2009-2010 Catalog - Graduate School - Bethel University

Course DescriptionsAdult Development and AgingADVA605 (GRTG605) • Health and Aging(ADAG)3 creditsExamination of health as shalom, well-being, or wholeness. Normal physical,psychological, and spiritual changes of aging will be addressed. Identification ofways to promote healthy aging and common health concerns of the elderly.ADVA610 (GRTG610) • Adult Development and Aging(ADAG)3 creditsIn-depth understanding of the developmental processes related to aging froma psychosocial perspective. Learners explore age-change theories and humanadaptations in terms of mental health, personality stability, sensory aging relatedto cognitive processes, learning, and social cognition. Discussion of relationshipissues, gender roles, death and bereavement, occupational patterns, retirement,and leisure.ADVA615 (GRTG615) • Aging and Diversity:Class, Gender, and Ethnicity(ADAG)3 creditsExploration of the meaning of diversity, broadly defined to include differences intypes of community, housing, ethnicity, physical status, and age, and examinationof this range of diversity as it applies to the field and practice of adult developmentand aging.ADVA620 (GRTG620) • Spirituality and Aging(ADAG)3 creditsIssues such as meaning (and loss of meaning), grief, ambiguous loss, virtue ethics,and wisdom as they relate to aging persons. Examination of ethnic and genderinfluences on the experience of spirituality in the aging process from a cross-culturalperspective. Models of assessment of spiritual needs will be presented.ADVA640 (GRTG640) • Policy Issues in Aging(ADAG)3 creditsIn-depth examination of the major public policies and programs that are intendedto benefit older persons. Topics include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, theAmericans with Disabilities Act, and the Older Americans Act. Special attentionwill be directed at the evolution of federal, state, local, and individual roles aswell as how the laws play out in community. Analysis of the differential impact ofpolicy proposals on different populations of the elderly, particularly with referenceto sex, race, class, and urban/rural differences. Discussion of strategies and tacticsthat could influence the development of public policy.79