This paper provides novel evidence on how a sharp increase in labor force participation among older women affects the provision of informal care to their older parents. Based on data from Understanding Society -- The UK Household Longitudinal Study, we use an instrumental variable approach that exploits a unique reform that increased the female…

Social isolation and loneliness are reported as having significant impacts on health, especially for older people. Policy concern has led to the creation of interventions to try and tackle these issues, including the funding of community-based support groups. The National Lottery Ageing Better Fund, 2015-2022 supported voluntary and community…

Purpose: This paper describes a model of "Learning to care" derived from a study exploring how care workers in care homes learn to care for people living with dementia. The "Learning to care" model is primarily informal in nature in which influences such as formalised training and organisational culture impact care outcomes…

This article reports on findings from a case study of an intergenerational project between a nursery school and a residential care home for people with dementia in the South-East of England. It examines how multi-modalities support meaning-making between 3-year-old children and older adults. The study is qualitative, interpretative and…

In the UK a 'crisis' has been manufactured around the so-called baby boomer generation. It has been claimed that this demographic (those born between 1946 and 1964) have benefitted from supportive public policies throughout their lives and are still continuing to access advantages but at some cost to younger generations. For example, policies that…

This paper presents findings from a small-scale pilot evaluation of the Silver Stories programme. Silver Stories involves school-age children reading to older people in the community and is a way of addressing literacy and emotional difficulties, as well as enhancing wellbeing. The authors collected and analysed questionnaire and interview data…

This journal will look at action learning during my assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE), and the importance of this, I will reflect on how action learning informed practice issues I faced and how this helped me to develop and become a more confident practitioner. I will discuss and reflect on the process of action learning, group…

Perspective-taking plays an important role in daily life, allowing consideration of other people's perspectives and viewpoints. This study used a large sample of 265 community-based participants (aged 20-86 years) to examine changes in perspective-taking abilities--a component of "Theory of Mind"--across adulthood, and how these changes…

This paper addresses the challenge of developing a conceptual framing for the meaning of value with respect to higher education. The author argues that criteria derived from analyses of the life histories of longstanding graduates, which often take the form of counternarratives and proceed from that which matters to them, can inform an evaluative…

The humanist and critical principles of educational gerontology attribute different goals to education in later life. Self-Actualization is the goal of humanist educational gerontology, while empowerment, emancipation, and social change are the goals of critical educational gerontology. Liberal arts education is dominant in later-life learning.…

In recent years there has been an increasing use of visual methods in ageing research. There are, however, limited reflections and critical explorations of the implications of using visual methods in research with people in mid to later life. This paper examines key methodological complexities when researching the daily lives of people as they…

Autistic women often struggle with the onset of menstruation, a key transition point in the female reproductive lifespan. Presently, there is no research investigating how autistic people navigate the menopausal transition, and whether it poses additional challenges in addition to those already faced by neurotypical women. As a preliminary…

Background: There are a significant number of adults with a learning disability who live with and are cared for by their parents. There is a pressing need for interventions to support older parent carers with their role and to plan for a time when they can no longer continue caring. This article reports on the experiences of older parent carers…

It is well documented that engagement in arts and cultural activities contributes to improving and maintaining the health and well-being of older people. Despite this, many health and social care professionals do not recognize or accept arts and cultural activities as relevant to their care remit. To address this, a team of 17 individuals…

As older people are increasingly involved in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), there are concerns about staying connected. In building and maintaining relationships online, self-disclosure and identity presentation are key social functions. Studying the perceived relevance and dynamics of online-enabled identity formation among older people…