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Ask them why: Older learners' motivational reasons for learning at a university for the third age
Örebro University, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences. Department of Education.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2752-7710
2023 (English)In: Studies in the Education of Adults, ISSN 0266-0830, E-ISSN 1478-9833, Vol. 55, no 1, p. 82-100Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Older adults continue learning for intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. Literature has often portrayed the reasons for learning in older age as either intentional or as predetermined by socialisation. This emphasis on either agency or social structures is found, not least, in the humanist and critical principles of older adult education. This article addresses the question 'why do older adults learn?' Using the concepts of ontological security (Giddens) and habitus (Bourdieu), it provides a sociological interpretation of the motivational reasons to learn in terms of their individual and social nature. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on 11 interview transcripts from current and previous older learners at a university for the third age (U3A) in Lebanon. I categorise the motivational reasons for learning as contextual, intrinsic, educational and conducive. I conclude that the reasons for joining the U3A are complex - both individual and social - as they include reflexive and socially determined elements. As a result, I recommend that a restatement of the principles of educational gerontology would further our understanding of how the reasons for learning in older age are shaped by both the agency of individuals as well as socialisation.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis, 2023. Vol. 55, no 1, p. 82-100
Keywords [en]
Motivation, reasons for learning, older adults, U3A, Bourdieu, Giddens, ontological security, habitus
National Category
Learning
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-97885DOI: 10.1080/02660830.2022.2040347ISI: 000759378200001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85125418375OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-97885DiVA, id: diva2:1643296
Funder
European Commission, 754285Available from: 2022-03-09 Created: 2022-03-09 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Educating older adults: Theoretical and empirical examinations of the learning philosophies in older age
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Educating older adults: Theoretical and empirical examinations of the learning philosophies in older age
2023 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

In this thesis, I theoretically and empirically examine the dominant learning philosophies in older age. Three statements of principles of educational gerontology coalesce into two notorious learning philosophies in older age: humanist and critical. They formulate answers to vital questions about the education of older people. Written in 1990 from a political economy perspective that heavily draws on Freirean pedagogy, the first statement provides a moral and philosophical backing for the practices and aims of a (then) flourishing field by examining the marginalisation of older people in societies. In the same year, the second statement responds to the first with a humanist individualist perspective on the education of older people. It provides a different view on why they choose to learn, the goals for their education, and the role of teachers in enacting said educational goals. Two decades later, the third statement is born. This time, it invigorated a critical but culturalist-leaning perspective. It engages with the focal points in the previous statements and remains loyal to Freirean ideals in the face of an increasingly individualistic and globalised world. Over time, the three statements of principles fuelled a polarising debate around central questions in the education of older people.

In this methodologically rich thesis composed of four articles, I recommend and draft a fourth and late modern statement of the principles of educational gerontology, which overcomes agency/structure dualisms characterising the debate surrounding the current principles. First, this thesis confirms that leisure and liberal arts education empowers older people. Second, it attributes to the motives for learning in older age a reflexive ontological security nature that may go hand in hand with that of non-conscious class struggles. Third, it challenges the logic of emancipation embedded in critical educational gerontology and refutes the assumption that older learners are naïve. Finally, it envisages the teachers’ role as emancipators from a less coercive departure point.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Örebro: Örebro University, 2023. p. 147
Series
Örebro Studies in Education, ISSN 1404-9570 ; 66
Keywords
Educational gerontology, Anthony Giddens, U3A, older adult education, lifelong learning
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-102706 (URN)9789175294858 (ISBN)
Public defence
2023-02-17, Örebro universitet, Forumhuset, Hörsal F, Fakultetsgatan 1, Örebro, 13:15 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2022-12-13 Created: 2022-12-13 Last updated: 2023-02-06Bibliographically approved

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