GERONTOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AMONG CLERGY: IMPLICATIONS FOR SEMINARY TRAINING

A survey of 289 pastors from, three major denominations found that clergy demonstrate a relatively high level of gerontological knowledge in comparison with other reference groups, but that their concepts of aging are affected by a number of consistent stereotypes and inaccuracies that may negatively influence their ministry among older adults. This study addresses the major stereotypes identified by the Facts on Aging Quiz, summarizes gerontological education needs described by the respondents, and draws implications for gerontological training as part of seminary education.     

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PREFERENCES FOR GRADUATE TRAINING IN PSYCHOLOGY: IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY

There continues to be a critical shortage of school psychologist practitioners and academicians. Undergraduate students in psychology, education, and other majors (N = 674) from a large comprehensive university in the southwest completed an examiner‐made web‐based questionnaire designed to assess their attitudes and preferences for choosing graduate training in psychology. There were differences among the participants on Interest in Graduate School, Child Interests, Attitude toward Research, and Exposure to School Psychology. Psychology majors were more interested in graduate school than all other majors in the sample and were more interested in research than “other” majors. Psychology majors reported significantly less exposure to school psychology than “other” majors. Examination of the endorsement patterns of the participants indicated the following. Generally, misconceptions about school psychology were not endorsed at high levels. Sixty seven percent of the sample indicated they would attend graduate school. And 77% of the participants also endorsed items indicating they had interests in focusing on children and child related problems. The participants did specify there were some geographic restraints related to choice of graduate school. Fifty to 60% of the participants agreed they had personal qualifications which would make them highly competitive for graduate school admission. Implications for school psychology recruitment are offered.     

SERVICE-LEARNING EDUCATION IN COMMUNITY-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY GERIATRIC TRAINING IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Major changes are taking place within the health care system that have important implications for health professions education in geriatrics. The forces driving these changes are also affecting academic settings, where trends supporting the development of community-academic partnerships, service-learning models, and interdisciplinary education are all evident. These trends have major implications for health professions educators working to develop academic programs to prepare students for future practice with older adults. This article explores the impacts of these changes, in particular, on the design of interdisciplinary or collaborative education programming, including the following dimensions: assessment and definition of the problem, emphasis on functioning and quality of life, professional identity, changing roles of faculty and students, and institutional-organizational implications. General recommendations on how to respond to the challenges represented in these trends are also explored.     

A NETWORK FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN SPAIN

The National Institute of Educational Sciences (INCIE), together with the Institute of Educational Sciences (ICE), is a nation‐wide network, the main activities of which are research on education and teacher training. We give below information on its current activities.     

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH IN GERONTOLOGY FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN GERIATRICS

Geriatrics, a new medical specialty, is closely linked with scientific research in experimental gerontology, the biology of aging, and social gerontology and gerohygiene. The importance of using gerontological research data and data on relationships between the aged, family, and society is discussed. Emphasis is placed on (1) the development of diseases of the aged, (2) the significance of genetic factors on aging, (3) the relationship between chronological and biological age, and (4) the importance of physiological reactions in the aged to various types of treatment. The significance of international cooperation in the improvement of education and training of medical personnel in geriatrics is also stressed.     

非计算机专业计算机业余培训的探讨

本文旨在探讨在当今信息社会中 ,对非计算机专业的学生进行计算机业余培训的重要性、必要性、可行性     

GERONTOLOGICAL EDUCATION: PROPOSITIONS FOR CURRICULUM PLANNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education has not properly responded to employment needs in the field of aging. This paper suggests that any endeavor to infuse a gerontological component in the curricula of colleges and universities should take into account four basic propositions: the policy adjustments to the demographic “aging” of our society; the phenomenological reappraisal of an extended individual life cycle; the social‐experimental quality of new gerontological social policies; and the emerging concern for ecological determinants of human behavior, as a means for generating alternatives to institutionalization. Employment needs and projections are related to the increasing demand for short‐term training programs and the emerging interest in lifetime learning approaches to adult education.     

EVALUATING AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM TRAINING INSTITUTE IN GERIATRICS: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING TEAMWORK THEORY AND PRACTICE

Changes occurring in both health care and higher education systems in the U.S. suggest the need for the development of innovative model programs for interdisciplinary team training. This article reports on the development and evaluation of one such program: an interdisciplinary team training institute in geriatrics and primary care sponsored by the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center in 1999. Key principles underlying the design of program content are summarized. Evaluation data analyzed include information on attendees' backgrounds and teamwork experience, and an assessment of the most important and least important insights gained from participation. Specific ratings for each session include relevance and knowledge attainment. Major observations and recommendations include the combination of theory and practice, a focus on current and cutting edge issues, the importance of educational marketing research, and implications for program evaluation.     

TRAINING FOR EXPERTISE VERSUS TRAINING FOR TRUST: ISSUES IN RURAL GERONTOLOGY

Traditional gerontological instruction uses an expertise‐based model. Such an approach can be counterproductive for gerontologists serving the elderly in rural areas. To meet the needs of both the rural elderly who need services and the professionals who wish to provide those services, educators in gerontology need to instruct students interested in a rural gerontology practice on the issues that face a professional who is entering a rural area: the diversity of rural areas; the influx of urbanites and what it means to locals; the slow acceptance of the need for human services in rural areas; and, most important, the fact that in rural areas, authority is based on trust, not on expertise. Rather than encouraging the development of expertise and professional authority, gerontological instruction for students interested in serving the rural elderly should emphasize the need for the professional to “stay low” in the client‐clinician relationship, learn the local language and culture, and accept the lack of separation between professional and personal roles in rural areas. These practices will help the professional who is new to the rural area gain the trust of the elderly residents.     

DOCTORAL TRAINING AND RESEARCH IN FRANCE: BIBLIOGRAPHY

This bibliography is a complement to the article analyzing graduate training in institutions of higher learning in France between 1971 and 1985. Original results of doctoral dissertations are usually published in abridged form, which eliminates much of the critical review of relevant literature as well as methodological details. Topical coverage of this bibliography is multidisciplinary. The references are classified into five sections: biology, psychology/behavior, social sciences, health, literature and arts. This list of references forms a resource which, for the most part, cannot be found in published literature.     

IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL ROLE RESEARCH FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES

The authors present a rationale for using social roles as the basis for improving the community college institution through curriculum development, faculty and student services improvement, and institutional enhancement. The construct social role is defined as a pattern of behaviors and attitudes related to a specific function or position as expected by society. Havighurst's original social role concept provides background information for the current research project. This research attempted to revitalize Havighurst's social role theory within a contemporary context. Toward this end, data were collected from 300 adults. The data collection methods controlled for an equal number of respondents grouped by age, gender, and SES level. The implications for the community college and its primary mission were presented in the areas of curriculum development, and faculty and student services, as well as implications for the community college as an institution.     

INNOVATIONS IN TEACHING COMPUTER LITERACY: A CLASSROOM RESEARCH PROJECT

In Fall 1989, the author revamped his coursse syllabus for Computer Literacy by introducing individualized learning contracts, along with journal writing and journal sharing. This self‐study summarizes the author's experiences with that new syllabus, examines student outcomes in terms of student satisfaction and student success rates, and compares these results with those obtained by the same instructor in the same course the previous year. The results suggest that students are more satisfied with the new format and that some student subgroups, especially females and blacks, were more successful.     

OLDER ADULTS,COMPUTER TRAINING,AND THE SYSTEMS APPROACH: A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

Adults over the age of 65 are the fastest growing segment of computer users. Due to this increased demand, effective training programs are essential. Although previous research findings illustrate the importance of older adults’ goals, abilities, and experience levels in learning to use computers, these factors are often neglected in the development of computer training courses. We apply a systems approach to help bridge this gap between research and practice to address the disparity between what older adults would like to learn and the content of computer training courses. We review the literature on training older adults to use computers and report data from a set of structured interviews to illustrate the criticality of each step in the systems approach. Lastly, we provide the means to evaluate existing computer training programs and suggest modifications for improvement. Our purpose is not to evaluate specific programs, but to educate developers about an approach that has proven successful. Specifically, we provide suggestions for effective computer training for older adults.     

论母音练习法在歌唱训练中的运用

本文根据各种母音不同的发音特点。提出把母音练习法运用于歌唱训练中。以此来解决歌喝中喉头不稳定、声区不铳一、声音发白发散、漏气等毛病，以提高歌唱的水平。     

EMPLOYED CAREGIVERS: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ISSUE FOR GERONTOLOGICAL EDUCATION

The importance of the employed caregiver in the maintenance of functional independence has only recently begun to be recognized. The demographic changes that will shape the next few decades will require a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding caregiving than is currently available in the curricula of existing gerontology programs. By incorporating course offerings aimed specifically at the caregiver role, gerontological education could extend its influence into the business community and attract students from a wide variety of other disciplines. Providing future corporate executives with a basic gerontological education could broaden the scope of gerontology and, ultimately, improve the quality of the lives of older care receivers.     

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN GERIATRIC EDUCATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR FACULTY

The demographic imperative for geriatric training and care is well documented and comes as no surprise to health care professionals working in the field (see National Institutes of Health, 1987). The dramatic increase in the numbers of elderly, particularly those age 75 and older, suggests that geriatric health care will grow in importance throughout the next decade. This article briefly examines strategies for geriatric education that may have relevance for attempts to formalize and institutionalize geriatric content in academic institutions, and suggests strategies for implementation.

The domains of geriatrics and gerontology have continued to overlap as models of training and health care delivery have evolved. Distinctions between these two perspectives remain important, particularly as they pertain to the emphasis on training related to normal versus pathological aging. For purposes of simplicity, the term geriatric is used in a broad context that includes gerontological education as well. The reality of our educational experiences suggests that a balance between normal and pathological aging content in our curriculum is one of the first crucial variables that needs to be addressed.