By 2029, 20% of the U.S. population will be =65-years-old. American demographics are changing, understanding of the =65-year-old demographic has not. We investigated expectation variables of participants born between 1946 and 1964 in the United States, and identified how expectation trends have changed over time also describing gender differences.…

This paper explores how people aged 50 and over, who were returning to cycling as part of an 8-week health and well-being trial, created their own cycling microadventures. Applying a stage model of the process of adventure to qualitative data generated from personal diaries and focus groups, we examine how older people anticipated and prepared for…

The project described in this paper was designed for an undergraduate course titled the "Psychology of Adulthood and Aging". This course, capped at 20 students, is typically comprised of psychology, pre-nursing, and family studies students. The student learning objectives (SLO's) for the course are: (1) to understand and apply current…

As the number of older adults increases, it is important to understand how attitudes toward aging influence society, the aging process, and the counseling profession. Ageism--defined as social stigma associated with old age or older people--has deleterious effects on older adults' physical health, psychological well-being, and self-perception. In…

This evidence-based pedagogical approach encompasses service-learning projects via the lens of social exchange theory in working with older adults. The study's purpose was to examine if bachelor of social work students' attitudes changed positively after the completion of service learning projects that involved educational presentations for older…

Nursing Assistants (NAs) are the largest workforce in nursing homes, but often lack adequate preparation for their role. The Living Classroom (LC) is an integrated learning approach, whereby a NA program is delivered in a nursing home (NH) in collaboration with a community college. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of the LC.…

Iowa State University Human Sciences Extension and Outreach (HSEO) provides informal educational opportunities to older adults and their families in rural Iowa within the subject areas of family life, family finance, and nutrition and wellness. The successful implementation of educational opportunities is partially determined by the knowledge of…

The purpose of this paper was to share an intergenerational approach for learning as undergraduate students became researchers. Student-researchers selected one topic as a team that was anchored in gerontological theory and then interviewed and taught elder participants using a qualitative approach. The richness of this qualitative research…

In contemporary Western societies, the aging population poses new challenges both to the policies and to the support systems for older persons. In Portugal, where the phenomena have a major impact, a new professional profile, the gerontologist, has emerged. These professionals have an academic background that corresponds to the 1st cycle degree at…

Over 76 million people between the ages of 65 and 70 years old are making the decision to continue to work or retire. The factors that contribute to professional women's employability after age 65 who continue to work are important to understand. Many women as they approach age 65 may want to know this information as once you retire, it may be…

Biases against the elderly and people with disabilities can lead to discriminatory behaviors. One way to conceptualize attitudes toward the elderly and people with disabilities is through the differentiation of explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) factors. Although both explicit and implicit attitudes and biases contribute to the full…

State and national surveys of adult family care homes identified a strong need for education on texture-modified food preparation and the nutritional needs of older adults. An Extension curriculum, Food Modification for Special Needs, was developed to provide an overview of chewing and swallowing problems, food texture, pureed food preparation,…

Jenkins discusses the use of digital storytelling (DS) with older people within the context of the education of students in Higher Education, who are training to work with older people in health or social work settings. Jenkins draws upon humanistic gerontology and its focus on narrative-based research methods as essential to learning about ageing…

Poetry and gerontology are often not viewed as congenial or likely companions. Yet these two approaches to communication, creativity, and health may have much in common. I would like to present some of my own work, five poems in fact, in light of my personal history and as a teacher/facilitator. My goal here is to reveal ideas and directions that…

There continues to be lack of public awareness about elder abuse. To help address this issue, we developed and piloted an elder abuse peer educator training program from an educational gerontology and health empowerment perspective. We describe the process employed to train older adults as peer educators. We present evaluation results from data…