ERIC Number: EJ1315567
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0146-3934
EISSN: N/A
Attitudes toward Aging: Using Drawing as a Teaching Tool to Prepare Undergraduate Students to Work in an Aging World
Liou, Chih-Ling; Cremeans-Smith, Julie
College Student Journal, v53 n2 p216-228 Sum 2019
Researchers have shown that a drawing activity is a useful way to detect students' attitudes and stimulate discussion on age-related subjects. This study adopted a drawing activity to investigate 105 college students' attitudes towards aging in general compared to notions of their aging self. Results highlighted two double standards. First, undergraduate students in the present study perceived aging in general or older people as "the other" who do not age successfully, while constructing a successful ideal regarding their own aging or future selves. If the current generation of college students in deed does view older people as somehow 'different' from themselves, it is then possible that they will distance themselves from older people or treat them less favorably. A second finding revealed gender difference regarding the image of later life. Specifically, college students in this study perceived older women more negatively and facing more physical challenges of aging while at the same time positively viewed older women as having more support from family and social relationships. Implications of current study focus on ways faculty can alter college students' biases along with enhancing students' interests in working in the field of aging.
Descriptors: Student Attitudes, Aging Education, Freehand Drawing, Undergraduate Students, Teaching Methods, Gender Differences, Physical Health, Social Behavior
Project Innovation, Inc. P.O. Box 8508 Spring Hill Station, Mobile, AL 36689-0508. Tel: 251-343-1878; Fax: 251-343-1878; Web site: https://projectinnovation.com/college-student-journal
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A