Ask Them Why: Older Learners' Motivational Reasons for Learning at a University for the Third Age

Autor/in	Hachem, Hany
Titel	Ask Them Why: Older Learners' Motivational Reasons for Learning at a University for the Third Age
Quelle	In: Studies in the Education of Adults, 55 (2023) 1, S.82-100 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Hachem, Hany)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0266-0830
DOI	10.1080/02660830.2022.2040347
Schlagwörter	Older Adults; Adult Students; Adult Learning; Student Motivation; Social Influences; Foreign Countries; Learning Motivation; Context Effect; Personality Traits; Curriculum; Student School Relationship; Lebanon + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Älterer Erwachsener; Adult; Adults; Student; Students; Erwachsenenalter; Studentin; Schüler; Schülerin; Adulte education; Adult training; Erwachsenenbildung; Schulische Motivation; Sozialer Einfluss; Ausland; Motivation for studies; Lernmotivation; Individual characteristics; Personality characteristic; Persönlichkeitsmerkmal; Curricula; Lehrplan; Rahmenplan; Schüler-Lehrer-Beziehung; Libanon
Abstract	Older adults continue learning for intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. Literature has often portrayed the reasons for learning in older age as either intentional or as predetermined by socialisation. This emphasis on either agency or social structures is found, not least, in the humanist and critical principles of older adult education. This article addresses the question 'why do older adults learn?' Using the concepts of ontological security (Giddens) and habitus (Bourdieu), it provides a sociological interpretation of the motivational reasons to learn in terms of their individual and social nature. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on 11 interview transcripts from current and previous older learners at a university for the third age (U3A) in Lebanon. I categorise the motivational reasons for learning as contextual, intrinsic, educational and conducive. I conclude that the reasons for joining the U3A are complex -- both individual and social -- as they include reflexive and socially determined elements. As a result, I recommend that a restatement of the principles of educational gerontology would further our understanding of how the reasons for learning in older age are shaped by both the agency of individuals as well as socialisation. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01