FACTORS INFLUENCING GRADUATE-SOCIAL-WORK STUDENTS ...

3 downloads 460 Views 105KB Size Report
This study surveyed graduating Master of Social Work (MSW) students ..... adults: number of aging-related undergraduate and graduate courses, self-rated aging ...
Educational Gerontology, 31: 643–655, 2005 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Inc. ISSN: 0360-1277 print=1521-0472 online DOI: 10.1080/03601270591003382

FACTORS INFLUENCING GRADUATE-SOCIAL-WORK STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN WORKING WITH ELDERS

Sherry M. Cummings College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Geri Adler University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Vaughn A. DeCoster University of Arkansas–Fayetteville, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA This study surveyed graduating Master of Social Work (MSW) students from social-work programs in 3 Southern states to obtain information about students’ attitudes toward aging, gerontological knowledge, and factors predictive of interest in working with older adults. Students’ self-rated aging skills, contact frequency with older adults, rewarding interaction with older clients, and a stronger belief that gerontological social work offers good career opportunities were significant predictors of students’ interest in aging related work. While only a minority of students had engaged in an aging-related internship, over 60% reported that they would have been likely to do so if a stipend had been included.

Persons 65 years and older represent the fastest growing age group in the United States (Administration on Aging, 2003). Currently, 13% of the population is over the age of 65. Census projections expect that by 2030, greater than 20% of the population, over 70 million Address correspondence to Sherry M. Cummings, University of Tennessee, College of Social Work, 193E Polk Ave., Nashville, TN 37210. E-mail: [email protected]

644

S. M. Cummings et al.

Americans, will be at least 65 years of age (Administration on Aging, 2003). This demographic imperative creates a growing demand for gerontological social workers, who will provide a significant role in meeting the complex social, economic, and medical needs of the burgeoning elderly population. Robust job growth is projected for gerontological social workers (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004). The purpose of this study was to examine graduate social work students’ interest in and attitudes toward working with elders. The authors surveyed graduating MSW students from social work programs in three southern states. BACKGROUND Gerontological social work is devoted to enhancing the quality of life for older adults. Social workers practicing in the field recognize the strengths their clients and families possess while addressing the challenges faced in later life. Social workers with backgrounds in gerontology are employed in a wide variety of practice settings. They may work in home-healthcare agencies, adult day-care centers, nutrition programs, assisted-living facilities, senior-housing sites, nursing homes, hospices, hospitals, research centers, and social-service agencies to name just a few (McInnis-Dittrich, 2005). While many gerontological social workers will provide direct service to older adults and their families, there are also opportunities in policy and program development, management, evaluation, and planning (Council on Social Work Education, 2001). Despite the expected growth in the number of positions in aging-related social work practice, there is a lack of social workers interested in and prepared to work with the elderly. Most social work students prefer to work with nonelderly clients (Anderson & Wiscott, 2003; Cummings & Galambos, 2002; Kane, 1999). In fact, only 3% of graduating MSW students identifies gerontology as their area of specialization (Scharlach, Damron-Rodriguez, Robinson, & Feldman, 2000) despite awareness of the opportunities in aging-related work (Anderson & Wiscott, 2003). Given the reluctance social-work students seem to have toward working with the elderly, researchers have begun to identify incentives as well as barriers to interest in aging-related employment Ageism speaks to society’s fear about aging. It portrays the ageing process as one of inescapable decline, whereby older adults become isolated, in poor health, unable to be productive, and inevitably institutionalized (Kart & Kinney, 2001). Negative attitudes and stereotypes toward the elderly are seen as significant barriers to fostering

MSW Students Aging Attitudes and Interests

645

student interest in gerontological studies. As would be expected, students who hold more positive attitudes about aging are more likely to plan to specialize in work with elderly persons (Anderson & Wiscott, 2003). While attitudes are important, they do not fully explain students’ lack of interest in aging-related work (Cummings & Galambos, 2002). Students’ perceptions of the status and challenges of working with older adults may further influence career decisions. Working with elders is believed to lack the ‘‘glamour’’ of conducting family therapy or working with children. Like other professions, most socialwork students consider it lower status and less appealing to work with older adults (Scharlach et al., 2000; Reed, Beall, & Baumhover, 1992). Studies have consistently shown that social workers rank practice with older adults as one of their least preferred choices (Anderson & Wiscott, 2003; Cummings & Galambos, 2002). Furthermore, many students believe that work with elders does not require a high level of skill, and is concomitantly unchallenging and low paying (Scharlach et al., 2000; Council on Social Work Education, 2001). In fact, Gibelman & Schervish (1995) contend that work with older adults is the lowest paying field of social-work practice. As with other professions, greater financial compensation might draw more social workers to the field (Kane, 1999; Wilderom et al., 1990). While aging-related work is generally rated poorly, Peterson and Wendt (1990) were encouraged by the results of their study of National Association Social Workers (NASW) members and three other human-service professional groups. They cited a deeper appreciation for work with the elderly and a growing interest in the field. However, Anderson and Wiscott’s (2003) more recent work found that social-work students remained uninterested in gerontological practice, even though they were well aware of the projected numbers of aging-related jobs. Another factor that seems to influence students’ intentions to concentrate their studies in gerontology is past relationships with older persons. Investigators have examined the frequency of contact—as well the personal and professional relationships students have had with elders—as factors influencing career selection. Personal close relationships (Anderson & Wiscott, 2003; Hatchett, Holmes, & Ryan, 2002; Kane, 1999); rewarding contacts (Cummings, Galambos, & DeCoster, 2003), and frequent interactions (Cummings et al., 2003; Cummings & Galambos, 2002) with older adults have been shown to be positively associated with future gerontological practice. However, Cummings & Galambos (2002) found that closeness to an older family member was not a significant predictor of interest

646

S. M. Cummings et al.

in aging-related work. Robert and Mosher-Ashley (2000) posit that students who have close relationships with older relatives are predisposed to the helping professions, but not necessarily to working with older adults. Mason & Sanders (2004) found that input from influential role models, such as a sibling or supervisor, contributed to students’ interest in working with the elderly. Another way to combat negative attitudes toward—and spark interest in working with—the elderly may be through aging-related education. Some have found an association between gerontological coursework and subsequent careers in aging (Cummings et al., 2003; Peterson & Wendt, 1990). Social-work-student training in aging also occurs at agency-based field sites (Berkman, Silverstone, Simmons, Volland, & Howe, 2000). Students who have had favorable field practicum experiences with older adults are often interested in continuing work with this population after graduation (Cummings et al., 2003; Hatchett et al., 2002; Mason & Sanders, 2004). While students usually choose a placement site based on an area of interest, stipends may provide monetary incentives to consider an agingrelated practicum (Lawrence et al., 2002). For example, the Veterans Health Administration (2004) offers stipends to many of its graduate social work-trainees, many of whom work in specialized programs serving elderly veterans. Perceived sufficiency of aging-related knowledge and skills may also play a role in career selection. As would be expected, students who believe they are knowledgeable about the aging process, and possess sufficient skills to work with older adults, are more willing to work with this group after graduation (Anderson & Wiscott, 2003; Cummings & Galambos, 2002; Cummings et al., 2003; Kane, 1999). Considering the growing need for gerontological social workers, it is important to more fully understand factors that shape student interest in working with older adults. Such information may be of assistance in developing strategies that promote students’ decisions to secure positions working with the elderly. This study sought to obtain information from MSW students in three Southern states concerning their attitudes toward aging, their knowledge of gerontology, and factors predictive of their interest in working with the elderly. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional research design was employed for this study. All 2nd-year graduate-social-work students in three large Southern-state

MSW Students Aging Attitudes and Interests

647

universities who were graduating in spring 2004 were asked to participate. In-class surveys were administered to the students 1 month prior to graduation following an explanation of the study and a discussion of its confidential and voluntary nature. Some students did not attend class the days on which the survey was administered, and some chose not to participate. In all, 382 of the 460 eligible students completed the survey for a response rate of 83.0%. The gerontological interest survey contained questions addressing the following domains: Gerontological Education Students were asked whether or not they had taken any aging-related undergraduate and graduate courses, and, if so, the number of classes taken. They were also asked whether or not their current or previous internship was primarily focused on elderly persons and, if not, how likely they would have been to seek out or accept an aging-related internship if a stipend had been included. Contact and Rewards Students were queried regarding the frequency of their contact with elderly persons and the frequency of contact with elderly clients in current and previous internships. They were also asked how rewarding they found their interactions with elderly clients to be. Aging Knowledge and Skills Subjects were asked to rate both their own knowledge of aging and their skills for working with or on behalf of older persons using a 5-point Likert rating ranging from 1 ¼ poor to 5 ¼ very good. In addition, the 14-item Facts on Aging Quiz (Palmore, 1986) was used to test general aging knowledge, with possible scores ranging between 0 to 14. Perception of Aging-Related Work Single-item questions were used to measure students’ perceptions. Students indicated their level of agreement with statements that serving elderly clients offers good career opportunities, is currently an important part of social work, that aging-related social work jobs are well-paying relative to other types of social work jobs, and have status equivalent to social-work jobs serving other populations.

648

S. M. Cummings et al.

Interest in Aging-Related Work Interest was gauged through two single-item measures. Students were asked to rate their degree of interest in working with or on behalf of the elderly after graduation using a 5-point Likert rating with 1 ¼ not at all and 5 ¼ extremely interested. Students were also asked to rank order their interest in working with children, adolescents, adults (nonelderly), and elderly. Attitudes Toward Aging The Attitudes Toward Aging Inventory (ATAI) (Sheppard, 1981) consists of 20 items with 5-point Likert ratings. Possible scores range from 20–100, with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes toward aging. Chronbach’s alpha for the ATAI in the present study was .77. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS The typical student participating in this study was 30.1 years of age (SD ¼ 8.9), and the vast majority were women (91.1%). While 65.9% of the students were Caucasian, 29.9% were African American and 4.2% were other. Over 1=4 had taken an undergraduate agingrelated class while less than 1=5 had taken such a class at the graduate level. Just over 1=4 were currently engaged in an internship primarily focused on older adults. However, over 60% reported that they would have been moderately to extremely likely to seek out or accept an aging-related internship if a stipend had been included. During current and previous internships, the typical student noted having contact with older persons ‘‘seldom to sometimes.’’ Overall, students reported having average aging-related knowledge and skills. Students’ perceptions of their aging knowledge was borne out by their scores on the Facts on Aging Quiz (M ¼ 9.7, SD ¼ 1.7). Students had positive attitudes towards older adults as evidenced by their scores on the Attitudes Toward Aging Inventory (M ¼ 77.5, SD ¼ 8.8). In response to questions regarding rewarding interactions with older persons, students reported having moderately to very rewarding interactions with older clients. However, when asked to indicate with which population they most desired to work after graduation, the population most frequently selected was children (30.9%), while the population least frequently selected was older adults (19.8%). Overall students indicated that they were somewhat interested in working with older adults after graduation (M ¼ 2.7, SD ¼ 1.3). Students strongly agreed that serving older adults is

MSW Students Aging Attitudes and Interests

649

Table 1. Aging-related contact, rewards, education, attitudes, perceptions, and interest in aging-related work Mean

SD

Contact frequency Overall Current internship Previous internship

3.4 2.6 2.7

1.2 1.3 2.1

Rewarding interactions–clients

3.6

1.1

Aging–Related education Self-rated knowledge Self-rated skills FAQ Scores

3.3 3.3 9.7

.87 .96 1.7

Variables

Aging attitude scores

77.5

8.8

Perception aging–related careers Currently important Good career opportunities Good salaries Good status

4.6 4.3 3.2 2.9

.71 1.4 1.7 .71

Interest in aging–related work

2.7

1.3

currently an important part of social work. While students agreed that gerontological social work offers good career opportunities, they were unsure whether aging-related jobs offered good pay and status relative to other types of social work jobs (see Table 1) Bivariate Relationships The following education and aging knowledge=skill variables were significantly correlated with students’ interest in working with older adults: number of aging-related undergraduate and graduate courses, self-rated aging knowledge and skills, and Facts on Aging Quiz scores. All contact variables (overall contact frequency, and current and previous internship contact frequency) were significantly correlated with interest in aging-related work, as were rewarding interactions with clients and aging attitude scores. Lastly, a positive association was found between the interest variable and students’ perceptions that gerontological social work is currently an important part of social work, and offers good career opportunities (see Table 2). Linear Regression All variables significantly associated with students’ interest in agingrelated work at the bivariate level were entered into the stepwise

650



p