Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides overview of practical guidance for social work students interested in working with older adults and their families and communities, as well as those in aging studies seeking Anti-oppressive practice content. It reviews key terminology in aging studies including ageism, cohort, and generation and introduces the intersectional life course perspective. The book deals with a discussion of theory and reviews of social work practice theories commonly used with older adults. It explains the linkages between the different sectors, but it also illuminates the discourses shaping their mandates, philosophies, and practices, whether explicitly or implicitly, and calls attention to the relative power or voice that older people and their families and communities have in shaping priorities and claiming ownership over services.