Biography, Life Transitions and Social Capital of Seniors (PDF)

Learning is recognised by policy-makers, researchers and practitioners as one of the most important assets of the 21st century and is reflected in the concept of lifelong learning. It is typically attributed by characteristics such as having positive effects on mental health, helping learners to emancipate as well as being empowering and sustainable. It is also commonly understood that learning experiences shape and affect people's life, from young to old, and is therefore closely intertwined with their biography.
The concept of lifelong learning promotes learning mostly in economic terms and therefore aims at strengthening its influence on people's life by promoting lifelong and lifewide learning activities. From this economic perspective, older learners in post-work do not directly fall into the scope of lifelong learning activities. However, due to the worldwide phenomenon of ageing populations the economic perspective of learning needs to be extended to include a social and cultural perspective. Older people, in particular, are at risk of being isolated and excluded from society.
This study aims at analysing influences on 'learning in later life' in three main areas; investigating the impact of educational experiences, transitional process from workforce to retirement and social capital on the motivations of older learners to encourage active involvement in learning arrangements post work. In order to achieve this outcome, the methodology of biographical narratives combined with aspects of the milieu study model is thought to be the most effective way to collect and analyse this data. In doing so, this study will also investigate the applicability of this particular type of methodology and its effectiveness to establish valid and reliable data.
The study is divided into five chapters. First chapter gives a brief overview on characteristics, challenges and concepts of adult learning in modern society. The second chapter introduces the group of 'older learners' and establishes a comprehensive picture on their attitudes, beliefs, lifestyles and values. Chapter three describes the methodology applied in this study. Chapter four then introduces and analyses the two case studies before chapter five draws an overall conclusion for learning in later life based on the findings of this study and an interpretation of the effectiveness of current international policies.