As the population ages, more older adults seek learning opportunities in various educational settings. This article highlights the understanding of older adult learners and the greater heterogeneity within this demographic. I explore why and how older adults learn, including their learning needs, the challenges of aging that may affect their…

This paper reflects on the ecofeminist educational implications of research findings about Australia's Knitting Nannas' Against Gas and Greed (a.k.a. The Nannas') experiences of peer-to-peer, environmental activist learning. Aspects of this unique and successful suite of informal learning practices devised by the Nannas guided by their Nannafesto,…

The guiding principles of the education of older adults have been stated in three landmark publications. In their statements of principles, the authors of those publications affiliated themselves with one of two older-adult learning philosophies: a humanist or a critical one. Thirty years since the first statement, the field of educational…

Since the 1950s in the USA and a bit later in Europe, researchers have started publishing results of systematic research on the learning of older adults. Some have also contributed to constructing theoretical definitions within this theme of research. The perception of older adults as potential learners is a widely shared paradigm. However, there…

The development of educational gerontology (EG) policies in mainland China has gone through two stages, the social welfare stage (1982-2000) and the lifelong learning stage (2001-present), and a rudimentary system of EG provisions and legislation has been formed. Although a system of EG practices in mainland China has also been built under the…

This paper discusses retirement as a learning process, where learning, be it formal or informal, enables retirees to adjust to the transition from work to retirement. Such discussion is important given the fact that the world population is aging and that more people are retiring in the next few decades. Moreover, people are experiencing an…

U3As have their origin in 1973 in Toulouse, France, with Professor Pierre Vellas. This French influence was also felt in Portugal and the first Portuguese U3A opened its doors also in the 1970's. However, from inception the Portuguese reality was very different from the French model, especially in regards to its promoters. However, both in France…

This article investigates the engagement of universities in older adult education in the specific context of Aotearoa New Zealand. Initially, the broader context of the tertiary education system and the place of universities within it are explained. Not unexpectedly adult education, and particularly older adult education, exists only on the…

Facing the challenges of a fast-growing ageing population -- amidst the worldwide trends of declining birth rates and longer lifespans -- the Hong Kong government has since two decades ago developed and implemented policies and plans for senior adults in Hong Kong to engage in third age learning, both formally and informally. This paper first…

In the wake of the world's fast-growing ageing populations and the increasing recognition of the benefits of later life learning towards successful ageing, opportunities for elders and senior persons to engage in learning have proliferated, resulting in an array of programmes and activities being planned and organized by governments,…

This article describes and discusses a novel academic course founded by the Faculty of Welfare and Health Studies at the University of Haifa, Israel, which tried to establish an alternative interaction between graduate students and older persons as part of its graduate academic program. The course "Social Activism and Old Age: From Exclusion…

The concept of the university of the third age (U3A) is well established overseas and a key international focus for emerging global networks of senior citizen (i.e. seniors) lifelong learning. However it is yet to become so in Thailand although it too is in the process of becoming an ageing society. Moreover, this is despite the extent to which…

This article proposes an exploratory application of the principles of critical geragogy (Formosa, 2002, 2011, 2012) to foreign language (FL) education (i.e., L2 learning in the L1 community). Critical geragogy is an educational, practical framework intended to empower older adults and lead them to emancipate from age strictures (Glendenning &…

The BSW Experiential Learning (BEL) Program aims to infuse intergenerational content into the curriculum and recruit students to the field of social work by implementing face-to-face learning opportunities with older adults. This article discusses and compares the experiences of 4 diverse BEL projects that implemented gero-experiential learning…

Successful aging and lifelong learning are value-laden concepts that are culturally determined. To this effect, people with different value systems and cultural backgrounds may perceive and understand these two concepts differently, resulting in different definitions and conceptualizations by people in diverse cultural contexts. There have been…