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.     

INTERGENERATIONAL SHARING SEMINARS: THEIR IMPACT ON YOUNG ADULT COLLEGE STUDENTS AND SENIOR GUEST STUDENTS

A 3‐month intergenerational program was developed on the premise that it is important for young adults, who are in the formative period of career development and direction, to experience the benefits of positive interaction with older persons. Program evaluation findings showed that participation not only influenced the young adults’ interest in gerontology, but also increased their willingness to accept older persons on social and academic levels. Positive changes were documented for the Senior Guest students and included more favorable attitudes toward young adult family members as well as toward the younger generation of college students in general.     

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.     

Making connections: students’ reflection on aging competency approach in gerontology education

The increase of the US older adult population requires additional professionally trained staff in health and social services. Exposing knowledge and skills of gerontology to address aging competency among student in higher education can better prepare for students’ future educational and career planning. The aim of this study is to understand students’ reflections on an aging competency approach in an Introduction to Gerontology online class. Students’ reflections revealed insights including the increase of aging knowledge and skills, empathic understanding increased through a self-awareness approach, attitudes changed toward older adults, impact of experiential interviews on students’ understanding of aging. The implementation of a combined pedagogy in course construction will be discussed.     

Development and validation of the Attitudes toward Education for Older Adults (AEOA) scale

The purpose of this study is to validate a multidimensional measure assessing attitudes toward education for older adults. As the elderly population and the demands of education among older adults have increased, the engagement of social workers in educational settings for older adults has also increased. Therefore, assessing social workers’ attitudes toward education for older adults is critical to better understand the appropriate circumstances for successfully providing and expanding educational programs for older adults. Using a sample of 227 social work students, a multidimensional scale consisting of 38 items was developed by focusing on the three subconstructs of attitudes: cognition, emotion, and behavior. Across various statistical analyses such as the examination of coefficient α and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), this scale consistently demonstrated strong reliability and validity. This new reliable and valid scale may contribute to the quality of educational programs for older adults by providing for social workers and other helping professionals with an opportunity to examine their attitudes toward educational services for older adults.     

ATTITUDES OF LITHUANIAN SERVICE PROVIDERS IN GERONTOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAMS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Having regained independence from Russia in 1990, Lithuania is in the process of developing a social service system to meet the needs of its older citizens. This paper describes the current situation of older persons in Lithuania and the early stages of gerontology education and gerontological service provision in that nation. Future social service providers (n = 22) who participated in one of Lithuania's first gerontological education training programs completed the 17 items of Kogan's Attitudes Toward Old People Scale. Results indicate that future service providers hold generally neutral to positive attitudes toward older persons. The absence of negative attitudes toward older persons among the first generation of Lithuanian gerontological service providers bodes well for the development of gerontology education and services for older persons in Lithuania.     

Students' Knowledge of Aging and Career Preferences

The increased number of older adults attributes to a rising need for future professionals to work in gerontology. Understanding the influence of students' career choices is important. A qualitative study was conducted after students' taking a gerontology course to explore students' knowledge and career preference in gerontology. The results were that students reported higher competency in that their knowledge was higher. Although increased knowledge did not necessarily encourage students to choose careers in gerontology, it may have made students more amenable toward accepting working with the aging population in the future. The study offers suggestions on how to increase students' competency level in practice.     

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.     

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.     

TEACHING ABOUT AGING IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: A ONE‐YEAR FOLLOW‐UP

This study followed up on a 7‐day, 5th‐grade intergenerational project on aging. The “Age Doesn't Matter” (ADM) project was interdisciplinary; incorporating dance, health education, history, art, and poetry to teach about growing older. Older adults came to the school to interact with the students and the students also went on field trips to a nursing home and a retirement hotel. Thirteen of the original 19 ADM students were still in the same school 1 year after the project's completion. These students were matched by grade, gender, and race with a comparison group (n = 13) one year after the project's completion. Three experts in the field of gerontology were asked to blindly review the students' responses to open‐ended questions about aging and to rate each student concerning his or her attitudes toward aging. The ADM students were judged to have significantly (p < .05) more positive attitudes toward aging than the comparison group students.     

Oral History in the Classroom: A Comparison of Traditional and On-line Gerontology Classes

In this study, the effectiveness of an oral history assignment was assessed in a traditional gerontology class versus a distance education (DE) gerontology class. Attitudes toward older adults and the aging process were measured before and after students in the traditional (n = 29) and DE (n = 16) setting completed an oral history assignment. Scores were evaluated at posttest for differences between groups. The assignment positively influenced students' attitude toward older adults in both classes. Results indicate that this assignment was as effective in the DE setting as in the traditional setting. Findings suggest that oral history is an effective teaching assignment in a DE gerontology class.     

“I was giving someone who didn’t have a voice a voice”: exploring qualitative mini-research projects as a tool to teach students about aging

ABSTRACT

In the study of gerontology, fieldwork with older adults is often used to enhance students’ understanding of the aging process. While assignments based on interactions with older adults are a common practice in teaching students enrolled in gerontology studies, we know less about the impact of such activities on students from other disciplines. This paper summarizes students’ experiences with an assignment offered to a diverse cohort of undergraduate students who took a course in social gerontology. To complete this assignment, students had to interview an older adult, summarize the life story of the participant, apply a theoretical perspective to the older adult’s life story, and reflect on the process. Analyzing data derived from 72 assignments and 10 semi-structured interviews with students who were enrolled in the course, this paper examines students’ experiences with this assignment. Specifically, we identify what aspects of the assignment students found beneficial, what aspects they found challenging, and in what ways this assignment helped students to enhance their understanding of aging. Our findings suggest that students found it challenging to recruit an older adult for an interview and struggled with the semi-structured nature of the interview process. All students found the actual interview process to be extremely rewarding and beneficial for their learning. In discussion, we provide some recommendations on how to offer this type of assignment to a diverse group of students enrolling in the courses on social gerontology.     

Assessing positive attitudes toward older and younger adults

Meaningful intergenerational interactions between older and younger adults are rare outside of family relationships. Interventions to increase positive intergenerational interactions are growing, but finding appropriate measures of attitudes toward both younger and older age groups is difficult. Many measures assessing attitudes toward older adults can remind participants of negative stereotypes of aging and are rarely used to assess attitudes toward younger adults. We adapted Pittinsky, Rosenthal, and Montoya’s allophilia measure to assess attitudes toward younger (18–25 years old) and older (over age 65) adults. In the first study, 94 traditional college age and 52 older adults rated older and younger adults. The allophilia measure distinguished between younger and older adults’ attitudes toward each age group. In the second study, we compared the age-related allophilia measures with seven traditional measures of attitudes toward older adults. Forty-seven traditional college age students completed measures. As predicted, correlations between allophilia toward older adults and the traditional semantic differential measures were weak (i.e., r = |0.15|or less), whereas correlations with general attitudes toward older adults were more moderate (r = 0.59 or less). Correlations between allophilia toward younger adults and the traditional measures were primarily non-significant as predicted. The allophilia measure differentiated between the five domains of positive attitudes toward younger and older adults and was not highly correlated with measures of more negative attitudes toward older adults. Results suggest that the allophilia measure can fill a need for a measure of positive attitudes toward older and younger adults.     

Is There a Double Standard of Aging?: Older Men and Women and Ageism

This study was designed to determine current young adults' attitudes toward older adults and to explore, more specifically, whether they hold different attitudes towards older men and women. An additional objective was to examine the association between knowledge of aging processes and attitudes towards older adults. A total of 405 (210 males, 195 females) undergraduate students at a small Midwestern university were assessed on their attitudes toward an older male and an older female and on their knowledge of aging. Data analyses revealed that the participants showed more positive, rather than negative, attitudes towards older adults, and they rated older women significantly more positively than older men. No relationship was found between knowledge of aging processes and attitudes toward aging. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Third-Age Education in Canada and Japan: Attitudes Toward Aging and Participation in Learning

Lifelong learning is essential to participation in society, and presents important challenges for educational gerontology. This study compares Canadian and Japanese perspectives on (a) attitudes toward aging, (b) the learning needs of older adults, and (c) the role of centers of learning. Surveys were conducted of sample populations in two elder colleges in Japan (N = 419, 753; mean age 66.4,70.5) and two senior centers in Canada (N = 122; mean age 75.0). Results suggest Canadian respondents have more positive attitudes toward aging; Japanese respondents have greater needs for social/communicative learning; and Canadians have a greater need for traditional learning. Future implications for older-adult education and research are discussed.     

From Loving Grandma to Working with Older Adults: Promoting Positive Attitudes Towards Aging

The steady increase of population aging requires not only more people working within the field of aging but also the creation of new services. However, current students from areas such as medicine, nursing, psychology, and social work frequently have low interest in working with older adults. The low interest relates to this task's lack of challenge, absence of social status, and lower incomes. Different variables explain pervasive negative attitudes and lack of interest to work with older cohorts. Change of direction in this trend involves the inclusion of age related topics in university curriculum as well as promoting direct contact with older adults.     

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.     

CRITICAL GERONTOLOGY AND EDUCATION FOR OLDER ADULTS

Complementary meanings of educational gerontology are considered to introduce a discussion of the role of “critical gerontology” as a theoretical stance in education for older adults. The sources of critical gerontology are traced to the movement toward interpretive social science in the past decade and to the interdisciplinary dynamics of gerontology as an emerging field of inquiry and practice. Examples of the intentions and uses of critical gerontology and its meaning for education are offered in accounts of the history of the social construction and of wisdom and religion in the postmodern life course.     

Multicultural Curriculum and MSW Students' Attitudes about Race and Diversity

Methods of incorporating culturally competent practice and social justice curricula often are addressed in a required course or across courses using an infusion model. This research explored multicultural curricula and MSW students' attitudes about race and diversity. Data were collected from 297 MSW students enrolled at two universities. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant differences between students in programs with required multicultural coursework and those utilizing an infusion model, with respect to attitudes toward African Americans but not on measures of diversity or social equality and justice. The results indicate the differential outcomes based on curriculum models and support the need for further research in this area.