Integrative Geragogy: Part 2: Interventions and Legitimizations

ABSTRACT

In part 1 of this paper we presented the theory of an integrative geragogy. Integrative geragogy is a basic part of educational gerontology, dealing especially with the oldest of the old, mentally handicapped elderly people, and their potentials. In part 2 the context between theory and practice of an integrative geragogy shall be explained. We will discuss various types of geragogical interventions. First, the binding of personal, social and environmental aspects involved in all types of geragogical interventions are outlined. Second, geragogical implications at the old age have to be legitimated. The several ways of legitimating integrative geragogy will be expounded in order to justify the existence and intervention strategies of this discipline. Third, the paradigm of quality in relation to the integrative geragogy needs to be underlined.     

Time for Law: Legal Literacy and Gerontological Education

ABSTRACT

In the past, the law has not been considered as an important part of gerontological science. Historically, different sciences such as medicine, biology, psychology, and sociology have played far more important roles in the creation and crystallization of gerontological knowledge. This state of affairs is reflected in academic education and field research, which ascribes little weight to legal aspects of aging. This article maintains that the time is ripe for gerontological education to recognize the importance of exposing students of gerontology in academic institutions to the study and research of law and ageing. Though this claim could be defended on the simple ground that the law is no different, in principle, from a wide range of other scientific disciplines—each of which makes a particular contribution to gerontology—in this article we shall go one step further. This article attempts to demonstrate special elements which make it particularly important to add the study of legal matters to the curriculum of gerontological education. They are the result of 5 aspects of the encounter between the law and old age: (a) the law as a tool for sociological research; (b) the law as a tool for social change; (c) the law as a tool for planning and undertaking care of the old; (d) the weaknesses of the legal discipline in the field of law and aging; and (e) the potential value of legal education for the practice of gerontology, and collaboration between gerontologists and lawyers.     

Putting educational gerontology principles to the test: a quantitative confirmation of the empowering benefits of liberal arts courses

ABSTRACT

The humanist and critical principles of educational gerontology attribute different goals to education in later life. Self-Actualization is the goal of humanist educational gerontology, while empowerment, emancipation, and social change are the goals of critical educational gerontology. Liberal arts education is dominant in later-life learning. Both the humanist and the critical philosophies of learning in older age claim that this type of education is not empowering. Empowerment is a contested concept that has been defined through a set of constructs ranging from psychological capacities to attitudes and behaviors. In terms of capital, empowerment translates into gains in identity and social capital, operationalized in the variables agency and social and civic participation, respectively. The present study investigated the empowering potential of liberal arts courses using the BeLL survey data of 7,338 adult learners. Through a series of ANOVAs and a regression model, we found that age, gender, educational attainment, the number of courses, and changes in agency are significantly associated with changes in social and civic participation. We concluded that liberal arts education does empower adult learners, especially older adults, women, and individuals with lower educational attainment. Given that goal-related claims in the principles of educational gerontology have been empirically challenged, we recommend a new statement of principles that takes into account the latest developments in the field, as well as learners’ agential capacities and the structural inequalities they face.     

TEXTBOOK REFERENCE TO THE OLDER POPULATION

The terminology used to refer to the population aged 65 and over in introductory sociology and social gerontology textbooks was examined and the issue of ageism was raised in relation to labels used in beginning textbooks. Analysis showed that in 20 sociology textbooks the most common referent was “old people,” while in 13 gerontology textbooks it was “elderly.” Despite an expressed preference for the term “senior citizens,” very few sociology books used that term whereas about two‐thirds of the gerontology books used it. In the beginning sociology books, discussion of elderly was most often found in the topical chapters that dealt with stratification or inequality. While there was no commonly accepted best term of reference, a number of textbooks did address the question of terminology and the difficulty of finding suitable language.     

Teaching lifespan development: an experiential approach

The main purpose of this article is to describe a student exercise about ageing which is part of a university course about the lifespan for social workers. The year‐long course covers development from infancy to old age. In order to describe the context for the ageing exercise, the article also summarises exercises done by students prior to that about ageing. The ageing exercise could be generalised to shorter courses, to ones dealing solely with the elderly, and is suitable for both applied and theory‐based curricula, and to both undergraduate and continuing education. This exercise is compatible with an experiential and reflective approach to learning. Dealing with elderly people is often personally challenging for students as the elderly are at a different part of the life cycle from that of students’ usual friends and acquaintances. The exercise helps students to cope with the unfamiliarity of dealing with individuals unlike themselves, and often proves to be an enriching experience for them. At the same time it enhances their understanding and subsequent ability to relate to the elderly.     

“I’m slowly ageing but I still have my value”: challenging ageism and empowering older persons through lifelong learning in Singapore

ABSTRACT

The National Silver Academy (NSA) was launched in 2016 as part of the Singapore government’s Action Plan for Successful Aging. This paper uses a grounded approach to explore and assess critical geragogical elements that are enabling, empowering and transformative for older learners. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 48 participants who had completed an NSA course. Although three different categories of older learners were identified in this study, most tend to internalize ageism and took courses to counter ageist stereotypes of being frail, dependent and useless. In terms of geragogy, participants articulated four key learning needs at the NSA. These were: (i) relatable, empathetic and engaging instructors; (ii) interactive and versatile methods of teaching with emphasis on real-life applications; (iii) flexible and accessible curriculum and course content appropriate to learners’ capabilities and expectations and (iv) inclusive and disability-friendly learning environments catering to a wide spectrum of learners. At the NSA, instructors are crucial to the empowerment of older learners by leading the challenge against ageism, promoting learners’ confidence and self-worth as well as enabling safe spaces for personal transcendence and creative expression. This study reinforces the need for more contextualized models of geragogy to dismantle structural and internalized forms of ageism by taking into account older learners’ cultural beliefs about aging, access to education, confidence and competences to navigate both formal and informal learning environments.     

A STUDY OF OLDER STUDENTS ATTENDING UNIVERSITY CLASSES

Recently, March, Hooper, and Baum (1977) described a sample of 99 nonstudent elders in terms of their demographic characteristics and their attitudes toward lifelong learning. The sample was found to be well‐educated (mean years of education = 13.61, SD = 9.43), active in the community, well‐read, and fairly affluent. The majority demonstrated a quite open attitude toward the appropriateness of formal education in old age, but also felt that learning can be acquired outside the classroom: “living is learning.”

The present study was undertaken to similarly describe a sample of elderly people enrolled in the University of Wisconsin guest student program, and to contrast these respondents with those in the earlier study. The student group was found to be significantly younger than the nonstudent group (mean = 70.78, SD = 7.21 vs. mean = 74.69, SD = 8.45; t = 2.87, p < .001). Although there is no difference in the mean years of education of the two groups, there is significantly greater variability in years of education in the student group (F = 10.98, p < .001), with 50.4% of the nonstudent group versus 21.6% of the student group having 12 years of education or less. Additionally, it was found that only 10 of the 139 student respondents did not have either personal or vicarious personal (through familial significant others) experience with higher education in youth.

The respondents’ stated preference for class format and student group age is also summarized, and some implications for educational gerontology are discussed.     

HIGHER EDUCATION AND OLDER PEOPLE: SOME THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS,PART II

In this paper disengagement, activity, lifespan, subcultural and continuity theories of social gerontology are described and criticized. Each perspective is then used to interpret participation in higher education by older students. An argument is made that continuity theory holds the most promise in accounting for older students. A suggestion is made that we need to reconsider the ways we think of older people and stress the positive roles of old age in and of themselves.     

LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT,PROACTION, AND EDUCATIONAL EFFICACY

Lifestyle management is gaining new popularity among individuals dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of their life during middle age and as they grow older. Since many aspects of well‐being and life satisfaction in later life have been linked to good health, lifestyle management would appear to provide ideal educational gerontology programming content. This idea provides the focus for a renewal of middle‐aged and older people's participation in education gerontology.

It is important to stress that the potential for a renewal in educational gerontology is contingent upon a reexamination of the approach employed in program planning. Mature adults must be afforded a renewed understanding of the efficacy of education throughout life as a means for achieving goals related to greater quality as well as quantity of life.

This discussion will focus on lifestyle management as a learning area that should become increasingly attractive to middle‐aged and older persons, and the role educational efficacy and proaction play as important precursors to lifestyle behavior attitude change.     

THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF EDUCATION,RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY−THE ISRAELI EXPERIENCE

This article examines the multidimensionality of education, research, and training in gerontology through a discussion of the significance and implications of developments in this area based on the Israeli scene. The discussion focuses on the issue of whether gerontology is an academic discipline based on the development of specialized knowledge, along with education and training, in a distinct academic framework, or whether it constitutes part of professional training in a variety of academic fields. The article begins with a presentation of milestones in the development of gerontology in Israel, focusing mainly on social gerontology. It then offers a definition of an academic discipline and of a profession and distinguishes between them by examining the development of curricula in the field of aging in two contexts: social work studies, on the one hand, and specialization in gerontology toward a Master's degree in this area at Haifa and Ben-Gurion Universities, on the other. A model is presented that examines the mutuality among the evolutions in technology, demography, and information, and their significance in the development of standards in education, training, and the dissemination of gerontological knowledge.     

The case of educational gerontology in Lebanon: a harbinger of empowerment,emancipation and social change?

Context: In Lebanon, older adults face socioeconomic challenges that are expected to worsen due to an increase in older adult population, chronic governmental neglect, institutionalised ageism and a lack of educational and social gerontologists. Consequently, local older adults are in dire need for social change, which can be initiated through later life learning. The University for Seniors (UfS) is a University for the Third Age providing learning opportunities for older people in Lebanon. While most older adult learning programmes are occupied with their learners’ self-fulfilment, Critical Educational Gerontology promotes emancipatory learning and social change. Study Objective and Design: A case discussion based on a variety of data sources is used to showcase and then challenge the practices of UfS from a critical educational gerontology perspective. To do that, we consider the semantic difference between emancipation and empowerment in their relation to power. Recommendations: We recommend programme-specific measures starting by revisiting the current philosophy of learning, targeting social change as an additional goal to later life learning, and advocacy for the establishment of educational degrees to prepare professionals and academicians in the field of social gerontology. We also recommend a more critical use of empowerment and emancipation within critical educational gerontology.     

Doing the plastic fantastic: ‘artificial’ adventure and older adult climbers

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to determine the perceptions and experiences of climbing at artificial climbing walls (ACWs) as undertaken by a cohort of ‘young-old’ people (approximately 65–75 years). The engagement of older people in outdoor activities and adventure is an evolving topic; however, as part of this development, little has been written on the use of ACWs. Methodologically, the research employed in-depth semi-structured focus groups and interviews with a purposive convenience sample of six recreational climbers, subsequently expanded to ten through snowball technique. Both sexes were equally represented. Manual thematic analysis identified two key motifs: ACWs and the notion of adventure, and ACWs and the potential for learning. The findings point at what constitutes ‘real’ adventure for this group of older adults; the shifting nature of ‘old age’; the significance of self-awareness; and the role of reflexivity and physical activity in the construction of a ‘successful’ old age.     

HEALTHY AGING: A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR PUBLIC POLICY

Recognition of the diversity that exists among older Americans has stimulated thinking about the implications of these differences for public policymaking. The emergence of the healthy elderly has contributed to the breaking down of stereotypes of older people as being characterized by illness and infirmity and has initiated a discussion of new policies based on older persons’ ability to continue making productive contributions to society. This article presents an overview of several authors whose work provides insight into the rationale and potential of formulating public policy aimed at utilizing the resources of the elderly, as contrasted with the present effort of meeting the vulnerabilities of old age.     

INTERGENERATIONAL DIALOGUES: A TESTED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN

Children's attitudes about growing old and about the elderly themselves are in large part influenced by negative images projected by the media and through lack of actual experience in interacting with older people. To counter this situation and to provide an opportunity for positive attitude shift, an educational program has been developed for 10‐ and 11‐year‐old students. Growing Up — Growing Older is a developed unit of instruction relying on a package of software including films and printed support materials. A strong experiential component is provided through structured intergenerational dialogues, facilitated by visiting older volunteers.

The program was field tested using both a treatment and control population. Survey methodology was used to determine pre‐ and post‐experience stages of attitude awareness and understanding of the elderly. Although the study population did not demonstrate the level of negative attitude we had anticipated from the literature, post‐experience testing indicated a positive shift. More significant is the demonstrated increase in level of awareness of aging issues and of older persons as a result of the educational experience. Finally, the treatment population increased significantly the percentage of old people they interacted with outside the classroom. This increased familiarity and awareness of the elderly can be expected to continue to produce attitudes based more on fact than on fancy.     

Interprofessional Dialogues Within a Senior Mentoring Program: Incorporating Gerontology Students as Facilitation Leaders

Effective health care with older adults requires that clinicians and practitioners are knowledgeable about aging issues and have the skills to work within an interdisciplinary team context. This article describes a Senior Mentoring Program that paired clinical students in medicine, nursing, and a physician assistant program with community-dwelling seniors for regular interactions. This interprofessional education experience included graduate gerontology students as discussion facilitators. Because including gerontology students as Interprofessional Dialogue Facilitators (IDFs) was an innovative aspect of the program, their participation within interdisciplinary groups was analyzed. IDFs monitored a secure internet site where clinical students discussed their experiences with their mentors. Discussion posts by the IDFs were clustered into three major types: amplifying statements that stimulated and furthered dialogue, augmenting posts that integrated specialized content on aging within the discussions, and analyzing comments that helped students reflect on experiences from different perspectives. The advantages of including aging content experts, such as gerontology students, within aging awareness activities like Seminar Mentoring programs are discussed.     

THE FIRST 20 YEARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON CENTER FOR GERONTOLOGY

At 20 years of age the University of Oregon Center for Gerontology is one of the oldest academic gerontology centers in the nation. The origins of the center and its accomplishments are highlighted in this paper. Also discussed are the center's current design, including both the continuities and the changes that have characterized its development.     

Continuity and Change in English Further Education: A Century of Voluntarism and Permissive Adaptability

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that the evolution of further education colleges in England is marked by both continuities and change, and provides evidence to show that they retain many of the characteristics and the underlying rationale present at the turn of the twentieth century. A defining characteristic remains the colleges’ need to respond to student demand in a continued climate of voluntarism and lack of policy commitment to the education of young people beyond school-leaving age.     

Sharpening the focus: methodological issues in analysing on-line conferences

Abstract

As on-line discussion becomes an increasingly important and significant aspect of teachers' professional education, most particularly as part of distance learning environments, there is a need to understand and develop effective analytic techniques that provide insights into the processes at work within these systems. The computer conferencing environment at the centre of this study is a complex, unstructured discussion forum, of a type increasingly found as a component of continuing professional development courses. In these situations the evidence of knowledge building processes is a key concern. This study concentrates on a close examination of some existing analytic tools and considers their contribution to identifying the processes at work within these on-line environments, as teachers discuss aspects of education.     

Noises in the attic: The legacy of expectations in the academy

This process-video on the topic of graduate students and junior faculty of color in higher education represents musings around the issues that are involved in racism and the assumptions that are a part of that ideology. Using the lens of Critical Race Theory as described by Bell (1987), the conversations that took place in a video-recording studio were analyzed for themes that represent the experience of being "the fly in the milk," at a White academic institution. "How do we talk to whiteness?" is the central theme that organizes this discussion of the videotape "Noises in the Attic: Conversations with Ourselves. "The participants talk about alienation, as described in sections called "Noises," "The White Man's Scrapbook," "Between and Betwixt," and "Filling in the?" A realization that there is a need to understand that White people operate from a different perspective than nonwhite people rounds off the discussion of being a noise in the attic of the White academic environment.