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The Support and Aid to Families Electronically (SAFE) pilot program was developed through a community–university partnership to support parents of elementary students in Ontario, while providing stable practicums for social work students in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions. Purpose: The aim of the current study was to examine the feasibility of the SAFE pilot program as a mental health support to families by examining three feasibility objectives: demand, acceptably, and implementation. Method: Qualitative data from interviews, focus groups, and qualitative surveys involving service users, social work students, referring school board and university professionals (n = 37) were examined. Results: Demand for SAFE extended beyond the pandemic. A high-level of acceptance of SAFE was identified. Areas of success and considerations for implementation are outlined. Discussion: This study provides practice guidance on implementing this unique program, with potential to address gaps in service provision and the ongoing crisis in field education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on how social group work is integral to teaching and learning about critical reflection on practice (CRoP), on three different levels. The paper provides an overview of the theory and practice of CRoP, followed by a description of group work in two MSW CRoP course sections at a school of social work in Ontario, Canada. The paper describes the process of integrating CRoP into practicum integration seminar groups to sustain skills in critical reflection, as well as our own group process in our small faculty research and teaching group. By integrating group work and critical reflection literature and by focusing on the development of critical acceptance and mutual aid, this paper will outline benefits, challenges, and opportunities related to the use of groups in facilitating the CRoP process, along with next steps and further discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools from elementary to post-secondary suddenly shifted to remote learning, placing a heavy burden on parents and caregivers. Likewise, social work practicum placements pivoted to remote learning, compounding existing difficulties securing practicum opportunities. This article describes a response to these challenges. The Support and Aid to Families Electronically (SAFE) practicum pilot program was developed through a community-university partnership between the King's University College at Western University's School of Social Work and the Thames Valley District School Board. SAFE addresses parental stress and mental health through free and immediate online counselling, while providing stable remote practicum placements. SAFE provides a model for increasing practicum opportunities while simultaneously supporting the needs of underserviced communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bullying targets students based on perceived difference, such as gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity. • Bullying is often normalized, minimized and considered inevitable. • Participants focused on individual responsibility rather than social or systemic responsibility. • Bullying can be understood more fully by applying critical, intersectional and ecological frameworks. • Critical theory and intersectionality perspectivest extends beyond the individual to the macro environment. Despite the significant body of literature on bullying and cyberbullying, few studies have applied a critical theoretical analysis to the perspectives of parents, teachers and students. This qualitative study examined the perspectives of bullying of students, n = 57 (grades 4, 7, 10), along with their parents, n = 51, and teachers, n = 30, from a large urban school district in Ontario, Canada. Students were diverse in terms of level of school need (14 low, 20 medium, and 23 high), ethnoracial background (17 White, 8 East, 9 South and 1 Southeast Asian, 3 Black, 2 Latin American, 3 Middle Eastern, 8 Mixed, 6 additional or unknown), and bullying involvement (9 victimized, 31 witnessed, and 2 perpetrated), and gender (35 female, 22 male, 0 non-binary). Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Parents, teachers and students perceive that bullying differentially targets certain students (based on gender, sexuality, class and ethnicity), and a pervasive view that bullying is often normalized, minimized, and considered inevitable. Closely connected is an emphasis on individual rather than social or systemic responsibility. Bullying is complex; thus, research and intervention must critically attend to all levels from the individual to the macrosystemic factors that perpetuate inequity. Bullying can be understood more fully by concurrently applying an ecological and critical theoretical framework. Critical theory provides a perspective that not only extends beyond the individual into the social environment but also includes an analysis of historical, political and ideological relations of power and privilege. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]