Social Work Intervention with the Aged: Toward a Change in the Institutionalized Thought Structure

Authors

Shimon S. Gottschalk, Florida State University
Michael Frumkin, Florida State University
Allan V. Kaufman, Florida State University

Abstract

The social problems associated with aging are viewed as derived from a series of socially defined meanings in the areas of: (1) power/authority,(2) responsibility, (3) productivity/work, (4) dependence/ independence,and (5) knowledge/rationality. A parallel series of alternative meanings is proposed which make possible the creation of alternative institutional forms which hold promise for making contemporary problems substantially obsolete. An era of post-professinalism is envisioned in which helping agents become political activists committed to social change on the cognitive, as well as the material level.

Recommended Citation

Gottschalk, Shimon S.; Frumkin, Michael; and Kaufman, Allan V. (1984) "Social Work Intervention with the Aged: Toward a Change in the Institutionalized Thought Structure," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 11: Iss. 1, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.1637
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol11/iss1/3