Putting educational gerontology principles to the test: a quantitative confirmation of the empowering benefits of liberal arts courses

ABSTRACT

The humanist and critical principles of educational gerontology attribute different goals to education in later life. Self-Actualization is the goal of humanist educational gerontology, while empowerment, emancipation, and social change are the goals of critical educational gerontology. Liberal arts education is dominant in later-life learning. Both the humanist and the critical philosophies of learning in older age claim that this type of education is not empowering. Empowerment is a contested concept that has been defined through a set of constructs ranging from psychological capacities to attitudes and behaviors. In terms of capital, empowerment translates into gains in identity and social capital, operationalized in the variables agency and social and civic participation, respectively. The present study investigated the empowering potential of liberal arts courses using the BeLL survey data of 7,338 adult learners. Through a series of ANOVAs and a regression model, we found that age, gender, educational attainment, the number of courses, and changes in agency are significantly associated with changes in social and civic participation. We concluded that liberal arts education does empower adult learners, especially older adults, women, and individuals with lower educational attainment. Given that goal-related claims in the principles of educational gerontology have been empirically challenged, we recommend a new statement of principles that takes into account the latest developments in the field, as well as learners’ agential capacities and the structural inequalities they face.     

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.     

TRANSITION,LOSS, AND GROWTH: PROCESSES OF POSITIVE ADAPTATION

Positive adaptation to the transition events of later life is a neglected area in the literature of gerontology and educational gerontology. Drawing on the literature of social and clinical psychology, gerontology, adult development, and adult education, as well as on original research findings, this paper formulates a model for viewing the transitions and losses of the aging process as opportunities for growth and self‐enhancement. Major categories of social‐psychological transition events are reviewed; the social‐psychological resources that aging individuals bring to these events are summarized; and three processes of adaptation to transition (grieving, stress management, and learning) are discussed in terms of their relevance to the problem. The usefulness of reflective learning as an adaptive strategy particularly appropriate to the later third of life is emphasized. Implications for further research and applications to practice are presented.     

Aging at the University of Minnesota's School of Social Work: Historiography of Gerontological Curriculum

With the dramatic shift in the population as the baby boom generation ages, education in gerontology is becoming an important component in schools of social work. Historically, gerontology has not been important in social work programs. This historical analysis examined the incorporation of aging related courses at the University of Minnesota's School of Social Work since its inception in 1918 through 1960. Historical research methods were utilized to obtain primary and secondary source data. It was determined that the School of Social Work's early curriculum development was influence by broader discourse concerning social work education and child welfare. Little discourse and curriculum related to aging was discovered. Implications for the profession of social work as they relate to demographic trends are included.     

The case of educational gerontology in Lebanon: a harbinger of empowerment,emancipation and social change?

Context: In Lebanon, older adults face socioeconomic challenges that are expected to worsen due to an increase in older adult population, chronic governmental neglect, institutionalised ageism and a lack of educational and social gerontologists. Consequently, local older adults are in dire need for social change, which can be initiated through later life learning. The University for Seniors (UfS) is a University for the Third Age providing learning opportunities for older people in Lebanon. While most older adult learning programmes are occupied with their learners’ self-fulfilment, Critical Educational Gerontology promotes emancipatory learning and social change. Study Objective and Design: A case discussion based on a variety of data sources is used to showcase and then challenge the practices of UfS from a critical educational gerontology perspective. To do that, we consider the semantic difference between emancipation and empowerment in their relation to power. Recommendations: We recommend programme-specific measures starting by revisiting the current philosophy of learning, targeting social change as an additional goal to later life learning, and advocacy for the establishment of educational degrees to prepare professionals and academicians in the field of social gerontology. We also recommend a more critical use of empowerment and emancipation within critical educational gerontology.     

Gerontology Content in MSW Curricula and Student Attitudes Toward Older Adults

The unprecedented growth in the nation's older adult population has called attention to the increasing need for geriatric social workers. However, research suggests that social work students hold ageist attitudes that prevent many from pursuing careers in gerontology. The present study sought to identify student perceptions of gerontology content in MSW education and possible correlations with attitudes toward older adults and interest in gerontology. A sample of 252 MSW students participated in classroom surveys. The survey outcomes revealed that gerontology content in MSW curriculum was correlated with positive attitudes toward older adults, but it was not related to increased interest in gerontology.     

Intrinsic Motivation and Environmental Factors Affecting Research of Social Work Faculty on Aging

Within the context of Self-determination Theory, this research identifies intrinsic motivation and environmental factors that support social-work-faculty research in aging. Intrinsic factors include faculty's interest in gerontology as a field of practice, the desire to advance knowledge in the field of gerontology, including producing publications that disseminate information about their research, and the desire to make tenure and/or to advance their careers. Environmental factors include institutional supports such as release time to do research, reduced teaching loads, summer research support. Also included are mentoring relationships that complement the faculty's intrinsic motivation and create an environment supportive of research, grant writing, and publishing. Faculty motivation to work in the field of gerontology and institutional support for gerontological research are critical to sustain and expand the capacity of social work faculty to advance science in gerontology research. Such motivation is also needed to create vibrant academic environments that attract students at all levels into the field of gerontology, a field experiencing a rapidly expanding gap between service need and workforce capacity of social-work-faculty research in aging.     

THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF EDUCATION,RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY−THE ISRAELI EXPERIENCE

This article examines the multidimensionality of education, research, and training in gerontology through a discussion of the significance and implications of developments in this area based on the Israeli scene. The discussion focuses on the issue of whether gerontology is an academic discipline based on the development of specialized knowledge, along with education and training, in a distinct academic framework, or whether it constitutes part of professional training in a variety of academic fields. The article begins with a presentation of milestones in the development of gerontology in Israel, focusing mainly on social gerontology. It then offers a definition of an academic discipline and of a profession and distinguishes between them by examining the development of curricula in the field of aging in two contexts: social work studies, on the one hand, and specialization in gerontology toward a Master's degree in this area at Haifa and Ben-Gurion Universities, on the other. A model is presented that examines the mutuality among the evolutions in technology, demography, and information, and their significance in the development of standards in education, training, and the dissemination of gerontological knowledge.     

Teaching Psychological and Social Gerontology to Millennial Undergraduates

Matters of development and generation may create barriers in teaching millennial undergraduates psychological and social gerontology. We introduce strategy to mitigate these barriers by teaching psychological and social gerontology as undergraduate honors courses, augmented with the use of social networking tools. We detail honors programming, critical analysis of extant literature, ethnographic fieldwork to observe the “other” and build rapport, visual image analysis, and use of social networking tools to enhance intellectual and personal engagement. Reflection on our own modifications in course construction and pedagogy in analysis of four years of student evaluation feedback guides suggestions for replication.     

BOOK REVIEW

Curtin University of Technology has a strong commitment to gerontological education and is responsible for the majority of graduate education in this area of Western Australia. This article outlines various gerontological activities at Curtin. With the exception of social work, almost all are carried out in the university's Division of Health Sciences. The article describes the wide range of undergraduate courses in the division that have relevance for gerontology. The two ongoing graduate programs, the multidisciplinary or generalist and the occupational therapy streams, are described in detail, and a proposed center for gerontology is mentioned.     

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.     

Critical educational gerontology at a senior center in Malta: possibilities and limitations for critical consciousness

ABSTRACT

One area that remained off the research radar is that interface between senior centers and learning programs, and hence, their potential to act as community-based learning hubs. Countering such a state of affairs, this article reports on an action research study to investigate the extent that a transformative learning program in a senior center can lead learners to improved levels of personal and social empowerment. The research project sought to meet its goal and objectives through the ‘action research’ design, by planning and executing a critical educational gerontological programme for persons attending a Maltese senior center. The learning program following a critical geragogical approach which encourages learners to discuss and problematize each theme in the curriculum. Pretest-posttest focus groups found the learning program to be successful in improving learners’ levels of personal empowerment as they acquired a strong awareness of how social differences are structurally produced due to inequities and discriminations based on social class, gender, and age differences. However, the quest achieving critical consciousness remained an elusive one due to immanence and internal agism, as well as the fact that political action arises as a lifetime narrative. Critical educational gerontology remains steadfastly hinged upon the ‘successful aging’ paradigm that overlooks how later life is also underpinned by ill-health, abjection, care relations, and loss of agency. It is hoped that this action research project acts as a catalyst for future studies in critical educational gerontology to be framed by a fourth age social imaginary.     

TEACHING GERONTOLOGY VIA DISTANCE EDUCATION: VARIETY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Teaching gerontology via distance education is growing in popularity. Yet, many challenges are encountered by those teaching gerontology at a distance; some technological and others pedagogical in nature. Successful strategies for structuring and teaching televised gerontology courses are presented in this paper. Strategies focus on types of teacher preparation, use of pedagogical tools, development and maintenance of rapport with students at remote sites, and ways to improve teaching of distance education classes in gerontology. It is argued that workload and compensation for instructors teaching distance education need to be addressed by administration in order to develop high quality distance education programs.     

Time for Law: Legal Literacy and Gerontological Education

ABSTRACT

In the past, the law has not been considered as an important part of gerontological science. Historically, different sciences such as medicine, biology, psychology, and sociology have played far more important roles in the creation and crystallization of gerontological knowledge. This state of affairs is reflected in academic education and field research, which ascribes little weight to legal aspects of aging. This article maintains that the time is ripe for gerontological education to recognize the importance of exposing students of gerontology in academic institutions to the study and research of law and ageing. Though this claim could be defended on the simple ground that the law is no different, in principle, from a wide range of other scientific disciplines—each of which makes a particular contribution to gerontology—in this article we shall go one step further. This article attempts to demonstrate special elements which make it particularly important to add the study of legal matters to the curriculum of gerontological education. They are the result of 5 aspects of the encounter between the law and old age: (a) the law as a tool for sociological research; (b) the law as a tool for social change; (c) the law as a tool for planning and undertaking care of the old; (d) the weaknesses of the legal discipline in the field of law and aging; and (e) the potential value of legal education for the practice of gerontology, and collaboration between gerontologists and lawyers.     

Education and Older Adults at the University of the Third Age

This article reports a critical analysis of older adult education in Malta. In educational gerontology, a critical perspective demands the exposure of how relations of power and inequality, in their myriad forms, combinations, and complexities, are manifest in late-life learning initiatives. Fieldwork conducted at the University of the Third Age (UTA) in Malta uncovered the political nature of elder-learning, especially with respect to three intersecting lines of unequality—namely, positive aging, elitism, and gender. A cautionary note is, therefore, warranted at the dominant positive interpretations of UTAs since late-life learning, as any other education activity, is not politically neutral.     

GERONTOLOGY EDUCATION FOR RECREATION SERVICE MAJORS: MEETING THE DEMANDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Due to an overwhelming increase in the population of older Americans in the next 30 years, many professions are preparing to meet the demands of an increasingly older clientele. This research was conducted to assess whether recreation professionals' level of education in gerontology is adequate to meet the demands of older adults in the future. It was found that opportunities for education in gerontology are abundant in many recreation and leisure studies programs. Most recreation curricula have gerontology classes and opportunities for minors in gerontology. Those that were lacking in this area were at least found to cover the topics in courses on lifespan development. However, it remains somewhat unclear how many students are taking advantage of these opportunities.     

Predictors of Social Workers Employment in Gerontological Work

The rapidly growing aging population highlights the need for social workers trained in gerontological practice and interested in work with older adults. This study, conducted in two southern states, examined recent social work graduates' perceptions of aging-related work and identified factors influencing their employment in aging related jobs. One-quarter of the graduates were employed in aging-related work. Logistics regression analysis revealed that aging-related skills, belief that work with older adults would be depressing, and having taken an undergraduate gerontology class were significant in predicting employment in aging-related jobs. Implications for social work education as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

Integrative Geragogy: Part 1: Theory and Practice of a Basic Model

ABSTRACT

Geragogy as a part of gerontology seems to be established in aging societies. Also, geragogy as a form of education for elderly people, learning in the third age, is nowadays an integrated part of agogy. On the other hand, the increase in the number of people of the fourth age, the oldest of the old, handicapped elderly people in nursing homes, is hardly considered in the geragogical discussion. Integrative geragogy in the field of care facilities is given only marginal consideration. In this article we want to present integrative geragogy as a basic part of educational gerontology. We present it as interacting closely with therapeutic education and social work, dealing especially with potentials of the oldest of the old and mentally handicapped elderly people. An outline of the international discussion and the history of geragogy in Germany shows the state-of-the-art in geragogy today. A specific theory and praxeology of integrative geragogy is also presented.     

TEACHING RESEARCH IN GERONTOLOGY: TOWARD A CUMULATIVE MODEL

In this article, we consider different approaches to teaching research methods in gerontology across a continuum of educational program levels. Our goal is to offer a conceptual framework and stimulate productive discussion of key issues and challenges in teaching research in gerontology. It is our belief that education in gerontology should include some level of training in research methodologies across all levels of gerontology instruction. Therefore, we have sought to identify those components of research training most appropriate for each level of gerontological education. Thus, basic understanding of research methods is appropriate at the associate's degree level and introductory exposure to basic issues involved in conducting research with elders provides a necessary backdrop to undergraduate programs. More in-depth understanding of gerontological research methods, particularly those involved in applied research, is a component of quality master's level programs. Finally, in-depth knowledge and the ability to apply distinctively gerontological research methods are necessary for conducting advanced original research at the doctoral level.     

Early Journals and Their Influences on the Development of Gerontology

This examination of early gerontology journals identifies the multidisciplinary backgrounds of contributors, methods of investigation, nascent theory development, and formative themes and controversies. Through use of content, thematic, and critical analyses of second year issues of The Gerontologist, Educational Gerontology, Research on Aging, Journal of Applied Gerontology, and Canadian Journal on Aging, this study highlights the influence of these journals on the formation of the discipline of gerontology. The analyses indicate that education and awareness of ageism, policy planning to address changing demographic patterns, cultural diversity, and disciplinary development were key themes in these early publications. The study also reveals that researchers and scholars in the social sciences and health sciences established the foundations of the discipline. Controversies were evident in various debates about knowledge formation and dissemination. The early journals further included diverse perspectives, theories, research methods, directions, and critiques of issues of age, aging, and the aged.