The purpose of this study was to determine if aging attitudes, informal knowledge and formal education impact Master of Social Work (MSW) student interest in geriatric social work. A total of 70 MSW students participated in this study. The students were recruited from several metropolitan Atlanta MSW programs. A quantitative research design was employed, and surveys were used to gather the data. This study was designed to document the characteristics of MSW students and to predict interest based on perceptions using Ordinal Regression analysis. There was statistical significance identified with the aging attitudes and formal education variables and no statistical significance identified with the informal knowledge variable. The conclusions from this study suggest continued research regarding the factors influencing interest in geriatric social work.

This study was conducted to assess Masters of social Work students’ interest in gerontology. Students’ gerontological knowledge, attitude and experience with the aging population was examined to see if they have any influence on interest in working with older adults. The positivist worldview was used to identify students’ behavior toward older adults while checking to see if correlates to interest in working with that population. Survey questionnaire was used to collect information on student’s interest in working with older adults, their knowledge, attitude and experience. Modified versions of Palmore Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ) and Kogan’s Attitude Toward Old People (KAOP) scales were used to collect information on students’ knowledge and attitude toward older adults. Additional questions about demographic data was included along with direct question on interest in working with the older adults. The results from the use of the quantitative approach allowed further statistical analysis using SPSS to identify relationships between the variables. The study found relationships between knowledge of aging and interest in aging-related work. The study recommends that future research examine factors that influence attitude and implementing gerontological education and training in social work programs to improve student’s interest in aging related work.