Chinese Social Work Students’ Attitudes Towards Gerontological Social Work: A Q‐Methodology Study

China has the world’s largest population of people aged 60 years and above, increasing the demand for social workers who are prepared to support older people within its evolving health and social care system. This study aimed to examine Chinese social work students’ attitudes towards gerontological social work. We adopted the Q‐methodology that integrates both qualitative and quantitative methods to understand distinct attitudinal profiles among the participants. Thirty social work students (mean age: 21.7 years old, female: 60%; undergraduate: 21; postgraduate: 9) were recruited from Chinese mainland universities. Participants ranked 68 statements according to their level of agreement into a forced‐choice grid (Q‐sort) and subsequently completed follow‐up interviews. The Q‐sorts were analysed using principal component analysis to identify factors that represent participants’ opinions, while qualitative data were also analysed to support factor interpretation. Two contrasting perspectives were identified: value‐driven advocacy and challenge‐based apprehension. Students representing the first perspective valued gerontological social work because of its alignment with filial piety and the professional values of social work. Those representing the second perspective expressed greater concern about their professional competence and anticipated practice difficulties. Despite these differences, both perspectives recognised the marginal status of gerontological social work and inadequate educational preparation in this field. The findings indicate that social work education needs to strengthen students’ gerontological knowledge and practice competence while critically addressing ageist assumptions that may underlie anticipated difficulties in working with older people. Greater educational effort to both enhance gerontological competencies and address ageism, as well as institutional recognition of gerontological social work, may improve students’ readiness to enter this field.