of pr...
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Swansea, Wales, UK
2025
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Rea, David ; Maegusuku- Hewett, Tracey |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70221 |
| Abstract: |
Academic research into supervision for practitioners working in adult services in Wales has been limited in comparison to that undertaken in children services. The premise of this thesis was the symbiosis between supervision and social work and provided the impetus to explore alternative forms of practice. Conventional social work supervision is exclusively between professionals, with citizens’ experiences mediated through practitioners’ accounts of their practice. Changes to social care legislation in Wales provided the incentive to examine and redefine supervision as a co-productive process, with citizens as active agents within the supervisory process. Agency and reflexivity provided an integrating theoretical framework, in which supervisory relationships were reframed, challenging the customary binary, hierarchical model of practice. Two stages characterised this research inquiry: twenty two focus group interviews with professionals investigated their supervisory experiences: three citizen group interviews considered how their potential participation in the supervisory process could extend practitioners’ practice and knowledge. Citizens however, remained uncertain of the commitment and resources needed to embed this approach in practice. Professional supervisory experiences mirrored research findings from the domain of children services, reflecting organisational priorities, and followed the processual care management model of social work practice. Stage two employed an Appreciative Inquiry model of change in action learning meetings with professionals, who co-created a model of practice that embedded strength-based, person-centred principles. Overall, the findings suggest that reflexivity is critical for social work professionals to construct alternative forms of supervision involving citizens. Professional and organisational understanding of the contribution citizens’ experiential expertise and participation could offer is underdeveloped, limiting a co-produced practice model. Conclusions from the study underline the challenges involved in co-operative research and in the realisation of co-productive supervisory practice. |
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| Keywords: |
Supervision, Social Work, Adult Services, Wales, Co-production, Reflexivity, Knowledge, Agency, Citizen Participation, Experiential Expertise, Umbrella Model of Supervision, Appreciative Inquiry, Strength-based Practice, Processual Care Management, Reframing Hierarchical Forms of Supervision |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |