By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-4314
Posted 8-12-08
GREENSBORO, NC – UNCG has received a $7,500 grant from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) to provide undergraduate social work students with additional opportunities to interact with older adults.
As the number of older adults grows, there is a shortage of social workers prepared to meet their needs. Undergraduate social work students who work with older adults – through service learning, intergenerational programs, oral histories or field placements – become more likely to pursue coursework, jobs and advanced degrees focused on older adults.
Dr. Melissa Floyd Taylor and K. Jay Poole, faculty members in the Department of Social Work, will oversee the program at UNCG. The grants are administered by the CSWE Gero-Ed Center and have been made possible by the John A. Hartford Foundation, a major supporter of programs and research that help older adults.
“Geriatric social work is one of the major growth areas in the field, but some students have reservations about working with older adults,” Taylor said. “We hope this program will help students learn more about a rewarding area of work where their skills are very much in demand.”
Students in their first social work class are required to volunteer for at least 25 hours with a government agency or non-profit organization. Starting this year, students will be required to perform at least part of that service by working with older adults, Taylor said. Taylor and Poole plan to study how the experience changes students’ attitudes toward working with older adults. Students’ experiences will be tracked using a variety of methods, including focus groups, reaction papers and testing before and after volunteering.
The Department of Social Work is part of UNCG’s School of Human Environmental Sciences. Approximately 250 undergraduates are majoring in social work at UNCG.
