A considerable number of studies have been carried out to explore the experiences of the elderly engaging in third age education, however, most of these investigations have focused on elderly motivation, the benefits accruing from their participation, and the barriers they have encountered during their lifelong learning experience. However, there…

In the face of the ageing of society, the concept of active ageing has become a key problem within European politics. (United Nations, 2002; European Commission, 2006). In recent years, the University of Third Age (U3A) movement has developed very quickly both within Poland and outside our country. In this article, we consider the educational…

How does participation in nonformal learning influence the self-perceived well-being among older adults? This article looks into that issue through a study of people aged 65 years or older who have participated in Swedish study circles. The data analyzed consists of a nation-wide survey of study circle participants. The results show that there are…

Introduces the faith development paradigm of James Fowler, describing six stages of faith development: intuitive-projective faith, mythic-literal faith, synthetic-conventional faith, individuating-reflective faith, conjunctive faith, and universalizing faith. Reviews one research project in which Fowler's paradigm was applied to older adults.…

Discusses Erikson's theories on aging, Baltes and Baltes' concept of successful aging, and Warnick's work on counseling issues for successful aging. (SK)

Survey responses from 268 of 444 doctoral programs in adult development/aging and 81 of 145 in clinical psychology show a slight decline in the former. There are fewer teaching assitantships and more internships and practicums; 8% of clinical psychology programs offer a specialization in clinical geropsychology. (SK)

This article describes the design, development, and successful implementation of a hybrid distance education course on adulthood and aging. The focus is on the pedagogical and technological transitions made in converting a traditional course into an interactive television course (iTV). The course was taught a total of three times, first as a…

Identifies and discusses general issues pertaining to research on social and personality aspects of adult cognitive development. Organizes comments around the concepts of selection and generalization. Suggests that concern with nature and effects of selection can help researchers in aging more efficiently and effectively design studies, analyze…

Research shows that younger and older adults derive benefits from close reciprocal relationships; current health care training may lack a relational component. A small survey of 15 women aged 18-22 indicated that 12 had meaningful relationships with older women and 10 would consider working with the elderly. Those without such relationships were…

Views development of social cognition in adulthood as multidimensional and domain-based. Asserts that social cognitive understanding represents development of interpersonal and intrapersonal domains of knowledge and that social cognitive skills of adulthood cannot be based solely on emergent formal operational abilities or logical-mathematical…

Considers relationships of dialectical thinking to formal operational thought; general conceptions of cognitive structure to understanding thinking across specific domains; motivational and cognitive competence factors in adult reasoning; and contextualistic and dialectical conceptions of social intelligence. Outlines structural-developmental…

Makes three points to address central issues in synthesis of cognitive, social, and emotional domains. Recommends thinking in stage terms as well as in contextual terms, clarifying levels in which questions are posed, and operating in a systems theory framework to make sense of social cognitive behavior. Suggests that individuals co-create social…

Introduces five papers by presenting a rationale for examining personality and social factors in relation to intellectual aging. Argues that identification of links between personality, social, and cognitive factors may be useful for explaining and predicting variations in the course of intellectual aging. Recommends collaboration among…

Assessed relationships among general anxiety, age, and measures of conscious and unconscious death anxiety in three groups of adult subjects varying in age and extent of contact with elderly persons. Data suggested that these relationships are complex, but that some degree of overlap exists among these factors. (Author)

Adult development and aging content via compressed video was presented in an opening class lecture, inservice training session, and standalone unit on elder abuse. Participants suggested that instructors needed to become more comfortable with the medium and participants needed guidance on taking advantage of multimedia presentations. (SK)