Education and Learning for the Elderly: Why, How, What

This paper is concerned with the general issues of ageing, learning, and education for the elderly. It also examines the more specific issues of why, how and what elders want to learn. The world's population is ageing rapidly. For example, it is estimated that by 2020 20% of the population in the USA will be 65 years old and over. It is predicted that 24% of the Hong Kong population will be over 65 years old by 2025 (Bartlett & Phillips, 1995 Bartlett , H. P. , & Phillips , D. R. ( 1995 ). Aging trends in Hong Kong . Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology , 10 ( 3 ), 257 – 265 .[Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]). The phenomenon has been described in colorful terms as the “silver tsunami” (Pew Report, 2001 cited in Summer, 2007 Summer , A. ( 2007 ). The silver tsunami: One educational strategy for preparing to meet America's next wave of underserved . Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved , 18 ( 3 ), 503 – 509 .[Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]). Ageing has an impact on all aspects of human life including the social, economic, cultural, and political domains. Understanding and providing for ageing is, therefore, an important issue for the twenty-first century. The World Health Organisation ([WHO], 2002 World Health Organisation (WHO) . ( 2002 ). Active ageing: A policy framework . Retrieved April 18, 2005, from http://www.who.int/hpr/ageing/ActiveAgeingPolicyFrame.pdf [Google Scholar]) has proposed a model of active ageing based on optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security in order to enhance quality of life for people as they age. The focus in this paper is on the education and learning aspect of participation as people age.