Martin, Richard

Webb, Joseph C.

Wilkins, David

English

Supervision is widely recognised as a core activity for social work. In thispaper, we explore the nature of decision-making in supervision, using acollection of twelve audio-recordings from one child protection team inEngland. We apply Conversation Analysis to see how potential actionsare put ‘on the table’, by whom, and the interactional work that occursbefore any final decision is made. Within these data we find thatsupervision may not be an especially key site for decision-making. Whenactions are proposed, we identify three primary patterns: unilateraldecision making, bilateral decision making and polar questions whichinstigate decision making sequences. In each, it is almost always thesupervisor who proposes a possible future action, and the social workerwho responds. If the social worker is agreeable, there is often littlefurther discussion. When the social worker resists the proposal or thereis further talk around the future action, the subsequent conversation waslikely to focus on how it reflects on the worker’s professionalcompetence, rather than the merits of the action and implications for thefamily. These findings raise the question of how (and where) caseworkdecisions are made in this social work team, if not in supervision. Theyalso suggest we need to pay more attention to issues of professionalstanding and creating opportunities for shared decision making whenthinking about supervision. Our analysis furthers current knowledge ofwhat happens in social work supervision by demonstrating how epistemicand deontic domains, as well professional competency, areinteractionally relevant forces shaping the decision-making process

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(How) are decisions made in child and family social work supervisions?

https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/332951818/_How_are_decisions_made_in_social_work_supervisions.pdf

(How) are decisions made in child and family social work supervisions?

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