Lifelong learning is an incredibly important tool for finding satisfaction in the after-50 years. Authors Nancy Nordstrom, former director of the Elderhostel Institute Network--the largest educational organization for older adults in the world--and her son Jon are experts on the subject. They give the how-to details on maintaining an active, fulfilling lifestyle after leaving the workforce, through educational travel, volunteerism, civic action, and more.
This first truly comprehensive interdisciplinary, international critique of theory and practice in lifelong learning as it relates to later life is an absolute tour de force. Alexandra Withnall, Universities of Warwick and Leicester, UK. This is a book that needed to be written: it provides a most thorough and skilful analysis of a comprehensive range of contemporary literature about learning in later life from many localities and countries of the world. Peter Jarvis, Professor Emeritus, University of Surrey Impressive in its scope this handbook seeks to describe older learning critically within the lifelong learning literature at the same time that it makes a strong and persuasive case for taking older learning seriously in our postmodern world. Kenneth Wain, University of Malta Lifelong learning in later life is an essential handbook for a wide range of people who work alongside older adults in varied contexts. This handbook brings together both orthodox approaches to educational gerontology and fresh perspectives on important emerging issues faced by seniors around the globe. Issues discussed include the social construction of ageing, the importance of lifelong learning policy and practice, participation in later life learning, education of marginalised groups within older communities, inter-generational learning, volunteering and ‘active ageing’, the political economy of older adulthood, learning for better health and well-being, and the place of seniors in a learning society. Brian Findsen is a professor of adult education, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. His writings are usually constructed within a social justice framework such as The Fourth Sector: Adult and Community Education in Aotearoa New Zealand (edited with John Benseman and Miriama Scott in 1996) and Learning later (2005). Marvin Formosa is a lecturer in the European Centre for Gerontology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta. In addition to various articles focusing on critical educational gerontology, recent and forthcoming books include Social Class Dynamics in Later Life (2009) and Social Class in Later Life: Power, Identity and Lifestyle (with Paul Higgs, 2012).
Focusing on understanding the varied learning experiences of older people across the life course, this groundbreaking new book analyzes the role and significance of learning in older people’s lives today.
Over the last decade there has been a resurgence of interest in what adults learn in their later years (often described as beyond 65) and how this learning is linked to current personal, social and global issues. This learning commonly occurs in informal ways as seniors go about their daily lives. This kind of informal learning can be supplemented by non-formal education (via participation in planned learning as members of organizations) and less frequently in formal education structures such as universities. This book highlights how older people are learning in a myriad of ways and conditions. It covers everything from individualistic learning through to national issues of older adult education. Fresh perspectives are provided on biographical insights into retirement and higher education, how older people generate know-how in the company of others and in cross-cultural aspects, such as Chinese elders in Hong Kong and Māori seniors in Aotearoa New Zealand. In addition, the links between health and learning are explored, as well as the commitment universities in three countries have made to become age-friendly. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Lifelong Education.
Within the UK and Europe, government legislation and policies concerned with demography have asserted a paradigmatic shift towards the increased engagement of older people with public services. The philosophy of user involvement and co-production within these contexts has become integral to finding ways in which to improve the wellbeing of older people and their experiences of ageing well. Whilst this area has been steadily emerging within the educational field in relation to the lifelong learning of older people, there has been a relative under-theorization and a lack of empirical research however into the lifelong learning needs, opportunities and experiences of those older people using social care who are typically marginalized from these debates and developments. This book address this gap by paying specific attention to examining what opportunities might be present within care services and public services in general for older people using social care to capitalize on the skills and knowledge they might need to achieve more person-centred support. Through developing a debate and argument for the convergence of the lifelong learning agenda with social policy and social care, its core argument focusses on the challenge of sustainability of the care and support of older people. The author explores how social care could engage more meaningfully with concepts such as social capital and the challenges associated with achieving a genuine co-productive approach towards the quality of experience of older people using social care. This book will be an essential read for professionals working with older people in health and social care, as well as those engaged with gerontology and ageing studies in education and practice.
An analysis of learning throughout the whole of life. Written as a text for both educators and carers, it demonstrates how the learning process works through life and how learning at all stages of life is best achieved.
Productive Ageing is the involvement of older adults in society through employment, volunteering, caregiving, education and skill building. In 2020 there will be 248 million people in China aged 60 and over. At the same time, the birth rate continues to drop and family structures are being transformed. In the face of such pressing demographic challenges, the productive engagement of older adults is a clear-cut strategy to strengthen families and communities while simultaneously promoting the health of older adults. From a human capital perspective, an ageing population represents resources to address societal needs; and the active engagement of older adults can enhance and maintain the physical, mental and cognitive health of the older adults. The challenge is to develop policies that support productive engagement and implement evidence-based programs that create opportunities for older adults in active engagement in the community. Contributions of older adults will be necessary for social and economic development of families, communities, and society. Productive Engagement in Later Life covers the 2009 China conference on productive aging and discusses how to initiate and build productive aging agenda in China and around the globe. This book was originally published as a special issue of China Journal of Social Work.
Over the last forty years, the International Journal of Lifelong Education has become a global leader in the field of research on adult education and lifelong learning. Drawing extensively on articles published in the journal, scholars from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australasia and Europe reflect in two volumes on how the field has evolved over four decades, and on the strengths and weaknesses of its contributions to knowledge. The second of two volumes, this book is based on a collective research project, carried out largely by members of the journal’s editorial advisory board, on what it has published over four decades. The introduction explains the origins development of the journal, the sometimes-passionate debates in the wider field, and the approach and concerns of those who conducted this research. Other chapters explore critical areas of debate (citizenship and its learning, learning and work, and widening participation and higher education); ‘political’ and ‘scientific’ dimensions in intergovernmental organisations’ policy work; inequality and lifelong education; opportunities and tensions created in universities by lifelong learning; and the development of studies of learning in later life since the 1980s. Two concluding chapters examine the influence of Paolo Freire and Jack Mezirow. The two volumes will appeal to researchers, teachers and professionals in lifelong learning and adult education, as well as to those interested in the development of knowledge in fields of science and practice.
Why has punditry lately overtaken news? Why do lies seem to linger so long in the cultural subconscious even after they’ve been thoroughly discredited? And why, when more people than ever before are documenting the truth with laptops and digital cameras, does fact-free spin and propaganda seem to work so well? True Enough explores leading controversies of national politics, foreign affairs, science, and business, explaining how Americans have begun to organize themselves into echo chambers that harbor diametrically different facts—not merely opinions—from those of the larger culture.
This book offers global evidence about the increasing longevity, its consequences and its potential for societal benefits. Based on statistics, academic literature, policy initiatives and numerous country experiences, it explains the interconnected effects of a longer later life, lifelong learning and more productive societies. This larger picture shows how the future can be managed by making strategic choices today. Choosing the right policies allows gaining the maximum benefits from the longevity dividend for current and future generations. This book explains how investing in lifelong learning can enrich the longevity dividend. It gives valuable insights for policy advisors, decision makers, researchers, health professionals, practitioners, students of aging and late life educators.
