Research Group on Aging and the Life Course (FALL)

Research: Education in old age

• Abstract
• Collaborators
• Main publications

Abstract

"Education in older age" is a comprehensive study of the educational activities of the elderly in Germany, excluding university curricula but including self-organized learning. Both the demand and the supply side were examined. The study consisted of four empirical steps:

• A secondary analysis of the German Aging Survey, focusing on the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants;
• a representative telephone assisted survey of 2.000 people aged 50 to 75 in 150 communities, focusing on motivations, interests and perceived barriers;
• a survey of the supply side (e.g., public community-organized activities, associations, churches, and various forms of self-organization) in the same 150 communities;
• ten qualitative case studies of "elder academies" as a special new type of self-organized education.

The study aims at a detailed description of the current educational acvtivies of the elderly, at their preconditions on the demand and the supply side, and at future developments in this increasingly important field of societal participation.

Collaborators

Main publications

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