The Older Adult As Learner

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).

This important book builds on recent publications in lifelong learning which focus on learning and education in later life. This work breaks new ground in international understandings of what constitutes later life learning across diverse cultures in manifold countries or regions across the world. Containing 42 separate country/regional analyses of later life learning, the overall significance resides in insiders’ conceptualisations and critique of this emerging sub-field of lifelong learning and adult education. International perspectives on older adult education provides new appreciation of what is happening in countries from Europe (14), Africa (10), the Americas (7), Asia (9) and Australasia (2), as authored by adult educators and/or social gerontologists in respective geographical areas. These analyses are contextualised by a thorough introduction and critical appraisal where trends and fresh insights are revealed. The outcome of this book is a never-before available critique of what it means to be an older learner in specific nations, and the accompanying opportunities and barriers for learning and education. The sub-title of research, policy and practice conveys the territory that authors traverse in which rhetoric and reality are interrogated. Coverage in chapters includes conceptual analysis, historical patterns of provision, policy developments, theoretical perspectives, research studies, challenges faced by countries and “success stories” of later life learning. The resultant effect is a vivid portrayal of a vast array of learning that occurs in later life across the globe. Brian Findsen is Professor of Education and Postgraduate Leader for Te Whiringa School of Educational Leadership and Policy, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Marvin Formosa is Head of the Department of Gerontology, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta, and Director of the International Institute on Ageing (United Nations - Malta).

Lifelong learning in an aging society -- Older learners and programs in historical perspective -- The transformation of older learner programs -- The impact of institutional policies on older adult education -- Older adult learning in the technological age -- Generations learning together.

The aging of the population and the increasing number of older adults pursuing foreign language courses call for a greater understanding of the ways in which these individuals learn foreign languages. This book offers a pioneering contribution to the literature on foreign language education for older adults (aged 60 and over), termed foreign language geragogy. It details an empirical, multidisciplinary study on Japanese older learners of Spanish and focuses on the influence of learning experiences on vocabulary learning strategy use. It discusses the constraints that preconceptions impose on learners, researchers, instructors and administrators, and it offers a set of practical recommendations for foreign language activities for elderly individuals. It also introduces the notion of ‘learner re-training’, an instructional mechanism that contributes to older learners' self-acknowledgment and autonomy development in foreign language learning. The book is directed at teachers and trainee teachers of foreign languages to older adults, and also at education professionals and researchers in the field of foreign language learning in general.

How do you tailor education to the learning needs of adults? Do they learn differently from children? How does their life experience inform their learning processes? These were the questions at the heart of Malcolm Knowles’ pioneering theory of andragogy which transformed education theory in the 1970s. The resulting principles of a self-directed, experiential, problem-centred approach to learning have been hugely influential and are still the basis of the learning practices we use today. Understanding these principles is the cornerstone of increasing motivation and enabling adult learners to achieve. The 9th edition of The Adult Learner has been revised to include: Updates to the book to reflect the very latest advancements in the field. The addition of two new chapters on diversity and inclusion in adult learning, and andragogy and the online adult learner. An updated supporting website. This website for the 9th edition of The Adult Learner will provide basic instructor aids. For each chapter, there will be a PowerPoint presentation, learning exercises, and added study questions. Revisions throughout to make it more readable and relevant to your practices. If you are a researcher, practitioner, or student in education, an adult learning practitioner, training manager, or involved in human resource development, this is the definitive book in adult learning you should not be without.

In this updated landmark book, the authors have gathered the seminal work and most current thinking on adult learning into one volume. Learning in Adulthood addresses a wide range of topics including: Who are adult learners? How do adults learn? Why are adults involved in learning activities? How does the social context shape the learning that adults are engaged in? How does aging affect learning ability?