TELEVISION AS AN EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH MEDIUM FOR OLDER ADULTS

This paper examines the medium of television as a means of education and outreach for older adults. It looks at positive and negative potentials of television. Particular attention is given to public television, cable television and videotapes. The viewing patterns, social and psychological functions of television, and the programming preferences of older adults are explored in terms of their relevance to educators and service providers.     

DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR OLDER ADULTS AND THOSE WHO WORK WITH THEM

The results of a community college's efforts to develop a range of educational services for the aging are presented. Cultural, educational, and recreational activities provided within a college setting and through a network of neighborhood centers are described, as well as continuing education and in‐service training programs for persons who work with the elderly. The processes and problems involved in planning, organizing, and administering such a comprehensive program for the elderly in an educational institution are described and discussed.

The authors attempt to demonstrate that a wide range of opportunities exists for colleges and universities in most localities to develop a variety of services that can enhance the quality of life of the elderly. Their central message is that it is possible to accomplish a lot with quite limited resources if available resources are used well. A variety of educational services to a large number of older persons and to people who work with them was generated by a small initial grant. This grant enabled the college not only to begin to identify the educational needs of the elderly in a particular locality but also to locate a wide range of available resources (money, people, facilities) that could be used immediately to provide services.     

LITERARY DISCUSSION WITH OLDER ADULTS: AN EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Adults in later years of life continue to have educational needs and concomitant abilities to learn. Most diversionary programs do not fulfill those needs. The purpose of this study was to examine participation by older adults in a literary discussion group. The program was conducted with a small group (N = 9) of adults in a retirement center. Subjects indicated their motivations for attending were to learn, not be entertained. Further, evidence was presented that provided insight into the unobtrusive design of research in similar settings, and into the group dynamics and facilitation techniques of discussion groups with older adults.     

THE LIFE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS: AN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL MODEL

The question of what is uniquely possible for the older adult learner is seldom asked by adult educators. Dealing with a population whose educational experiences are largely pedogogical, instructional programs have often attempted to continue this model of teacher‐selected content and methodology. This paper is a review of an experimental educational program designed to provide experiential activities related to learning needs and potentials of the older adult. The nature of the format allowed participants maximum opportunity to. identify and achieve personal learning goals. Evaluation procedures were designed to test the hypothesis that older adults respond meaningfully to programs designed to meet their needs rather than the educator's preconceptions. Results of the study indicate successful achievement of the goals of the project and an expanded level of psychosocial functioning of the older adults.     

AGING CURRICULUM AND RESEARCH CAPACITY IN SCHOOLS OF SOCIAL WORK: A NATIONAL SURVEY

Aging related social work research structures are vital in demonstrating the effectiveness of social work services with the elderly population, especially with the current focus on cost-effectiveness of services. However, not much is known about strategies employed by schools of social work to engage in social work research in the field of aging. This study surveyed all accredited MSW programs in the United States and had a response rate of 62%. The survey explored curriculum issues and interest levels in aging at both Master's and Doctoral levels, formal aging research structures within schools of social work and identified strengths and limits of these formal structures. The study also identified strategies for developing social work research in the field of aging in graduate schools of social work.     

SOCIAL WORK DIALOGUES: TRANSFORMING THE CANON IN INQUIRY,PRACTICE, AND EDUCATION

Social work educators require textbooks and other teaching materials that can be used in research courses to enhance student learning. Likewise, social work practitioners require resource books that can be used to enhance practice. This article provides an essay review of four recently published books representing diverse viewpoints on social work research, and discusses these books in the context of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. The major aims, content, and scope of each book are reviewed as well as suggestions for their use in undergraduate or graduate courses, or as a resource for social work practitioners.     

GOING BACK TO SCHOOL: PARTICIPATION MOTIVES AND EXPERIENCES OF OLDER ADULTS IN AN UNDERGRADUATE CLASSROOM

The purpose of this article is to expand knowledge concerning participation motives and difficulties faced by older adults returning to intergenerational college classrooms. This study examined reasons elders returned to college, reasons they stopped attending, difficulties they faced, positive aspects of returning to school, campus integration, and variations in these experiences by gender, employment status, educational attainment, and degree‐seeking behavior. The source of the data was a survey of students over the age of 60 from a small state college. Gender and employment status proved to be important sources of difference in respondents’ participation motives as well as their experiences in the classroom. Suggestions for administrators of these programs and for future research are explored.     

WHY "WHAT WORKS" WON'T WORK: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE AND THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

A bstract .  In this essay, Gert Biesta provides a critical analysis of the idea of evidence-based practice and the ways in which it has been promoted and implemented in the field of education, focusing on the tension between scientific and democratic control over educational practice and research. Biesta examines three key assumptions of evidence-based education: first, the extent to which educational practice can be compared to the practice of medicine, the field in which evidence-based practice was first developed; second, the role of knowledge in professional actions, with special attention to what kind of epistemology is appropriate for professional practices that wish to be informed by the outcomes of research; and third, the expectations about the practical role of research implicit in the idea of evidence-based education. Biesta concludes that evidence-based practice provides a framework for understanding the role of research in educational practice that not only restricts the scope of decision making to questions about effectivity and effectiveness, but that also restricts the opportunities for participation in educational decision making. He argues that we must expand our views about the interrelations among research, policy, and practice to keep in view education as a thoroughly moral and political practice that requires continuous democratic contestation and deliberation.     

THE INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH,EDUCATION, AND PRACTICE IN GERONTOLOGY: SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

This article focuses on the development of education relating to aging in a specific professional education program: social work at the University of Queensland. A brief outline of features of the aged population and services for the aged in Queensland, an Australian state, is given as a background for describing one approach to gerontology education with the University of Queensland social work faculty. The challenges and tasks of curriculum development in relation to gerontology in a generic undergraduate course are described. Specific training in gerontology at a theoretical and practical level is provided through field practicums in an institution for the aged and proposals to extend this to a community‐based practice research program for the aged are outlined. To give a combined approach to social work, current research programs relating to this program — social policy and aging — are described.