Classroom incivility is identified as a concern in the higher education literature; however, the extent to which these concerns apply to social work education has not been empirically addressed. This initial, exploratory study examined the perceptions of classroom behaviors in a small convenience sample of faculty and students in one social work program. Quantitative results indicated that faculty tended to perceive incivility as generally less serious and frequent than did student participants. Qualitative findings suggested that while faculty believed they were addressing incivility, students did not. Students expressed the desires for instructors to be more aware of behaviors, especially distracting use of electronic devices, and to take stronger actions to enforce guidelines. Social work programs may need to consider developing uniform policies for addressing incivility as well as helping faculty to find more effective ways to address the problem. Future research is needed with larger, more representative samples.

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Military personnel are increasingly transitioning out of the military. Veterans bring varied strengths and experiences to their academic journey as they enter colleges and universities. Many campuses are responding to the unique needs of these veterans by offering academic, emotional, and personal support to assist them in their quest for a university degree. This article describes an exploratory qualitative study of the benefits of a mindfulness skills group program designed to assist student veterans in coping with stressors related to their transition from warrior to student on a large campus that has a robust veteran-friendly initiative. This program was offered in a group format over three semesters and served 14 students. Qualitative data on perceived benefits of the program were collected from nine of these students using prepost questionnaires and feedback from a post-intervention focus group. Data analysis indicated several themes related to perceived benefits of participating in the mindfulness skills groups. Findings suggested students attributed improved emotional and physical coping, positive changes in personal functioning, improved organizational capabilities, and improved stress management skills to participation in the mindfulness skills group. Lessons learned from implementing this program are offered.

In this article the authors explore transracial adoption in concert with gay and lesbian parenting and family building. Analyzing the transracial adoption knowledge base, gay and lesbian fostering/adoption trends, and research findings, the authors present areas that suggest gay and lesbian families may be better prepared than heterosexual individuals to parent children of color. Gay and lesbian parents may be more sensitive to and capable of creating skills a transracial adoptee requires due to similar oppression experiences. Using a framework of family resilience theory, the authors demarcate those characteristics that enhance outcomes for transracial gay and lesbian family building.

Research focusing on retention of child protection employees, primarily caseworkers, indicates that high turnover rates in child welfare agencies are a consequence of high levels of stress. A qualitative study was conducted utilizing a strengths perspective to explore the reasons that 50 child welfare supervisors remain employed, specifically whether retention was related to resilience or other personal characteristics. This article is excerpted from the larger study and discusses findings that indicate the possession of a personal mission or calling, support systems, and strong coping skills are among the primary factors that contribute to retention. Additional results have been published separately.