Aging professionals have not always effectively communicated about aging to the general public (Feather, 2015). Due at least in part to this, the public often holds inaccurate, ageist beliefs about older adults and aging services/gerontology has been difficult to promote as a desirable career option (Feather, 2015). The authors address this…

Quality assurance and accreditation are closely tied together. This article documents the work toward a unified and comprehensive national accreditation program in health education. By exploring the accreditation journey of another discipline, the field of gerontology should learn valuable lessons. These include an attention to inclusivity, a…

This article describes an innovative model for teaching gerontological social work that has been introduced into the social work methods curriculum in the Department of Social Work at a college in northern Israel. The basic concept of the model is to create an alternative learning environment by including older persons as full participants in the…

To discuss the relationship between residents and the management team, we must first review the transition from a medical model to a social model of care that is sweeping across America. Long-term care (LTC) management models were developed for a very autocratic and hierarchical style of management based in the 1960s. Those facilities were built…

The author provides 20 abstracts of programs capable of being implemented in a community. These programs, based in Black Hawk County, Iowa, were developed by helping professionals in an institute at The University of Northern Iowa in dialogue with older adults. The objectives of this institute were: (1) to improve communication between dissimilar…

A network model for the organization of the elderly for self-help and the development of leadership is described. The model is recommended as the most appropriate for those concerned with organizing all types of elderly, even if only minimally, on a large scale, for a sustained period of time. (Author)

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…

Explains the concept of positive spirituality and offers evidence that links positive spirituality with health. Describes effective partnerships between health professionals and religious communities and summarized the information as a basis for strengthening the existing successful aging model proposed by Rowe and Kahn. (Contains 59 references…

The "new gerontology," built on the concept of successful aging, sets forth the preconditions for and the end product of the process of aging successfully. Focused on health and active participation in life, it vests largely within individuals the power to achieve this normatively desirable state. While acknowledging the contributions of the…

The Distance Learning Partnership in Gerontology involves eight Georgia state universities in a videoconferencing network for gerontology education. Design features include multilevel administration and a multimethod, multimeasure evaluation plan. Challenges include the diversity of faculty and students and enabling faculty autonomy within a…

This article considers developments and directions for environmental gerontology drawing on the three papers in this Forum. The multidisciplinary field came of age during the 1960s with Powell Lawton's powerful environmental press paradigm and its applications to empirical research and building design. Recent theoretical developments in Europe and…

A masters-level social work curriculum integrating gerontological knowledge, clinical knowledge, clinical experience, and aimed at developing a task-centered model for work with the elderly is described and discussed. Questions remain about which adaptations to the model are most effective, but student preparation for this work has improved. (MSE)

This series of four articles outlines a pre-retirement planning seminar which was designed and presented to the Ministry of Education in Toronto, Canada. The first article identifies the participants and reasons for attending. The second article was designed to make policy makers and personnel administrators aware of these planning needs and to…

Presents findings on the current state of development of gerontological content in the curricula of the nation's graduate schools of social work. Findings indicated that these schools have made a significant start toward incorporating gerontological content. Proposes four basic models to accommodate further expansion in gerontological social work…

Suggests that the heterogeneity of human personality characteristics increases with age. Examines reasons for this phenomenon in terms of individual differentiation, social structure/allocation, and behavioral genetics. Develops a model synthesizing various study designs that prevent variation and covariation errors from occurring in life course…