ABSTRACT

At a time when the number of younger students entering our colleges and universities is stagnant, and the number of older people in our society continues to grow by the millions, schools of social work have an opportunity to broaden their student base by intentionally including people past midlife. This article argues that we must recruit and retain encore students, defined as those 35 and older, in our social work programs for schools, students, the profession, and society. It covers key demographic changes in the United States and their relation to social work programs, the importance of multigenerational classrooms, interest in encore careers for the social good, and the current and future shortage of social workers. It then reports on the results of an online search of 20 social work programs’ home pages and websites devoted to diversity issues, finding little regarding age-inclusive images and language. The article concludes by offering concrete steps for social work programs to become more age inclusive, including incorporating the principles of andragogy—adult learning theory—into curricula, increasing the accessibility of degrees, and innovating in program designs. By creating more age-inclusive social work programs, we create better experiences for all students.

摘要

在进入我们高校的年轻学生人数停滞不前，而我们社会中老年人的人数继续增加数百万的时候，社会工作学校有机会通过有意识地将过去的人纳入其中来扩大学生基础。中年。本文认为，我们必须在学校、学生、专业和社会的社会工作计划中招募和留住 35 岁及以上的安可学生。它涵盖了美国的主要人口变化及其与社会工作计划的关系、多代课堂的重要性、对为社会公益而安可职业的兴趣，以及当前和未来社会工作者的短缺。然后，它报告了对 20 个社会工作项目的主页和专门讨论多样性问题的网站的在线搜索结果，几乎没有发现关于年龄包容性图像和语言的信息。文章最后为社会工作计划提供了更具年龄包容性的具体步骤，包括将成人教育学的原则——成人学习理论——纳入课程，增加学位的可及性，以及创新计划设计。通过创建更多年龄包容的社会工作计划，我们为所有学生创造更好的体验。并在程序设计方面进行创新。通过创建更多年龄包容的社会工作计划，我们为所有学生创造更好的体验。并在程序设计方面进行创新。通过创建更多年龄包容的社会工作计划，我们为所有学生创造更好的体验。