The Geriatric Social Work Competency Scale II is the leading measure of students' competency with older adults. Although the 40-item instrument has demonstrated strong internal consistency and congruent validity, the hypothesized four-factor structure has not been tested. We used confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of social work students…

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…

Social work students and faculty are increasingly embracing online education and collaborative teaching. Yet models to support these activities have not been adequately developed. This paper describes how a team of instructors developed, delivered, and evaluated an undergraduate gerontological social work course using a collaborative online…

Attention to preparing social workers for our aging society has increased with concern that there may be insufficient professionals to meet the need. Interest in training gerontologically-savvy social work students had led to the development of models to achieve this end. This article reports on a collaboration among a university's school of…

Focuses on: (1) components of a basic core of knowledge essential for all people working in the field of aging; (2) knowledge essential for professions related to biomedical science, human services, social and physical environment; and (3) knowledge essential for clinical psychology, nursing, nutrition, and social work. (Author)

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)

A training curriculum on mental health and aging was developed and disseminated to 32 natural caregivers throughout a frontier state using a train-the-trainer model. Those certified as trainers included social workers, religious professionals, volunteers, long-term care employees, nurses, home health workers, and professional and informal…

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…

The John A. Hartford Foundation, in collaboration with the Gerontological Society of America, has developed new models to create geriatric faculty capacity within social work. The Faculty Scholars Program is building faculty leadership in academic geriatric social work through a strategic approach that includes long-distance national and…

Some of the issues related to developing a compatible integrated curriculum from the required courses of two schools are discussed. Consideration is given to: incorporating gerontological content; socializing students to public administration, social work, and gerontology; anticipating job types; and determining implications for curriculum…

It is expected that the demand for gerontological social workers will increase as the elderly population continues to grow. However, many practitioners enter the aging field with little or no formal training. Successful gerontological social work practice requires workers to be knowledgeable and technically competent. Fieldwork plays a critical…

The Grambling State University Minority Management Internship in Aging program described in this report was designed to provide internships to social work students to aid the minority elderly. The status of the elderly in the United States and the personnel and agencies that assist them are discussed in the following chapters: (1)…

The objectives of the project have been to recruit minority students to the field of aging, upgrade skills of social service workers already employed in aging agencies, prepare minority students for leadership roles in agencies serving older adults, develop curriculum training materials on agency administration and management, provide integrated…