Aging and Diversity: An Active Learning Experience

As the older population in the United States is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, it is important to understand the characteristics, the potential, and the needs of this population. In this new and fully revised edition of Aging and Diversity, Chandra Mehrotra and Lisa Wagner address key topics in diversity and aging, discussing how the aging experience is affected by not only race and ethnicity but also gender, religious affiliation, social class, rural-urban community location, and sexual orientation and gender identity. Taking this broad view of human diversity allows the authors to convey some of the rich complexities facing our aging population – complexities that provide both challenges to meet the needs of a diverse population of elders and opportunities to learn how to live in a pluralistic society. Mehrotra and Wagner present up-to-date knowledge and scholarship about aging and diversity in a way that engages readers in active learning, placing ongoing emphasis on developing readers’ knowledge and skills, fostering higher order thinking, and encouraging exploration of personal values and attitudes.

Chandra M. Mehrotra, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. He has served as a consultant to the United Nation’s Population Fund, as a chair of APA’s Committee on Aging and the Minnesota Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators, and on the editorial boards of Educational Gerontology and Teaching of Psychology. Over the course of his career, he has received a number of awards and honors, and has authored several books related to aging, teaching and learning in psychology, distance learning, and educational assessment.

Lisa S. Wagner, PhD is Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Gerontology Minor at the University of San Francisco (USF). Dr. Wagner has conducted research on stereotyping and aging for the past 20 years. As Director of the Gerontology Minor at USF, she helps promote awareness of aging issues on campus and creates opportunities for meaningful intergenerational interactions. She serves on the editorial board of Educational Gerontology.