Description:
In the later years of life in Australia, after commitment to paid work or family responsibilities declines as life’s primary motivating factors, learning occupies a different life space and purpose from learning in previous life stages. While learning to cope with the expected and unexpected events in later life is known from research elsewhere to be increasingly important (Cooper et al. 2010; Schuller and Watson 2009), the opportunities and places in Australia to learn formally and informally have been decreasing (Golding and Foley 2011). Our chapter argues that spaces for and purposes of older adult learning are less reflected upon, both by older adults themselves, by the wider Australian society and particularly by policy makers and governments in Australia. The prevailing discourse is more about costs of caring than opportunities during ageing. "From chapter"
Description:
Our intention in this final chapter is to argue a case for repositioning men’s learning at any age as a significant benefit not only for the men involved, but also for their families and the community, aside from the narrowly defined vocational benefits which lifelong learning policies often focus on. We seek to identify some generalisable conclusions based on the data and literature examined in the first part of this book and the national research policies and practices identified in the second part. The chapter consists of a discussion, comprising a number of important acknowledgments about the extensive theoretical and practical ground our book has covered. This is followed by a number of broad and over-arching conclusions