ORCID

Halvorsen, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9184-633X

Language

English (en)

Publication Date

2021

Summary

At a time when the number of younger students entering our colleges and universities is stagnant and the number of older people in our society continues to grow by the millions, schools of social work have an opportunity to broaden their student base by intentionally including people past midlife. This commentary argues that we must recruit and retain “encore students”—defined as those aged 35 and older—in our social work programs for schools, students, the profession, and society. It covers key demographic changes in the U.S. and their relation to social work programs, the importance of multigenerational classrooms, interest in encore careers for the social good, and the current and future shortage of social workers. It then reports on the results of an online search of 20 social work programs’ homepages and websites devoted to diversity issues, finding little regarding age-inclusive images and language. It concludes by offering concrete steps that social work programs can take to become more age inclusive, including incorporating the principles of andragogy—adult learning theory—into curricula, increasing the accessibility of degrees, and innovating in program designs. The paradox to creating more age-inclusive social work programs is that by doing so, we create better experiences for all students.

Document Type

Article

Comments

Originally Published In: Halvorsen, C., & Emmanuel, E. (2021). An encore in social work? How our schools can become more age inclusive. Journal of Social Work Education, 57(4), 676-687. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2020.1762269

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