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…

Must a master's of social work (MSW) program's orientation be either advanced generalist or some form of specialist? Or is there the possibility of a hybrid curriculum that provides enough breadth to prepare MSW graduates for a wide range of social work jobs, but that also addresses students' and community agencies' demands for student…

This study consists of an oral history project that partnered MSW students with community dwelling older adults from diverse backgrounds. It used a comparison group with a pretest and posttest design and a sample of 74 MSW students to evaluate changes in their confidence levels, future plans of working with older adults, and geriatric…

Recognizing the growing need for social workers with specialized training in aging, the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE) has developed as a nationwide initiative to enhance aging education for master's-level social work students. This study presents a content analysis of answers to 2 open-ended questions in a national…

California has actively engaged in the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative. Subsequently, the California Social Work Education Center Aging Initiative conducted a university survey of gerontology education in California graduate social work schools ("N"?=?17). In 2005, students taking aging courses were 12% in comparison to a…

Discusses how women's issues, domestic violence, aging, and elder abuse all relate to social work education and then suggests how they can be integrated together into the social work curriculum through teaching about elder domestic violence. (EV)

Identifies challenges to the social work profession in an aging society including the shortage of gerontological social workers, lack of gerontological expertise and competence, negative attitudes towards older adults, inadequate social work curricula in aging, and cutbacks in federal resources. Offers strategies for enhancing gerontological…