Optimalisasi Kompetensi Supervisi Pekerjaan Sosial pada Mahasiswa Kesejahteraan Sosial melalui Pelatihan Keterampilan Komunikasi Profesional

This community service program was carried out in partnership with the Social Welfare Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Halu Oleo, and involved 105 students who had previously been introduced to social work supervision or professional practice. The main issue identified by the partner was students’ limited readiness to understand supervisory functions, apply active listening, provide constructive feedback, manage difficult conversations, and lead supervision sessions with confidence. The pre-test results showed an initial mean competency score of 47.4 on a 100-point scale. The program aimed to optimize students’ social work supervision competencies through communication skills training relevant to professional practice. The intervention was delivered online in two sessions on 10 and 17 April 2026 through interactive lectures, paired simulations, role-play, case studies, feedback exercises, confidence-building activities, and guided reflection. Evaluation employed a descriptive one-group pre-test–post-test design across six competency dimensions, supported by observation notes and participants’ reflective journals. Following the program, the mean score increased to 79.1, representing a gain of 31.7 points. The largest improvement was found in confidence in leading supervision sessions, which increased by 36.0 points, followed by strategies for managing difficult conversations by 31.6 points and constructive feedback skills by 31.4 points. Improvements were also observed in active listening by 31.3 points, ethics and professionalism by 30.7 points, and understanding of supervisor competency concepts by 29.3 points. The results indicate that practice-based learning can serve as a complementary approach to strengthening more applied supervision learning. The program contributed to the partner by providing more contextualized practice experiences and initial evaluation data that can inform efforts to strengthen learning in Social Work Supervision and Field Practicum courses.