The UN predicts that by 2050
more than 20% of the world population will be over age 60. In recent years,
inclusion of gerontology students living with older adults has become more
common in the United States and internationally. Using elements of
service-learning, community participation, and residential immersion,
gerontology students are receiving broader field experience in gerontology
education.
This research, which involved a gerontology student living in older adult housing for
3.5 years, is among the longest and most intensive gerontological field
experience ever reported. Based on more than 2,000 hours of observations and
conversational interviews with 14 elderly residents, this study reflects the
importance of shared history, support for one another, negotiation of
environmental tensions, and demand for attention on the part of residents. This
unique combination of physical and social proximity in an intergenerational
alliance enables life enhancement for older adults and learning opportunities
for students.
The research reported above recommends that
student live-in roles with older adults become more formal. This video features
an innovative retirement home in the Netherlands that has opened
its doors to college students who live on site and help residents in
return for free lodgings while they carry out their studies.
Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing
Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America
and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
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