Intermediate meaning of literature in adolescence and old age

UVOD: Srednjoškolsko obrazovanje u Republici Hrvatskoj omogućuje stjecanje znanja i vještina potrebnih za uključivanje na tržište rada ili za nastavak školovanja. Adolescenti, odnosno djeca srednjoškolske dobi su skupina pogodna oblikovanju i stvaranju zdravih stavova i stjecanju znanja. U prilog ovome idu i mnoge informacije kako osoba upravo u ovom životnom razdoblju raspolaže najvećim stupnjem znanja pa stoga uzimamo za zadatak ispitati postojeće znanje i stavove istih o starijoj životnoj dobi te saznati, unaprijediti ili istaknuti manjkavosti kao i pozitivne strane prisutnog kurikuluma u srednjim školama gimnazijskog i stručnog usmjerenja. METODE: U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 247 učenika srednjih škola, od čega 130 učenika za zanimanje medicinske sestre opće njege/medicinskog tehničara opće njege i 117 učenika gimnazijskog smjera. Instrumenti istraživanja su Upitnik sociodemografskih čimbenika i Geriatric Attitudes Scale. REZULTATI: Pozitivnije stavove prema osobama starije dobi imaju učenici koji se obrazuju za zanimanje medicinske sestre opće njege/medicinski tehničar opće njege. Značajna razlika uočena je u česticama: „ /većina starijih ljudi je ugodo društvo/, /kada bih mogao/la birati radije bih brinuo za mlađe nego starije pacijente/, /kako stare, ljudi postaju manje organizirani i više zbunjeni/, /uzimanje povijesti bolesti (anamneze) od starijih pacijenata je često veoma otežano/, /stariji ljudi u cjelini ne doprinose značajnije društvu/,/ liječenje kronično bolesnih starijih pacijenata je beznadno/, /starije osobe ne doprinose dovoljno za vlastitu zdravstvenu skrb/, /općenito, stariji ljudi su prespori za moderno društvo/, /zanimljivo je slušati priče starijih o njihovim prošlim iskustvima/“ ZAKLJUČAK: Ageizam, odnosno predrasude i stereotipi prema starijoj populaciji su neizbježni dio ljudske prirode. Osobni stavovi, odgoj, doticaj sa starijom osobom i suživot, angažman nastavnika u nastavi predmeta Hrvatskog jezika ili pak stručnih predmeta, mogu utjecati na sud i drugačije razumijevanje pročitanih djela te prevenirati ageizam, a doprinijeti boljem međuodnosu različitih generacija.INTRODUCTION: High school education in the Republic of Croatia lasts from 1 to 5 years and enables the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary for inclusion in the labour market or for continuing of education. Adolescent, i.e., high school children are a group eligible for shaping and creating sane attitudes and acquiring knowledge. This is supported by a lot of information that a person has the highest level of knowledge in this period of the life, so we aim to examine existing knowledge and attitudes about older age, and find out, improve, or highlight the shortcomings as well as strengths of the present high school curriculum, both in grammar schools and in trade schools. METHODS: The 247 high school students took part in the research, of which 130 students were in nursing school (medical technician profession), and 117 students were in gymnasium high school. The research instruments included the Sociodemographic factors questionnaire and Geriatric Attitudes scale. RESULTS: The nursing school students (medical technician profession) have more positive attitudes towards elderly people. A significant difference has been noticed in the following statements: "/most elderly people are a very pleasant company/, /when I could choose I would rather take care of younger than older patient/, /when people get older they seem to become less organised and more confused/, /to take medical history of elderly patients is often very complex/, /older people, in general, don't contribute so much to society/, /medical treatment for chronically ill elderly patients is hopeless/, /older people don't contribute enough in their own health care process/, /generally older people are too slow for modern society/, /it is interesting to listen to elderly people stories about their past experiences/". CONCLUSION: Ageism, i.e., prejudices and stereotypes towards the elderly population, are an inevitable part of human nature. Personal attitudes, upbringing, contact with the elderly, coexistence and involvement of teachers in teaching Croatian language or professional school subjects can influence the reasoning, contribute to a different understanding of the literary works read and prevent ageism