HOW AGED WOMEN REMEMBER THEIR LIFE-LONG/LIFE-WIDE LEARNING: MAKING THE BEST OF LIFE

ABSTRACT

To support the continuing learning of older people, it is essential that we are able to build on their own understandings of learning across the lifespan. This paper uses the life histories of 9 aged Australian women to illustrate how one group of women was able to create a personally meaningful narrative that encompassed learning experiences in formal education settings (life-long learning) and in informal settings (life-wide learning). Exploring the dimensions and language of learning memories enables us to better understand, speak of, and acknowledge learning in all its dimensions.