Inclusion and exclusion in later life learning

ABSTRACT

The concept and practices associated with learning in later life provide a broad context for understanding the articles published in the IJLE. The main aim of this review is to identify dominant aspects in discourses on older learners in the IJLE and how they have changed over the decades. Hence, we identify and briefly discuss historical trends in the lifelong learning/education literature before focusing on emergent themes from IJLE articles from 1982 to 2020. In the first part, we present an overview on the development of research on later life learning to provide a historical frame for the contributions dedicated to that topic. In comparison with the international development of research on later life learning, this topic has been somewhat delayed in the IJLE. Selected articles are discussed in the second section to illustrate and analyse the different approaches to learning in later life, as represented in the IJLE. The analysis shows that aspects of inclusion and exclusion – social marginalisation, exclusion from paid work, health resources, digitisation – are very central in many contributions. Thus, we identify different aspects of inclusion and exclusion in later life and discuss the role of education and learning in this context within the IJLE contributions.

KEYWORDS:

• older adults
• later life
• learning
• education and disadvantages

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. https://data.oecd.org/pop/elderly-population.htm#indicator-chart [10/02/2022].

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha

Dr. Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha is full professor for General Education and Educational Research at the University of Munich (Germany). He studied educational research, psychology and sociology in Munich, where he finished his PhD in 2004 and his habilitation in 2009. He used to work as a professor at Technical University of Braunschweig and University of Tuebingen, before he took the chair in Munich. He is co-editor of two academic journals, reviewer for the German Research Association and different national and international journals, and is member of the steering board of the German Educational Research Association. In 2009 he launched the European Network on Education and Learning of Older Adults (ELOA) within ESREA which is still active.

Brian Findsen

Dr. Brian Findsen Brian completed a doctorate in Adult Education and Sociology from North Carolina State University, U.S.A. in the late 1980s. He has worked in adult and continuing education in universities for most of his career, as an adult educator (teacher, researcher, manager) at the University of Auckland, AUT University and the University of Glasgow (2004-2008) where he served as the Head of Department for Adult & Continuing Education. Dr Findsen was admitted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2012. He recently retired as a professor of (adult) education from the University of Waikato in New Zealand (2008-2019) and recently became an Emeritus Professor. In ‘retirement’ Brian worked with Taiwanese colleagues with expertise in learning in later life (late 2019, early 2020) at the National Chung Cheng University in Chiayi. Springer published in March 2022 a collaborative book with co-editors Peggy Wei and Iris Li, Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement.

Zhen Li

Dr. Zhen Li currently work as Associate Professor at University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Her research interests include international higher education, digital technology and lifelong learning.