Hong Kong and Australian seniors: Views of aging and learning

ABSTRACT

This article reports on the findings of qualitative, semistructured interviews conducted with 40 older Australian participants and 39 participants in Hong Kong who either did or did not engage in organized learning in the last 6 months. Phenomenology was used to guide the interviews and analysis to explore the experiences and perspectives of these older people. The meaning older people attribute to aging and learning and their possible relationship in their lives in both societies is described and compared.     

Learning about sex in later life: sources of education and older Australian adults

This paper examines the preferred sexuality education sources of older Australian adults in later life. Drawing on findings from qualitative interviews with 30 men and 23 women aged 60 years and older, we consider the sources that participants currently use, or would like to use, in seeking information about sex. Where relevant, we examine participants’ experiences of learning about sex in later life using different sources, and the impact these had on their sexual expression, pleasure and well-being. Preferred sources of information include the Internet, the media, health care providers, books and workshops or discussion groups. A substantial number of participants did not actively seek information on sex. For those who had, these educational endeavours could profoundly shape their sexual practices. As such, learning about sex should be viewed as a lifelong endeavour. Our findings carry important implications for the development and delivery of sexuality education for older adults.     

How Arizona Community College Teachers Learn to Teach

A survey of novice community college teachers in Arizona examined what learning experiences are available to help them learn to teach, and how valuable they consider those experiences to be in learning to teach. These activities can be organized into four general categories: reflective activities, classroom application, formal methods of learning teaching strategies, and college-based activities. Of these activities, new teachers value reflective activities the most, followed by classroom application, then formal methods of learning teaching strategies. College-based activities got the lowest ranking. These rankings raise two questions that warrant further professional exchange and research. First, are college-based professional development activities actually less valuable in promoting student success, or are they simply perceived that way by faculty members? Second, is there an intuitive process that new teachers use to learn to teach that relies more heavily on reflective and applied activities?     

Learning Experiences of Senior Travellers

Growing numbers of older adults are choosing to travel each year. Most research on older travellers focuses on how to market travel opportunities to this age segment. The purpose of this investigation was to examine learning experiences of older adults during travel. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample of eight individuals ranging in ages from 56 to 89. Questions were directed at the nature of significant travel experiences and what they learned. Four themes emerged from the data: learning about personal character, learning about trust, learning about the world, and learning about home.     

Mentoring partnerships in a community technology centre: A constructionist approach for fostering equitable service learning

Mentoring programmes have gained increasing popularity in institutions of higher education to support undergraduates in community service or outreach efforts. Many of these programmes partner mentors with inner‐city youth, providing assistance in underserved communities while mentors gain experiences that connect theory and practice. Here we report on two years of fieldwork in a Community Technology Centre that created mentoring partnerships in which 36 liberal arts undergraduates engaged with local youth to design, create, and build technology projects involving graphics, video, music, and animation. We analysed over 200 field notes, which described their mentoring interactions over eight weeks and conducted exit interviews about their mentoring experiences. Our results indicate that mentors participated not just as more knowledgeable peers but also as facilitators, advisors, observers and, most importantly, as learners in this process. In the interviews, nearly all mentors reviewed assumptions about their own learning and mentoring, in addition to reflections about social issues. We discuss the importance of these findings for conceptualising mentoring as a partnership by creating more equitable interactions in service learning initiatives. We also address the role of constructionist activities in facilitating learning opportunities for both mentors and mentees.     

Vocational education and training and transitions into the labour market of persons with intellectual disabilities

The aim of the study is to deepen the understanding of teacher’s perspective on how to promote all children’s learning in reading and writing in grade 1 of primary school. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a Swedish context with 18 primary school teachers, representing a large collective experience from working as teachers in grade 1. The result shows there is a lack of sharing information and experiences, between preschool class and grade 1, concerning reading and writing activities and instructions. The teachers’ perspectives on reading and writing instruction can be described as pluralistic, in the sense that each teacher refers to several strategies and approaches to promote learning and development related to reading and writing. The variation of children appears to give meaning to the work of the teachers in the study, though it also is associated with challenges e.g. the experience of being alone and not sufficient to support children’s different abilities, experiences and needs. According to teachers in the study, the additional support in schools is more remedial than preventive since the resources are mainly invested in older students.     

University teachers’ learning paths during technological innovation in education

Curriculum development initiatives, especially those involving educational technologies, provide a rich learning space for university teachers. In-depth interviews with teaching staff (n = 11) were qualitatively analysed to gain insight into the variety of individual learning paths and to identify potential relationships between learning paths, motivation, and conceptions of teaching and learning through educational technology. Three distinct learning paths relating to teachers’ learning preferences and activities were identified: learning by performing daily teaching activities; deliberately experimenting with new teaching approaches; and reflecting on teaching experiences. The relationships between learning paths and relevant factors are described and implications for professional development practices are discussed.     

‘Nothing to do’: The impact of poverty on pupils' learning identities within out‐of‐school activities

This article reports the findings of a project funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which explored the participation of children in out‐of‐school recreational activities. The experiences of children living in poverty were compared and contrasted with their more affluent peers. The aim of the project was to explore these out‐of‐school activities as sites of learning and to identify the impact of the children's experiences on the development of individual ‘learning identities’. Through in‐depth interviews with 55 children it was concluded that there were substantial differences in levels of participation and in the learning gained from these activities by two different groups of children, and stages in the development of their different dispositions towards the activities were shown. Attempts to identify the roles occupied by the children within a community of practice led the authors to question the extent to which the terms ‘core’ and ‘periphery’ can adequately account for the activity within such a community.     

Investment in Higher Education: Do Labor Market Opportunities Differ by Age of Recent College Graduates?

This study examined the post-graduation labor market experiences of recent college graduates for evidence of age-related barriers to employment. Older graduates were considerably less likely than younger graduates to seek new jobs following graduation, but, among those who did, the two age groups showed little difference in their job-seeking behaviors or their susceptibilities to unemployment. Despite these similarities, older graduates, on average, had fewer post-graduation job interviews and fewer job offers than younger graduates. The relationship between age and number of job interviews disappeared after controlling for the effects of other variables, but the relationship between age and number of job offers remained. Nonetheless, older graduates appear to have been employed in better jobs one year after graduation. Their higher average salaries were not explained by sociodemographic, educational, or employment-related variables. Thus, findings are generally inconsistent with the view that older graduates face age-related barriers to employment.     

英语学习者语言学习信念稳定性研究

作为语言学习中的重要个体差异,语言学习信念是相对稳定的,但并非一成不变,而是不断发展变化的。语言学习信念受诸多因素的影响,影响语言学习信念的因素主要有两类：外部原因和内部原因。以外部原因——语言学习经历的研究为侧重点,采用焦点小组访谈,调查了英语学习者中学和大学阶段的语言学习经历以及他们在中学阶段和大学阶段对语言学习的看法。结果表明：中学和大学阶段的英语学习信念有很大的不同：英语学习信念随着语言学习经历的不同而发生变化。     

Learning among Older Professional Workers: Knowledge Strategies and Knowledge Orientations

A growing body of research and policy focused on ??older workers?? is attempting to address perceived concerns that older workers?? skills are declining, along with their participation in employment and in employment-related learning opportunities. The discussion here seeks to contribute to this research. Its focus is the learning of older professional workers, about comparatively little has been published. The article presents research conducted in Canada involving 60 personal interviews with older Certified Management Accountants (CMAs). This qualitative study was designed to understand older professionals?? participation in learning through their reports not only of when, how and why they participated in specific learning activities, but also through their stories of practice and work, their understandings of knowledge, and how they view themselves as knowers and as knowledge workers. The findings showed that older CMA professionals appeared to position themselves deliberately as knowers, performing particular knowledge orientations aligned with their work priorities, and to resent external provisions for and assessments of their ??learning??. Four orientations appeared most prominently, which are here described as ??consolidating??, ??outreaching??, ??re-positioning??, and ??disengaging??. The concluding section argues that far from withdrawing from learning, these older professionals are particularly strategic in what, when and how they engage. In fact most are astute in employing diverse strategies and resources in knowledge development, according to the knowledge orientation they adopt in their practice. These understandings may suggest ways to more effectively recognise and support older professionals?? learning in organizations and professional associations.     

Teacher learning in the context of educational innovation: Learning activities and learning outcomes of experienced teachers

This longitudinal study was aimed at increasing our understanding of how teachers learn. It was conducted within a national innovation programme in secondary education. During one year 94 teachers reported six learning experiences using digital logs. The learning experiences were content-analysed in terms of learning activities and learning outcomes. The former comprised six main categories, namely experimenting, considering own practice, getting ideas from others, experiencing friction, struggling not to revert to old ways, and avoiding learning—the first two categories being reported most frequently. Reported learning outcomes referred to changes in knowledge and beliefs, emotions, practices, and intentions for practice, with changes in knowledge and beliefs being reported most frequently and changes in teaching practices being reported rarely. Learning activities were associated significantly with all measures of learning outcomes. Type of learning environment was significantly associated with learning activities and learning outcomes. Results are discussed with respect to ways of fostering teacher learning.     

Childhood sexual experiences among substance-using non-gay identified Black men who have sex with men and women

This study explored potential variations in childhood sexual abuse (CSA) by examining qualitative accounts of first sexual experiences among non-disclosing, non-gay identified Black men who have sex with men and women (MSMW). We analyzed data from semi-structured qualitative interviews with 33 MSMW who described first sexual experiences with male and female partners. Thematic analysis revealed four patterns of first sexual experiences including: unwanted sexual experiences with a male or female consistent with definitions of childhood sexual abuse; consensual sex with an older male or female; bodily exploration with another male or female child; and consensual sex with a peer-age female. Most of the experiences described by participants as consensual with an older male or female, however, met criteria for childhood sexual abuse found in the extant literature. Several men discussed childhood sexual experiences (CSE) relative to their experiences with alcohol, drugs, and same-sex behavior as adults. Findings suggest that the relationship between CSE and risk-taking behavior may be shaped by whether men perceive their experiences as abusive or consensual, and have implications for researchers, treatment providers and counselors.     

Relations between student teachers’ learning patterns and their concrete learning activities

This study aims to unravel the relationships between student teachers’ learning patterns and how they actually learn in practice as measured during multiple concrete learning experiences. In previous research aptitude and event measures often pointed in different directions. 90 student teachers’ learning patterns were measured with an aptitude instrument, designed for the specific context of learning to teach. Multiple concrete learning activities were measured with a structured digital log. Results showed meaningful relations between students’ learning patterns and their learning activities, taking multiple learning experiences into account. Survival oriented student teachers show more inactiveness in their learning, reproduction oriented student teachers learn by doing to improve their teaching behavior, dependent meaning oriented student teachers are more influenced by previous negative experiences and independent meaning oriented student teachers show the most deep and most active way of learning. But interestingly, the results also show that some relations as described in literature did not show up. The choice for a particular processing strategy and also the intentionality of the learning experiences was not related to student teachers’ learning patterns. This study demonstrates the added value of combining both types of instruments in research and practice.     

Active learning for active ageing: Chinese senior immigrants’ lifelong learning in Canada

This paper explores the intersection between migration, aging and lifelong learning with the aim of expanding our understanding of how lifelong learning enhances older migrants’ active aging in a foreign land. Our study also offers insights into the learning activities of older immigrants in general. In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a conceptual framework of active aging, which has greatly influenced aging policies and seniors’ everyday practices. Yet, there is a paucity of research that explicates and fully integrates lifelong learning into active aging discourse, and focuses on senior immigrants’ lifelong learning in an aging society. Based on interviews, textual materials, and participatory observation in five Chinese seniors’ immigrant associations in Toronto, we explore how Chinese senior immigrants’ learning has been (re)shaped and practised through re-settling in Canadian society. Five categories of learning are explored, including a) learning language and computer skills, b) learning culture and history, c) learning civic engagement, d) learning leisure, and e) learning health. We argue that ‘active learning’ can be used as a dynamic conceptual framework that interacts with active aging theory, demonstrating how senior immigrants actively participate in the lifelong learning project for participation and integration in Canada. This paper provides insights to the understanding of culturally sensitive policy-making on integration, health, and lifelong learning of older immigrants in Canada and beyond.     

Back to school in later life: Older Chinese adults’ perspectives on learning participation barriers

ABSTRACT

Background and aim: Even though the beneficial effects of elderly learning are widely acknowledged, many older Chinese people are still not involved. This paper aims to examine the barriers that affect the level of educational participation of older adults in China. Methodology: Using a focus group methodology, 43 older participants (aged 55 years and over) were assigned to five focus groups based on gender and (in)activity rate in Xi’an, China. The focus groups were conducted to identify the individual learning experiences including motivation, learning preferences, and, especially, participation barriers between older adults who have already participated in the Universities of the Third Age (U3As) and others who have not. Strategies to overcome or minimize these barriers were also raised in focus group interviews. Results: The results have demonstrated that barriers associated with situational factors were reported the most; informational barriers and dispositional barriers were perceived as the least obstructive. The active group was characterized by a more optimistic mood in dealing with these learning barriers. The study also suggests that the Selective Optimisation with Compensation Model of successful ageing can be useful in explaining older adults’ strategy for coping with the barriers. Conclusion: The findings of the study provide policy makers and U3A practitioners an insight into the barriers to educational participation. These findings provide input to develop targeted intervention strategies and tailor-made measures to reduce these constraints and increase participation.