Dr Brian Findsen, Department of Adult & Continuing Eduation,
This paper is concerned with locating learning/educational opportunities for older people (arbitrarily defined as above 50 years of age) in Scotland
Lifelong learning and its significance for later adulthood in Scotland
Although hardly new, the notion of lifelong learning has received much more attention in recent decades as nation states have become conscious of the need to have citizens more knowledgeable about the societies they live in. Lifelong learning also entails citizens’ understanding of how people at whatever age are able to lead a productive life including sustainable work. In education circles, it is commonplace to speak of “a learning society” in which citizens can learn throughout their lives (lifelong learning) and in different spheres, both private (as in the family) and public (in the workplace). In this regard, we can speak of lifewide learning i.e. learning not restricted to formal education settings such as schools and universities but embracing more incidental (informal learning) and non-formal learning (systematic, organised learning which is not normally related to qualifications). This categorisation of learning into the three domains of informal, non-formal and formal is an essential tool for validating the worth of all learning, regardless of context (Jarvis 1985).
The concept of lifelong learning has been embraced by Scotland UK Scotland Scotland Scotland
Where do older adults fit into this context? A prominent educational gerontologist within the UK
lifecourse in his well-known book, A fresh map of life (1989). In this book he writes of four major phases or ages: in the first age of life, we are concerned about early socialisation in which a person is heavily dependent on others, usually parents; the second age is one of adult maturity in which typically individuals take on increased responsibilities of social relationships, career development, perhaps childrearing and financial autonomy. In the third age, Laslett refers to renewed opportunities available to adults free from the constraints of the second age; it is a time for exercising greater freedom and creativity, sometimes suppressed in the “peak” of life when duties and obligations to work took precedence. In the final and fourth age, a person prepares for death and may once again be dependent as in the first age. It has to be said that this portrayal is a highly romantic version of reality, written from the standpoint of a comfortable academic. Would the workers in the shipyards of the Clyde have seen life in this way? I doubt it. However, Laslett’s typology does allow us to think of older adults in a positive light, away from stereotypical views of older people as decrepit and parasitic on society. He also opened the door for other more realistic portrayals of later life as a time for both expressive and instrumental forms of learning. Most significantly, he placed the third age of learning within a lifelong learning framework, arguing that learning and education continue throughout life and that there should be equality of educational opportunity, regardless of one’s location in the lifecourse.
One important rendition of the learning needs of older adults was provided by American pioneer in this field, Howard McClusky (1974). Fundamentally, he pointed to at least four important learning needs as follows:
Coping needs: adults engaged in physical fitness, economic self-sufficiency, basic education;
Expressive needs: adults participating in activities for their own sake and not necessarily to achieve a goal;
Contributive needs: adults deciding how to be useful contributors to society;
Influence needs: adults becoming agents for social change.
For the vast majority of older adults, it is the coping and expressive needs which gain prominence in their lives. Indeed, most educational providers are quite good at targeting seniors for helping to meet these groups of needs. Courses in preparing for retirement, creative writing, maintaining your fitness and eating healthily illustrate this kind of course, perhaps provided by a local community education centre or a further education college or university. Yet contributive needs are also important for larger portions of the older adult population as many elders seek to “repay” society, often through volunteering activities in a host of agencies, thus providing a reserve of cheap labour. The fourth set of needs regarding influence are largely missing from many (older) people’s lives but are apparent in the political and cultural configurations of Scottish society. Formalised influence groups for seniors include the Senior Citizens Unity Party in the Scottish Parliament but can also be occasionally apparent in linked agencies concerned for older people such as Age Concern and Help the Aged. While there is much potential for seniors to effect social change (especially given the advances of new technologies for communication wherein significant numbers of older people have increasing familiarity), this is counter-balanced by the marginalising of many older adults from active participation as citizens and through their own propensity to self-segregate (as in retirement villages). In most Western societies, it is the glorification of youth, exemplified in public advertising on television, that is starkly obvious. To be old is to be “other”, outside the norm (Biggs 1993).
International and national policy perspectives
The kinds of policy decisions to be made in Scotland Europe has approximately 8% more over-60s than any other part of the world. So, it is sobering to consider the Scottish situation in at least a European-wide context. In forthcoming years Scotland
At a global level, the United Nations Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing devised in 1982 has been influential in setting parameters for nations to consider. The fundamental tenets of independence, participation, dignity, care and self-fulfilment form the basis for action across several domains inclusive of health, housing, family and education. Importantly, the Vienna Plan recognises that ageing is not only an issue for older people but for all. It advocates raising awareness of ageing as a lifespan development issue at both national and local levels and throughout the lifecourse.
In the educational sphere, four recommendations are made:
- To utilise older adults in the planning and implementation of aging provision;
- To adapt provision to raise awareness of ageing and related processes;
- To have equality of access to all;
- To challenge misconceptions of the stereotypical “older person”.
The Vienna Plan incorporates a “rights” rather than a “needs” based approach from the viewpoint of everyone’s right to participate in society on an equal footing. The World Health Organisation’s definition of active ageing is revealing:
“the process of optimising opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age…The word ‘active’ refers to continuing participation in social, economic, cultural, spiritual and civic affairs, not just the ability to be physically active or to participate in the labour force” (2002: 12)
The crucial aspects of this declaration are its holistic approach and emphasis on active citizenry, not just in vocational terms.
Myths about older adults
There are several myths concerning older people which persist in our society about which education has a prominent role to dispel. In the book Learning later(2005) these myths are referred to as those of homogeneity, decrepitude, (in)dependence and consumerism (Findsen 2005).
In the case of homogeneity, there is a distinct tendency for older people to be lumped together as if they share common characteristics. The label “older person” somehow conveys certain attributes related to the autumn of one’s life. The truth is that as people age, there is increased diversity; people are more different from one another than similar. The lifestyle and life chances of a retired lawyer in Edinburgh are likely to be more advantaged than those of a manual worker in the East End of Glasgow; a woman living on the isle of Mull is not likely to share much with a golfer from Troon. Even allowing for an expansive definition of “older adult”, there is a big difference likely to exist between a 50 year old and an 85 year old of the same gender and geographical locality. We should acknowledge that the term “older adults” is deeply ambivalent – on the one hand, it can be used to classify people by their age and nominal shared characteristics as a means to publicise their rights to services such as education; on the other hand, age should not be a barrier to personal achievement. The notion of an ageless society, where age is an irrelevance, is an ideal but runs counter to an identity based on one’s place in the lifecourse.
A second prevalent myth emanates from the physical capabilities of older people. Often people are spoken of as decrepit, useless or passive just because of their age. Unfortunately, there has been much written about older adults’ learning from a medical or psychological model that emphasises their feebleness. Quite often it is the domains of memory, intelligence and agility which receive attention (usually in comparison with youngsters). While there may be some limited truth in such observations (older people do slow down because of physiological decline), there is nevertheless for seniors much more life experience and wisdom (both individual and collective) to draw upon. This potential for substantial wisdom to be marshalled has been tellingly called upon by more enlightened employers in mentoring programmes in industry. Strategic use of the nimbleness and enthusiasm of youth combined with the stability and wisdom of older adulthood can result in very positive outcomes in the workplace but also in the home. This is a good example of inter-generational learning occurring in the workplace.
The third myth of (in)dependence of older people on younger people needs careful evaluation. While in the last period of life there may be some dependence, it is much more the case that vast numbers of older adults lead fully productive lives as semi-autonomous people. While obviously independence is to be valued, it is perhaps more useful to think of interdependence as the over-riding motif. In all spheres of life, it is the exchange of ideas, goods and practical support that enables us to sustain higher quality social relationships. In this respect we are interdependent. The successful establishment of inter-generational learning programmes in the public domain and cross generational informal learning in extended families (such as a grandchild helping grand-dad to master e-mail and the grandparent sharing local history stories with a youngster) accentuate this value base of interdependence and mutuality.
The idea that older people are essentially consumers of services and goods needs to be challenged. As well as recipients of services (education, health), older people actively contribute to society in part-time work (perhaps to experience growth under new anti-age discrimination laws) and in a wealth of volunteering activity. Many third sector agencies are propped up by the extensive volunteering force now available in post retirement phase. While not much effort has been made to date in placing a monetary value on these services, the benefits accrue to both the participants (in terms of self esteem and social contacts) and to Scottish society (in terms of services which would not otherwise be available). There may be a case to encourage more volunteering from sub-groups of older people who would not usually volunteer but care needs to be taken that this does not become an exploitative situation. It is rather unfortunate that governments tend to use terms such as “economically inactive” to describe so many people that tends to reinforce the idea that only economic activity really counts.
Educational provision for older adults
In line with the previously cited coping and expressive needs of older people, many programmes based on individual development and skills upgrading have been developed both in business and in general adult agencies. While undoubtedly individual personal development is important at any point in life, there are usually other philosophies at play in provision. The complexity of provision in older adult education matches that of younger people. Hence, social/cultural objectives assume importance: education related to intellectual fulfilment; education for leisure and recreational pursuits; education for social cohesion; education in the arts and so on. Within the education sector itself, it is hard to find programmes which foster critical capacities of seniors and which may challenge the social order. More commonly, more radicalised forms of education are located in agencies outside conventional funding systems so that greater independence can be maintained.
I have written elsewhere (Findsen, 2002) of different types of adult education organisations in terms of provision for older people. There are at least four different kinds of provider:
- Those self-sustained agencies controlled by older adults to meet their own learning needs such as the University of the Third Age (U3A);
- Those agencies which develop programmes explicitly for older adults such as Elderhostel (travel and learn agency) and the Pre-Retirement Association;
- Mainstream providers which serve older adults’ needs indirectly as programmes may appeal to older people such as in centres/departments of continuing education;
- Those which treat older adults as invisible through neglect or ignoring them altogether.
Most agencies do not see older people as a priority, especially if their clientele come readily from younger cohorts. On the other hand, treating the older population as a potentially profitable market could prove useful. In Scotland there are some providers which have specialised in targeting the senior market such as the Senior Studies Institute at the University of Strathclyde University of Glasgow
If we investigate participation patterns of older adults in formal education in Scotland
has been highlighted in the work of Sargant et al, as expounded in The learning divide (1997), of women through Veronica McGivney’s studies (1990, 2004) and very recently in the efforts of Tuckett and McAuley (2005).
In a current study on the engagement of older adults in Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) in the West of Scotland funded by the West of Scotland Wider Access Forum (Findsen & McCullough 2006), it is revealed via an analysis of Scottish Funding Council statistics that only an estimated 0.68% of the post 50 population in the West of Scotland are enrolled in HEIs, the vast majority in non-credit programmes. In FE colleges the picture is a little more encouraging: 3.03% are engaged. Within this low participation scenario, there is a gender participation disparity with more women than men participating in both types of institution; more worryingly, the pattern involving an analysis by deprivation zones (1 as highest, 5 as lowest) shows an inverse relationship between participation levels and DZ category. Comparatively fewer older adults within the DZ4 and DZ5 zones participate within the already tiny proportion of older adults who engage with HEI institutions. Some of this low participation rate can be explained by national policy and institutional structures around funding support for individuals and institutions in relation to part-time study, an area of comparative neglect also at the UK wide level. This is surprising, given that 40% of all HE study in the UK Birkbeck College in London
There is strong evidence to suggest that the white middle class is quite adept at looking after their learning needs, at least in comparison with working class groups and ethnic minorities (Tuckett & McAuley, 2005). This comes as no surprise since prior education level is the best predictor of further education of formal learning opportunities. The challenge is to understand better the material and social conditions of working class older adults and how these influence their attitudes towards formal learning contexts.
When we ask the question as to what barriers prevent people engaging in more formal education, inclusive of older adults, these have previously been classified (Merriam & Brockett 1997) as follows:
Situational - those relating to an individual’s life circumstances (e.g. transport);
Institutional – those barriers which an organisation inadvertently erects to discourage involvement (e.g inappropriate publicity; facilities not suited to older people);
Informational – where an agency fails to communicate effectively about the essence of a programme (e.g. missing information on enrolment);
Psychosocial – those attitudinal or personal barriers which inhibit participation. These barriers include the belief in sayings such as “I’m too old to learn” and “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.
Typically, the hardest of these barriers to overcome are those deriving from attitudes about the self. While it is possible to more readily get around physical obstacles (such as flights of stairs by moving to a venue with a lift), the psychosocial are very embedded in the human psyche. We should be less tolerant of institutional barriers and press for better processes which are compatible with seniors’ interests and capabilities.
Educational provision by older adults
It has been already argued that those of who have already benefited most in formal education (schooling; post-compulsory education) get the best opportunities for even more education, thus reproducing existing inequalities. Further evidence of inequalities can be observed outside the formal education arena. Even in the non-formal arena, these inequalities can inadvertently persist.
The University of the Third Age (U3A) which has a division in Scotland , though weaker than in England where the UK base originated (the original emerging from France USA
So what’s the catch? Few people would detract from the excellent work of the U3A movement, now spread through much of the world, especially the Commonwealth countries. (See Eric Midwinter’s book, 500 Beacons, for a history of U3A in the UK
Outside the education sector
To depict older adults’ learning as strongly connected to education institutions would be a mistake. There is far more education occurring in other ostensibly non-education agencies than we might expect. There are many organisations in which education plays a major or ancillary function without the word “education” appearing in neon signs. Many of the organisations which are committed to the life chances and living conditions of older adults (such as Age Concern; City Councils; Help the Aged) use educative strategies to fulfil their goals. Learning is not easily disentangled from social and cultural activity; it could be argued that taking a social issues approach to learning allows for really useful knowledge to be developed. By understanding the social and material conditions of older people’s lives (as indeed the above agencies typify), it is a much more relevant curriculum which emerges in which the people themselves have a vested interest.
One definite trend over the past decade in the UK
Non-formal learning in social contexts
The majority of learning at any age is undertaken away from institutions, perhaps with people not even being conscious of this happening. For older adults, this phenomenon is especially significant (Findsen 2005). Older people are likely to learn through social networks (though these can reduce in later life), family engagements, the workplace (more often as a part-timer), organisational affiliation, membership of service clubs, leisure and artistic endeavours, church links and volunteering activity. Non-formal and informal sites of learning are ascendant. In their diverse settings they have differential access to resources related to their relative status and access to power (Phillipson 1998).
The notion of “retirement” is important to consider here. The social networks established in earlier life are quite crucial in maintaining stability in later adulthood. This is one form of what Field (2003) calls “social capital” and as such it both provides the ability and the capacity through which people can expand or maintain a desired level of activity and contacts. Retirement is experienced very differently by middle class professionals and factory workers, for instance; in addition, there are likely to be important differences in gender: women tend to continue to live under prevailing circumstances (a continuous pattern) while men more often adopt a discontinuous retirement pattern.
Elsewhere (Findsen 2006) I have explained how social institutions (e.g. workplace; family; church) provide significant learning opportunities for seniors. In this instance, I describe how the influences of family can provide learning opportunities.
Given that the family is the primary mode of socialisation in societies (where family types are quite varied; not just the nuclear family), it is incumbent on us to consider its effects, in this case the impact upon older adults’ experiences. Families have a crucial role in social and cultural reproduction, often transmitting core values from generation to generation (Jerrome 1998). In this environment, experiential learning (Dewey 1938) comes to the fore and what is important is the quality of engagement with that experience.
The concept of inter-generational learning is important to consider. Individuals of different time cohorts can learn from the other. For seniors, often the roles of historian, storyteller, mentor and transmitter of culture are played out. However, in the postmodern world where reconstituted families are more prevalent, the roles of older people can be ambivalent and uncertain given that relationships can be more diffuse and indeterminate. As a result of technological and economic change, the choice of family configurations is greater. Observable current trends include smaller families, later birth of children, more complex relationships among family members and for some, rising affluence (and others, increased poverty). Patterns of communication may be more uncertain thus making the traditional role of grandparent more unpredictable
.
The degree of cultural capital (Bourdieu 1974) established in a family can be pivotal to life chances. Just as monetary capital can be accumulated and used at strategic points in one’s life, so is the case for cultural capital. The host of cultural practices exercised in a family such as reading to children, going to museums or visiting the theatre can build confidence in individuals for the future, especially as middle class culture dominates most educational institutions and a range of social services. Hence, older adults of the middle class can assist in this cultural reproduction and help young people achieve in a meritocracy. Conversely, families socialised into a culture which resists educational goals and perceives any learning as time-wasting will struggle to grapple with mainstream services, including education. In this way they do not come to possess dominantly valued knowledge which acts as an entry point for considerable societal benefits.
Issues faced in later life
Older people engage with many issues in their lives –here I focus on two as examples of the challenges.
Governmental response to age-integration of the lifecourse
One of the most common ways of thinking about the progression of the lifecourse is to concentrate on early schooling (formal education) which leads into a worklife and is completed by leisure. This tripartite division of life, used to encapsulate the normative lifecourse of individuals in Western societies, is described by Riley and Riley (1994) as an age-sequenced depiction of social structures. They refer to structural lag - the way in which actually older people conduct their lives is far ahead of the social structures set up to serve them. Instead they advocate for an age-integrated perspective on the lifecourse – education, work and leisure are no longer distinctive and work in parallel. We tend to undertake educational activity, work either full-time or part-time and look for recreational opportunities throughout our lives. In this way, lifelong learning is a natural component of daily living not something separated from what we do and think.
The current cohort of older adults in Scotland
Technological innovation in the lives of older adults
How many senior citizens have not used a computer? How many grandparents text their children and grandchildren on a daily basis? How have mobile phones affected communication across generations? Do older adults’ technical skills affect their active participation in life? These are commonly asked questions concerning the older generation’s level of competency with new technologies.
Perhaps a dominant image of older adults’ engagement with new technology is one of faint familiarity. Unfortunately, the stereotype of older adult avoidance is all too prevalent, albeit with some aspects of truth. As a young-old adult myself, I am more likely to ask for assistance from a young person to get familiar with some new device than I am to read the instructions or experiment. This prevalent attitude to information and communication technology is partly explained by the general tendency for seniors to be cautious in most activities, sometimes approaching rigidity. Yet to continue with this argument would exaggerate the reality because increasing numbers of seniors are adept at using mobiles and computers. The advent of SeniorNet (a network of seniors with an interest in computers and their communication capacities) is testimony to the new boldness among significant numbers of older people in dealing with IT. Research points to those who regularly use the Internet do so primarily because they wish to communicate with family, to find out about health information or to track financial investments. There appears to be a “senior elite” or group of “silver surfers” who are enthusiastic adopters on new technology and tend to be highly educated and enjoy high retirement incomes. More senior men than women use the Internet (Fox et al, 2001). Hence, this rendition of the characteristics of users of IT mirrors the trend in adult education participation more generally i.e. those who have, get more.
As a generalisation the observation that the older a person is in Scottish society, the less likely that person is to be computer literate has validity. However, it is important to acknowledge that older adults can learn new technologies. Prior research has identified the factors of computer anxiety, computer efficacy (the belief of one’s capability to effectively use a computer), attitudes to aging and social support as crucial in successful use of computers by seniors (Cody et al, 1999). Hence, concentration on many of the psychosocial attributes of people can really help in self confidence and eventual success with computer usage. As for much learning associated with older adults, capability is seldom the key underlying issue. In part, too, greater encouragement from employers for older workers to get to grips with new technology – providing them with equal opportunity to train – will assist in Scottish society having greater numbers of older people with sound expertise with computers.
Looking to the Future
The numbers of older people as a proportion of the general population will continue to increase significantly to an estimated 42% of the population by 2031 while the total population of Scotland is projected to decline from 2019 (GRO 2005). In short, there is unlikely to be a significant change to the population size, although its age composition will change dramatically, even allowing for immigration predictions.
The people of Scotland
In the first instance, in what Moody called rejection, is the invisibility of older adults where society tends to avoid contact and segregate older people. In this scenario, education is seen to make little sense as there is minimal productivity left in them. Secondly, there is the social service approach typically embodied in the institutions of the welfare state. A whole set of professionals and bureaucrats are required to oversee the distribution of social services with the mentality of passivity being the dominant motif. Its educational implication is that older people should be kept entertained and busy and they should be dependent on the providers. The third more positive scenario is one of older adult participation wherein the dignity and autonomy of people are upheld. The basic notion is to mainstream older people into active engagement. Educationally, older people may adopt second (or third…) careers or take part in volunteerism. Education can encourage older adults to undertake advocacy in areas such as employment, social services and health. Fourth, the pattern of self-actualisationis emphasised where spiritual growth is highly valued. This is potentially a defining characteristic of older age, according to Moody. He pushes the importance of contemplation and meditation. Educationally, the humanities and social sciences (philosophy, psychology, literature) can assist older adults to achieve this new dimension of meaning.
This pattern of treatment matches the earlier four types of learning need – coping, expressive, contributory and influence. Both approaches stress the centrality of meaning-making for older people and the desire that they positively contribute to society. At the end of a continuum of conservatism to revolution, the idea that older people should assert their rights and possibly take collective action to effect change is high on the agenda.
The fundamental theme to be considered is that of social justice. The formerly described UN and WHO recommendations have this as a fundamental value. It is incumbent on all Scottish citizens to exercise their rights to societal resources such as education. The fact that many older people do not currently assert their claims for formal education provision reflects their misguided belief that education is only for younger folk; they are supposedly taking up a precious resource which younger people somehow deserve by dint of their age. If lifelong learning is to mean anything at all, it must be embraced equally across the lifecourse and to any gender, race/ethnicity, geographical location, level of (dis)ability, sexual orientation etc.
The role of the state
Given that many middle-class older people are quite adept at looking after themselves (e.g. through U3A; the Senior Studies Institute), it is important to consider the learning needs of those outside the mainstream, especially working class neighbourhoods in Scotland
Frank Glendenning (2000), a doyen of educational gerontology within the UK
There is a tendency to equate non-formal and informal learning with greater autonomy, self-directedness and learner control of knowledge construction (Jarvis, 2001). To an extent, as demonstrated in the ways in which older adults learn from social institutions, there is undoubted truth in this assertion. Yet, on the other hand, to pretend that opportunities for learning, even in the most democratic and laissez-faire modes, are equally distributed, is to be naïve. Choices in life are always subject to prevailing societal norms, social structures and bureaucratic frameworks (Collins, 1998).
The state should not be exempt from developing a more conscious plan to meet the learning needs of older people from traditionally disenfranchised groups. This may require a different form of provision – certainly, the type which will not alienate “at risk” learners - and which inevitably would call for actual involvement of these seniors in planning and implementation. In addition, any professionals should ideally emerge from local sites so that organic leadership shines through rather than well-meaning experts being implanted on a local community. This kind of leadership is crucial since ownership of any educational programme from the primary stakeholders is essential.
Concluding remarks
This paper has covered a broad range of considerations in relation to older adults’ learning in a Scottish society. It is argued that the lifelong learning framework is advantageous to embracing education for and about older persons. It begins in the family and the school. At a public level the school can provide better information on an ageing society and each person’s responsibilities and help to avoid sensationalist beliefs and myths about older people.
Whatever strategy the Scottish Executive decides to adopt it should abide by well rehearsed global proclamations of the place of older people in a civilised society. It is advocated that such a strategy should indeed be holistic and does not neglect the important task of fostering a learning society wherein equal access to formal education is the norm regardless of age.
The inter-relationship between formal, non-formal and informal learning for older adults is a serious concern. While most learning in later adulthood is achieved via more casual arrangements and through self determined senior groups, it is still incumbent upon the state to provide a coherent range of formal education opportunities, especially for marginalised groups, preferably at a more localised level. Arguably, too, the governmental healthcare budget could be lessened because of education employed as a preventive intervention.
The (post)modern world in which we live is very differently structured from those of previous generations. The challenge of simultaneous attention to education, work and recreation is fundamental to a fulfilling existence at any stage of the lifecourse. The kind of education to fit this new agenda must go beyond workforce requirements and stimulate an informed citizenry capable of making mature judgements throughout life. Hence, both instrumental (vocational) and expressive forms of learning are desirable to help sustain a just society where wealth is distributed across a greater number of people.
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