Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | A | Academic Exchange Quarterly

Reflections on service learning with the aged.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

The following is a discussion of the possible benefits of service learning as an antidote to ageism. It presents the themes found in a qualitative analysis of 31 papers of college students working within a retirement-home environment. The theme analysis indicates increased awareness of ageism and a shift towards a more positive attitude towards the elderly.

Introduction

If you have not experienced an elderly person's whole-hearted smile, complete with a wide grin and crooked teeth, with the wrinkled skin and twinkles in each eye, I seriously suggest you develop such a friendship and trust that benefits your own life as well as theirs. (study participant)

The above quote may sum up best the experiences of this group of college students volunteering with the elderly. This paper explores whether service learning, the benefits of which are well established in the literature, can also help to reduce ageism.

Ageism is a sad and persistent social phenomenon well documented in the literature (Ory, Kinney Hoffman, Hawkins, Sanner, & Mockenhaupt, 2003; Palmore, 2004). Cuddy, Norton, and Fiske (2005) have termed this phenomenon pan-cultural ageism--the disconcerting finding that, in a wide variety of cultures, old people are perceived as sweet but feeble. In a study on age preference, Kalavar (2001) found that among 13 types of service providers, the preferred age group to work with was age 40 or below. Other studies have found ageism among college-age individuals (Kavalar, 2001; Kite, 1996; McConatha, Schnell, Volkwein, Riley, & Leach, 2003). According to McConatha et al., American college students, on average, consider men who are age 53 to be old; women are considered old at age 48.

Of great concern, especially in light of our population's increasing age, is the ageism so prevalent among those who work with older people in professions such as health care (Bernard, 1998; Grant, 1996; Lookinland & Anson, 1995; Wells, Foreman, Gething, & Petralia, 2004), social work (Cheung, Chan, & Lee, 1999; Quinn, 1999), and occupational therapy (Horowitz, Savino, & Krauss, 1999). Ageist practices reduce the quality of care older people receive and their sense of self-efficacy. The threat of being stereotyped against undermines older people's performance confidence and may lead to automatic stereotype activation-behavior (Major & O'Brien, 2005; Smith, 2004).

Service-Learning Assignments

The university sophomores I teach come from a variety of disciplines including nursing, psychology, and social work. I am interested in what can be done to prevent these students from entering the workforce with ageist attitudes. Can we decrease ageism in our college-age population through education? There is some evidence to suggest that education that addresses ageist attitudes improves student attitudes (Gleberzon, 2002). However, Stuart-Hamilton and Mahoney (2003) argue that a primarily fact-based approach may make students more aware...