Integrating gerontology into celebrations of the 100th day of school: examining the feasibility of ageism-reducing resources for preschool to second-grade teachers

Negative perceptions of aging can form early in life and become difficult to change. Children are inundated with ageist messages through various sources and internalize those ideas without questioning them. Those who hold positive views of aging tend to be healthier, live longer, and engage more meaningfully and ethically with others. To promote such outcomes, children must be taught about aging early on. Teachers are positioned to do this work but must have the proper tools. The purpose of this project was to provide teachers with evidence-based educational materials related to aging and centenarians. We created a digital toolkit about aging and ageism with options for celebrating the 100th day of school in a way that reinforces academic content while supporting age-inclusivity. We used a mixed-methods approach to examine the feasibility of and gather feedback on the digital toolkit with 40 teachers and obtained a complete dataset from 25. Quantitative data were collected pre- and post-lesson implementation using the 12-item Expectations Regarding Aging Survey. Qualitative data were collected through open-ended survey questions and semi-structured interviews. Six teachers were observed. The data revealed a statistically significant improvement in expectations about aging (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and strong qualitative support for the digital toolkit.