Developing and Evaluating an Educational Program on Aging in the High School Curriculum

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an educational intervention designed to address aging and careers in aging for high school students. A total of two teachers and 84 students participated in the study. Teachers and students were surveyed before and after the implementation of the educational module. Teachers and students had neutral to positive responses according to the pre-intervention survey. Most of the students reported that they had not learned about aging previously. Following the intervention students reported that they enjoyed learning about where older adults live and how the body changes with age. Teachers shared that parents responded well to the inclusion of aging specific education. It is imperative to increase efforts to improve attitudes about older adults/aging among high school students prior to enrolling in college or higher education and to increase their awareness of career opportunities in the aging field.