In educational gerontology, non-formal education emerges as a possibility for lifelong learning because it is more flexible and less bureaucratic than formal education. In this context, agile culture offers a potential strategy to enhance non-formal education. While there are four manifestos for agile culture in education, their application in…

Quality assurance (QA) in gerontological and geriatric education programs is regarded as essential to maintain standards, strengthen accountability, improve readability of qualifications, and facilitate professional mobility. In this article the authors present a summary of international developments in QA and elaborate four international trends,…

The concept of "successful aging" is a contested discourse in gerontology. Two conflicting paradigms dominate the discussion: a health promotion activity model, and a model critical of the concept of successful aging. However, this study takes a different perspective and proposes that perhaps we have been striving for the wrong goal. The true…

This article describes the design, development, and successful implementation of a hybrid distance education course on adulthood and aging. The focus is on the pedagogical and technological transitions made in converting a traditional course into an interactive television course (iTV). The course was taught a total of three times, first as a…

This manual had its origins in a training project at the University of Michigan directed at the staff and directors of area planning agencies on aging. The manual is a revised version of a manuscript used in the regional workshops to facilitate the planning and coordination of services and programs for older people. Its purpose is to provide an…

This description of the volunteer program at the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, suggests that older adults can improve the quality of life for themselves and others by building bridges of understanding between: generations within an organization, paid and unpaid workers, parts of an organization,…

This manual, the first of a three-volume series on counseling older adults, is designed to assist teams of counselor educators, aging network staff, continuing education professionals, and service providers to plan, develop, implement, and institutionalize basic helping skills programs for older adults. The first unit provides background…

Identified the essential goals and appropriate roles of counselors engaged in assisting older persons. A national panel of gerontological counseling experts specified, confirmed, and assigned priority to the seven goals and 21 roles most valuable as guidelines for professional counselors serving the elderly. Experts favored a preventive approach.…

A wide variety of music-learning pursuits should be available to older adults based on their need, capabilities, and desires. Guidelines for developing and evaluating music programs for senior citizens are presented. (RM)

Describes a peer counselor training program for five older adult volunteers. Presents suggestions for advertising, screening, program format, and development of practica, and examines the role and helpfulness of the peer counselors who provided in-home counseling services. (JAC)

Offers practical suggestions for the design and implementation of peer counseling programs for older adults. General suggestions include trainee selection, setting goals, and providing followup. Also presents specific recommendations on group size, format, leadership qualities, and conducting training. (Author/JAC)

The author describes gerotranscendence as a process that occurs when older adults shift from a rational focus on the present-day, material world to a more universal and transcendent perspective. Accompanying this shift is a desire to move toward the end of life with a sense of integrity and acceptance of one's choices. By gaining an understanding…

Suggestions for organizing a course in the psychology of aging are offered in this paper, based on such a course at the State University of New York College at Buffalo. Focus is on the lower-level undergraduate course that has Introductory Psychology as the sole prerequisite. Goals include: (1) to familiarize students with current research and…

This paper describes the development campaign of the School of Social Work at the University of Washington, which has focused on funding proposals related to the older worker. The underlying approach of a development campaign, steps in researching the private sector, and basic points in writing proposals for foundations and corporations are…

This document presents the nurse practitioner primary care competencies that a national panel of representatives of nine national organizations of the five primary care nurse practitioner specialties--adult, family, gerontological, pediatric, and women's health--identified as necessary for entry-level primary care nurse practitioners. Section 1…