School Reform in a Vacuum: Demographic Change,Social Policy,and the Future of Children

In their search for magic bullets to fix failing schools, policymakers seldom directly address powerful ecological factors impacting schooling. This article identifies several major demographic, societal, economic, and educational changes and trends in U.S. society over the past several years; analyzes their impact on schoolchildren; and offers a series of policy recommendations for public sector reform initiatives that show promise in ameliorating these conditions, which in turn would improve the educational prospects for all children, particularly those most at risk.     

USING FOCUS GROUPS AS AN EDUCATIONAL METHODOLOGY: DECONSTRUCTING STEREOTYPES AND SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE MISCONCEPTIONS CONCERNING AGING AND OLDER ADULTS

During the coming years the number of older adults will increase dramatically, which will require a corresponding increase in the number of social workers who have accurate knowledge of this population. This article reports the impact focus groups with older adults and with service providers who work with older adults and their families have on baccalaureate social work (BSW) students. We find that BSW students exposed to focus groups have their negative attitudes about older adults and service providers deconstructed and replaced with more positive and accurate information about older adults. When students' misconceptions about older adults are confronted, they become more interested in choosing geriatric social work as a career option.