Baby boomers engagement as traditional university students: benefits and costs

Hardy, Margaret; Oprescu, Florin; Millear, Prudence; Summers, Mathew J.

doi:10.1080/02601370.2017.1382015

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some interesting aspects noted in the results are, thus, that meaningfulness in education does not necessarily have to be connected to the usefulness of the content (see Sloane-Seale & Kops, 2010). For example, discussing and reflecting on the content of a book are emphasised by the participants' as a value in itself rather than as a way of keeping the brain alert (Hardy et al, 2017). Schuller (2004) suggests three capitals -human capital, social capital and identity capital -as a framework for understanding the benefits of learning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of intrinsic values in education for older adults: insights from a Swedish senior university

Schoultz

Öhman

Quennerstedt

2022

RELA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aims to acquire more knowledge about the meaning of intrinsic values in organised post-work non-formal educational activities for older adults. Observations and focus group interviews were conducted at a senior university in Sweden. John Dewey’s concept of experience and theory of value are used to facilitate a deeper understanding of the intrinsic values that were identified. The results of the study demonstrate what intrinsic values in education for older adults can be, as well as how they are experienced. Several intrinsic values were identified: (i) new insights and widened perspectives, (ii) the reflective process, (iii) enrichment, (iv) meaningfulness, (v) enjoyment, (vi) peacefulness, (vii) existential awareness, (viii) relational support and (ix) sense of community. The results further reveal how the values of education are experienced in the interactions and relations between older individuals and the social environment in the ongoing education and that the activities themselves are valued by the participants.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of intrinsic values in education for older adults: insights from a Swedish senior university

Schoultz

Öhman

Quennerstedt

2022

RELA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An online qualitative survey was developed based on the results of a pilot study of interviews with university-enrolled baby boomers (Hardy et al , 2017). University-enrolled baby boomers were purposefully selected for the interviews as the benefits of later life study has been highlighted by a number of studies (Brownie, 2014; Dench and Regan, 2000; Jamieson, 2007).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Let me tell you about healthy ageing and about my quality of life: listening to the baby boomer voice

Hardy

Oprescu

Millear

et al. 2018

QAOA

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine how baby boomers define healthy ageing and quality of life, and if late life university study could have a beneficial impact for future health-promoting initiatives. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data were collected from Australian baby boomers. Data were inductively categorised to identify and report emergent themes. Findings The majority of respondents believed healthy ageing meant being mentally and physically active, with later life university study contributing to mental health, which improves their quality of life. Social implications Later life university study can have positive health outcomes for baby boomers and may contribute to the quality of their life. Originality/value This study suggests that baby boomers are quite clear about how they define healthy ageing and quality of life: maintaining good health and retaining their independence. Some baby boomers stated that intellectual stimulation was critical for their overall health and wellbeing. Baby boomers identified as belonging to this group engagement in an educational (i.e. university) programme could be considered as a health-promoting intervention.

show abstract

“…This was sometimes mentioned in conjunction with terms like function and activity (Sloane-Seale & Kops, 2010). Hardy et al (2017) concluded that 'mental health and keeping the brain active was identified as the main benefit gained by being enrolled in a university programme' (p. 735).…”

Section: The Determinants Of Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Learning has also been found to have a positive impact on the psychological aspects of health in terms of life satisfaction and wellbeing (Tam & Chui, 2016). Research results have further demonstrated that important benefits of education include mental cognitive health and keeping the brain active (Hardy et al, 2017). Benefits have also been associated with social aspects of health, such as strengthening social networks and fellowship (Åberg, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of research on the relationship between learning and health for older adults

Schoultz

Öhman

Quennerstedt

2020

International Journal of Lifelong Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous studies have demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between learning activities and health in general and that learning has a positive impact on the psychological, mental and social aspects of health. Despite this, there are still unanswered questions about the relationship between and the concepts of health and learning. The aim of this review has been to map and synthesise research on the relationship between learning and health for older adults in organised or institutionalised education using a conceptual analysis model. The results demonstrate that intrinsic values like learning for its own sake and the joy of learning are emphasised. Moreover, individual factors of health are emphasised and several different concepts are used to explain health. In the final synthesis, four logics are identified concerning the relationship between learning and health: Learning as Quality of Life, Learning as Social Networks, Learning as a Means for Coping and Learning as a Means for Reducing Risk. In conclusion, there is a need for a more in-depth understanding of the ontological and epistemological grounds for learning and health in the field in order to strengthen the cumulative knowledge production about the relationship between older adults learning and health.

show abstract

Baby boomers engagement as traditional university students: benefits and costs

Cited by 11 publications

References 36 publications

Experiences of intrinsic values in education for older adults: insights from a Swedish senior university

Experiences of intrinsic values in education for older adults: insights from a Swedish senior university

Let me tell you about healthy ageing and about my quality of life: listening to the baby boomer voice

A review of research on the relationship between learning and health for older adults

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About