2006
Aging Times, the CSWE Gero-Ed Center’s bi-monthly e-newsletter, provided an accessible and concise link to the Center’s programs, initiatives and curricular resources. Each issue featured a special topic with articles by faculty, students, and other members of the social work community.
If you would like to subscribe to our E-mail list in lieu of Aging Times, email us.
Autumn 2006
Volume 1, Number 4 - Autumn 2006
In This Issue: Spirituality
The role of spirituality in a person’s life across the life course is an area of rapidly growing interest in social work education and practice. When interacting with elders, recognizing the dimension of spirituality is especially important in understanding the person as a whole. This issue suggests some creative ways to infuse aging and spirituality into your teaching.
Infusing Religion and Spirituality into the Gerontological Social Work Curriculum
Holly Nelson-Becker, University of Kansas
Understanding the influence of spirituality in the lives of many older adults creates a spiritually-sensitive practice.
Reflections on Spirituality and Gero Social Work
Gary Behrman, Saint Louis University
Childhood experiences inform how one professor incorporates spirituality into his courses.
New Faculty Development Opportunities
Take the Gero-Ed Center's First eLearning Course Today!
The Center has just launched its first eLearning course A Planned Change Model.
CEUs available for the Gero-Ed Institute at BPD
Don’t miss the next Institute Bridging the Borders and Building Ties Between Aging and Cultural Diversity at BPD in LA.
Gero-Ed Forum Preliminary Schedule Online - Register Today!
Register today for the Gero-Ed Forum, February 2-4 in Charleston, SC, which will have many great events.
Gero-Ed Center Updates
New Monograph: Achieving Curricular and Organizational Change
Center Holds Meetings on Gero in MSW Advanced Curriculum
Infusing Religion and Spirituality into the Gerontological Social Work Curriculum
By Holly Nelson-Becker
Religion and spirituality are especially meaningful dimensions in the lives of many older adults. I learned that very clearly when I worked as a clinical social worker on a geriatric psych team in the early and mid 1990s. Often clients who were referred to me for depression and anxiety preferred to ask me about the meaning of their life now that their children no longer spoke with them or why God had allowed them to have a new diagnosis of cancer on top of all their other losses. In fact, 59% of Americans over age 18 indicate religion is “very important” in their daily lives while 73% of the subgroup of adults age 65 or older report religion as “very important” (Carroll, 2004). Older adults define themselves in part around the dimensions of religion and/or sometimes spirituality, both why they are important or not important to them (Nelson-Becker, 2003).
A treasure trove of data on religion and Americans is available from the Association of Religion Data Archives (http://www.thearda.com), which draws from well-known national surveys to make available both summary reports and raw data on areas such as denominational affiliation and religious beliefs. For example, a 2005 national survey reports that 61% of the population “absolutely” believes in angels. This of course has implications for social workers who may interact with such clients. Beyond the issues of religious or spiritual beliefs, experiences, ethical values, practices, and group affiliations, a key concern for social work is to discern how religion and spirituality function in the lives of older adults—either in a supportive or discouraging way. One way to do so is to help students understand how to engage in a conversation around these issues.
The goal of a spiritually-sensitive conversation is not to press one point of view or another, but rather to listen to and hear the profound questions clients bring about their life experiences. The social worker should demonstrate openness to all expressions of grief, longing, confusion, and joy that emanate from human experience. Spiritually-sensitive practice involves the ability to recognize and respond to these expressions. It is a hearing of the heart, an ability to hear stories of pain and hope and to highlight for clients important themes of which they may not be fully aware. My colleagues and I suggest four preliminary questions that may be used for assessment in these conversations as well as eleven domains of spirituality particularly applicable to older adults (Nelson-Becker, Nakashima & Canda, 2006). The preliminary questions are:
What helps you to experience a deep sense of meaning, purpose, and moral perspective in your life?
Is spirituality, religion, or faith important in your life? If so, please give examples. If not, please explain why they are not important.
If important to you, what terms do you prefer?
Would you like to incorporate spirituality, religion or faith in our work together? Please explain.
Learning how to address religion and spirituality forms one facet of competent practice with older adults. The substantive area of religion and spirituality with seniors can be infused in direct practice classes as one expression of diversity. It can be addressed through discussion of its general importance to many older adults. Research classes can incorporate data from the archives identified above, and policy classes can consider whether and how federal policies such as Medicare/Medicaid/Hospice support holistic treatment with older adults that reference their spiritual beliefs. These are just a few of the many methods for addressing this content area related to older adults.
Dr. Holly Nelson-Becker is an assistant professor of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas and is a former Hartford Faculty Scholar. She has published several articles and book chapters on spirituality and aging and has co-authored a book on the subject.
References
Carroll, J. (2004). Religion is “very important” to 6 in 10 Americans. The Gallup Poll: Tuesday Briefing, June 24.
Nelson-Becker, H. (2003). Practical philosophies: Interpretations of religion and spirituality by African-American and Jewish elders. Journal of Religious Gerontology, 14(2/3), 85-99.
Nelson-Becker, H., Nakashima, M. & Canda, E. R. (2006). Spirituality in Professional Helping Interventions. In B. Berkman & S. D’Ambruoso (Eds.), Oxford handbook of social work, health, and aging (pp.797-807). Boston: Oxford Press.
Reflections on Spirituality and Gero Social Work
By Gary Behrman
The seeds of my interests in gero-social work and spirituality were planted in my childhood. Having the luxury of growing up near my paternal grandparents’ dairy farm and my maternal grandparents’ family business, I was constantly involved in the lives of both grandparents. I found joy and satisfaction working side by side with these heroic figures, learning how to milk a cow and gather chicken eggs and how to stock shelves and serve the customer with hospitality and respect. The legacy my grandparents provided can be found today in the handmade quilt both of my grandmothers stitched and in the deep spiritual values that inform my vocation as a gero-social worker.
It is my perspective that caring for our aging populations and teaching those who will be providing this care requires a “shift from a focus on the etiology of disease to the etiology of health” (Ungar, 2005, p. xvi). Paying attention to strengths in others is “not the cheerful disregard of one’s difficult and traumatic life experiences; neither is it the naïve discounting of life’s pains. It is, rather, the ability to bear up in spite of these ordeals.” (Saleeby, 1997, p. 9) Teaching students how to surface what aging men and women perceive as strengths in addressing their multiple challenges may illuminate what is sometimes ignored - that our elders possess a wealth of knowledge, skills and values embedded in their spiritual and religious beliefs regarding what keeps them resilient amidst adverse environmental crises.
I integrate spiritually-sensitive social work in my MSW practice courses by inviting older persons to class to tell their stories of spiritual strengths and religious resources that are invaluable in old age. We also visit a convent of older Catholic religious women, dine with them, tour their facilities and learn about their legacy of social services. Together, we talk about stages of faith development and how their faith and spiritual journeys informed their lives of service. As a class, we process what are the implications for practice, policy development and research, and I expose students to the rapidly expanding literature that combines social work and spirituality issues.(Canda, Nakashima, Burgess, Russel, Barfield, 2003; Scales, Wolfer, Sherwood, Garland, Hugen, Pittman, 2002; Van Hook, Hugen, Aguilar, 2001).
There are also many ways I personally practice as a spiritually-sensitive gero-social worker. Currently, I am traveling around the state of Missouri instructing social workers with the skills, knowledge and values needed to provide spiritually-sensitive social work assessment and services for aging populations. My current dissertation explores the effects of childhood sexual abuse in old age and the role of spirituality in addressing these effects. I continue to find joy and meaning in my career, realizing that I too will someday know the challenges and gifts of old age.
Gary Behrman, MSW, PhD candidate at SUNY-Albany is the Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Saint Louis University, and also teaches in the School of Social Work.
References
Canda, E., Nakashima, M., Burgess, V., Russel, R., Barfield, S. (2003). Spiritual diversity and social work: A comprehensive bibliography with annotations. 2nd Edition. Alexandria, VA: Council on Social Work Education
Saleebey, D. (Ed.) (1997). 2nd Edition The strength’s perspective in social work practice. New York: Longman.
Scales, T., Wolfer, T., Sherwood, D., Garland, D., Hugen, B., Pittman, S. (2002). Spirituality and religion in social work practice. Alexandria, VA: Council on Social Work Education
Ungar, M. & Teram, E. (2005). Qualitative resilience research. In: Ungar, M. (Ed.). 2005. Handbook for working with children and youth: Pathways to resilience across cultures and contexts. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.
Van Hook, M., Hugen, B., Aguilar, M. (2001). Spirituality within religious traditions in social work practice. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole
Take the Gero-Ed Center's First eLearning Course Today!
The CSWE Gero-Ed Center is pleased to announce the launch of its first eLearning course A Planned Change Model: Preparing Gerontologically-Competent Graduates. This comprehensive, interactive course provides the tools you need to infuse and sustain gerontological competencies in your foundation curriculum, preparing your students to work with the growing number of older adults. These tools include a wealth of practical, ready-to-use resources, such as interactive worksheets for applying concepts to your program, customizable Action Plans for implementing planned change in your social work program, and an extensive bibliography on course concepts.
Within the overall planned change model, the eLearning course introduces our infusion approach to curricular and organizational change, which can be adapted to the inclusion of other substantive content areas as well. In addition, the course provides a conceptual framework for Competency-Based Education, a future direction for social work.
Even if you’ve already been involved in trainings on our planned change model, we encourage you to take this comprehensive course to refresh and re-energize your curricular change efforts.
If you are unsure about taking an eLearning course, we encourage you to first try our free introductory course What Will You Be Doing in 2020? Then, enroll in A Planned Change Model. CSWE members can take this course at the special discounted rate of $75 ($95 for non-members).
Enroll today!
Visit Us at Upcoming Conferences
CSWE Gero-Ed Center staff will demonstrate this new eLearning course at the following upcoming conferences:
BPD – October 25-29, CSWE Booth in the Exhibit Hall
GSA - November 16-20, Hartford GSWI Booth in the Exhibit Hall
CEUs available for the Gero-Ed Institute at BPD
A limited number of spaces are still open for the Gero-Ed Institute to be held at the BPD Annual Meeting. Don’t missBridging the Borders and Building Ties Between Aging and Cultural Diversity on October 25, 2006, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Los Angeles, CA. Gero-Ed Expert Trainers for this Institute are Dr. Sadhna Diwan and Gary Behrman.
To register, please contact Ashley Brooks-Danso at abrooks@cswe.org. Registration will also be available for this event on-site in LA at the BPD registration booth. Registration fee: $25.00, to be paid with BPD conference registration.
For more information and a full description of this educational opportunity, please visit our Web site.
Gero-Ed Forum Preliminary Schedule Online - Register Today!
The preliminary schedule for the 2007 Gero-Ed Forum, to be held February 2-4 in Charleston, SC, is now available on the Gero-Ed Center’s Web site: www.Gero-EdCenter.org. Just added - presenter names.
With the theme “Infusing Gerontology Across the Classroom & Field: Planning, Implementing and Resourcing,” the Forum will focus solely on providing all faculty with the opportunity to be part of the national movement to “gerontologize” social work education.
Registration is Open!
The Gero-Ed Forum requires its own registration, with a modest registration fee ($150 for CSWE Members). Space is limited—register today!
Gero-Ed Forum Highlights
- Keynote speech by “Gidget” (Kathy Zuckerman) of international surfing fame at the Kick-Off on Friday, February 2.
- Stump the Funder – your chance to learn more about grant funding from foundation executives on Sunday, February 4.
- A Showcase event and reception featuring best practices in faculty infusion efforts from across the country.
- Intensive workshop sessions, two other general sessions—all of which will focus on the deliverables.
- Ample opportunities for exchanging resources and small group problem-solving related to gero curricular change.
New Monograph: Achieving Curricular and Organizational Change
The new monograph from the Gero-Ed Center, Achieving Curricular and Organizational Change: Impact of the CSWE Geriatric Enrichment in Social Work Education Project, is a rich compendium of strategies, lessons learned and teaching resources for gero infusion. This monograph will be available at the BPD, GSA and Gero-Ed Forum conferences and on the Gero-Ed Center Web site (www.Gero-EdCenter.org) in late October.
Center Holds Meetings on Gero in MSW Advanced Curriculum
This summer, the Gero-Ed Center sponsored two forums, one on each coast, focused on ways to increase gerontology in MSW advanced content in the specialized areas of health, mental health and substance abuse. Experts from these substantive areas identified curricular and research needs and strategies to promote gero content within courses and field sites focused on health, mental health or substance abuse. Based on these meetings and under the leadership of Dr. Sadhna Diwan, San Jose State University, a proposal for the MSW Advanced Curriculum Project within the Gero-Ed Center will go to the Hartford Trustees in December 2006.
Summer 2006
Volume 1, Number 3 - Summer 2006
In This Issue: Human Behavior and the Social Environment
Educators often assume that content on aging is included in the life span component of HBSE. But such content often appears to be “tacked on” to the last class session, perhaps quickly covered in a discussion of death and dying. In this issue, we present some creative and insightful ways of infusing gerontological content into HBSE.
Providing the Lifespan Perspective in HBSE
Sara Sanders, University of Iowa
A lifespan perspective is a natural fit for HBSE, but how can you make gerontology content "come alive" for students?
"Looking Back:" A New Approach to Teaching HBSE
Rozetta Wilmore-Schaeffer, Yeshiva University
Dr. Wilmore-Schaeffer found an innovative way to ensure that the older adult was not forgotten in her HBSE course: she started with that final development stage.
New Faculty Development Opportunities
A Planned Change Model, The Center's First eLearning Course
The Gero-Ed Center announces that A Planned Change Model: Preparing Gerontologically Competent Graduates will be our first eLearning course.
The Gero-Ed Forum's New Look and Purpose
The 2007 Gero-Ed Forum, scheduled for February 2-4, in Charleston, SC, will have a new purpose and format.
Gero-Ed Center Updates
Six Successful Year 2 CDIs Are Complete
Year 2 of the CDIs was met with positive response from faculty participants.
Gero-Ed Center Looks Forward to Year 3
As we recap a productive year, we look forward to exciting offerings in Year 3 of our project.
Providing the Lifespan Perspective in Human Behavior and the Social Environment
By Sara Sanders
The Gero-Ed Center emphasizes the infusion approach to curriculum change in order to avoid "just adding one more thing" to the social work curriculum. Building on this approach, Human Behavior and the Social Environment (HBSE) is a perfect location for infusing material on older adults. The use of the biopsychosocial framework in HBSE courses provides an opportunity for the exploration of human development and events along the course of the lifecycle at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. While students can easily relate theories and concepts to certain development stages, such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and even middle adulthood, they struggle with applying these same ideas to older adulthood. However, through building on their experiences with older adults, using case studies on older clients, inviting aging experts from the community to lecture, and including other aging resources, such as movies or exercises (please see www.Gero-EdCenter.org), content on gerontology can "come alive" for students. Three exercises that I have used include:
Case study on older adults: Have students find local community resources to help the social worker meet the needs of the older client and his/her family system
Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) as speakers: Invite RSVP to lecture and then have students discuss in groups how the image of these older adults contradicts previous assumptions
Sexuality and dementia care: Lecture on Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of progressive dementia and then have students discuss the ethical issues associated with sexual relationships among spouses and other residents on long-term care units.
I have found that while students may be initially resistant to this content, they become easily interested when asked to analyze a case of elder abuse, competency issues, sexuality and sexual expression, and even death. These hands-on opportunities allow students to examine how issues impacting older adults also impact the entire family system, as well as the broader community.
With the national shortage of social workers interested in working with older adults, faculty need to determine creative ways to generate interest in gerontology among students. The focus on the lifespan perspective is a natural fit for HBSE and will hopefully generate interest in gerontology that can span into practice and policy coursework and impact the field in the future.
Sara Sanders is an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa. She currently serves as an expert trainer for the Gero-Ed Center and is completing research as a Hartford Faculty Scholar on "Hospice Care for Individuals with Progressive Dementia."
"Looking Back:" A New Approach to Teaching HBSE
By Rozetta Wilmore-Schaeffer
Infusion of aging material into the HBSE curriculum does not mean just adding a few articles to read or a few additional cases to analyze; it means teaching the existing content in an exciting manner. Use of the existing content rather than changing the curriculum provides a greater possibility of support for the focus on the aging process and the older person. Several years ago, I began teaching HBSE by "looking back," or by beginning with the older person and teaching each stage of human development back to infancy.
"Looking back" is more than teaching the material in reverse. Instead, it actually teaches the process of normative aging, looking at the development of a person over the life span. We begin the discussion with a focus on the end of development, taking into consideration the contexts of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual identity, socio-economic status, socio cultural issues and politics. Addressing the above contexts, students create a word picture of an older person living today, in "real time." The class is divided into groups and each student group works on the life cycle of their older person. The faculty lectures are focused on the individual person as a system and each stage of development in real time. As we look back to the beginning of this person's life in real time, students begin to recognize the complexity of human development.
Erik Erikson's enduring psycho-social model, especially as it looks at development through the life cycle and relates this to social, historical and cultural milestones, is the foundation for the course. His stage theory is the existing HBSE material in our program and the most relevant to use to view the person traversing life in real time. He developed a language to understand how we grow physically and psychologically with each stage incrementally preparing the person for the social tasks of the current and next stage. Each stage is viewed in real time so it is also necessary for the students and faculty to become readers if not lovers of history in order to understand the real time.
Teaching HBSE in this fashion meets the immediate needs of teaching the current HBSE material, modifies students’ attitudes toward aging, and allows students to address the impact of societal problems on development. This model of infusing aging into an HBSE curriculum also teaches the psycho-historical perspective, or looking back from this moment in time to try to understand the person's story and then coming forward to know the person. This is a powerful and exciting learning experience for faculty as well as students.
Rozetta Wilmore-Schaeffer is an Assistant Professor at the Yeshiva University Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Her areas of expertise include women’s issues, disordered eating, practice issues, diversity, all areas of work with children and families, teaching adult learners, and the aging process.
A Planned Change Model, The Gero-Ed Center's First eLearning Course
The CSWE Gero-Ed Center is preparing to launch its new eLearning series by early fall 2006, which will bring another opportunity for social work educators to readily acquire content from our Gero-Ed trainings. We are pleased to announce that our first course will be A Planned Change Model: Preparing Gerontologically Competent Graduates.
Although this course on planned curricular and organizational change is useful to all faculty and doctoral students, we especially encourage those who have not yet had an opportunity to participate in any Hartford curriculum and faculty development projects to take it. Some of the benefits of doing so are:
- We all want our students to be well prepared for the aging boom, but adding content to an already full course is unrealistic. Our model shows how to infuse content without adding on “one more thing.”
- Institutional change can be difficult and requires a strong plan of action. Our course gives you thetools to put an action plan together and to sustain those changes for years to come.
- Competencies are the future of social work education. Learning our competency-based approach can put your program at the cutting edge.
- This course focuses on the intersections of gerontology with other content areas, making the curricular change content relevant to social workers with diverse areas of interest.
- Our eLearning series is designed in an easy-to-use format to deliver dynamic learning content to anyone, anytime and anywhere. If you are unsure if eLearning is right for you, a free introductory module, available later this fall with the launch of the first course, will summarize our approach and showcase the new eLearning format.
This free introductory module and the full course, A Planned Change Model: Preparing Gerontologically Competent Graduates, will be available in the next few months. Please watch your mailbox for a launch announcement and check back on our Web site's eLearning series section for more details.
The Gero-Ed Forum's New Look and Purpose
The 2007 Gero-Ed Forum, scheduled for February 2-4, in Charleston, SC, will have a new purpose, format and registration process.
The Purpose
With the theme “Infusing Gerontology Across the Classroom & Field: Planning, Implementing and Resourcing,” the Forum will focus solely on providing all faculty with the opportunity to be part of the national movement to “gerontologize” social work education. Over 150 faculty participants and staff from two Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative programs (the CDIs and PPP) will be on hand to disseminate the best practices from their infusion initiatives in both the classroom and field. In addition to faculty associated with these two programs, the Forum aims to reach:
- Faculty or doctoral students who infused gerontology in their courses without Hartford support, who are encouraged to submit a proposal to disseminate their accomplishments (see below).
- Faculty or doctoral students who have not yet attempted to infuse gerontology content, who will have opportunities to develop action plans for their infusion efforts.
The Format
With intensive workshop sessions, three general sessions and a Showcase, the Forum will be smaller, more condensed and less expensive than past meetings. Instead of general paper presentations, there will be ample opportunities for exchanging resources and small group problem-solving related to gero curricular change.
- A general call for papers/abstracts will not be issued. All workshop presenters and general session keynote speakers will be selected by the Gero-Ed Forum Planning Committee.
- A Call for Presentation Proposals for the Showcase, which will be released shortly, solicits hands-on, interactive presentations related to gero infusion initiatives.
The Registration Process
The Gero-Ed Forum will require its own registration, with a modest registration fee, and due to the intensive, focused format of this Forum, Gero-Ed Forum participants cannot also register to participate in the CSWE Leadership Seminar held at the same time in Charleston.
Mark your calendars and make plans to network with colleagues from across the country, welcome faculty and doctoral students new to the Gero-Ed movement, and learn from your peers.
For more information, please visit the Gero-Ed Forum section of our Web site. Please continue to visit our Web site (www.Gero-EdCenter.org) as the Call for Presentation Proposals and 2007 Gero-Ed Forum schedule and registration process will be posted soon. If you have questions, please contact us:
Gero-EdCenter@cswe.org.
Six Successful Year 2 CDIs Are Complete!
The Year 2 CDIs, held from March to June 2006, were attended by 113 faculty members. In response to CDI faculty requests, the CDIs were expanded from 1 to 1.5 days to allow more time for both content and CDI mentor and faculty networking. Based on feedback from Year I CDIs, two themes were emphasized: 1) More time for small group problem solving and resource and innovation dissemination (e.g., exchange of accomplishments and challenges, a competencies infusion exercise, and action plan development for the next year); and 2) region-specific presentations on topics requested by mentors and faculty (e.g., Aging as Diversity, Recruiting and Engaging Students, and a presentation of a Human Behavior and Social Environment course that begins with old age).
Overall the Year II CDIs were very successful, with an average response of 4.6 to the statement, “Please indicate the extent of your overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the CDI,” on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 = very dissatisfied and 5 = very satisfied. Year III CDIs will be held at the February 2007 Gero-Ed Forum in Charleston, SC.
Gero-Ed Center Looks Forward to Year 3
We have just completed a productive second year of the CSWE Gero-Ed Center. We would like to thank all of you for your dedication and support of our mission to infuse gerontology into social work education in the past two years. We also wish to acknowledge the accomplishments of the faculty, students, and field supervisors who have participated in our programs, including the Gero-Ed Forum in Chicago, Gero-Ed Institutes, and the Year 2 CDIs.
In the third year of our project, we will continue to offer opportunities to bridge the gap between social work education and the needs of a growing older population. Year 3 will also see the inclusion of new opportunities, including the new eLearning series and the transformed Gero-Ed Forum announced in this issue of Aging Times. You can continue to be connected to Center activities and updates through this e-newsletter and by visiting our Web site at www.Gero-EdCenter.org.
Spring 2006
Volume 1, Number 2 - Spring 2006
In This Issue: Policy
Public policy affects how we age throughout the life course; therefore, a discussion of aging and policy cannot be limited to what we typically think of as age-based policies, such as Social Security and Medicare. This issue of Aging Times connects you to resources that will help you infuse aging policy throughout your curriculum.
Policy and Aging: A Social Work/Social Justice Perspective
Nancy R. Hooyman, CSWE Gero-Ed Center Co-PI
Policies affecting older adults are often framed as a crisis, but these gaps in existing policies must be addressed by social workers throughout the life course, not just in old age.
Engaging Students in Aging Policy: My Experience
Becky Paskind, Metro State College of Denver
As part of the GeroRich project, Becky Paskind undertook the infusion process and found a way to engage students in her foundation policy courses.
The New Political Environment in Aging (Excerpt)
Read an excerpt from Rob Hudson's article “The New Political Environment in Aging: Challenges to Policy and Practice,” which is an excellent overview of the current policy-making context related to older adults and social workers in the United States.
Gero-Ed Center Updates
New Gero-Ed Conference Opportunities in 2007!
Just announced: 2007 will bring two new formats for Gero-Ed Center conferences in the spring and fall.
Curriculm Development Institutes (CDI)
Year 2 of the CDIs has begun and focuses on the obstacles and opportunities faculty have faced.
E-learning
The Gero-Ed Center is preparing to launch its first e-learning course this summer.
Rosen Awards
The Rosen Awards are given to encourage student interest in gerontological social work, and the first two winners were announced at the Gero-Ed Forum.
Policy and Aging: A Social Work/Social Justice Perspective
By Nancy R. Hooyman
Policy issues that affect older adults and their families are in the news almost daily – the complexity and confusion surrounding Medicare Part D, cuts to Medicaid at both federal and state levels, and proposals to privatize Social Security or to set up individual health savings accounts. Often these policy discussions are framed as a crisis - as if the growth of older adults were the problem, threatening to “break the budget” and adding to the skyrocketing federal deficit.
An alternative approach, consistent with social work’s social justice perspective, is to analyze how policies – or lack of socially-just policies – create economic and health disparities across the life course which intensify problems faced by older people and their families. In other words, gaps in existing policies that negatively affect families across the life course, not just in old age, are the challenge to be addressed by social workers, not the demographic changes per se.
This was the approach presented by Judith Gonyea and Andrew Scharlach at the CSWE Gero-Ed Center sponsored Gero-Ed Institute held at the 2006 CSWE APM. Larger structural issues, such as the changing nature of work and retirement, increasing racial, gender and economic inequities, and health disparities were highlighted as the context for policy development and implementation.
Most social work programs do not have the resources or the student interest to offer a specialized course on aging and social policy. Consistent with the Gero-Ed infusion approach, this Institute focused on addressing issues of age and ageism within foundation policy courses. This ensures that all social work graduates have foundation competencies about policies that impact older adults and their families within a social justice framework. Some examples of foundation policy courses that have infused and made explicit aging content are available in the syllabi section of the Gero-Ed Center’s Teaching Resources.
Some faculty who teach foundation policy courses to BSW or first year MSW students may respond, “Of course my course deals with aging because I teach about Social Security.” However, a Gero-Ed Center review of many policy course syllabi found that discussions of Social Security may not be explicitly related to older adults’ economic vulnerability, especially inequities based on race, gender or sexual orientation – or Medicaid or SSI may be discussed only in terms of low income children – or the Family and Medical Leave Act presented only in terms of leave to care for children. By explicitly infusing aging into discussions of social policy, the intersections with race, gender, sexual orientation, functional ability and class also become visible.
Admittedly, a foundation policy course does not provide students with opportunities to learn in-depth about policies that affect older adults. But foundation policy courses can provide students with additional resources:
Resources
Suggested Readings on Health and Long-Term Care Policy
Public Policy and Diversity (Video) by Fernando Torres-Gil and presented by the Social Work Aging Resource Center, San José State University, College of Social Work
Students for Social Security (SSS) and Concerned Scientists in Aging (CSA) have a joint newsletter “Our Shared Future”
Engaging Students in Aging Policy: My Experience
By Becky Paskind
Infusing the gerontology competencies into the curriculum can feel like a challenge, and is one that each social work program needs to tailor to their curriculum. However our experiences at Metro State College of Denver may help other programs in their planning. Within two weeks of learning that our program had been selected as a GeroRich project, we held a day long retreat to get moving on curriculum infusion. As with any project, communication within our program was essential to our successful infusion efforts.
Plied with good food, coffee and dessert, we spent the retreat looking at each of our foundation syllabi learning objectives and identified competencies associated with them. We tentatively identified some student products that could also measure the outcomes of these competencies. By the end of the day, we knew which courses were in good shape and which ones were not and had established priorities for infusion; we started with the foundation courses needing the most work but where we would gain the most results.
As a result of this planning, we identified that the policy class had the basics needed for infusion. As the lead policy faculty, I was responsible for creating a master syllabus from which all sections of our foundation policy course would be taught (instructors could add content but not remove it from the master syllabus). Although aging was a part of the course goals and objectives and we could identify competencies which related to the course, there was no aging specific content or student products that would provide the learning necessary for infusion to take place.
In order to address the major competency areas in our BSW foundation course, a policy colleague and I opted to write a three part case study exercise on which students would spend two course periods, as well as completing a reading on intergenerational inequities in advance. The roles in the case study are an older adult, her daughter and a social worker. One of the primary goals of this exercise was to help students see there are policy issues that impact their daily practice. On the first day the role groups talk about policy issues impacting their roles, based on their assigned reading and semester-long learning. On the second day they ‘play’ their parts defending their positions and advocating for themselves as the ‘social worker’ tries to figure it all out. The case study intentionally leaves out certain information, just as there would be gaps in information in an initial interview, and the roles also reflect emotions similar to those experienced by families in the field.
I would encourage you to use this case study—students always have fun with this exercise, but in watching them do this over the last few years, it is a little scary for them too.
Case Study: How Policy Impacts Practice, Metro State College of Denver
Becky Paskind is an Assistant Professor at Metro State College of Denver. She served as a GeroRich Faculty Liaison and is currently a CDI Mentor for the CSWE Gero-Ed Center.
The New Policitical Environment in Aging:
Challenges to Policy and Practice
As we focus on policy in this quarter’s Aging Times, we are providing an excerpt from a relevant 2005 article, Rob Hudson, “The New Political Environment in Aging: Challenges to Policy and Practice,” Families in Society 86(3), 321-328. We encourage you to read the full article, which is an excellent overview of the current policy-making context related to older adults and social workers in the United States. The article is part of “The Future of Social Work with Older Adults,” a special issue of Families in Society with guest editor Carol Austin.
The last quarter-century has seen a notable shift in the context of social policy as it relates to older adults in the United States and those who work with them. Critical dimensions in this shift include changes in the size and makeup of today’s older population, the rise of conservatism in contemporary U.S. politics, and the more central place older Americans are coming to assume in policymaking around a host of social and economic policy issues. After briefly reviewing these contextual developments, the author presents 5 challenges they bring to social workers and other professionals working with the aged. Each of these reflect changing expectations, opportunities, and options confronting both policymakers and older people themselves as the dynamics of aging politics and policy evolve in ways that would have been hard to imagine 25 or 30 years ago. (p. 321)
...social work cannot change demography, and it can little impact the larger economy. However, social work can and must—and as its various codes of ethics stipulate—involve itself in today’s political struggles. For its clients, universal, defined benefit, and extraordinarily effective benefits are under assault. For itself, discretionary spending on a range of domestic initiatives, including publicly supported social work services for the old, is threatened with severe cuts. If entitlement and defense spending are increasing, if taxes are being cut, and if deficits are growing, discretionary spending is one of the few expenditure areas left to cut. Unless geriatric social work feels these services to be somehow optional and unless it is prepared to continue living with subpar salaries for complex and critical work, political involvement on behalf of geriatric consumers and geriatric professionals is an essential course of action. (p. 327)
All content excerpted with the author’s permission.
New Gero-Ed Conference Opportunities in 2007!
We’re pleased to announce the opportunity for faculty and field instructors to participate in two new Gero-Ed conference formats in 2007!
The first, a topical, intensive Gero-Ed Forum will take place February 2-4, 2007 in Charleston, South Carolina with a focus on Infusing Gerontology Across the Classroom & Field: Planning, Implementing & Resourcing. This unique two-day workshop-style conference will allow participants to return to their home institutions with a plan to translate relevant aspects of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative programs by using the resources they already have. Registration fees will be reduced to make it possible for faculty to attend, but space is limited. Please watch your mailbox this summer for more details!
The second opportunity is the Gero-Ed Track, which will be integrated for the first time into the CSWE Annual Program Meeting (APM) in San Francisco November 10-13, 2007. The Gero-Ed Track at APM will feature presentations from social work faculty, field supervisors and students, along with special gerontology events sponsored by the CSWE Gero-Ed Center. A Call for Papers will go out in late 2006.
We also wish to thank everyone, particularly the conference planning committee, special session presenters, and our various sponsors, who made the 2006 Gero-Ed Forum in Chicago such a success. Visit our Web site for resources from the 2006 Gero-Ed Forum and a full summary, along with updates about the 2007 conference formats.
CDIs - One Year Later
Year 2 of our Curriculum Development Institutes (CDIs) just began with a successful two-day workshop in Salt Lake City. This year’s theme, One Year Later: The Reality vs. the Ideal – Next Steps? , recognizes that many faculty often find curricular infusion to be more difficult and slower than expected. Nevertheless, all CDI programs are implementing changes in their foundation courses. Faculty participants will report on their planning year successes, challenges, and lessons learned; meet with their mentors in small groups; and determine next steps. New this year, region-specific presentations will be given by experts in the field on such topics as gerontological social work competencies, diversity, sustainability, and mental health.
Year 2 Regional CDI Schedule:
| Date |
City |
Region |
| March 30 & 31 |
Salt Lake City, UT |
West |
| April 20 & 21 |
San Diego, CA |
California |
| May 11 & 12 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Midwest |
| June 1 & 2 |
New York, NY |
Northeast |
| June 1 & 2 |
Raleigh, NC |
Mid-Atlantic |
| June 15 & 16 |
New Orleans, LA |
South/Southwest |
Gero-Ed E-learning - Coming this Summer!
The Gero-Ed Center will launch its first e-learning course, which will focus on the Process of Planned Change, in late summer. While this course uses gerontological infusion as its main example and backdrop, the content provides a good introduction to implementing curriculum change and course infusion in any substantive content area and can easily be applied to any planned change efforts.
In the summer of 2005, Gero-Ed Center staff surveyed CSWE members and other "gerontologically-interested" faculty members. When asked which gerontological topics they would be interested in taking, participants gave top ranking to strategies for curricular and organizational change. This and other data collected from the 632 respondents is guiding us as we prepare for the launch of our e-learning program.
Anita Rosen Gerontology Award for Outstanding Student Poster
We were delighted to announce the first two winners of the Anita Rosen Gerontology Award for Outstanding Student Poster at the 4th Annual Gero-Ed Forum. This award of $1,000, made possible by a generous donation from Dr. Anita Rosen, is given to the top Gero-Ed Forum Student Poster Presentation from students at each academic level (BSW, MSW and Doctoral).
This year’s award recipients were:
- Stephanie Herbers (MSW), Saint Louis University
- “Raising the Bar: Promoting Student Involvement in Social Work Research”
- Jeungkun Kim (Doctoral), University of Wisconsin-Madison
- “Labor Force Participation Decisions by Older Workers: International Comparative Study”
- BSW: There were no poster submissions from BSW students this year.
The Gero-Ed Center congratulates all student poster presenters for their hard work and for the quality of their presentations and encourages students to start planning submissions for the 53rd CSWE Annual Program Meeting (APM) in San Francisco, November 10-13, 2007.
For more information:
Anita Rosen Gerontology Award for Outstanding Student Poster
Rosen Award Winners
Gero-Ed Forum
Winter 2006
Volume 1, Number 1 - Winter 2006
Welcome to the first issue of Aging Times, the CSWE Gero-Ed Center's quarterly e-newsletter. Whether you are new to aging or not, we hope you will use this as a link to the goals, programs, and curricular resources of the Center. Each issue will feature a special topic, with future issues highlighting policy, diversity, and grandparenting.
In This Issue: Intergenerational Issues
What Will You Be Doing in 2020?
Julia M. Watkins, Executive Director, CSWE
By the year 2020, 1 in 6 Americans will be 65 or older. CSWE is preparing for the future now. What can you do?
A National Movement in Gerontology and Social Work
Jim O'Sullivan, Senior Program Officer, John A. Hartford Foundation
The John A. Hartford Foundation is committed to making social work "a vital component of health services" and to ensuring that all older Americans have access to social work expertise.
An Infusion Model Avoids Just "Adding One More Thing"
Nancy R. Hooyman, CSWE Gero-Ed Center co-PI
Adding aging to your courses doesn't need be just one more thing added on. Find out more about the Gero-Ed Center's infusion approach.
Looking Through the Intergenerational Lens
Nancy R. Hooyman, CSWE Gero-Ed Center co-PI
An intergenerational approach to policy and practice provides a relatively easy place to start infusing aging as well as a great "hook" for reluctant students.
Recommended Intergenerational Resources
Gero-Ed Center Resources
Books
Web Sites
Gero-Ed Center Updates
Gero-Ed Forum - February 16-19, 2006 - Chicago, IL
The Gero-Ed Forum is fast approaching. Be sure not to miss any of the special events that we have planned, including an intergenerational dance troupe! Read more
Gero-Ed Institute - February 16, 2006 - Chicago, IL
Drs. Andrew Scharlach and Judith Gonyea will lead the next Gero-Ed Institute, Economic and Health Disparities Across the Life Course: Implications for Aging, Policies and Programs. Read more
Textbook Infusion Project
A recent analysis of the 19 most popular social work textbooks finds a lack of aging-related content. Read more
What Will You Be Doing In 2020?
Dear Aging Times Reader:
What will you be doing in 2020? By the year 2020, one in six Americans will be 65 or older. We know our students will be interacting with older adults and intergenerational families on an increasing basis, but how can we prepare them for an increasingly aging population? At CSWE, we try to prepare for the many challenges that will face the social work profession in the next fifteen years and beyond, including the coming aging boom. As a CSWE project, the Gero-Ed Center, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, is preparing for this demographic shift by providing easy-to-use, competency-based resources for the infusion of aging into the social work curriculum available via its Web site www.Gero-EdCenter.org.
Whether you are new to aging or have been infusing gerontology into your curriculum for years, Aging Times, the new Gero-Ed Center quarterly e-newsletter, provides an accessible and concise link to the resources, programs, and mission of the CSWE Gero-Ed Center. I encourage you to explore the resources provided in this e-newsletter and the Web site, and I am confident you will find them useful regardless of your gero-experience. Hopefully, when you or your students are asked “What will you be doing in 2020?” you can answer that you will be doing your part to connect all peoples, regardless of age, to the services they need.
Sincerely,
Julia M. Watkins, PhD
Executive Director, CSWE
A National Movement in Gerontology and Social Work
On behalf of the John A. Hartford Foundation, the country's largest private foundation devoted to improving the health and health care of older Americans, I am pleased to offer an introduction to the new CSWE Gero-Ed Center’s e-newsletter, Aging Times. The Foundation believes that social work must be viewed by policymakers as a vital component of health services, and that social work expertise must be available to all older Americans as they seek care from our fragmented systems of health care and financing. No other group of professionals has the training or commitment to social equity that can marshal the resources needed by an individual or bring about the systematic transformation that our health system needs.
To help prepare all social workers for their practice with older adults--whether they specialize in gerontology or support older clients and their families at jobs in child and family welfare, mental health, or other areas--the Hartford Foundation has committed $40.9 million since 1998 to social work education. Among the programs funded, the Gero-Ed Center e-newsletter and Web site www.Gero-EdCenter.org are two channels by which we hope you will find accessible and concise links to resources and programs that can help you prepare your classroom and field placement students for the clients they will serve in the years to come.
Jim O'Sullivan
Senior Program Officer
John A. Hartford Foundation
www.jhartfound.org
An Infusion Model Avoids Just "Adding One More Thing"
The Gero-Ed Center recognizes that many faculty members feel that they cannot add “one more thing” to already crowded syllabi and tightly constrained class time. In addition, the “adding one more thing” method of curriculum development typically results in a “tacked on” style (e.g., the last set of readings) rather than enrichment to existing course content.
That is why we have developed an infusion approach to curriculum change. Gerontological competencies can be embedded into foundation courses by building on intersections with other substantive areas and populations and across multiple topics.
Existing case studies can be modified. In a child welfare course, a case study on foster care can include a grandparent as primary caregiver.
Likewise, case studies about older adults can be integrated into foundation courses, such as using a case study on dementia in a unit on mental health.
Big Mama, a film about an African American great-grandmother caring for her great grandson, can be used in a foundation practice course to illustrate gaps in the child welfare and mental health systems and to foster discussion of effective evidence-based interventions.
Culturally competent practice is non-ageist. A foundation cultural diversity course can include readings that illustrate the intersections of age with race, gender, class, and sexual orientation.
African American women are the poorest group in our society. An analysis of the reasons for this in a policy course can illustrate health and economic disparities and structural causes of social problems.
An analysis of elder mistreatment could be embedded within required content on interpersonal violence.
There is a high incidence of depression among older adults. A class discussion on mental health can address this.
The lifelong effects of alcoholism on elders’ well-being can be woven into discussions of substance abuse in practice classes.
Our Web site, www.Gero-EdCenter.org, is designed to support an infusion model of gerontological competencies by providing teaching resources, which can be embedded into the fabric of your existing course. We also welcome examples of how you have infused gerontological content into your courses.
Nancy R. Hooyman
co-PI, CSWE Gero-Ed Center
Looking Through the Intergenerational Lens
"Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art."
Garson Kanin
The infusion of gerontological competencies builds on intersections with existing content rather than just “adding on one more thing.” Accordingly, an inter- or cross-generational approach to policy and practice is often a more feasible infusion model than focusing only on older adults. In fact, an intergenerational lens to learning can be a way to “hook” students who insist that they don’t want to work with “those old people.” It does so by cross-cutting a wide range of substantive areas (e.g., child welfare, mental health, health, substance abuse) and highlighting the reciprocity of social support, caregiving, well being, and interdependence among generations across the life course.
Intergenerational practice recognizes that social workers in all settings typically work with more than one generation – in child welfare or schools where grandparents may be a child’s primary caregivers; in hospitals or community-based health settings where middle-aged children are simultaneously caring for older parents and younger dependents. Intergenerational policy initiatives, such as life span respite or the National Family Caregiver Support program, seek to break down traditional age-based categorical programs and services by addressing the needs of more than one generation.
Intergenerational programs are a powerful way to link younger and older generations to meet immediate needs, modify attitudes, and address societal problems.However, in order to be a useful organizing framework, intergenerational connections need to be conceptualized as more than older adults and children, but also take account of young adult and middle generations and of cultural differences among family generational relationships.
Nancy R. Hooyman
Co-PI, CSWE Gero-Ed Center
Gero-Ed Center Intergenerational Resources
Case Studies (Click here to view all case studies)
Multigenerational Issues and Caregiving, Hood College
The Sanchez Family, Fordham University (MS Word)
Multigenerational Family Dynamics, University of Washington
Syllabi (Click here to view all syllabi)
You can always find these and other resources on our Web site, www.Gero-EdCenter.org.
Selected Books and Journals on Intergenerational Relations
A Good Place to Start
The Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, Programs, Policy and Research edited by Sally Newman. Haworth Press, http://jir.ucsur.pitt.edu
Abrams, J., & Giles, H. (1999). Intergenerational contact as intergroup communication. In Kuehne, V (Ed.).Intergenerational programs: Understanding what we have created (pp. 203- 216). New York: Haworth Press.
Bengtson, V. L. (2001). Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63(1), 1-16.
Lawson, D., & Brossart, D. (2001). Intergenerational transmission: Individuation and intimacy across three generations. Family Process, 40, 429-442.
Silverstein, M. Conroy, S. J., Wang, H., Giarrusoo, R., and Bengtson, V.L. (2002). Reciprocity in parent-child relations over the adult life course. Journals of Gerontology: 57 B (1) S3-S13.
Williams, A. and Nussbaum, J. F (2001). Intergenerational communication across the life span. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Intergenerational Practice
Bales, S., Eklund, S., Y and Siffin, C. (2000). Children’s perceptions of elders before and after a school-based intergenerational program. Educational Gerontology, 26 (7), 677-689.
Hummert, M. L, & Morgan, M. (2001). Negotiating decisions in the aging family. In M. L. Hummert & J. F. Nussbaum, Aging, communication and health (pp. 177-202). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Larkin E. & Newman S. (2001). Benefits of intergenerational staffing in preschools. Educational Gerontology 27, 373-385.
McCaslin, R. (1993). An intergenerational family congruence model. In P. A. Cowan, D. Field, A. Hansen, A. Skolnick, & G. E. Swanson (Eds.). Family, self and society: toward a new agenda for family research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Power, M., & Maluccio, A. (Winter 1998-99). Intergenerational approaches to helping families at risk. Generations, 37-42.
Rosebrook, V., and Larkin, E. (2003). Introducing standards and guidelines: A rationale for defining the knowledge, skills and dispositions of intergenerational practice. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 1 (1), 133-144.
Salari S. M. (2002). Intergenerational partnerships in adult day centers: Importance of age-appropriate environments and behaviors. The Gerontologist, 42, 321-33.
Schwalbach, E. & Kiernan, S. (2002). Effects of an intergenerational friendly visit program on the attitudes of fourth graders toward elders. Educational Gerontology 28, 175-187.
Intergenerational Policy and Services
Calhoun, G., Kingson, E. and Newman, S. (1997). Intergenerational approaches to public policy: Trends and challenges. In S. Newman et al., Intergenerational programs: Past, present and future. New York: Taylor and Francis, 161-169.
Eheart, B. K., Power, M. B. and Hopping, D. E. (2003). Intergenerational programming for foster-adoptive families: Creating community at Hope Meadows, Intergenerational Relationships, 1, 17-28.
Generations United. (2003). The benefits of intergenerational programs. Fact Sheet. Washington, D.C.
Kuehne, V. S. (2003). The state of our art: Intergenerational program research and evaluation: Part one. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 1 (1), 145-161; part two. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 1 (2), 79-84.
Pogorzala, C. H. and Krout, J. A. (2002). A comprehensive intergenerational programmatic partnership: Initial issues and outcomes. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 21 (4), 39-54.
Silverstein, M., Parrott, T. M., Angelelli, J. J. and Cook, F.L. (2000). Solidarity and tension between age groups in the United States: Challenge for an aging America in the 21 st century. International Journal of Social Welfare,9:270-284.
Torres-Gil, F. M. (2003). Perspectives on intergenerational aspects of aging and diversity. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 1 (1), 5-9.
Travis, S.S., and Stremmel, A.J. (1999). Predictors of the likelihood to provide intergenerational activities in child and adult day care centers. Children and Youth Services 20 (1/2), 101-114.
Wisensale, S. K. (2003). Global aging and intergenerational equity. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships (1) 1, 29-46.
(Note that future newsletters will provide resources specific to intergenerational caregiving, such as grandparents caring for grandchildren. Many of the suggested resources are not in gerontology journals, but in child welfare publications.)
Intergenerational Resources on the Web
Generations United (GU), with a national membership of approximately 130 organizations, focuses on intergenerational strategies, programs, and policies. The site contains up-to-date information on caregiver legislation, support groups, resources, and fact sheets on the grandparent caregiver issue as well as other practice topic along with intergenerational approaches to public policy, primarily Social Security.
Association for Gerontology in Higher Education http://www.aghe.org
The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education is a membership organization of colleges and universities that offer education, training, and research programs in the field of aging. AGHE also has a new initiative for intergenerational service learning.
Generations Together is an international center for intergenerational studies that helps professionals acquire the knowledge, understanding, and skills to integrate intergenerational components into their work. They have an extensive list of videos and printed publications on intergenerational programs, service learning, and evaluation that can be found in their Publications Catalog.
Intergenerational Innovations
Intergenerational Innovations develops and implements creative programs and activities, connecting children, youth, and elders in volunteer service to each other and to the community. It also works with other organizations to help them develop intergenerational programs.
Gero-Ed Forum
The upcoming 4th Annual Gero-Ed Forum (formerly the National Gerontological Social Work Conference) is held in conjunction with the CSWE 52nd Annual Program Meeting (APM) and brings together hundreds of educators, students and practitioners. All are welcome to this conference and your registration to APM is inclusive of registration to the Gero-Ed Forum. Conference highlights include national experts in gerontological social work and cross-cutting gerontological themes such as alcoholism, mental health, disability, and health disparities.
This year, don’t miss our 2nd Annual Kick-Off, featuring NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark’s keynote address, an intergenerational dance troupe, and food and refreshments. Also highlighted in 2006 is our new Film Festival, culminating in a Feature Film screening of Almost Home, a documentary to be featured on PBS in late-February 2006. Movie treats will be served. Another popular event, the Gero-Ed Center/AGE-SW roundtables and reception is open to all and allows participants to engage in high spirited discussions with experts in aging as well as an opportunity to network.
For more information on the Gero-Ed Forum, click here.
Gero-Ed Institute
There is still time to register for the upcoming Gero-Ed Institute: Economic and Health Disparities Across the Life Course: Implications for Aging, Policies and Programs, led by Drs. Judith Gonyea and Andrew Scharlach, February 16, 2006 at the CSWE Annual Program Meeting. Our bi-annual Gero-Ed Institutes are offered at no cost and are structured to provide individual faculty participants with teaching resources related to select gerontological issues and practical suggestions for infusing gerontological competencies into foundation courses and field learning experiences. CEU credits are available.
E-mail Ashley Brooks-Danso (abrooks@cswe.org) if you would like to attend this Institute. For more information as well as materials from past Institutes, click here.
(Please note that materials from this upcoming Gero-Ed Institute will also be posted on this Web page in the spring.)
Textbook Analysis and Infusion Project
Our recent analysis of 19 frequently used social work foundation textbooks found that approximately 3% of the 9,828 pages analyzed contained aging content. The full report of this analysis will appear in the spring 2006 issue of the Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE) and has been added to our Web site.
Curriculum infusion and transformation require that foundation textbooks have gerontological content to support the gerontological knowledge, values, and skills infused in foundation courses. The Gero-Ed Center actively seeks partnerships with authors and editors to increase the quantity and quality of aging content in their texts.
Nancy R. Hooyman
co-PI, CSWE Gero-Ed Center