How Aged Women Remember Their Life-Long/Life-Wide Learning: Making the Best of Life

Lifelong Educational Practices and Resources in Enabling Health Literacy Among Older Adults

“…In addition, it was anticipated that income would facilitate health literacy by providing financial resources to support health literacy skills. Our findings clearly support the salience of educational and learning practices and resources, especially those that stem from informal lifewide activities in old age (Aspin & Chapman, 2000; Glastra, Hake & Schedler, 2004; Pamphilon, 2005). The probability of being health literate was considerably higher among participants possessing a level of formal education beyond primary school; those who engaged in self-study practices (read manuals/reference books/journals, use computer/Internet, and use library); those who read letters and e-mails; those who read certain types of leisure materials; and those who took part in volunteer activities.…”

“…Lifelong and lifewide learning practices include engagement in adult education, seminars, training, as well as more informal types of learning, such as reading at the library, using the Internet for knowledge, and engaging in social activities or organizations, which foster knowledge-based skills. There is a plethora of literature showing the significance of lifelong (formal) and lifewide (informal) learning for positive outcomes among older individuals, such as mental fitness (Cusack & Thompson, 2006; Pamphilion, 2005). A central enabling pathway is reading practice, namely, the more print reading that an individual engages in, the greater their vocabulary, conceptual knowledge and cognitive skills become (Baker, 2006; Cunningham & Stanovich, 2003).…”

“…Studies have begun to identify a number of potential correlates of health literacy; however, few have attempted to understand educational and learning pathways that lead to enhanced health literacy over the life span. Although there has been numerous studies establishing the importance of lifelong learning occurring in formal educational environments, research has begun to expand this concept to encompass a broader set of informal environments in which people learn—termed “lifewide learning” (Aspin & Chapman, 2000; Glastra, Hake, & Schedler, 2004; Pamphilon, 2005). The development and maintenance of health literacy skills over the life course may therefore take many forms—ranging from formal channels, such as adult education and seminars, to more informal types of learning, such as self-study, Internet use, library use, and daily reading practices; to engagement in social networks, such as volunteerism.…”

Immigration, generational status and health literacy in Canada

“…For the immigrant and non-immigrant generational sub-groups separately, an adequate health literacy was associated with literary practices at home and at work, the subject’s own and maternal educational level, participation in adult education and income. These findings affirmed the importance of education and learning practices, especially those related to informal life-wide learning activities, in both acquiring and maintaining health literacy for both immigrants and non-immigrants (Baker, 2006; Corbeil, 2006; Pamphilion, 2005; Scarborough et al, 1991; Wister et al, 2010).…”

Weaving knowledges: the development of empowering intercultural learning spaces for smallholder farmers in Papua New Guinea

“…The concept of lifelong learning has also been expanded to include life-wide learning and life-deep learning (Pamphilon 2005). Key to this is the concept of lifelong learning, which acknowledges that learning occurs across all stages of life, from ''cradle to grave'' or from ''womb to tomb''.…”