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EDITORIAL Cerontologial Educarion: Meeting the Challenge

D e i Jones and Victor Minichiello

cunart courses offered in gerontology and a foundation for char t ing future developments in the field of

2 It was general ly recognised that the State has a significant role to play in providing llsources to meet the educational needs for professional development and mining in aged care. Corwl~on with people involved in rhe p v i s i o n and rcceip of services in the planning and evaluation of educational services was seen as important. Government. whether State or Commonwealth. should continue to assist in providing the necessary philosophical and administrative inhamucrure to enabk gerontological education to be a cooperative venture between consumers. professional bodies rhe aged care indu~hy and tertiary institutions. It was also suggesfed that Govemmcnt should increase its responsibility in funding the provision of educational programmes for the o lder adult learners. Such programmes may enhance the well-being of older people. while at the same time address the issues of social justice and equity in creating more educational

3. The need to develop foresight and initiative in generating changes in professional courses to meet changing needs in society. was discussed. David Green. in his paper, noted that gerontology faces a number of significant challenges associated not only with the ageing of our p0Pll;uion. but with the pressures which arc emerging From the rylical sonomic stnrtunl changes which are now Ormrring in Australian society. Teniary c m in gerontology will need to adapt to these changes to main& ~ekvanx and develop a capacity to influence future d i m i o n s in policy and provision of adequate smicer

4. The need to expand thc curriculum content of gerontology programmes. from direct care skills, to iKl& communicarim, ' m t q m m m h i p ' . management and fin;urial skills team building and a much bruadcr multipmfessional range of clinical and interpersonal skills was ddmssal in rhe paper presented by Benjamin Pi- Sally Gamn also emphasised the importma of maintaining and upgrading management skills for d i m o m of nursing homes. They particularly require highly specdid knowkdge of lhei industry, not only for professional rola but also for the ability to recruit suitably qualified staff for quality assurance. She pointed to the situation faced by the nursing home industry in amYting appropriately trained staff in gerontological ming This is a problan which is par~Jy aggravated by the entry into the industry of non-professional administrators who may not be aware of the required tzdwahd- The nced to involve d i s c i p l i from the humanities and applied sciences in gerontological education was addrused by Victor Minichiello and Deirdre Jones. Several speakers noted thc desirability of integrating UIURY with rrse;lrch and pmfssional practice and the importaoce of providing fieldwork opportunities for studartr to gain dirrct expcrienx with older people. In his paper, Ray Ckary outlioed a model for enhancing the student-practitioner relationship. Hal Kendig funher

lgemnmlogigl-

opdonr for thc older adult Icamer.

explored the two-way relationship between research and education in gerontology and the ties of university-based knowledge with the broader 'public world of action'. He argued, that if one assumes that knowledge comes only from the 'scientific' method, the teacher and student can too easily be locked into an artificially mechanical, narrow and hierarchical view of the world. A practitioner who requires research-based knowledge, before acting on behalf of a client in need, can be limited operationally. Clinical practice and principles usually are far more useful for those who must act quickIy in complex situations. In applied fields such as gerontology. much of the 'new' knowledge turns out to be research confirmation of insights long held by skilled professionals.

5 . Entry requirements into tertiary courses are competitive and often restrict access to further educational opportunities for those who do not have the needed entry requirements. Many older people currently do not qualify for entry into award courses. The need for improving access to award courses. for example, by providing bridging courses, facilitating geographic access to courses, and offering off-campus courses and classes at more convenient times for people in full-time employment were highlighted by Betty Marginson and Robert Helme. A variety of examples, of how to provide (and make accessible) programmes for adult learners to overcome negative attitudes towards the elderly, was presented by Tedi Paul.

6. A number of controversial issues was also raised at the workshop. For example. Benjamin Pittman referred to the current debate on the concept of so called 'generic' training at a 'lower level' and suggested that although it may be legitimate as a cost-cutting measure. there are objections from the professions on the grounds that standards of care may be lowered. He also challenged the current trend in tertiary education which gives priority to research over teaching at a time when the ageing community requires professional skills to be expertly taught in order to meet standards of care. It was also suggested that entrenched bureaucratic processes (and the associated power struggles) found within universities. government and the aged care industry may constrain innovation, creativity and progress i n developing courses which match changing social and economic circumstances. Betty Marginson noted that alignment of courses with the real needs of older people was likely to be subject to some distortion by university values and priorities. This viewpoint was certainly supported by Bernard Rechter's comment that the goals of the university. the State and professional associations are not always compatible or understood by each other.

Tribute We were fortunate to have in the audience Mrs May Swinbume, an older person who had a life-long interest in adult education. Her comments at the workshop reflect the necessity for educators to consult with the *subjects of ageing' who may or may not be 'consumers'. There was a need, she said, for educators to come down to earth before setting themselves up as experts in aged care. She noted in a written commentary:

I see the needs of older people - if and where they need services - as being supplied from different mas of 'care': self help through partner. family. community, as well as from social. health and medical services. The issues dealt with in the workshop were mainly, if not entirely, related to

the provision of health services - reinforcing the view that most older people are ill and dependent.

She believed that researchers. teachers, students and practitioners at the workshop appeared to focus narrowly on:

education OF providers (methodologies of education) education FOR providers (content of curriculums) education ABOUT providers (philosophy, or systemisation of educational processes) Accordingly, she felt that if greater emphasis was placed

on educating people for successful ageing, many of today's services would become redundant.

"Most older people today come not sufficiently prepared into the third age and might find themselves in less need for care if they were better prepared to meet the challenges of old age." She pointed out that not all older people were consumers of health services and many would welcome further intellectual stimulation to become consumers of education programmes and learn new skills for maintaining their quality of life. The next workshop, she suggested, could pursue the theme of 'Education about - for - of getting older: meeting the challenge'.

May Swinbume passed away in June 1991. Her reflective and insightful contribution to continuing education and her most positive attitude to enhancing the dimension of ageing in our lives are sincerely acknowledged by all the staff at the Lincoln Gerontology Centre. Dcirdrr Jones und V i w w Minii.lrielki Cirrv, Editors. Lu Triihr Uniwrsity

Note about the Guest Editors: Ms Deirdre Jones was formerly Co-ordinater of Postgraduate Physiotherapy Education af La Trobe University and is currently Honorary Principal Associate in the Lincoln Gerontology Centre. Ms Jones wa.. a founding member of the Lincoln Geronrology Centre and the Graduate Diploma in Gerontology and Master of Gerontology. Her professional interests include quality of life, ethics and physiotherapy and gerontological education. She is currently writing on the quality of life and older people. and is a co-editor of the book. /n/roduction to Geronto/o<qy. and of the monograph series, Lincoln Pupers in Gerontology.

Dr Victor Minichiello is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Behavioural Health Sciences at La Trobe University and the Coordinator of the Graduate Diploma in Gerontology and Master of Gerontology. He has published widely in Australian and international journals on the topic of gerontological education. His teaching interests include the sociology of ageing, public policy and research methods. He is the co-author of In-depth inferviewing ( I 990) and Introduction fo gerontology: a multidisciplinary approach, due to be published by Prentice Hall in early 1992.

Guest Editors' Note: We would like to express our appreciation to Ms Loris Alexander, Ms Renee Wahlstrom. Ms Margaret Green, Ms Thea Morriss and Ms Susan Inglis for assisting us to organise the Second National Workshop; to Professor David Cox, Professor Stewart Fraser, Professor Robert Hclme and Professor Judy Parker for chairing the sessions; to members of the Workshop Planning Committee: and to Professor Elwyn Davits for opening the Workshop. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance provided to us by the Editor of the Australiun /ournu/ on Ageing in preparing this special issue.

4 Australian Journal on Ageing, Vol. 10, No. 2