Self-Efficacy,Curriculum Content,Practicum Experience,and the Interest of Social Work Students in Gerontology

The present study examined the linkages among perceptions of self-efficacy, curriculum, and field experience on students’ attitudes and interest in working with older adults. Graduate level social work students were surveyed regarding perceived self-efficacy to intervene with older adult clients, the amount of aging content in the master of social work (MSW) curriculum, and practicum experience with older clients. Regression analysis showed a relationship between attitudes toward older adults and perceptions of self-efficacy. Pearson correlations revealed that self-efficacy was significantly related to levels of gerontology content in curriculum, as well as practicum opportunities to work with older adults. While both gerontology curriculum and practice experience significantly predicted self-efficacy, multiple regression analysis revealed that practice experience had the stronger influence.     

Moving Stories: Evaluation of a BSW Oral History Project with Older Adults with Diverse Immigration Histories

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an experiential learning project with BSW students to see if their perceptions of older adults have changed. The project consisted of an oral history project and presentation that matched BSW students with older adults from diverse ethnic backgrounds to gather their immigration narratives. The study used a single group pretest posttest design with 17 BSW students enrolled in an integrative field seminar class. Using a series of inferential analyses, BSW students’ attitudes towards older adults, future career plans, confidence with working with older adults from diverse backgrounds, and geriatric competencies were examined. Overall, a significant increase in BSW students who had varying levels of participation in project perceptions of geriatric social work competencies between pretest and posttest were found. Students who both conducted and presented the oral histories of older adults also were significantly more likely to report future plans to work with older adults compared to students who did not. Exposing BSW students to aging and diversity content has important implications towards fostering student interest in pursuing social work practice with older adults and preparing them for culturally competent social work.     

Influencing Student Attitudes Toward Older Adults: Results of a Service-Learning Collaboration

This article describes a service-learning collaboration between a research center at a graduate school of social work and a community college. While the goal of the collaboration was to conduct a community needs assessment of the older population of Bermuda, the project offered a unique opportunity to connect community service, teaching, and research. Students' classroom experience prepared them to play a critical role as interviewers of older adults. Participation in this project enabled students to contribute to a vital step in the process of community change. Students reported more positive attitudes toward older adults and greater interest in working with older adults as a result of this experience. Service-learning can be an effective means of teaching students about aging.     

“Old People are Cranky”: Helping Professional Trainees' Knowledge,Attitudes, Aging Anxiety,and Interest in Working with Older Adults

This study investigated the efficacy of a gerontology education course in decreasing ageism and aging anxiety and increasing knowledge and interest in working with older adults among undergraduates training for social services careers. Participants completed study measures at the beginning and end of semester. Analyses supported the study hypotheses: ageism and aging anxiety declined over the semester whereas knowledge of aging and interest in working with older adults increased over the semester. Implications for training individuals for aging-related careers are discussed.     

EMPLOYING SERVICE-LEARNING TO TEACH RESEARCH METHODS TO GERONTOLOGY STUDENTS

Undergraduate student interest in aging was examined in relation to age, gender, and contact with older adults. Interest in aging is conceived of along a continuum, ranging from initial interest-taking an aging course-to substantial interest as evidenced by academic and career interest. Undergraduate students who have taken an aging course (n = 189) and a stratified random comparison group (n = 261) self-assessed their interest in aging. Background information, including the frequency and duration of contact with older family and non-family individuals, was reported. Being female (p < 001) and having frequent contact with older family members (p < .01) significantly explains initial interest in aging. Initial interest in aging (i.e., taking an aging course) significantly contributes to substantial interest in aging (p < .0001) i.e., taking more aging courses, majoring in gerontology, working or planning to work with older adults. Contact with older adults positively affects undergraduate interest in aging. Interest in aging proceeds along a continuum, from preceding factors to initial interest in aging and then to substantial interest in aging. Aging courses and opportunities for interaction with older adults should be offered at the undergraduate level.     

Social Work Professions in an Aging World: Opportunities and Perspectives

Given world aging, social workers will be involved in assisting older persons in their home-country and/or abroad in various types of governmental or nongovernmental agencies. This paper identifies potential opportunities for social workers with gerontological backgrounds interested in working in international and cross-cultural settings. Discussed are the role of social work education in assisting the development of student interest and competence in working with and for older persons in an aging world. Also discussed are international opportunities in field placements for work with older people.     

Social Work Faculty's Knowledge of Aging: Results from a National Sample

Social work students have reported in previous studies that they receive insufficient coursework and training to work effectively with older adults. A critical factor in these deficiencies may be the level of knowledge of social work faculty. This study sought to assess social work faculty's knowledge of aging using the Knowledge of Aging for Social Workers (KASW) quiz. Using systematic random sampling, schools of social work in the United States were selected, and individual faculty members were invited by e-mail to participate in an online survey. Results show that social work faculty's (N = 609) knowledge about aging was found to be either less or comparable to other study populations. Knowledge levels were related to having an interest in policy, educational level, teaching aging courses on a regular basis, and confidence level in covering aging content. This study is the first to investigate social work faculty knowledge about aging and older adults. It may offer insight as to faculty competencies, which can have direct implications for student learning and interest in gerontology.     

Involving Older Adults as Co-researchers in Social Work Education

This article examines the contribution of older adults as co-researchers to the evaluation of a gerontological social work course. The evaluation was conducted at an Israeli college as part of a collaborative project with a United Kingdom university. Here, we follow the older adults who are service users through their transition to the role of co-researchers and reflect on their experiences in the process. Insights gained by the different stakeholders from the co-researching experience are discussed, and the growing interest in service-user contributions to social work education in various fields such as aging and disabilities is recognized.     

Predictors of Social Workers Employment in Gerontological Work

The rapidly growing aging population highlights the need for social workers trained in gerontological practice and interested in work with older adults. This study, conducted in two southern states, examined recent social work graduates' perceptions of aging-related work and identified factors influencing their employment in aging related jobs. One-quarter of the graduates were employed in aging-related work. Logistics regression analysis revealed that aging-related skills, belief that work with older adults would be depressing, and having taken an undergraduate gerontology class were significant in predicting employment in aging-related jobs. Implications for social work education as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

Enhancing Social Work Practice with Older Adults: The Role of Infusing Gerontology Content into the Master of Social Work Foundation Curriculum

Based on a geriatric enrichment (GeroRich) effort, this study examines outcomes of infusing aging content across the master of social work (MSW) foundation curriculum. In a longitudinal research design tracking one class, there were no significant changes observed in students' levels of experience and interest in gerontological social work. Significant increases were observed in self-rated levels of gerontological knowledge and practice skills—clinical and macro. Full-time status, less gerontological experience, and higher knowledge predicted greater practice skills at the follow-up. Implications for educating the next generation of social workers to better meet the needs of older adults and their families are discussed.     

FACTORS INFLUENCING COLLEGE STUDENTS TO CHOOSE CAREERS WORKING WITH ELDERLY PERSONS

As the proportion of older adults in our society increases, the need for professionals with a knowledge of the aging process and a desire to work with elderly persons is being recognized. Relatively little information is available concerning the factors that contribute to the desire to work with older adults. To explore such factors, 282 college students (35 males and 227 females) ranging in age from 18 to 72, who attended three colleges and one university in central Massachusetts, were examined. For the past 20 years, these academic institutions have offered an intercollegiate, interdisciplinary program in Gerontology studies. Thirty-one percent of the students surveyed planned on specializing in careers working with older adults. While emotional closeness to an older adult during childhood was found to be related to considering a career in health care, having taken care of an elderly person during childhood was significantly associated with a desire to work with older adults. Positive work characteristics most frequently listed by students who planned on working with older adults were: interesting, challenging, emotionally lifting, and productive. However, the students also listed negative work characteristics as well. Those most frequently reported were: difficult, frustrating, and depressing.     

Geriatric community health workers’ views about aging,work, and retirement: implications for geriatrics and gerontology education

ABSTRACT

Seasoned geriatric community health workers offered valuable data that will inform educators and community health workers working with older persons. Geriatric community health workers’ views about retirement and about facilitators and barriers that keep them engaged with older adults during retirement were identified. Twenty geriatric community health workers participated in semi-structured, qualitative interviews conducted by the research team. Sixty percent of the participants (N = 12) reported plans not to work during retirement, although 40% (N = 8) expressed interest in full- or part-time employment post-retirement. When asked about their expectations to stay in the field of aging or gerontology in some capacity during retirement, 30% (N = 6) expected to stay in gerontology during retirement. The findings from this research will help organizations and educational institutions create programs and resources that will encourage geriatric community health workers to continue working in the field of aging during retirement.     

Addressing Ageism in Students: A Systematic Review of the Pedagogical Intervention Literature

With the rapid aging of the population, strategies that can be incorporated into the curriculum are needed, including social work and medicine. Over the past 20 years, pedagogical strategies to improve attitudes toward older adults and gerontological practice along with knowledge about aging have been tested. Instructors are seeking methods that are evidence-based; thus, a need for a systematic review of this literature is warranted. For this review, 58 articles met inclusion and were evaluated to determine the best approaches to positively impacting knowledge about, and attitudes toward, older people and gerontological practice. Interventions to change knowledge are the most straightforward with support for aging courses, modules, and infusion approaches. A combination of information with an experiential activity (e.g., service learning) was the most common pedagogical approach; the evidence suggests that this approach can change student attitudes. Addressing gerontological interest appears to be more challenging with fewer studies reporting a positive change. Future research should seek to test additional approaches that may influence student interest in gerontological practice, and additional studies that seek to test online strategies should be conducted, given the prominence of these courses.     

GERONTOLOGICAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS IN NURSING AND SOCIAL WORK: KNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDES, AND PERCEIVED BARRIERS

Most health care and social service providers are routinely required to work with elderly clients and clients’ aging family members. Research suggests that students entering these professions have knowledge deficits and lack positive attitudes toward older people. Few prefer to work with aging clients. Professional curricula are not providing students with adequate training to serve the current needs of this population, much less to meet projected increases in demand for services. To examine this issue, 67 master's students in nursing and social work completed questionnaires assessing (1) knowledge about aging, (2) attitudes toward old people, and (3) perceived barriers to gerontological education. Results confirmed the existence of knowledge deficits among respondents. Attitudes tended to be neutral rather than strongly positive or negative. Knowledge scores were related to attitudes, to respondents’ ages, and to their having lived in households with older relatives. Nursing students identified the greatest barriers in gerontological education as insufficient curriculum time and lack of academic role models. Social work students perceived lower status of work with the elderly and limited experience with healthy older people as the greatest barriers. The two groups agreed that fragmentation of services contributes to inadequate gerontological preparation. Findings suggest a need for didactic and experiential learning opportunities, reinforced by appropriate academic role models, for students in service professions.     

Wanted: Gerontological Social Workers—Factors Related to Interest in the Field

This study attempted to build a predictive model of factors related to social work students’ interest in gerontological social work. Bachelor's and Master's students from universities around Texas were surveyed to determine if knowledge about the aging process and related job opportunities, attitudes toward aging and professional or personal experience with the older population could predict interest in the field. Using regression analysis, knowledge, attitudes, and experience did not predict interest very well. Only knowledge of the aging process, professional experience, and perceived closeness were significant variables with experience found to be the best predictor of interest in the field.     

Predictors of Self-Reported Likelihood of Working with Older Adults

This study examined the self-reported likelihood of working with older adults in a future career among 237 college undergraduates at a midsized Midwestern university. Although aging anxiety was not significantly related to likelihood of working with older adults, those students who had a greater level of death anxiety were less likely than other students to report a future likelihood of working with older adults. In addition, quality relationships with unrelated older adults were positively correlated with likelihood of working with older adults. Recommendations for future research and ideas for attracting college students to gerontology as a career are discussed.     

Transformative Learning: First-Year MSW Students' Reactions to,and Experiences in,Gerontological Field Placements

We present findings from interviews with 17 first-year MSWs assigned to gerontological placements undertaken before beginning—and again as they neared completion—of practicum. All respondents, even those most positive and negative at beginning of placement, report a reduction in stereotypes, improved appreciation of older adults’ capacities and strengths, and increased skills in working with this population. All but one respondent reports increased likelihood of pursuing a position working with older adults as a result of exposure through field placement. Specific factors reported by students to influence their decision as well as implications for social work education are discussed.     

Technology: Education and Training Needs of Older Adults

The impact of the global aging of the population on social, economic, political, and health care institutions is unequaled. Parallel to this, evolving developments in technology promise opportunities for sales and product development to support positive aging. Older adults are excited to utilize technologies that they perceive as practical. However, age, education, technical knowledge, and technological anxiety affect interest in new technologies, creating a technology divide. Providing more accessible and relevant technologies for today's older adults may make the technology more universally accessible. This article reports the results of a survey on technology and education among a sample of 77 adults between the ages of 52 and 92 who attended a week-long lifelong-learning event at Indiana University. Familiarity with technology, age, education, and gender were found to be correlated with familiarity with new technologies as well as operating and shopping for new electronic devices.     

Using Film and Intergenerational Colearning to Enhance Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Older Adults

This study evaluated whether two evidence-based methods used collaboratively, intergenerational colearning and use of films/documentaries in an educational context, enhanced knowledge levels and attitudes toward older adults in nursing, social work, and other allied profession students. Students participated in a gerontology film festival where they were exposed to two documentary films related to older adults. The films were followed by a discussion led by a panel of persons who had knowledge of the topic and were models of healthy aging. A pretest/posttest design was used to measure aging knowledge and attitudes toward older adults. Additional data consisted of demographics and information on prior older adult-related trainings. Significant increases were found in aging quiz and attitude scores. The combination of exposure to the documentary films and an intergenerational panel consisting of older adults leading a discussion of the films appears to have an immediate positive effect not only on knowledge of aging, but also on attitudes. Combining the two modalities can be done using existing resources that are available cross-nationally at no or little cost.