Putting educational gerontology principles to the test: a quantitative confirmation of the empowering benefits of liberal arts courses

Abstract

The humanist and critical principles of educational gerontology attribute different goals to education in later life. Self-Actualization is the goal of humanist educational gerontology, while empowerment, emancipation, and social change are the goals of critical educational gerontology. Liberal arts education is dominant in later-life learning. Both the humanist and the critical philosophies of learning in older age claim that this type of education is not empowering. Empowerment is a contested concept that has been defined through a set of constructs ranging from psychological capacities to attitudes and behaviors. In terms of capital, empowerment translates into gains in identity and social capital, operationalized in the variables agency and social and civic participation, respectively. The present study investigated the empowering potential of liberal arts courses using the BeLL survey data of 7,338 adult learners. Through a series of ANOVAs and a regression model, we found that age, gender, educational attainment, the number of courses, and changes in agency are significantly associated with changes in social and civic participation. We concluded that liberal arts education does empower adult learners, especially older adults, women, and individuals with lower educational attainment. Given that goal-related claims in the principles of educational gerontology have been empirically challenged, we recommend a new statement of principles that takes into account the latest developments in the field, as well as learners' agential capacities and the structural inequalities they face. Adult education is offered in a wide variety of settings, which have differing aims and content. Adult education for under-63-year-olds is predominantly vocational, yet non-vocational non-formal educational activities are also offered (Manninen, 2017). Here, UNESCO distinguishes between three types of adult education: literacy and basic skills; continuing education and professional development (vocational skills); and liberal, popular, and community education, with an emphasis on active citizenship skills (UIL, 2019). Older adult education is a fast-growing subfield in adult education (Formosa, 2000) that mainly provides the latter type education, consisting of liberal arts and other non-vocational courses (Findsen & Formosa, 2011). Liberal arts are often defined as the opposite of vocational adult education (Manninen, 2017), a type of learning aimed at self-fulfillment achieved through courses in arts, modern languages, philosophy, crafts, sports, and sciences (Rogers, 1996). In relation to the principles of educational gerontology, liberal arts courses pose an interesting puzzle. Educational gerontology embeds two philosophical strands, which provide polarized perceptions of older adult learning. From a critical perspective (Formosa, 2011; Glendenning & Battersby,

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