Students' Perceptions of Older Adults: Effects of a Service-Learning Experience

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. S-59-S-72
Author(s):  
Heather Kanenberg ◽  
Susan Mapp ◽  
Rustin Dudley ◽  
Margaret McFarland
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Method Comparison ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Attitudes Toward Older Adults ◽  
Cultural Shifts

Previous literature has established an improvement in student attitudes toward older adults after a service- learning experience with this population. This study furthered the research by conducting a mixed- method comparison group study with a sample of 151 traditional- aged BSW students. Both groups increased in positive perceptions toward older adults on the Polizzi's (2003) refined Aging Semantic Differential Scale, and there was no significant difference between them. Qualitative results specific to those working with seniors suggest that students either improved or maintained positive attitudes toward this population. Therefore service learning may not need to be specific to this population to improve attitudes but does assist in reinforcing classroom material. Findings illustrate a need for further study of the overall impact of the social work curriculum as well as possible cultural shifts in attitudes toward older adults.

Influencing Student Attitudes Toward Older Adults: Results of a Service-Learning Collaboration

2006 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 771-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene A. Gutheil ◽  
Roslyn H. Chernesky ◽  
Marian L. Sherratt
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes Toward Older Adults

Students report more positive attitudes toward older adults following an interprofessional service-learning course

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Neils-Strunjas ◽  
K. Jason Crandall ◽  
Jo Shackelford ◽  
Kathryn Dispennette ◽  
Lauren Rene Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes Toward Older Adults

The Impact of TimeSlips on Undergraduate Students in Service Learning With Older Adults

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sabine Heuer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Attitudes Toward Older Adults ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Attitude Shift ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Journal Entries

Purpose Future speech-language pathologists are often unprepared in their academic training to serve the communicative and cognitive needs of older adults with dementia. While negative attitudes toward older adults are prevalent among undergraduate students, service learning has been shown to positively affect students' attitudes toward older adults. TimeSlips is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to improve health care students' attitudes toward older adults. The purpose of this study is to explore the change in attitudes in speech-language pathology students toward older adults using TimeSlips in service learning. Method Fifty-one students participated in TimeSlips service learning with older adults and completed the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) before and after service learning. In addition, students completed a reflection journal. The DAS data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics, and journal entries were analyzed using a qualitative analysis approach. Results The service learners exhibited a significant increase in positive attitude as indexed on the DAS. The reflective journal entries supported the positive change in attitudes. Conclusions A noticeable attitude shift was indexed in reflective journals and on the DAS. TimeSlips is an evidence-based, patient-centered approach well suited to address challenges in the preparation of Communication Sciences and Disorders students to work with the growing population of older adults.

Exploring the Impact of Service-Learning on Literacy Teachers' Self-Reported Empathy

2018 ◽  
pp. 393-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Katherine Saal
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Literacy Teachers ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Literacy Teacher Education ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Post Condition

Although (1) literacy teacher education research and professional practice standards highlight the significance of empathy as a central tenant of teachers' professional dispositions, and (2) developing deeper and more empathetic understanding of others is a frequently cited rationale for utilizing service-learning as a critical pedagogy for in-service and pre-service teacher preparation, little quantitative research exists measuring in-service teachers' empathy or empathy development. The purpose of this chapter is to explore how a course-embedded, self-selected, and community-based service-learning experience effected participating literacy teachers' self-reported empathy. While participants scores increased in the pre-post condition, results of a paired sample t-test indicated no significant difference in teachers' self-reported empathy across the pre-post condition. Implications for practice and program administration as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals POETRY INTERVENTION IMPACTS PERSPECTIVES ON DEMENTIA AND CAPABILITIES AMONG YOUNG VOLUNTEERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S198-S199
Author(s):  
Daniel B Kaplan ◽  
Gary Glazner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Group Settings ◽  
The Arts ◽  
People With Dementia

Abstract Poetry for Life (PFL), is a teaching and learning initiative that brings students together with older adults in meaningful community service workshops. PFL capitalizes on the skills and passions of young poets by offering opportunities to serve elders by leading poetry workshops at settings where older adults receive care. This study examines measurable impacts of training, exposure, and experience in poetry-based intergenerational workshops on students’ knowledge, attitudes, and values. Participating groups of students receive instruction in performing and creating poetry in group settings. They visit local elder care settings to facilitate PFL workshops and then write reflections on their experiences. Students agree to complete pre- and post-program surveys to document the impacts of PFL experiences on students' social/emotional health and on their knowledge, attitudes, and values related to older adults, dementia and dementia care, poetry and arts-based interventions, and careers in healthcare, aging fields, and the arts. To date, 33 young people from one middle school, one high school, and one graduate college program have volunteered to participate in the program and completed the study. Findings reveal significant impacts on students’ perceived capabilities working and communicating with people with dementia as well as leading poetry activities. Additionally, significant positive impacts were demonstrated on 12 of 20 items on the Dementia Attitudes Scale across participating students. The PFL experience did not, however, lead to significant impacts on student self-esteem or work interests. These findings suggest benefits and limitations of this service-learning experience. Implications for future programming will be discussed.

scholarly journals Lessons learned about ageing and gerontological nursing in South Africa

Curationis ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Staja Q. Booker
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Nursing Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
Gerontological Nursing ◽  
The Usa

Background: The unprecedented global growth in older adults merits high-quality gerontological nursing care. As gerontological nursing grows in visibility in developed and developing countries, nurses must possess a broader worldview of ageing with knowledge of physiological, psychosocial, and cultural issues.Purpose: The purpose of this article is to: (1) highlight lessons learned on differences and similarities in ageing and care of older adults in the United States of America (USA) and South Africa (SA); and (2) provide recommendations on how to advance gerontological nursingeducation in SA.Methods: A two-week international service-learning project was undertaken by visiting SA and learning about their nursing system and care of older adults. Service-learning is an innovative teaching-learning-service method that provided reflective and hands-on experience of gerontological nursing. This article provides a personal reflection of lessons learned about ageing and gerontological nursing during the service-learning project.Findings: Care of older adults in SA is in many ways different from and similar to that in the USA. Consequently global nurses should recognise those differences and provide culturally appropriate care. This service-learning experience also demonstrated the need for gerontological nursing education in SA. Based on this, recommendations on how to infuse and advance gerontological nursing education in SA are provided.Conclusion: Caring for older adults in a global context requires knowledge and understanding of cultures and their values and practices. With a growing population of diverse older adults, there is a need for incorporation

Baccalaureate Social Work Student Attitudes toward Older Adults

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Philip Tan ◽  
MicheleJ. Hawkins ◽  
Ellen Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Male Student ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Spring Semester ◽  
Attitudes Toward Older Adults

This study investigated the attitudes of baccalaureate social work students concerning older adults using the instrument constructed by Sanders, Montgomery, Pittman, and Balkwell (1984). That instrument assesses respondents' attitudes on 20 distinct characteristics of older women and men in three age categories, the young-old (65–74), the old-old (75–99), and centenarians (100+). Data were obtained from 204 students from an accredited undergraduate social work program in a major south Florida university in the spring semester of 1999. The data revealed that the majority of students (93.8%) had not taken any gerontology classes. Only 6.9% of respondents indicated that they were definitely planning to do their field practicum in a geriatric setting, and 4.0% indicated that they definitely intended to work with older adults. Overall student attitudes toward older adults were generally in the neutral range, however, those attitudes were more negative toward older age categories. Female student attitudes were more positive than male student attitudes. Older women were more positively regarded than their male counterparts. Students who indicated that they were close to older adults and who took gerontology classes had more positive attitudes. Future research and implications for social work education are discussed.

scholarly journals Medical Student Attitudes Toward the Medically Underserved: The USU Perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 180 (suppl_4) ◽  
pp. 61-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Stephens ◽  
Grace Landers ◽  
Stephen W. Davis ◽  
Steven J. Durning ◽  
Sonia J. Crandall
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Repeated Measures Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Medical Student Attitudes ◽  
Definition Of

ABSTRACT This study examined a cohort of students attending the Uniformed Services University regarding their attitudes toward medical care in underserved populations. Using the previously validated Medical Student Attitudes Toward the Underserved (MSATU), repeated measures analysis of variance showed that student attitudes toward care in underserved populations was less favorable than limited national data at entry and declined over time (Mean MSATU total score Year 1: 46.2 [SD 10.95]; Year 4: 41.7 [SD 12.3] p < 0.01). Differences in medical school debt, exposure to underserved populations, and the definition of “service” in the context of active duty military status might explain some of our findings. Providing broad service learning opportunities within the curriculum could increase student exposure to underserved populations and strengthen the social contract between community and institution.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document