BOOK REVIEW

Public educators of adults, because of their locally based programs, are strategically positioned to facilitate the learning of large numbers of older people. Little is known, however, about how these educators view the learning needs of elders who live in their communities. We conducted a telephone interview survey, using fixed‐response and open‐ended questions, with 30 directors of public adult education programs in Maine. The instrument assessed how important particular educational goals were for these directors at the time of the interview and how important each should be in the future. We examined both outcome and process variables. Health education was the outcome factor with the largest discrepancy between present and future program goals. Outreach to elders not presently participating in adult education programs was the process factor with the largest discrepancy. We discuss implications of this research for adult education and for potential partnerships between local educators and gerontologists.     

The older adult as learning participant

The older adult as learner has special needs. Planners of educational programs must take into account such needs. Instrumental (basic, delayed gratification types) and expressive (self-enjoyment, immediate gratification types) needs are two broad categories within which learning activities can be planned. Older adults appear to demonstrate preference for instrumental activities but most current learning opportunities are expressive in nature. In addition, older adults prefer to engage in self-directed planning if given the opportunity. It is suggested that a better scheme for assessing needs and for reaching the self-fulfillment desires of older persons is required of program administrators in institutions of higher education and other agencies.     

GRADUATE TRAINING IN EDUCATION AND AGING: RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY; PART 1

The graduate departments of adult education at 88 universities in the United States were surveyed for information pertinent to their programs in and about aging. Results show that 55% of the departments offer no courses dealing exclusively with education and aging. Only one department offers a program concentration per se in educational gerontology. Those adult education academic programs that have a seeming interest in education and aging typically offer only an isolated course or two. Much needs to be done if adult education programs are to begin preparing people to meet the learning needs of older adults.     

DEVELOPING THE RESOURCES OF THE RURAL ELDERLY THROUGH EDUCATION

Older adults want continuing education programs that are more than just recreational activities to fill leisure time. DARE (Developing Adult Resources through Education) is an educational program for the rural aged that provides courses ranging from those of a serious, academic orientation to the hobby/recreational to the practical. A model of why adult learners engage in lifelong learning is applied to the older adult. DARE shows how college and community resources can be used for the educational advantage of the older person.     

The faculty's perception of the mature adult: A case study

With the rise in numbers of mature adults becoming interested in returning to college, information is needed if programs are to be designed to meet the needs of these students. A critical input into the re-designing of programs is the faculty. This study was undertaken to identify the needs of the mature adults by use of a questionnaire sent to undergraduate faculty asking for their perceptions of mature (ages 25 or older) adult student. Results indicate that there is intense interest in the needs of the mature adult population but that there is little experience with this audience among the faculty. This and other data suggest that there is a need for an orientation program to acquaint the faculty with the mature adult population, and to develop an instructional program to fulfill their needs.     

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES,NEEDS, AND INTERESTS OF OLDER ADULTS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

This article presents baseline information on the educational experiences, needs, and interests of a statewide sample of older adults with mental retardation. Data were collected through an interview with the older person with mental retardation and through a questionnaire sent to a knowledgeable other who was matched to each older adult. Findings are presented on previous educational experiences, current educational opportunities, and educational needs and interests. Results indicate that this group of older persons strongly desires continued opportunity for learning, particularly in academic and independent living areas. Two subgroups within this sample were least likely to have access to instructional opportunities: persons 55 years or older and persons living in community residences with less than 24‐hour care. Access to this instruction would improve the independence and quality of life of both these groups, as it would for the entire sample. Implications of the findings for educators in gerontology, mental retardation, and adult education are discussed.     

Adults who learn differently: Help through a volunteer literacy program

In adult literacy programs today, well-intentioned but inadequately prepared volunteer tutors are being matched with learning disabled adult students without the benefit of receiving training from experts in the field of language/learning disabilities. The collaboration of adult literacy providers and learning specialists is obviously the most resourceful, yet most untried, solution to a problem that is plaguing volunteer-based programs across the country: meeting the needs of learning disabled adults. One adult literacy program—READ/San Diego of the San Diego Public Library—recognized that its volunteer tutors needed training in special instructional methods to teach adults who evidence learning disabilities. Accordingly, the program’s administrator obtained the services of specialists to develop a learning disabilities tutor-training module. This article (1) presents an overview of preservice volunteer training at READ/San Diego; (2) discusses informal assessment procedures that help identify possible language/learning disabilities in adults and provide valuable information for instructional planning; and (3) describes selected multisensory teaching techniques designed especially for adults who “learn differently.”     

A UNIVERSITY'S MULTIDIMENSIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS: FROM CONCEPTION TO BIRTH

Individuals in various colleges and universities may dream of their institution's having an educational program designed to serve older adults. Starting such a program is not a simple process. With many demands currently being placed on the educational dollar, administrators are often hesitant to begin new programs. An educational program for older adults is usually not a high priority. I describe how such a program came into existence in a large land‐grant university. Factors that were important to securing administrative support are discussed, along with how the various program dimensions have evolved. The organizational structure is described, indicating how the university is trying to use a membership‐driven format. The factors discussed here should provide other higher education institutions (both 2‐year and 4‐year institutions) with some guidelines as to how they might begin educational programs for older adults.     

The case of educational gerontology in Lebanon: a harbinger of empowerment,emancipation and social change?

Context: In Lebanon, older adults face socioeconomic challenges that are expected to worsen due to an increase in older adult population, chronic governmental neglect, institutionalised ageism and a lack of educational and social gerontologists. Consequently, local older adults are in dire need for social change, which can be initiated through later life learning. The University for Seniors (UfS) is a University for the Third Age providing learning opportunities for older people in Lebanon. While most older adult learning programmes are occupied with their learners’ self-fulfilment, Critical Educational Gerontology promotes emancipatory learning and social change. Study Objective and Design: A case discussion based on a variety of data sources is used to showcase and then challenge the practices of UfS from a critical educational gerontology perspective. To do that, we consider the semantic difference between emancipation and empowerment in their relation to power. Recommendations: We recommend programme-specific measures starting by revisiting the current philosophy of learning, targeting social change as an additional goal to later life learning, and advocacy for the establishment of educational degrees to prepare professionals and academicians in the field of social gerontology. We also recommend a more critical use of empowerment and emancipation within critical educational gerontology.     

LIFELONG LEARNING IN NIAGARA: IDENTIFYING THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

The impact of increasing numbers of retirement communities throughout North America, and specifically the Canadian province of Ontario, has led to the examination of the educational needs of this community‐based, age‐segregated population. A needs assessment of retirees residents in Heritage Village, a retirement community located in the Niagara region of Ontario, was conducted to explore the specific educational interests of this particular population. In addition, the most suitable educational approaches, environments, and learning mediums of residents were examined. Five focus groups, each having approximately 6 participants, were conducted with residents. Groups were organized according to maturity (young or old), residential history (within or out of region), and marital status (married or single/windowed). Most participants were found to be interested in education for leisure and personal development, the latter specifically around health maintenance and quality of life. The educational approaches that were most comfortable with participants centered around adult learning theory. Because transportation was a problem for some participants, on‐site learning in the Heritage Village clubhouse was suggested by many. Experiential learning within a social environment, such as a field trip, was a popular medium discussed, whereas computer learning was seen as less attractive. What is clear is that residents understand their learning needs and delivery systems within the context of the larger retirement community with which they identify through affiliation. Strategies to appropriately plan and implement older adult educational programs specific to an elderly population living in a retirement community are discussed.     

OLDER ADULTS AS PEER COUNSELORS: CONSIDERATIONS IN COUNSELOR TRAINING WITH THE ELDERLY

The use of peer counselors with various populations has had a major impact on many areas of mental health service provision, including services to the elderly. Training older persons to serve as peer counselors requires specific attention to characteristics of older adult learners. This paper offers practical suggestions for the design and implementation of peer counseling programs for older adults. These suggestions include both general principles to serve as a guide in developing a program, such as selection of trainees, setting training goals, and providing follow‐up training and supervision, and specific recommendations on conducting effective training, including group size, number and length of sessions, educational format, and leadership qualities.     

THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF HOWARD YALE McCLUSKY TO AN EVOLVING DISCIPLINE OF EDUCATIONAL GERONTOLOGY

The development of interest, knowledge, and professional involvement in educational gerontology has been evolutionary. Knowledge from various disciplines has contributed to this development. Howard Mc‐Clusky, professor emeritus of adult education and educational psychology at the University of Michigan, has made many valuable contributions. His advocacy of limitless human potential throughout life has included work toward the development of knowledge about adults as learners and corresponding instructional needs. McClusky's development of a “theory of margin” has facilitated an understanding of the need to balance in the later years those stresses and demands (load) on a person with his or her coping resources (power). He also has provided insights to program developers regarding the importance of time perceptions and differences in how learning needs are categorized. He calls for intergenerational approaches to older adult instruction efforts and provides some optimistic hope for the future of educational gerontology.     

Putting educational gerontology principles to the test: a quantitative confirmation of the empowering benefits of liberal arts courses

ABSTRACT

The humanist and critical principles of educational gerontology attribute different goals to education in later life. Self-Actualization is the goal of humanist educational gerontology, while empowerment, emancipation, and social change are the goals of critical educational gerontology. Liberal arts education is dominant in later-life learning. Both the humanist and the critical philosophies of learning in older age claim that this type of education is not empowering. Empowerment is a contested concept that has been defined through a set of constructs ranging from psychological capacities to attitudes and behaviors. In terms of capital, empowerment translates into gains in identity and social capital, operationalized in the variables agency and social and civic participation, respectively. The present study investigated the empowering potential of liberal arts courses using the BeLL survey data of 7,338 adult learners. Through a series of ANOVAs and a regression model, we found that age, gender, educational attainment, the number of courses, and changes in agency are significantly associated with changes in social and civic participation. We concluded that liberal arts education does empower adult learners, especially older adults, women, and individuals with lower educational attainment. Given that goal-related claims in the principles of educational gerontology have been empirically challenged, we recommend a new statement of principles that takes into account the latest developments in the field, as well as learners’ agential capacities and the structural inequalities they face.     

TRANSFORMING OLDER ADULT EDUCATION: AN EMERGING PARADIGM FROM A NATIONWIDE STUDY

Educational opportunities for older adults have changed dramatically in the past 20 years due, in part, to the rise of new institutions (e.g., learning in retirement institutes, Shepherd's Centers, OASIS institutes) and modification to earlier programs based in senior centers and community colleges. Little systematic research has examined the shared characteristics of these program types—how the are organized, funded, governed and so on. In response, with funding from the AARP Andrus Foundation, a national study of older adult education organizations was conducted during 1992‐1993. A “Critical Pathways Taxonomy” was devised in surveying 260 organizations that provide educational programs for seniors. Five program models were studied and compared. New roles for older learners were identified in areas of planning, teaching, governance, and community service. The study suggests that a new paradigm of older adult education is emerging.     

IN DEFENSE OF OFFERING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR OLDER ADULTS

Education and training play major roles in the lives of older adults. They serve preventive, facilitative, remedial, and preparatory functions. In this paper we present demographic changes related to education, outline motives and educational needs of older adults, examine the role of education in reducing the decline in mental functioning, discuss the need to engage underserved segments of the population, and offer suggestions for designing educational programs for older adults.     

A HUMANISTIC APPROACH TO EDUCATION OF OLDER PERSONS

Many older adults will seek additional education during their lifetimes. Since these persons differ widely in their physical, social, intellectual, and psychological characteristics, it is important that educational programs for older people recognize the uniqueness of the learner, that these programs be humanistic in design and implementation. The perceptual‐humanistic frame of reference is used as the basis for the discussion of learning and a consideration of the qualities that determine teacher effectiveness. The desirable characteristics of educational programs for older persons are then derived in terms of the perceptual‐humanistic point of view. The need in such programs for emphasis on the fundamental and individual worthiness and capabilities of the older learner is noted.     

MOTIVATIONS FOR LEARNING AMONG OLDER ADULTS IN A LEARNING IN RETIREMENT INSTITUTE

As the population of older adults increases, the field of adult education needs to respond accordingly. The study reported in this paper examined motivations for learning among older adults actively engaged in formal lifelong learning. One hundred eighty-nine members of a Learning in Retirement institute were surveyed using Boshier's Education Participation Scale. Cognitive interest appeared to be the strongest motivator for learning. Social contact was the second most influential motivator. The findings of this study are consistent with, and add to, our knowledge derived from previous studies pertaining to the participation of older adults in formal learning. Recommendations for future research on older adult learning in different settings are presented.     

DEVELOPING AND USING INTERDISCIPLINARY CASE STUDIES IN TEACHING GERIATRICS TO PRACTICING HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

Continuing education programs for health care professionals who practice in geriatrics are an important part of improving the health care provided to older adults. Programs utilizing active forms of learning that mimic the clinical environment are more successful at changing the behavior of health care professionals than traditional didactic styles of teaching. Problem-based learning methods allow learners to identify their own areas of strength and weakness and to work toward improvement in a manner best suited to their needs. This article describes an interdisciplinary team of educator-clinicians in geriatrics who developed clinical case studies embodying these approaches as one method of improving the learning process for adult health care providers. An actual sample case study is presented as an illustration of the principles embodied in this process. Lessons learned from the development and use of these case studies are summarized in the context of improving the quality of continuing education programs for health care professionals in geriatric practice.     

创新公共理论课教学 提高成人思想教育实效性

加强对成人大学生的思想政治教育,是我国成人高校人才培养的一项重要内容。本文从公共理论课的课程设置、教材建设、教学方式方法改革和公共理论课教师队伍能力提升等方面,对成人高校公共理论课教学实效性问题进行了探讨和分析。