‘Lifelong Education’ Versus ‘Learning in Later Life’: A University of the Third Age Formula for the Thailand Context?

2019 ◽  
pp. 247-256
Author(s):  
Cameron Richards ◽  
Jittra Makaphol ◽  
Thomas Kuan
Keyword(s):  
Later Life ◽  
Lifelong Education ◽  
Third Age ◽  
The Third

MASTERY BELIEFS AND PRODUCTIVE LEISURE ACTIVITIES IN THE THIRD AGE

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 643-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Timmer ◽  
Marja Aartsen
Keyword(s):  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Control Beliefs ◽  
Third Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
Productive Activities ◽  
Broad Concept ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Impact

In the present study we examined the associations between beliefs of mastery and 2 important kinds of productive activities in the third age: participation in education, and volunteering. Within the broad concept of mastery beliefs, differential aspects of self-regulatory cognitions were studied, that is, self-esteem, control beliefs, effort to complete behavior, persistence in the face of adversity, and willingness to initiate behavior. Effects of these aspects on carrying out activities were investigated and controlled for the impact of some situational and demographic factors. Findings suggest that a general sense of mastery, as reflected in self-esteem and control beliefs, is not a precondition for study and volunteering work in the third age. However, special components of self-efficacy turned out to play a part. Willingness to initiate behavior emerged as a strong predictor for taking on educational activities, as was persistence in the face of adversity for being active as a volunteer. In the discussion possibilities were looked at fpr how better to match productive activities in later life to personal dispositions.

scholarly journals Ageing, corporeality and social divisions in later life

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1681-1702 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRIS GILLEARD ◽  
PAUL HIGGS
Keyword(s):  
Later Life ◽  
Demographic Ageing ◽  
Social Division ◽  
Third Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Post War ◽  
Social Divide ◽  
The 19Th Century

ABSTRACTThis paper concerns the social divisions of later life. Although research in this field has focused on class, gender and, more recently, sexuality as sources of division in later life, the division between the fit and the frail has tended to be ignored or viewed as an outcome of these other divisions. This paper challenges this assumption, arguing that corporeality constitutes a major social division in later life. This in many ways prefigures a return to the 19th-century categorisation of those ‘impotent through age’, whose position was among the most abject in society. Their ‘impotence’ was framed by an inability to engage in paid labour. Improved living standards during and after working life saw age's impotence fade in significance and in the immediate post-war era, social concern turned towards the relative poverty of pensioners. Subsequent demographic ageing and the expanding cultures of the third age have undermined the homogeneity of retirement. Frailty has become a major source of social division, separating those who are merely older from those who are too old. This division excludes the ‘unsuccessfully’ aged from utilising the widening range of material and social goods that characterise the third age. It is this social divide rather than those of past occupation or income that is becoming a more salient line of fracture in later life.

scholarly journals "UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE" AS A FORM OF SENIOR CITIZENS’ LIFELONG EDUCATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 324
Author(s):  
Larisa Lezhnina ◽  
Natalia Morova ◽  
Svetlana Domracheva
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Life Style ◽  
Senior Citizens ◽  
Main Idea ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Lifelong Education ◽  
Third Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
Active Life ◽  
The Social

The article is devoted to the urgent problem of finding ways of social integration of senior citizens  to the conditions of the rapidly changing society. The main idea is to use the resources of life-long education for providing retired people  with the conditions to obtain information about the world on a systematic basis. The subject of the research are the form and the content of senior citizens’ lifelong education that is aimed at preserving their active life style and enriching their intrapersonal potential. The article gives the social-pedagogical model of lifelong uducation of elderly people that corresponds to their needs, and describes  the author's conceptual basis (openness of education, voluntariness, focus on the learners’ needs) and the content of the model (giving knowledge, developing skills, interaction and self-development training). The methods of the research are modeling and pedagogical natural experiment. The five-year experience of implementing the model of senior citizens’ lifelong education in the form of  "University of the Third Age" allows the authors to conclude that it is effective. In the students’ opinion, the educational programs of "University of the Third Age" meet their cognitive needs, provide their social integration, help them to maintain active life style, increase their satisfaction with the quality of their life. Thus, higher educational institutions can and should become the place where senior citizens can get education and training. 

scholarly journals A New Paradigm for Qualitative Research in the United States: The Era of the Third Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-33
Author(s):  
Dawn C. Carr ◽  
Lydia K. Manning
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Third Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
Meaningful Experiences

This paper reviews qualitative research in the United States, highlighting the ways research has changed in the era of the third age. With growing attention to positive and uplifting aspects of aging, qualitative research has played a critical role in the exploration of the ways in which older adults are engaging in meaningful ways with others. We describe two key methodological approaches that have been important to examining positive aspects of aging and exploring the extent to which a growing number of years of healthy retirement are redefining the aging experience: ethnographic research and grounded theory research. We also review key topics associated with qualitative research in the era of the third age. These topics fit within two dominant frameworks – research exploring meaningmaking in later life and research exploring meaningful engagement in later life. These frameworks were critically important to raising attention to meaningful experiences and interactions with others, and we propose that the agenda for future qualitative research in the United States should continue contributing to these frameworks. However, we note that a third framework should also be developed which examines what it means to be a third ager through use of a phenomenological approach, which will assist in the important task of theory building about the third age.

scholarly journals Why Do People Divorce Late in Life? Swedish Gray Divorce Narratives

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 394-395
Author(s):  
Peter Öberg ◽  
Torbjorn Bildtgard
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Western World ◽  
Third Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
Life Phase ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Divorce Rates ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Divorce rates for people 60+ has increased in many parts of the Western world in what has been described as a “grey divorce revolution”. In Sweden these divorce rates have more than doubled since the millennium. But why do people choose to divorce late in life and what is the impact of life phase typical transitions? Qualitative interviews with 37 Swedish men and women (aged 62-81) divorced after the age of 60 were collected, covering themes regarding the divorce process: motives for and experiences of divorce, and life as grey divorcee. The results by thematic analysis show that motives for divorcing earlier in the life-course, such as abuse, unfaithfulness and addiction are prevalent also among older people. However, they tend to be framed differently in later life and be integrated into divorce narratives informed by age. We identified four life phase typical narratives for divorce: 1) Lack of a common project for the third age. 2) Partners personality change due to age related disease. 3) Increased freedom after empty-nest allowing emancipation from a dominant partner. 4) A final romantic adventure as a form of rejuvenation. All these life-phase typical narratives are related to the third age as a time of self-fulfillment, where the partner can either be part of or an obstacle to that project. The results will be used to discuss current older cohorts’ views of family norms and later life from the perspective that current older cohorts participated in the divorce revolution in the 1970s as young adults.

scholarly journals The Life Course Metaphor: Implications for Biography and Interpretive Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-15
Author(s):  
John W. Murphy ◽  
Steven L. Arxer ◽  
Linda L. Belgrave
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
The United States ◽  
Third Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
Grounded Theory Research ◽  
Meaningful Experiences

This paper reviews qualitative research in the United States, highlighting the ways research has changed in the era of the third age. With growing attention to positive and uplifting aspects of aging, qualitative research has played a critical role in the exploration of the ways in which older adults are engaging in meaningful ways with others. We describe two key methodological approaches that have been important to examining positive aspects of aging and exploring the extent to which a growing number of years of healthy retirement are redefining the aging experience: ethnographic research and grounded theory research. We also review key topics associated with qualitative research in the era of the third age. These topics fit within two dominant frameworks – research exploring meaningmaking in later life and research exploring meaningful engagement in later life. These frameworks were critically important to raising attention to meaningful experiences and interactions with others, and we propose that the agenda for future qualitative research in the United States should continue contributing to these frameworks. However, we note that a third framework should also be developed which examines what it means to be a third age through use of a phenomenological approach, which will assist in the important task of theory building about the third age.

scholarly journals Identifying the Third Agers: An Analysis of British Retirees' Leisure Pursuits

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella Chatzitheochari ◽  
Sara Arber
Keyword(s):  
Time Use ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Third Age ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
The Third ◽  
Time Use Survey ◽  
Active Leisure

Despite the recent theoretical focus on the emergence of the Third Age as a period of fulfilment and an ongoing engagement with an active leisure lifestyle, there is a dearth of quantitative studies on how older people spend their time. Few studies of later life capitalise on time-use surveys, which constitute the most widely employed and accurate methodology for collecting data on everyday life. This article analyses data from the 2000 UK Time Use Survey in order to operationalise the concept of the Third Age and test theoretical propositions regarding the irrelevance of social divisions in the formation of an active leisure lifestyle after retirement. The analysis focuses on a subsample of 1615 people over the age of 64. An index of active leisure activities is constructed in order to estimate the proportion of third agers amongst British retirees. Logistic regression models are specified to examine the relative influence of socio-demographic characteristics on the probability of a person being a third ager. Strong effects of structural factors and health are found, which do not support arguments suggesting a minor influence of social context in lifestyle choices after retirement. ‘Active’ ageing appears to be the province of those who are culturally and materially advantaged, and it is the healthy, educated, upper-class and middle-class men that are more likely to engage in a Third Age leisure lifestyle.

Exploring social inclusivity within the University of the Third Age (U3A): a model of collaborative research

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1580-1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
REBECCA PATTERSON ◽  
SUZANNE MOFFATT ◽  
MAUREEN SMITH ◽  
JESSICA SCOTT ◽  
CHRISTOPHER MCLOUGHLIN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Collaborative Study ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Third Age ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
The Third ◽  
North East ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University

ABSTRACTLifelong learning is believed to have physical, social and emotional benefits for older adults. In recognition of this, numerous programmes encouraging learning in later life exist worldwide. One example is the University of the Third Age (U3A) – a lifelong learning co-operative rooted in peer-support and knowledge sharing. This article is based on a collaborative study conducted by university researchers and members of a U3A in North-East England (United Kingdom) investigating the social inclusivity of the group in light of low attendance levels among those from social housing and non-professional backgrounds. A qualitative approach comprising semi-structured interviews and focus groups was adopted to explore knowledge and experience of lifelong learning and the U3A. Sixty individuals aged 50+ were interviewed. The demographic profile of participants largely reflected the socio-economic make-up of the area, with the majority living in areas of high socio-economic deprivation. Several barriers to lifelong learning were revealed, including: poor health, insufficient transport and caring responsibilities. Regarding U3A participation, three exclusionary factors were outlined: lack of knowledge, organisational name and location. Poor comprehension of the purpose and remit of the U3A can result in the development of ‘middle-class' myths regarding membership, perpetuating poor participation rates among lower socio-economic groups. Such perceptions must be dispelled to allow the U3A to fulfil its potential as a highly inclusive organisation.

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