The present study assessed knowledge of aging, attitudes toward aging, ageism, and contact with older adults in a sample of 271 Non-Hispanic White and African-American undergraduates. Research examining racial differences in knowledge of aging, attitudes toward aging, ageism, and contact with older adults has been sparse. Results for the current…

Globally, the need for development of a competent workforce to serve the burgeoning older population is well documented. Persons with degrees in gerontology are prepared to fill positions in this labor market, yet they are not in demand. This research explores the path of professionalization of gerontologists in Canada as a means of increasing…

This study investigates possible relationships among motivational and learning variables (interest, self-efficacy and self-regulation) and three types of student engagement (behavioural engagement, emotional engagement and cognitive engagement) in a distance education setting. Participants were 203 students enrolled in online classes in the fall…

This study examined the self-reported likelihood of working with older adults in a future career among 237 college undergraduates at a midsized Midwestern university. Although aging anxiety was not significantly related to likelihood of working with older adults, those students who had a greater level of death anxiety were less likely than other…

Human service students' (social work, criminal justice, public administration, psychology) were surveyed (N = 242). Their perceptions about older persons' resilience and recovery from substance abuse were investigated. Overall, respondents did not agree that treating older persons for a substance abuse problem was wasteful of resources or older…

Despite the growing number of older adults that implies an increasing need for psychological services, few psychologists choose to specialize in working with older clients. The present cross-sectional research examined predictors of student interest in working with older clients in an effort to understand factors that may influence future…

This study compared Web-based and lecture-based Gerontology and Psychology of Aging courses in terms of student performance, demographic and academic characteristics of students enrolled in the courses, and extent to which these characteristics differentially predicted outcomes of learning in the two course types. Participants for this study were…

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.…