High school students' attitudes and perceptions toward working with older populations: An exploratory study among family and consumer sciences and health sciences students in Texas

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2009-12

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The older population, individuals who are 65 years old or older, in the United States reached 39 million in 2009 and is projected to reach 89 million by year 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). The Texas Department of Aging (2003) predicted that the older population in Texas will reach 8.1 million by year 2040, comprising 23% of the total population in the United Sates. Services for older adults, such as home health care and community care, have been identified to have the highest projected employment growth rates among other occupations in Texas by year 2014 (Texas Workforce Commission, 2008). With the enormous growth of older population and the change of age structure, particular attention is required to provide necessary services for older adults to accommodate their needs. This study explored current Texas high school students’ perceptions and attitudes toward older adults. Respondents in the study consisted of high school students between 8th and 12th grade (N = 715) from 20 school districts in Texas, who enrolled in courses in either the Human Services or the Health Science Career Clusters. They were asked to complete a 69-item questionnaire about their prior experiences with older adults, perceptions of older adults, course information, awareness of career opportunities in the services for older adults, attitudes toward working with older adults after graduation, interests for future employment and post-secondary education, and their background information. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM). The data showed that Texas high school students’ attitudes toward working with older adults were positively influenced by their prior experiences with older adults (β = .22, p < .001) and their course experiences that included gerontology content (β = .82, p < .01). Also, their future plans for employment and post-secondary education were significantly influenced by these two factors (β = .49, p ≤ .001 and β = 1.85, p < .01, respectively). In addition, a statistical significance was found in the relationship of high school students’ perceptions and their attitudes toward working with older adults (β = -.57, p ≤ .05). However, no significant relationship existed between students’ prior experiences and their perceptions of older adults. Courses that included gerontology content were identified to be significantly influential to high school students’ perceptions of older adults, awareness of career opportunities in the services for older adults, attitudes toward working with older adults, and their interests for future employment and post-secondary education. Course enrollment may be viewed as a controllable factor that teachers and educators may pose direct impacts on students. This finding indicated the importance of the inclusion of gerontology content into current high school curriculum that would improve students’ positive attitudes toward older adults and increase their understanding and interests for future employment and post-secondary education after graduation from high school.

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