Evaluation
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(2010) Learning and unlearning for end of life care in care homes
This paper presents the development, implementation and evaluation of a short training package on end of life care, delivered to staff of all 106 residential/social care homes run by the largest not-for-profit provider in the UK. It concludes that enhancing and validating the existing positive values and practices with short training is more desirable than turning end of life care into a specialist field of work with its own credentials.
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(2010) Research Report - Impact of transnational exchange experiences on senior volunteers and organisations
The learning impacts of trans-national exchange programmes for senior volunteers were analysed from two perspectives: the senior volunteers participating in the projects and the organisations which sent and hosted the volunteers or coordinated the exchange.
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(2011) Adult education as a factor in active ageing
Erwachsenenbildung als Faktor aktiven Alterns. Issue 13 of the Austrian “Journal of Adult Education” which tackles questions of later life learning. It contains different articles presenting empirical studies, theoretical backgrounds, didactic approaches and practical examples. Die Ausgabe 13 des „Magazin erwachsenenbildung.at“ stellt Fragen nach einem angemessenen Alters- und Alternsbild, nach sozialen Einschränkungen und individuellen Ressourcen für das Lernen Älterer und nach einer geeigneten Lehr-Lernkultur. Empirische Untersuchungen, theoretische Reflexionen und didaktische Konzepte werden durch eine Reihe praktischer und anregender Beispiele ergänzt.
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(2011) Educational gerontology in action: a review of a training programme for older adults volunteering for projects in remote Australian Indigenous communities
This article considers critically the recommendations reached in the review of the preparatory training programme that older volunteers are required to participate in before taking part in the Indigenous Skills Transfer Exchange Partnership (INSTEP) in Australia. The purpose of the review was to derive recommendations that would promote the development of the older volunteers through learning activities. The recommendations included improvement of content relevence, selection of strategies that supported personal transformation, and design of learning tasks consistent with the biological, psychological and social needs of older learners. The article concludes with a discussion of opportunities for further gerontological research among culturally diverse groups of older adults, particularly where development of cultural sensitivity is a primary learning goal.
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(2011) Futurage: A roadmap for European ageing research
The Road Map for European Ageing Research is the result of the FUTURAGE project which brought together 24 partners, 14 European countries, eight stages of consultation and over 700 individual contributors and organisations, representing thousands of people, to create a better future for ageing in Europe. The report aims to tackle the grand challenge of Europe's ageing population and provide the research agenda for ageing over the next 10 years. Its four key recommendations are: Engaging end users of research, especially older people; Better coordination of existing and future European ageing research; Capacity building for doctoral, postdoctoral and mid-research career training and structure; Knowledge transfer/knowledge exchange to exploit the results of the research it produces. The Road Map also identifies key research questions that must be addressed in the near future in order to effectively manage the challenges of an ageing population. Launched October 2011.
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(2011) Older migrants, knowledge and lack of knowledge
Omdat het aantal niet-westerse ouderen de komende jaren fors zal toenemen, heeft het SCP een inventariserende studie verricht om een beeld te schetsen van de stand van zaken van het onderzoek op het terrein van oudere migranten. Doel van deze studie was om te achterhalen of een nieuw onderzoek naar deze groep wenselijk is. Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP), Den Haag, Online-report, 25 pg, ISBN: 978 90 377 0597 3, 2011
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(2012) Fostering social policies for engagement of older men in learning and improvement of their health and well-being
This article is based primarily on findings and insights from recent, mixed method, field research in Ireland and Australia and suggests engagement in learning in informal community settings can have a positive impact on older men’s health and well-being. The article reflects on what lessons empirical research findings might have for policy makers and government and service providers interested in promoting men’s improved health and well-being and what implications there are for the creation of a culture of lifelong learning. It draws conclusions from attitudes and experiences of older men already learning in community contexts in Australia and Ireland and from complementary research in the United Kingdom and seeks to explain why some older men are often overlooked in local and community learning provision and policies. It identifies several types of informal, group-learning environments, contexts and organisations that positively engage older men and promote well-being for individuals, families and communities. Finally, it examines policy and practice for older men’s learning in Ireland and Australia and how policies might positively re-engage older men.
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(2013) The benefits of learning in later life: an editorial essay
The paper argues that, in the modern world, learning can no longer be regarded as an asset to be accessed only in youth but rather as a lifelong process. The paper explores four rationales for lifelong learning – a) stimulation and support of the new production mode of service societies; b) longevity not as a burden but rather as a social dividend; c) contribution to social productivity and social status in old age, e.g. in voluntary work or in care-taking contexts; d) cultural and political benefits in social contexts such as family, leisure, work etc. Evidence for a wide range of positive benefits of lifelong learning and of learning in later life is examined under five headings a) economic benefits, b) mental stimulation, c) influences on health and mortality d) improvement of interpersonal skills and social inclusion, e) achievement of new insights and of senses of meaning and self-fulfillment. The paper urges the need for a critical evaluation of the benefits of education and asks what type of education is needed for a new learning culture in old age. It advocates a future educational policy which creates structures ensuring equal opportunities and unhindered access to high-quality and diverse learning opportunities for older people.
