Insights into Teacher Challenges in Managing and Reporting Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect
Faculty Member's Name: Sarah Maiter
Faculty Member's Email Address: smaiter@yorku.ca
Department/School: School of Social Work
Project Title: Insights into Teacher Challenges in Managing and Reporting Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect
Description of Research Project
This DARE project builds on an ongoing qualitative study titled Manufacturing Bad Parents: Exploration of Schoolteachers’ Understanding of Racialized and Immigrant Parents in Relation to Child Welfare Concerns. Data have been collected through in-depth interviews with schoolteachers to examine how educators understand, assess, and respond to concerns of suspected child abuse and neglect involving racialized and immigrant families.
The purpose of the study is to explore how teachers discuss and evaluate parental actions and behaviours when determining whether child maltreatment may be occurring. Teachers, like other professionals across Canadian provinces, are legally mandated under provincial Child and Family Services Acts to report suspected child maltreatment to child protection authorities. This “duty to report” carries significant professional and legal consequences, including liability for failure to report. Research indicates that schools are the largest source of child welfare reports in Canada, accounting for approximately 24% of all reports (Trocmé et al., 2010). Given the amount of time teachers spend with students, they are uniquely positioned to identify potential concerns (Shewchuk, 2014). During the COVID-19 pandemic, significant concerns were raised regarding child safety due to reduced school attendance and decreased reporting from schools (Kikulwe et al., 2024; Maiter et al., 2024).
Preliminary analysis has been conducted on ten interviews. Support through the DARE program will facilitate further data analysis, member checking with participants, and the preparation of research reports, academic publications, and conference presentations.
Undergraduate Student Responsibilities
The undergraduate student will support the qualitative analysis of interview data under the supervision of the principal investigator. Responsibilities will include reviewing transcripts, assisting with thematic coding, and organizing qualitative data. The student will contribute to identifying patterns in how teachers assess and report suspected child abuse and neglect, with particular attention to the construction of racialized and immigrant parents.
The student will assist with the preparation of research outputs, including summaries of findings, reports, and materials for academic publication and conference presentation. In addition, the student will support member checking by helping organize findings to be shared with participants, documenting feedback, and assisting with revisions to analytic interpretations. This work will enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of the study while providing the student with hands-on experience in qualitative and ethically grounded research.
Qualifications Required
The ideal undergraduate student will be in their 3rd or 4th year of study and bring an interest in research related to education, child welfare, and social justice. Assets include coursework in social work, sociology, psychology, education, or related fields, particularly courses involving research methods, child welfare, and equity; exposure to qualitative research through coursework, projects, or previous research assistant experience; experience working with or learning about racialized, immigrant, or marginalized communities; strong reading, writing, and analytic skills; awareness of ethical practice, confidentiality, and reflexivity in sensitive research contexts; and an interest in critical, anti-racist, or intersectional approaches to research and practice.
Interested in this project posting?
Submit your resumé and unique cover letter for this projects to the faculty supervisor. Deadline: February 6, 2026 by 4 p.m.
