Learning at Any Age: Political Science Education and Older Adult Learners

While most pedagogical research in political science focuses on teaching undergraduate and graduate students, teaching political science to older adult learners is often overlooked. However, this is an important demographic to consider, given that they make up a large proportion of the voting population in the US. Additionally, Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes and other adult educational opportunities for older students (55+) have emerged in many academic institutions eager to expand their customer base and offer courses in several areas, including the social sciences. How does teaching older adult learners (what we also term “lifelong learners”) differ from experiences with undergraduates? In what ways are these experiences similar? In this paper, we discuss our experiences teaching an international relations course at an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Using data and observations collected from teaching two 10-week seminars, our paper explores similarities and differences in working with this unique population compared to undergraduate students, as well as strategies. We find that, unlike many traditional age college students, older adult learners tend to be more engaged, leading to richer class discussions. At the same time, these learners come to the classroom with rich backgrounds of experience, which, although these experiences can illuminate class discussions, may also inhibit them from accepting new ideas.