AGING EDUCATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: PREPARING FOR THE 21st CENTURY

Institutions of higher education have a stake in the demographic shift that will occur in the 21st century. Employers will depend on colleges and universities to produce a trained workforce and the general public will request information about aging processes and how to successfully age. By responding to the demands of employers and the general public, institutions of higher education will be faced with a number of challenges. This article considers six challenges facing institutions of higher education in the 21st century and how higher education might respond to these challenges. Potential barriers to meeting these challenges are also discussed.     

CONTINUING EDUCATION: OPEN FOR ALL?

The paper (developed from one presented at the 1980 Conference of the Association) concerns itself with experience gained by the academic side of the Open University/BBC partnership. It concentrates upon the different roles in which broadcasting can be used and upon some of the ways in which broadcasting has been tackled in the past within an overall multi‐media package.

The different styles and approaches which could be made within the Open University Continuing Education division are considered.

Within this framework two important threads emerge. One is the need to provide further learning opportunities by the provision of additional educational materials. The second relates to the necessity of subjecting the knowledge claims of television to more rigorous assessment.     

社会分层和弱势群体的继续教育

中国的经济改革和社会性人口流动使职业重新区分和组合,导致了社会阶层的重构。大量农村劳动力涌入新兴工商业实体,由于缺乏充足的职前教育培训准备,缺乏可利用的社会、文化和经济资源,居住的社区缺乏社会服务设施,他们长期陷入不利境地,成为弱势群体。教育有两重性,既可以促进一个人向上流动,也有社会分层和阻碍向上流动的作用。继续教育作为第二次机会,政府的投资和转移支付应该着重放在公共空间的建设,改善弱势群体社会活动的基础设施和环境,便于不同的教育服务机构和志愿者进入,为弱势群体提供切身需要的教育培训和服务。     

THREE STRATEGIES FOR DELIVERING CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION IN GERIATRICS TO GENERAL PRACTITIONERS

General practitioners (GPs) need advanced skills in geriatric assessment to be competent to treat the increasing number of elderly patients. Continuing medical education in geriatrics for GPs is heterogeneous, and not assessed for effectiveness. In this study we compared the educational effects of three geriatric post-graduate training methods on GPs. GPs in the health district of the Nijmegen University Medical Centre (The Netherlands) were offered a variety of training options in geriatric assessment: (1) a formal one-day teacher centered conference (TCC), (2) an interactive GP-centered day of workshops (GCW), and (3) participation in a project of knowledge translation, linked to a research project of geriatric intermediate care (GKT). Pre-post measures were taken of the attitudes of GPs towards the elderly (Aging Semantic Differential, 1969), attitudes towards geriatric patients (Maxwell & Sullivan, 1980 Maxwell, A. J. and Sullivan, N. 1980. Attitudes toward the geriatric patient among family practice residents. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2(8): 341–345.  [Google Scholar]; Rosencranz & McNevin, 1969 Rosencranz, H. A. and McNevin, T. E. 1969. A factor analysis of attitudes towards the aged. Gerontologist, 9: 55–59. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and geriatric competencies (Robinson, Barry, Renick, et al., 2001 Robinson, B. E., Barry, P. P., Renick, N., Bergen, M. R. and Stratos, G. A. 2001. Physician confidence and interest in learning more about common geriatric topics: A needs assessment. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 49: 963–967. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). After training, neither the attitudes towards the elderly nor geriatric patients changed in any of the three groups. The TCC did not show a significant change in perceived competencies, while the GCW and GKT group improved. A formal large group conference is ineffective in improving GPs' geriatric assessment skills, while small interactive workshops and participation in a project of knowledge translation are equally effective. None of the three training methods improved or worsened attitudes toward the elderly in general or the geriatric patients in particular.     

A DEMONSTRATION MODEL: OUTREACH CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR RURAL GERIATRIC HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

This article describes an outreach continuing education program designed to increase the knowledge and skills of licensed practical nurses employed in long‐term care facilities in 26 rural southeast Georgia counties. The program used a modular self‐directed approach and was heavily supported with audiovisual materials. Four independent learning activities made up each of the nine modules. After pilot implementation of the curriculum, nonnurse health care providers asked to enroll in the course. Upon completion of the course, participants earned certificates as specialists in long‐term care of the elderly as well as continuing education credit.     

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY'S ROLE IN CONTINUING EDUCATION

This paper from the 1979 Conference, ‘Television In Society’, describes the Open University's extension of its original role into continuing education, not only in the areas of professional and in‐service training, but in community education. Short courses of novel design aim to satisfy particular personal or domestic needs. The implications of the work in community education, in particular, for future development of OU work in continuing education include: increased collaboration with outside bodies, and informal usage of courses by other agencies for their own purposes, so that it is questioned whether multi‐media courses or packages of learning materials are being created.     

进城务工人员继续教育与培训中的志愿者研究

中国工业化进程中产生了大量受教育程度较低的进城务工人员,要改善这部分人口的素质和生活、推进我国农村的城镇化进程,就要对他们进行继续教育和培训。由于他们支付能力较低,所以需要企业和其他公共资源的支持。志愿者作为一种公共资源,应该如何加以利用,引进到弱势群体的终身教育体系之中,是具有现实意义的问题。本研究将从志愿者的需求与供给出发,分析志愿者行为的影响因素,以北京大学平民学校为案例,探讨依托志愿者作为培训师资和管理人员的可行性和可持续性,探索农民工群体培训和继续教育的供给模式。     

WOMEN AND RETIREMENT: EVOLVING ISSUES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INTERVENTION

Until recent years, occupational retirement was perceived primarily as a male life transition process. Women now comprise a major population experiencing active, long‐term involvement in occupational roles and facing significant concerns in their transition from work to retirement.

This article provides an examination of the current status of research regarding women and retirement and discusses multiple issues that surround the aging woman and her relationship to the retirement process. Key orientations are discussed in relation to conceptualizing and shaping future preretirement educational programming alternatives.     

大连市职业高中(中专)教师继续教育思考

从大连市职业高中 (中专 )机电类专业教师队伍现状出发 ,对继续教育培训内容、模式等进行探讨。     

A SURVEY OF ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION COMPETENCIES NEEDED BY DIRECTORS OF COMMUNITY SERVICES AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

Adult and continuing education is a major role function of directors of community services and continuing education in community, junior, and technical colleges; the nature of the director's responsibility is as yet somewhat unclear. Consequently the academic training one receives in preparation for the director's role is varied. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the importance attached to selected adult and continuing education competencies as perceived by directors and to ascertain their perceived level of attainment in those competencies. Chi‐square and cross‐tabulations were used to test for significance between the dependent variables (importance and attainment‐of‐competency statements) and the independent variables (academic level, academic area, teaching experience, and administrative experience). By random selection, 168 CS‐CE directors were chosen to participate in the study.     

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONTINUING EDUCATION IN A RURAL AND REMOTE AREA: THE APPROACH OF THE NORTHERN EDUCATIONAL CENTRE FOR AGING AND HEALTH

This article describes an interdisciplinary continuing education approach for health professionals in a rural remote area implemented by the Northern Educational Centre for Aging and Health (NECAH) at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The article discusses issues of rural health care practice and the implications for practitioners’ educational needs. The key components involved in delivering interdisciplinary education and teamwork training are reviewed, followed by a discussion of the relevance of an interdisciplinary participatory approach for rural practitioners given their practice context and work style. Using NECAH's experience in planning and delivering a 5‐day interdisciplinary education program in palliative care as a case example, it is argued that simultanous attention to these issues in the design and delivery of continuing professional education for rural professionals contributes to a relevant educational experience in the short‐term and an increased interdisciplinary collaboration in the long‐term. The article suggests that NECAH's interdisciplinary participatory approach is a significant model for the continuing education of health professionals in rural remote areas.     

SPECIAL ISSUE: AGING EDUCATION: PREPARING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY INTRODUCTION

Board and care owners and administrators must find new and innovative ways to meet the training needs of those on their staffs. The authors investigated computer-based instruction as a way to teach injury prevention techniques to these care providers. A computer-based (CB) training program was used that had been adapted from a print-based/instructor-led (IL) program. This article discusses the effectiveness of the CB training as compared to the effectiveness of the traditional IL format. The CB and IL versions of a prevention training program were presented to board and care staff during five sessions. The 78 participants were randomly assigned to either the CB or IL groups. Both the CB and IL groups significantly increased their knowledge scores from pretest to posttest. The CB participants reported that they enjoyed the training and had no difficulty using the computers, even though some of them had never used a computer previously for any activity. Computer-based training can be an effective alternative training technique for this population.