The impact of gerontology inclusion on 12th grade student perceptions of aging, older adults and working with elders

The present study examines the impact of including lessons on aging in a 12th grade social studies course on student perceptions of aging and older adults, working with older persons, and knowledge of "facts" on aging. Pre/post-test data were collected from approximately 650 upstate New York 12th grade students enrolled in a government class that included from five to ten lessons on aging issues. Over two-thirds of the semantic differential and four of five job-related questions showed a significant change to more positive views of aging. Changes on the "fact" questions were mixed but students uniformly reported that the interview with an older adult assignment changed their view of the older person with whom they talked and was the most popular activity in the unit. These findings suggest that including information on aging in a high school social studies course can lead to more positive student perceptions of aging and general attitudes toward working with older adults.