Till Örebro universitet

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.