Types Of Knowledge And Practical Foundation Of Social Work Supervision

Utilizing the qualitative research method of long interview,this study probes into the knowledge foundation of Chinese social work supervision practice.The definition of knowledge is mainly borrowed from Burger and Lukeman's definition,namely the ordinary people's understanding of the social world,which in this paper means practitioner's understanding of their supervision practice and the practical situation.The tradition of sociology of knowledge revealed two research topics,namely,social construction of knowledge and the knowledge-foundation of everyday life.This inspired me to construct a logic chain,that is social situation-supervising knowledge-supervising practice.Under this logic chain,this research has explored 3 main issues:the knowledge types of local social work supervision,multi-contexts influencing local knowledge,and the supervision practice based on certain social work knowledge.Chinese social work supervision knowledge is full with diversity,mainly including four kinds of orientation,namely positivism and reflective practice orientation,systematical and practical orientation.The first two approaches involve the differences in epistemology,and the pluralistic understanding of the practitioners to the supervision,the contents of supervision and the process of supervision.The latter two kinds of orientation are divided by the axis of knowledge property.Positivism oriented knowledge has the following characteristics:believing universal applicability of knowledge,knowledge advantages of supervisor,the comprehensive supervision contents,mentoring relationship between supervisor and supervisee,the standardized process.The characteristics of reflective practice orientation include:respect for local knowledge,supervision relationship based on agreement,understanding as the core skills for supervisor.The existing model,combination of internal supervision and external supervision,makes it possible to divide systematical and practical knowledge.The former is mainly about systematical and lexical knowledge,and the latter is mainly about practical knowledge and tacit knowledge.The knowledge of social work supervision is influenced by individual,institutional,social cultural and political context.Social work supervision practice is based on relevant knowledge types.Supervisionpractice includes 3 levels:individual supervisor,manager of social work agency,as well as the supervision system construction.At the individual level,supervisors' knowledge structure exerts important influence on their practice.In other words,different knowledge types and different understanding of supervision will be externalized into their practice.In agency level,manager is expected to manage the systemic and practical knowledge,and through management of positivism and reflective practice orientation to seek a balance between professional and sociality.In addition,it is necessary to establish the interaction mechanism between agencies.In terms of the policy construction of social work supervision,trained supervisor should effectively respond to diversified needs of practiceactivities,which calls for different types of knowledge.The certification of supervising qualification should give space for practical knowledge.