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What Gerontology Means For Senior Students: The Studying Of Ageing By The Aged

  • Lifestyle
  • 3 months ago
  • SilverStreak Editorial Team

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What Gerontology Means For Senior Students: The Studying Of Ageing By The Aged
Winnie Koh and Song Cheng Hock, while in their 70s, chose to go back to school as senior students to study gerontology. But what is gerontology? At its core, it is simply the study of ageing.
Of course, the subject of gerontology goes a little deeper than that. It is in fact a multidisciplinary approach encompassing the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive and biological aspects of ageing that’s rapidly gaining prominence – thanks in no small part to ageing populations throughout the developed world which is growing this academic field exponentially.
Singapore, too, is facing its own uphill battle with a soon-to-be superaged society, which partially explains why many seniors on the island are signing up for further education in the field of gerontology.
These reasons range from the practical, such as those looking for a change of pace with a mid-career shift, to the emotional, in the case of silvers prepping to care for others – and themselves – in later life.
This is what the study of gerontology means for these two seniors in Singapore who’ve taken it upon themselves to seek further education well into their golden years.
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What gerontology means for ageing practitioners
What Gerontology Means For Senior Students: The Studying Of Ageing By The Aged - Winnie Koh
Image Courtesy of Winnie Koh
Winnie went back to school at the age of 72, picking up her Master of Gerontology at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) over two years.
Her thinking was that the study would arm her with “up-to-date knowledge on the latest happenings in the ageing industry” – a natural fit, given her day job as chief executive of Moral Home For The Aged Sick, a nursing home in Bedok.
To be honest, when I was first recommended the course by a friend, I didn’t know what gerontology even was. But after it was explained to me, I thought it would be useful to help me better care for my residents,
Winnie says.
Even as practitioners, you're usually wrapped up in your specific field. So taking this course and learning about the various aspects of gerontology gave me a much broader 'thinking cap' about ageing,
adds the executive, who's been working at the nursing home for more than two decades.

"It's not so much about direct applications to our programmes, but broadening my horizons about what we can do."

Most notably, she says that the course gave her the know-how to find and assess academic research in ageing-related issues like loneliness or depression, which she has since used to inform how Moral Home For The Aged Sick runs and evaluates their own programmes.
Gerontology for personal growth
What Gerontology Means For Senior Students: The Studying Of Ageing By The Aged - Seng Cheng Hock
Image Courtesy of Song Cheng Hock
Another senior who enrolled in SUSS’ Gerontology programme in his 70s, this time in pursuit of a graduate diploma, was retired pastor Cheng Hock.
The study of gerontology is personal, so that I can be better prepared as I enter my 80s,
says the 71-year-old.

"I have one grandson that is two years old, and another just hit seven months. It's not up to me to determine how long I can live for, but I want to reach at least 85, so I can see them in their teens."

What's ahead of me is unlived life – so I better learn something about it before I reach it,
he adds.

"Something new, relevant and applicable, which I can hopefully share with friends on an informal basis and apply at the seminary (where he teaches pastoral counselling part-time)."

As it turned out, one of the course’s biggest takeaways for the silver was “a greater appreciation of how public policy for ageing is made and executed”.
There's so much going on behind the scenes that the general public don’t know about. There are costs, unintended consequences, and trade-offs that must be considered, and understanding how all the wheels spin really gives us better context about how Singapore is trying to care for its ageing population,
Cheng Hock says.
Like Winnie, it also gave him a deeper understanding of how to read up on the lesser-known issues that he’d have to look out for among himself and his friends as they age.

"One thing that I’m really grateful for is that they taught us how to dig into academic research, using tools like Google Scholar or AI."

What I'm going to do next is to use it to explore how certain aspects of ageing are affected by spirituality; how a person's faith can affect their mindset, or how spirituality makes them feel in the face of the unknown. This will inform my teachings at seminary and among my friends,
he adds.
Staying connected with the next generation
Both seniors agree that an incidental benefit of their gerontology studies at SUSS was forging new connections with the younger generation, as their coursework often involved group projects.
I was very happy to go back to school after so long and get some new experiences working with younger people in the same cohort. They were very fast with the computer, but they were also very patient in teaching me how to use technology to do things faster and easier.
Winnie says,
For Cheng Hock, on the other hand, it was especially heartening to see just how many younger people were interested in caring for older people.

"Over the days, I saw how passion doesn't come naturally – it is nurtured. Many of these young practitioners have that fire in their belly, sometimes because of a personal connection to ageing, like when their mother has dementia. They still want to learn more and get better at helping people. That was amazing to see."

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