Engaging post-secondary students in a multidisciplinary aging studies interest group

Little is known about student aging interest groups (AIGs) in post-secondary institutions. Our study evaluated awareness of a student aging interest group at a western Canadian university with no gerontology program. Additional goals included assessing interest in joining the AIG, participation rate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gerontology & geriatrics education 2023-10, Vol.44 (4), p.574-587
Main Authors: Dansereau, Lisette, Campbell, Megan, Addison, Courtney
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Aging (Individuals)
aging interest group
Gerontology
Group Activities
Health sciences
multidisciplinary
Multidisciplinary practices
post-secondary
Prior Learning
Student engagement
Students
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Little is known about student aging interest groups (AIGs) in post-secondary institutions. Our study evaluated awareness of a student aging interest group at a western Canadian university with no gerontology program. Additional goals included assessing interest in joining the AIG, participation rates among group members, and preferences for group activities. Using a mixed method approach we analyzed 13 years of administrative data recording 65 meetings and conducted a survey among group members and nonmember students across the university with a potential interest in aging (n = 52). Almost two-thirds of respondents (n = 33) were nonmembers with most of these (n = 24) having no prior knowledge of the AIG; 77% of students already aware of the AIG learned about it from a professor. Sixty per cent of respondents were in health-related faculties, with the remainder representing multiple disciplines and faculties. Group attendance was strongly influenced by student workloads and schedules, with average attendance rising by 27.3% during the shift to virtual meetings in 2020-21. Our results highlight the interdisciplinary nature of aging studies, the key role faculty members play in informing students about AIGs, and the broad range of interests that students have in issues related to age and aging.
ISSN:0270-1960
1545-3847
DOI:10.1080/02701960.2022.2123320