A comparative study of older adult learning in Korea and Japan: Focusing on learning after 70 years old

ABSTRACT

This study compares older adult learning in Korean and Japanese sample populations, paying special attention to learning after age 70. Surveys with nearly identical questionnaires were conducted in the Bundang Senior Welfare Center in Korea (N = 549, mean age 73.6 years) and at Osaka Prefecture Senior College in Japan (N = 1,491, 787, mean age = 67.4, 69.5 years). The main results are as follows: (a) in terms of learning needs, selected ratios of topics of “life review” and “communication with other seniors” increased as respondents increased in age from their 60s to 70s in both countries; (b) attitudes toward learning and social activities changed from “Novelty” to “Continuity” to “Disengagement” as respondents increased in age in both countries; and (c) the threshold age to old age was identified at around 75 years, not 70 years, particularly in Korean data. These results suggest that old age is a diverse period, and that creating ways to facilitate learning after age 70 is an urgent issue in the field of educational gerontology.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the by JSPS KAKENI Grant Number 15K04292 (in Japan) and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2015S1A5A2A01014817).