Learning plays a key role in ageing societies as it can help to address many of the related challenges and opportunities. Opportunities to learn should be given to senior citizens through appropriate local lifelong learning programmes. There is a need to improve research and development on learning tools and approaches designed to meet the different needs of older people. ICT has an important role to play in developing learning opportunities for older people both as a topic in its own right and as a means of learning in the so called knowledge society. This paper reports on a Hong Kong case survey understanding the role of ICT in lifelong learning for elderly and its impact of learning activity. The survey results suggest numbers of areas should be taken into consideration for older people as both learners and mentors.
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This article discusses the themes that emerged from qualitative research exploring the meaning that Chinese older adults find in their learning experiences in Hong Kong. In-depth interviewing was used to solicit information from older learners taking courses in elderly centers or units. Four themes were identified: (a) older adults as learners, (b) restructuring of time, (c) enhanced self-image, and (d) integration into society. The relationship between these themes and the aging process of older adults is further discussed, and it shows that learning has important meaning for older adults.
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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). The phenomenon has been described in colorful terms as the osilver tsunamio (Pew Report, 2001 cited in Summer, 2007). 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) 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.
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This paper reports the results of two semistructured focus group interviews with 17 retirees that explore the issues these retirees perceived as central to their learning in later life (LLL). Focus is especially placed on the factors leading to their learning interests after retirement. A total of six themes (past experience in adulthood and voluntary work, perception of learning, social support, living alone, self-efficacy, and openness) were identified to be related to learning interest in later life. This study has implications for future research and service planning of LLL in the Chinese population.
[Copyright of Educational Gerontology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601270802349361]