Long-term care administration often involves care for older adults. Yet, in California, neither academic training required for licensure in this area, nor continuing education for maintaining licensure, specify any knowledge of geriatrics or gerontology. A formal standardized approach to academic preparation for licensing would help ensure quality…

A demonstration project established the need for, interest in, and the feasibility of an ongoing, volunteer-based, educational program designed to meet the specific needs of the elderly population in a rural county. The program established training sessions, attracting participation in the sessions and developing a network of interested community…

The Southeast Florida Center on Aging administers a comprehensive program in gerontology at Florida International University, with core and contract funding from a variety of federal, state, and institutional sources. The center's aims are to serve as a focal point for applied public policy research; design and implement gerontological education…

A British study compared the characteristics of Open University students 60 years and older with those of a random sample of younger students. Data collection involved obtaining demographic information from the student database, questionnaire responses from 831 out of 1,042 older students and 884 out of 1,418 students younger than 60, and…

British students 60 years and older in 1985-86 were studied in order to learn about their age, sex, marital status, employment background, the subjects they study, their reasons for studying, how they study, and what they think about their studies. Considered by the researchers to be the largest survey of older students, the study involved 2,254…

The typical approach to studying the cognitive competencies of the elderly involves giving the same task to samples of elderly adults and college students. On such comparisons of performance of cognitive tasks, the elderly have almost always been found to be inferior, which is interpreted as indicating an irreversible age-determined decline in…

This curriculum guide proposes competency areas, goals, and objectives for the interdisciplinary training of health and social service undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students by faculty members responsible for teaching courses about the care of the elderly and their families. Various levels of student involvement are outlined and…

This manual is designed for use with adult or secondary school economics students to help them become aware of: (1) the rights and problems of the aged; (2) jobs available for working with the aged; (3) personal qualities needed to be a homemaker/home health aide; and (4) community agencies responsible for helping the aged. The materials are…

Trained 20 elderly and 20 adolescent volunteer counselors in empathic listening, and gave 20 volunteers information regarding the aging process. Counselors and nursing home residents met twice a week for five weeks. Nursing home residents who received a volunteer counselor improved significantly in level of depression, but neither mode of training…

Describes a community college's efforts to develop a range of educational services for the aging. Discusses cultural, educational, and recreational activities provided within a college setting and through a network of neighborhood centers. Explores continuing education and in-service training programs for persons who work with the elderly. (Author)

Conducted a survey of 500 public school teachers to determine the extent aging content is incorporated into curricula. Results indicated very few teachers make specific provision for teaching about aging. Almost half of the teachers indicated they would include this area in their curricula if instructional materials were available. (Author)

As enrollments decline and financial pressures increase, many institutions have developed an interest in older learners as an alternative market for continuing education. Demographic and social factors behind this rising concern with adult education are examined. (JSR)

Describes an undergraduate course project where students helped mentally alert senior citizens write their life stories. By assisting senior citizens to organize memories and interpret life decisions, the students experienced stages they had not yet lived through. Students evaluated the course project as a positive learning and personal growth…

Most medical school curricula do not equip students with adequate attitudes, knowledge and skills to care for elderly populations. We describe an effective geriatric curricular infusion model compatible with preserving the overall curricula schema. Course and clerkship directors, staff and faculty from the Office of Educational Development, Center…

Purpose: Washington State's initiatives to increase the availability and quality of community residential care presented an opportunity to describe clients entering adult family homes, adult residential care, and assisted living and to identify outcomes of care. Design and Methods: We enrolled 349 residents, 243 informal caregivers, and 299…