Tuesday 18 December

How often do you hear friends who've not met for some years say "You've not changed a bit?"  I find that quite sad.  Surely life is about learning from our experiences and trying to become more complete human beings.  I entered the seminar on learning through later life at the Lifelong Learning Institute (Leeds University) with that partly in mind.  Referring back to research we have done over the years on leisure and ageing I listened to papers on: retirement transitions following redundancy in the Steel Industry; learning, identity and agency through retirement transitions; and the oldest old as forgotten learners.  The learning involved varied from the formality of retraining to almost casual learning through activity.

In researching sport and leisure, and education too, older people are markedly under-represented.  Strange.  It would seem only sensible to research our future selves to understand the social processes involved and address the needs that ought to drive provision, especially now that there are as many aged over 60 as under 16.  What has been evident from each of the research projects I've been involved in, however, is that older people are not just there to have something done to them; they contribute too.    

Professor Jonathan Long
Carnegie Research Institute