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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

  • E-Thesis – open access under embargo until: 28th June 2030

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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Published: Swansea, Wales, UK 2025
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Rea, David ; Maegusuku- Hewett, Tracey
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70221
first_indexed 2025-08-22T15:15:52Z
last_indexed 2025-08-23T04:53:54Z
id cronfa70221
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2025-08-22T16:45:22.0428843 v2 70221 2025-08-22 Supervision in Welsh adult social work services 2016–2021: The transformative potential of co-production and reflexivity for social work epistemology and practice 16748ac6f19de259e6ace73cfcbaa4ae HEATHER TYRRELL HEATHER TYRRELL true false 2025-08-22 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. E-Thesis Swansea, Wales, UK 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 28 6 2025 2025-06-28 10.23889/SUthesis.70221 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Rea, David ; Maegusuku- Hewett, Tracey Doctoral Ph.D 2025-08-22T16:45:22.0428843 2025-08-22T16:12:04.4856721 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health and Social Care - Social Work HEATHER TYRRELL 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2025-08-22T16:40:12.0365980 Output 9254227 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true 2030-06-28T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: The Author, Heather Tyrrell, 2025. true eng
title Supervision in Welsh adult social work services 2016–2021: The transformative potential of co-production and reflexivity for social work epistemology and practice
spellingShingle 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
title_short Supervision in Welsh adult social work services 2016–2021: The transformative potential of co-production and reflexivity for social work epistemology and practice
title_full Supervision in Welsh adult social work services 2016–2021: The transformative potential of co-production and reflexivity for social work epistemology and practice
title_fullStr Supervision in Welsh adult social work services 2016–2021: The transformative potential of co-production and reflexivity for social work epistemology and practice
title_full_unstemmed Supervision in Welsh adult social work services 2016–2021: The transformative potential of co-production and reflexivity for social work epistemology and practice
title_sort Supervision in Welsh adult social work services 2016–2021: The transformative potential of co-production and reflexivity for social work epistemology and practice
author_id_str_mv 16748ac6f19de259e6ace73cfcbaa4ae
author_id_fullname_str_mv 16748ac6f19de259e6ace73cfcbaa4ae_***_HEATHER TYRRELL
author HEATHER TYRRELL
author2 HEATHER TYRRELL
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUthesis.70221
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Health and Social Care - Social Work{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Health and Social Care - Social Work
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description 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.
published_date 2025-06-28T05:30:51Z
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score 11.095945

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