PAPERS · AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formation BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Organized by:
With the collaboration of:
Sponsored by: AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Index
The Quality of Education Provided by UK U3A p 02 Melanie Nash. Member of U3A South Leicestershire –UK Age Trust ( United Kingdom)
Educational Standards of the University for The Elderly p 05 Xiong Fangjie. Executive Vice President of the Shanghai University for The Elderly (China)
Using Technology to Motivate Senior Students in Second Language (L2) Learning p 09 Dr. Concepción Bru Ronda & Prof. José Belda-Medina. University of Alicante (UPUA) (Spain)
The Promise of Geragogy: Ensuring Quality Standards for Older Adult Learning p 13 Prof. Marvin Formosa. Head, Department of Gerontology. Director, University of the Third Age (Malta)
Les Critères et Balises en Vigueur à l’Université du Troisième Age de Sheerbrooke p 18 Monique Harvey, Ph. D. Directrice de l’UTA. Université de Sherbrooke (Québec, Canada)
Education of Older People. Education Towards, For and In Old Age p 22 Małgorzata Stanowska. Member of the Commission of Experts for Elderly People at the Human Rights Defender. Director of the University of the Third Age in Lublin. (Warsaw, Poland)
Standards of Education for the Elderly within Romania p 28 Prof.univ.dr. Violeta Puscasu. Faculty of Legal, Social and Political Science “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati. (Romania)
Catching the BALL: U3A Reykjavik, Adult Education in Iceland and Innovations for the Third Age p 29 Dr. Hans Kristján Guðmundsson. Chairman of U3A Reykjavik (Island)
Los Estandares de los Programas Universitarios para Personas Mayores y el Impacto en los Diferentes Actores del Contexto Universitario: La Experiencia del PIAM. p 33 MSc. Marisol Rapso Brenes. Universidad de Costa Rica
Diversity and Quality of Senior Education in the Czech Republic p 35 Prof. Ing. Roman Prokop, Phd. Tomas Bata University in Zlín (Prague, Czech Republic)
Participación Social, Bienestar y Proyectos Intergeneracionales p 37 Dra. Sacramento Pinazo Hernandis. Vicepresidenta de la Sociedad Española de Geriatría y Gerontología Profesora de Psicología Social en la Universidad de Valencia (España)
Envejecimiento Activo, Educación y Participación Social:Retos y Oportunidades Futuras p 43 Dra. Montserrat Celdrán Castro. Facultad de Psicología. Universidad de Barcelona. (España)
* * * AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
The Quality of Education Provided by UK U3A
Melanie Nash Member of U3A South Leicestershire –UK Age Trust ( United Kingdom)
Text
Indicators of quality encompass participants, environment, content, learning processes and achievements.
At UK U3A we ensure that members feel supported, ready to learn and participate in a number of ways. There are over 1000 local U3A organisations in the UK so a local group is easy to access. We do not require members to have formal qualifications and in return we offer none. There are opportunities to meet up with other members at monthly meetings and many of these opportunities result in offers of help with transport etc. which supports participation in U3A activities. New member events are held to welcome members and encourage them to try out different groups to find the ‘best fit’ for them. Members are also encouraged and supported to start a new interest/study group if there is sufficient support from the membership.
U3A UK is governed by three overarching principles:
The Third Age Principle states that membership of the a U3A is open to all in their third age which is defined not by a particular age, but by a period in life in which full-time employment has ceased. It requires members to promote the values of lifelong learning and the positive attributes of belonging to a U3A. Members are also expected to be proactive in ensuring that people who want to join are supported to do so.
The Self-help Principle promotes self-generation where members form the interest/study groups based on their desires – ‘By the members, for the members’. The aim of these groups is to provide enjoyment in learning for its own sake rather than for a qualification. There is also equality between learners and teachers as they are all members – ‘Teachers learn, and learners teach’.
2 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
The Mutual Aid Principle promotes independence with each U3A being set up as a mutual aid organisation which is operationally independent but is also a member of the Third Age Trust which requires them to adhere to the principles of the U3A movement. The organisation is voluntary with no payments made to members for services to any U3A. Each U3A runs on a low-cost basis and is self- funded by membership subscriptions. They are also self-supporting and can only seek outside financial assistance that does not imperil the integrity of the U3A movement.
A welcoming environment is ensured by using non-threatening venues such as church and village halls in local communities. Some groups are even offered in members’ homes. Plenty of opportunities are offered for members to learn and use technology. Members can also attend special events such as study days and summer schools. Open meetings are also held which allow friends and family to participate in U3A activities. National events allow members of different U3As throughout the UK to come together to socialise and share ideas about learning.
The content or the ‘What and How’ of learning is not governed by a syllabus or programme of work. Members decide when, where and how they will learn by using their own skills and abilities. The content of learning develops organically as group membership changes and members’ skills and knowledge increase. No paid tutors on a regular timetable are allowed although ad hoc speakers may receive payment.
Learning processes are member led. There is often a group convenor, but learning is encouraged across entire group membership. Resources for learning are provided by group membership and are supported by technology and the National Office. The sharing of expertise and learning together, particularly with regard to technology, increases the overall wellbeing of members. Value is placed on the contributions of all members, no matter how small, by discovering and encouraging the unique contribution each member can make. Support is available for group facilitators from their local U3A group and additional support is offered from National Office Subject Advisers, neighbouring U3As and special study days.
Local U3As form partnerships with various organisations such as universities, museums, libraries, art galleries and heritage groups in their communities. Nationally UK U3A works in partnership with AIUTA. These partnerships are designed to improve the scope and quality of learning that can be offered to members. The achievements that can be observed as a result of U3A membership and participation include improved research, listening and speaking skills. There is also an increased use of technology by members and new knowledge and skills are acquired. New friendships are made, and loneliness is reduced. Lives are enriched, and members are encouraged to participate in society within their community. In short, we must be doing something right in the UK as U3A membership has climbed steadily over the last 20 years from 50,000 in 1996 to close to 350,000 in 2016.
* * *
3 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Melanie Nash
She recently retired after working for many years in the Early Years sector in Surestart Children’s Centres in various part of England. Melanie was educated and grew up in London but has lived in many areas of England bringing up a family of eight children who are now living all over the UK, Netherlands and USA.
Melanie studied with the Open University when she first started working with young children and gained an Advanced Diploma in Child Development. Since then she has gone on to gain a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (non-teaching).
Melanie speaks fluent French and Spanish and is currently studying Mandarin Chinese as two of her five grandchildren are half-Chinese and are being brought up in the UK in a bi-lingual home.
Since moving to Leicestershire last year with her husband she has joined the South Leicestershire U3A and participates in a French Conversation group and a Local History group.
Melanie also volunteers at a local school where she helps children learn to read and has also become involved in her village neighbourhood planning group.
Melanie visits Cambridge frequently where she owns property and is on the management board of the apartment block. She and her husband enjoy visiting National Trust properties of historical interest and also heritage railways.
4 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Educational Standards of the University for The Elderly
Xiong Fangjie Executive Vice President of the Shanghai University for The Elderly (China)
Text
As is known to all, China has a large population. Statistical Communique of the People’s Republic of China on the 2017 National Economic and Social Development, published on Feb. 2018, shows that the population of Mainland China had reached 1.39 billion by the end of 2017, 240 million of which are people over 60 years old, which accounts for 17.3% of the population of Mainland China. In 2035, the population of people over 60 will have reached 418 million and its proportion will be 29%. Thus, it is clear that China has become an aging country, and has entered a stage of rapid aging. The social background of rapid aging requires and urges the rise of elderly education in China.
Throughout the world, the start of elderly education in China is relatively late, but it is developing rapidly. At present, there are more than 70,000 universities for the elderly with over 8 million elderly students in China. And China has become one of the countries with the largest school size. As the most important traditional method of elderly education, universities for the elderly provide the elderly with an ideal place to live with elegance and freedom, value and dignity.
In China, elderly education is rationally differentiated education. Rules and regulations vary from university to university. Although there are great differences in them, the nature of education is the same —leisure and cultural education. Leisure means fun and entertainment. Culture is advanced and diversified. Education is enlightening and normative. The nature of elderly education in China determines the essence and purpose of the education of universities for the elderly in China: Create elderly education that satisfies the elderly to increase and enhance their sense of gain and happiness, to improve their quality of life, to foster a good demeanor in them, to advocate an active attitude in aging and to help them become the leader of family harmony, the builder of social civilization, and the disseminator of outstanding traditional culture.
In the 1980s, a batch of universities for the elderly were first founded in all parts of China, including the Shanghai University for The Elderly. It was founded in 1985. After 33 years of development, it has developed from a university with only two classes and 58 students into one with 10 departments, including calligraphy and painting, foreign languages, piano, computers, literature and history, health care, housekeeping, literature and art, instruments and overseas study, and 179 courses. In the 2018 spring semester, there were 11,945 students, with a scale of 18,754 person-times.
There is no limitation on regions when enrolling in the Shanghai University for The Elderly. Females over 50 years old and males over 60 years old can be enrolled in it. People over 80 can be enrolled in it with an informed consent signed by relatives. The oldest student in the university is 94 years old. Nowadays, more and more eligible elderly people from all corners of the country are willing to study at the university, which leads to an increase in student person-times at a speed of 7%-10% every year. The number of students increases constantly while the resources at the university are limited. This will have a great impact on the students’ learning experience and effect.
5 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
To better meet the learning needs of the elderly and to improve the situation that it’s hard to take a seat in the university, the Shanghai University for The Elderly condenses a teaching and management mode for universities for the elderly which can be copied and promoted. Also, it joins hands with all forces to send out the mode, provide guidance and services, and set up 21 branch schools in the city, including 5 district-level schools, 9 universities, and 7 enterprises and institutions, expanding the scope of the sharing of elderly educational resources and the promotion of the experience of elderly education, establishing and strengthening the Shanghai University for The Elderly Education League and promoting balanced development in elderly education throughout the city. Currently, league schools are located throughout Shanghai. There are up to 1161 courses in the schools in total. There are up to 61,064 students in this semester and 83,487 person-times.
Apart from classroom teaching, the Shanghai University for The Elderly takes an active part in the exploration and development of distance learning. The Shanghai Distance University for The Elderly is jointly established by the Shanghai University for The Elderly, Shanghai Open University, and Shanghai Aging Development Center. To further popularize elderly education, the Shanghai Distance University for The Elderly has set up a network platform —— www.e60sh.com and is actively developing a method called the “learning rating point”. By the end of 2017, the number of learning rating points in Shanghai was 5811 and the number of people taking part in distance learning was 592,000. Distance learning provides an effective way to further popularize elderly education with its flexible and diversified forms of classes, and has become another important form of elderly education in Shanghai and even in China.
Wang Yangming, a Chinese philosopher in the Ming dynasty, emphasized the relationship between knowledge and action, that knowledge automatically leads to action; people gain knowledge through simultaneous action; knowledge and action were unified as one. During the development of elderly education, the Shanghai University for The Elderly emphasizes research on the theory of elderly education. In the university, there is a research office where the research on important, difficult, and hot topics are conducted and the results are shared with society through school newspapers and periodicals. Apart from this, the Shanghai Research Center for the Theory of Elderly Education, Shanghai Academy of Elderly Education and International Research Center for Elderly Education, and China Association of Universities for The Aged, are located in Shanghai University for The Elderly one after another. Theses institutes aim at gathering the forces of theoretical research in Shanghai, in the country, and even around the world to share the research resources, to stimulate development of the research, to sum up the theory from the practice of elderly education and to guide the practice of which through the theory.
In China, nowadays, there are 74 provincial universities for the elderly, 310000 students.460 municipal universities for the elderly, 1.35 million students.2255 prefecture schools for the elderly, 1.6million students. And there are tens of thousands of rural colleges for the aged, and nearly 4 million students. These schools form the four-level network system of China’s elderly education. The system is related to the government’s administrative management system. That is provincial universities for the elderly— municipal universities for the elderly—prefecture schools for the elderly—rural colleges for the aged. Schools of the upper network set a leading example for the schools of the lower network. The distribution of elderly educational resources is subdivided because of the system, which makes a relatively balanced and accurate distribution of elderly educational resources to all parts of the city possible.
In order to measure the level of the development of universities for the aged in China, centering on the goal of “to do the old people’s satisfaction education, to do the fair and quality old people education”, after several stages of exploration, the association of Chinese universities for the aged (CAUA) has formed the evaluation standard of national demonstration schools:
6 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
1. From 2006 to 2008, CAUA has studied the standardization of China university for the aged and proposed the standard of standardization project.
2. From 2009 to 2012, CAUA has studied the modernization of China’s universities for the aged and put forward the assessment criteria of the modernization project.
3. From 2013 to 2015, CAUA has studied the design of the modernization index system of China university for the aged and proposed the modernization index system of China university for the aged.
4. During 2016, based on the results of the three stages and the 20 years’ experience of provincial demonstration schools, CAUA has finally formed the evaluation criteria of national demonstration schools.
According to this standard, CAUA has carried out the evaluation of “National Model University For The Aged” and awarded the title of “National Model University For The Aged” to 176 universities for the aged.
National Model Universities for The Elderly, located in 31 provinces, cities and municipalities, covering most parts of China. The Shanghai University for The Elderly is one of the 176 National Model Universities for The Elderly which are promoted by CAUA. The content of the Standards covers 7 aspects, including school conditions, school size, school management, teaching level, academic theory research, distance education and social influence, emphasizing the modernization, normalization and influence of school education, and defining what the model is from a macro perspective. The Standards is a criterion to measure the external construction of a school, and the aim of the development of the universities for the elderly in all parts of the country.
On the basis of the Standards, the Shanghai University for The Elderly pays attention to construction of connotations and puts forward 7 educational standards (or 7 aspects) to measure it. First, the combination of knowledge and entertainment: pay equal attention to courses with knowledge and entertainment to enhance the reputation of elderly education. Second, the learning of traditional and modern culture: emphasize courses in traditional culture and modernization courses to accumulate a sense of heaviness of elderly education. Third,the appreciation of Chinese and Western culture: set up courses in Chinese and Western culture to manifest the tolerance of elderly education. Fourth, long- length and short-length of schooling: design reasonable stages of the length of schooling and give lessons to the elderly with a similar level of learning, making elderly education more normalized. Fifth, mutual improvement on teaching and learning: encourage teachers and students to communicate with each other, to inspire each other and to complement each other through teaching and learning, which can boost the interaction of elderly education. Sixth, the adoption of schooling and the Internet: expand classroom learning and develop Internet-based teaching to increase the number of the elderly receiving elderly education. Seventh, stratified schooling: adopt stratified schooling and teach students in accordance with their aptitude to deepen the fitness of elderly education.
After more than 30 years of development, elderly education in China is still a new developing type of education, but is confirmed as an important part of lifelong education, and has made great achievements. Now, universities for the elderly are dream places for elderly students and are the turning point for them to write a new chapter and to achieve new heights in their lives. However, there are still some problems for elderly education in China, such as insufficient resources supply and unbalanced development in urban and rural areas and different regions.
As one of the universities for the elderly in China, we adhere to make elderly education a public welfare undertaking and give equal opportunities to nonspecific elderly people to take inclusive education. We
7 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
make sure of the security of elderly education by providing a proper environment for the elderly to live and study. We make our expectations for elderly education come true and help the elderly master relevant knowledge to better adapt to a modern life. We pay attention to the activeness of elderly education, get the elderly involved in the society in accordance with their needs, willingness and capability and help them enjoy a high quality of life. We advocate the internationalization of elderly education and are eager to learn from people engaging in elderly education all around the world and to make friends with them to work together to bring happiness to the elderly.
Finally, we believe with unremitting efforts, elderly education will further defuse the worsening situation of aging population, and help more elderly people enjoy their lives!
* * *
8 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Using Technology to Motivate Senior Students in Second Language (L2) Learning
Dr. Concepción Bru Ronda Prof. José Belda-Medina University of Alicante (UPUA) (Spain) University of Alicante (UPUA) (Spain)
Abstract
Several articles have been published about the digital gap between young and adult learners. This article focuses on the use of ICTs in L2 learning by Senior Students enrolled in the Permanent Program of the University of Alicante (UPUA). Students participating in the subject English Communicative Workshop learn how to use different technological resources to increase the frequency of use of English, learn more vocabulary, build up their self-confidence in Speaking and Listening and increase their motivation in and outside of the classroom. This article shows some of the benefits resulting from the meaningful integration of ICTs in L2 learning for senior students.
Keywords: L2 learning, senior students, technology, motivation.
Introduction Although language acquisition has been traditionally associated with the early stages of life several studies have been published about the learning of a second language or L2 after the so-called “critical period” (Klein et al 2014). Modern societies are nowadays more multilingual and technologically complex and the worldwide spread of computers, smartphones and ICTs today has facilitated the lifelong learning of foreign languages to an unprecedented level. Indeed, recent publications have highlighted the neurological benefits of learning a foreign language at a later stage even after retirement, such as keeping a healthy brain and preventing some neurological disorders (Li et al 2014) but learning a second language after retiring and keeping updated with the New Technologies may not always be easy for senior students aged 50 or older. Some authors (Premsky 2001) pinpointed the digital gap between the younger and older generations, namely digital natives and digital immigrants. These concepts have been widely adopted and followed by researchers who tried to investigate the methodological differences between young and adult learners such as more multitasking, memory retention, social interaction, accuracy, etc.
9 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
The Permanent University of the University of Alicante (UPUA) has designed and implemented state-of-the-art courses and methodologies based on modern technologies as part of their academic program. Senior students enrolled in the UPUA program have every year a wide range of subjects to choose in most fields of study, such as Humanities, Sciences or Technology. ICTs and L2 learning have become key components in this academic program. A subject of particular interest is the English Communicative Workshop, which will be analysed next.
Methodology
The English Communicative Workshop is divided into three consecutive courses corresponding with three different levels, Workshop 1 for beginners, Workshop 2 for intermediates and Workshop 3 for advanced learners. Each workshop includes fourteen three-hour class sessions and a group of approximately twenty students regularly meet twice or three times per week to learn English. First, students complete a pre-test about their technological affinity and about their level of English. Nearly two thirds of the students enrolled in this class are women, 40% of all the students are aged 50 to 59, 50% are 60to 69 and 10% are 70 years or older. All students have a computer at home and a smartphone and nearly 40% of them have also a tablet. According to the pre-test, 46% of the students spend between 1 and 2 hours a day on their smartphones, 31% spend less than an hour, and 23% spend 3 hours or more every day on their phone. The main reasons to use their phones are Instant Messaging or IM with 87%, voice calls with 67%, web browsing with 53%, e-mail with 50% and social networking with 40%, and only 14% spend time with on-line shopping and 10% playing games.
The communicative workshops are aimed at reinforcing the communicative skills of senior students, particularly Listening and Speaking. For this purpose, a handbook specifically created for these classes is distributed among students the first day. This handbook includes vocabulary exercises and a limited number of questions related with different topics. Students need to learn the vocabulary at home and get ready for the interactive exercises, games and debates in class. The topics for each debate depend on the level of difficulty, for example Communicative Workshop 1 includes such topics asCountries and Cultures, Family and Relatives, Animals and Nature; Workshop 2 covers topics such as Stereotypes, Traditions and Health; Workshop 3 is comprised of themes such as Education, Technology, Human Rights or Quality of Life.
In addition, an IM group based on the app Whatsapp Inc. is created to encourage students to practise English outside of the classroom. The lecturer uses this IM group to provide daily different English materials to the senior students and to motivate them to get ready for the next class through articles, videos and links related with the topic of the day. Senior students are expected to contribute and participate as much as possible and share their comments and experience with other classmates thus becoming ‘chatmates’ as well. So, the frequency of use of English increases considerably thanks to the adoption of an IM group for the language class. According to the pre-test results, 80% of the students had some previous experience as members of other chat groups but only 13% of them were involved in some academic chat groups as opposed to 67% who had a family-based chat group and 54% of the students who had an IM group just for friends.
The workshops are mostly practical and interactive based on ICTs andgamification . Rather than using a traditional approach and spending the whole class time reading texts and completing grammar-based exercises, students are encouraged to communicate in English and to put the vocabulary and knowledge they have previously acquired to practice. For this reason, different technological resources are used such as flashcards and mind maps, on-line videos, social networks and English-based apps and games. For example, students download free apps onto their mobile phones such as Cram Flashcards. Then, the lecturer shares with them through Whatsapp a different Cram-based. Students learn the words at home and use them as brainstorming to exchange their first opinions through theWhatsapp group.
10 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Once in class, students play several interactive games based on different free apps such as Kahoot and Quizziz. Students can also watch a video while completing some questions on their mobile phones. Finally, a face-to-face debate about the topic of the day takes place and all students participate with their own ideas and comments.
Results and Conclusions
The post-test administered to the students the last week of class included a self-perceived progress level of English by the end of the course based on a seven-point Likert scale. All students indicated that the use of ICTs and an IM group were very positive as it helped them speak English more frequently, learn more vocabulary and improve their reading and writing skills through the Whatsapp. Besides, the adoption of an IM helped them build up their self-confidence in English and reduce their face-to- face language anxiety in class thanks to their sense of belonging to a group of chatmates and friends. Students also reported to know better their classmates thanks to the use of the Whatsapp group in English and to socialize and feel more motivated to learn about English and ICTs in general.
Instead of using technology to isolate students, ICTs were used to reinforce student interaction in and outside of the classroom and to adopt a game-based methodology in class in which all students could participate through cooperative learning and be more independent and self-confident in their own language learning progress. A few students also used some technological resources to practise and play together with their grandchildren at home as an example of intergenerational communication. This methodology has some challenges for the lecturer, such as time investment and dedication (on- call learning), implementation and monitoring and self-made created materials based on ICTs and synchronized with the in-class lessons and topics. A meaningful integration of ICTs in the English class for senior students can be a great success if well designed and implemented as clearly evidenced by the academic and personal benefits of the UPUA program at the University of Alicante.
* * *
References
Klein, D., Mok, K., Chen, J. K., & Watkins, K. E. (2014). Age of language learning shapes brain structure: a cortical thickness study of bilingual and monolingual individuals. Brain and language, 131, 20-24.
Li, P., Legault, J., & Litcofsky, K. A. (2014). Neuroplasticity as a function of second language learning: anatomical changes in the human brain. Cortex, 58, 301-324.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
11 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Dr. Concepción Bru Ronda
Concepción Bru Ronda, who received her PhD in Geography from the University of Alicante in 1986, has been a Senior Lecturer at the Regional Geographical Analysis Department since 1987. She has taught at degrees, post-graduate programmes and master’s degrees ever since. Since 1994, she has held various academic positions after the corresponding appointments, including those of Director of the Official Tourism School of the Generalitat Valenciana [Valencian Regional Government], Vice-Dean of the Humanities Faculty, Director of the International Maritime Institute, Director of the Official Tourism School of the University of Alicante, Director of the Alicante Town University Venue with the rank of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and Director of the Permanent University of the University of Alicante, her current position, which she has held since 2002. She forms part of the (Spanish) State Association of University Programmes for Older Adults since this organisation was created in 2004, and on behalf of the UA –being its president since 2010. One of her main lines of research focuses on University Education for Older Adults and Lifelong Learning, a field within which she has published numerous papers, organised Encounters and Conferences and participated in research teams both nationally (5 projects) and internationally (13 projects) as the University of Alicante coordinator. She additionally collaborates as an expert and advisor of the Spanish Ministry of Education and the IMSERSO [abbreviation for Institute of Seniors and Social Services], as well as of the European Union’s Directorate General for Education and Culture in a variety of initiatives (European Year of Active Ageing).
CV Prof. José Belda-Medina
Dr Jose Belda is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of English Studies from the Universidad de Alicante (Spain). He has taught Language and Linguistics for 18 years both in Spain (Alicante, Valencia, Murcia, Barcelona) and overseas (Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, United states). He has participated in the development of different English and Spanish language teaching programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has been the Academic Director of the International Summer Program Rafael Altamira (2006-2012) and Academic Director of International Mobility (2012- 2016) at the University of Alicante. He has been involved as professor and researcher in the Universidad Permanente de la Universidad de Alicante (UPUA), teaching several English languages courses to Senior students for more than 10 years. His research interests are Second Language Acquisition, Applied Linguistics, Terminology and the New Technologies. He has participated in different international conferences (BAAL, TESOL, AEDEAN, etc) and research projects and published several articles in scientific journals (Target, Meta, Translation and Terminology, Babel, Porta Linguarum, etc).
12 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
The Promise of Geragogy: Ensuring Quality Standards for Older Adult Learning
Prof. Marvin Formosa Head, Department of Gerontology. Director, University of the Third Age (Malta)
Abstract
Geragogy refers to the need to fine-tune adult learning teaching and instructional styles to aid the learning experiences of older learners. For the University of the Third Age movement to continue being relevant to incoming cohorts of older adults, it is important that such organisations improve the quality of learning, instruction, and curricula. First, successful learning in later life relies on consideration and consensus to drive activity, one which involves negotiation, advocacy, intervention, promotion, and sometimes compromise. In short, it is about creating something new with, as well as behalf of other. Secondly, tutors are also encouraged to draw on the life experiences of learners by allowing them to share examples of their experiences with the class and encouraging them to think about how those examples relate to class information. Course material that is presented in a way that reflects the ‘real world’, rather than some abstract component, is very popular with older learners. And finally, the relevance of taught content warrants careful attention since it tends to influence the extent that older persons are attracted to and benefit from the learning experience.
Text
The concept of geragogy has a long pedigree in adult adulcation and educational gerontology (Formosa, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2016). Although the concept of older adult education was propounded by Comenius in Czechoslovakia as early as the 16th, the term ‘geragogy’ only achieved prominence after appearing in Lebel’s article in Lifelong learning: The adult years. Lebel was the first writer to advocate the term ‘geragogy’ as a description of an educational theory for older learners. Some years later, Yeo advanced the term ‘eldergogy’ without, unfortunately, developing any educational theory. A fuller attempt at expanding the notion of geragogy emerged in John’s Teaching and loving the elderly and Geragogy: A theory for teaching the elderly. John’s approach, however, is distinctly a ‘top-bottom’ one where teachers who are responsible to meet older adults’ need for stimulation. Teachers, for instance, are expected to assign homework that - amongst other tasks - requested learners to measure pens and
13 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
pill bottles, and name body parts. As Glendenning (1992 : 16) argued, “[John’s] attempt is...flawed” since it is “somewhat confined to frail and vulnerable elderly people, which has been her speciality for many years, [so that] the result is patronizing on the one hand and ignores elderly in the community on the other”.
Geragogy, as it is employed in this presentation, refers to the need to fine-tune adult learning teaching and instructional styles to aid the learning experiences of older learners. As far as teaching styles are concerned, the consensus is that peer teaching is the most effective method in late-life learning. Peer teaching is a learner-centred activity because members of educational communities plan and facilitate learning opportunities for one other. Peers will plan and facilitate courses of study and be able to learn from the planning and facilitation of other members of the community: “peer teaching is a rare and provocative model of education in which, in the morning, a person may teach a class for her peers, and that same afternoon have one of her ‘students’ become her teacher” (Brady et al., 2003 : 853). Recently, there was an emergent body of literature focusing on peer teaching in Lifelong Learning Institutes (Erickson, 2009). Brady and colleagues’ (ibid.) work reported several distinct challenges such as managing the wide range of older students’ educational backgrounds and reasons for attending, adjusting to learners’ physical deficits associated with aging, such as hearing, vision, or memory loss, and perhaps the most fundamental challenge, determining a mission for teaching. Nevertheless, surveys indicated clearly that the peer teaching experience is an overwhelmingly positive one, with peer teachers noting many rewards such as personal satisfaction and intellectual stimulation. Studies also examined several peer teaching methods which ranged from group discussion to mixed-method approach in which teachers employ a combination of approaches they deem appropriate.
Another key issue in geragogy concerns the curriculum. The relevance of taught content warrants careful attention since it tends to influence the extent that older persons are attracted to and benefit from the learning experience. Traditionally, older adults were perceived as being mainly interested in expressive learning so that it comes as no surprise that liberal curricula - especially, arts, crafts, and humanities activities - have dominated the content of late-life learning experiences. Learning about health promotion and information communication technology is also somewhat popular. On the other hand, scientific activities are limited to simply environment, botanical, and zoological areas, with mathematics or physics and their uses receiving little attention in any later life curriculum. The correlation between later life and illiteracy is well-known. Yet, the setting up of literacy courses for older persons, and involving them in existing ones remains difficult. There is no doubt that most curricula do not reflect the experiences and needs of older adults, and that there is a real need to look at the provision of older adult learning from a wider perspective. Despite the fact that many researchers call for the need of learning experiences focusing on diverse skills ranging from numerical, financial, consumer, domestic, voluntary activity, and citizenship, the setting up of these courses remains a challenge. A promising trend, however, consists of learning initiatives in the United Kingdom which aid older people to take account of the changing personal, financial, and management skills required in later life (Gladdish, 2010).
For the U3A movement to continue being relevant to incoming cohorts of older adults, it is important that such organisations improve the quality of learning, instruction, and curricula:
Quality of learning. Research studies and rationales focusing on the U3A movement affirm in an equivocal manner that learning holds positive benefits for its members. However, the precise contribution of learning in U3As to an empowerment agenda remains ambiguous. One must ask whether learners at U3A centres are too docile, too passive, as though listening alone were enough. This is certainly the case for U3As following the French model whose members are lectured by professors employed by the traditional university which the centres belong to. In its quest to improve the quality of life of the
14 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
member body, the U3A movement is to seek a learning environment that is more dynamic in nature, one which facilitates: learners who are able to take control and direct learning; learners who are enabled to continue learning after a course has finished; learners who, in their daily lives, know how to put into practice learning they have undertaken;...and learners who develop strategies that enable them to know how to go about the business of learning. This is possible if learning avenues at U3As drop traditional ‘top-bottom’ approaches in favour of a situation that places the teacher and learner in a dynamic relationship. Although teachers will always keep hold some level of authority on the learning session since it is their responsibility to create and sustain the right environment for learning to occur, older learners should have an opportunity to have a say in directing both the nature and content of the learning that takes place. Successful learning in later life relies on consideration and consensus to drive activity, one which involves negotiation, advocacy, intervention, promotion, and sometimes compromise. In short, it is about creating something new with, as well as behalf of other.
Quality of instruction. The quality of instruction is also to be put under scrutiny as it is important that older learners do not fall back on the educational experience of their youth. Top-bottom approaches to educational instruction are to be avoided. Instead, course tutors should enable older adults to foster the control that they may be consciously or unconsciously lacking through encouragement to take responsibility for their learning by choosing those methods and resources by which they want to learn. A useful strategy here is to emphasise the importance of personal goal setting at the beginning of the course schedule and encourage it through activities such as making a personal statement of what the learners want to achieve. Facilitating learning in later life thrives on collaborative and partnership partnership, and is characterised by ‘co-operative work’ between tutors and learners. Tutors are also encouraged to draw on the life experiences of learners by allowing them to share examples of their experiences with the class and encouraging them to think about how those examples relate to class information. Course material that is presented in a way that reflects the ‘real world’, rather than some abstract component, is very popular with older learners. It is important for facilitators to synchronise themselves with the life course experience of learners, born around World War II, and who lived their teenage and early adult years in the fifties and sixties. Nevertheless, U3As must not assume that older learners continue living in some by-gone world. Rather, e-learning has become increasing popular in later life as it offers the opportunity for older learners to access information and communicate with others when and if they want to. For U3As to continue being relevant to contemporary elders, centres must make more effort to embed their learning strategies in the web 2.0 revolution that now provides extremely user-friendly applications. Contrary to its predecessor, web 2.0 uses interactive tools - ranging from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, online journals, to virtual picture databases - to offer limitless possibilities for an interactive, empowering, and participatory form of older adult learning.
Quality of curricula. The relevance of taught content warrants careful attention since it tends to influence the extent that older persons are attracted to and benefit from the learning experience. The curriculum at U3As should be as bold and original as possible, negotiated with, and even determined, by the most vital interests of learners. However, this does not mean that U3A centres do not have any part to play in the choice of subjects. Learning providers must be part of the debate that identifies appropriate curricula for older people, and they need to exercise professional judgement and integrity about their ability or otherwise to contribute to development and delivery. More specifically, there is a real urgency for U3As to include non-liberal and -health related areas of learning such as financial literacy and caregiving, but especially, scientific courses that introduce learners to environmental, botanical, and zoological studies. Since the correlation between later life and illiteracy is well-known, U3As would do well to set up literacy courses for older persons, a move that would help in mitigating the oft mentioned charge of elitism. Moreover, the introduction of new areas of study may function for U3As to become successful in attracting non-typical learners such as older men (e.g. gardening, toy modelling, astronomy) and ethnic minorities (e.g. martial arts, origami, tai-chi). U3As must also coordinate intergenerational
15 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
learning sessions that include curricula catering for learners from the whole of the life course, and hence, linking third agers with children, teenagers, adults, and even older peers. Specific activities may include book clubs, community work and film screenings, drama, as well as adoptive grandparent- grandchild relations. U3As would also do well to adopt curricula that operate on the principles of situated learning. A promising avenue in the respect is environmental volunteering where U3A can link up with eco-friendly organisations that provide both learning opportunities as well as possibilities for green volunteering. Older persons possess a maturity of judgement, and therefore, are highly apt to highlight the imperative need to create a sustainable society and conserve our resources.
* * *
References
Brady, E.M., Holt, S. & Welt, B. (2003). Peer teaching in lifelong learning institutes. Educational Gerontology, 29(10), 851-868.
Formosa, M. (2000). Older adult education in a Maltese University of the Third Age: A critical perspective. Education and Ageing, 15 (3): 315-339.
Formosa, M. (2002). Critical gerogogy: Developing practical possibilities for critical educational gerontology. Education and Ageing, 17 (3): 73-86.
Formosa, M. (2005). Feminism and critical educational gerontology : An agenda for good practice. Ageing International, 30 (4): 396-411.
Formosa, M. (2010). Universities of the Third Age: A rationale for transformative education in later life. Journal of Transformative Education, 8 (3): 197-219.
Formosa, M. (2011). Critical Educational gerontology: A third statement of principles. International Journal of Education and Ageing, 2 (1): 317-332.
Formosa, M. (2012). Education and older adults at the University of the Third Age.Educational Gerontology, 38 (1): 1-13.
Formosa, M. (2016). Malta. In B. Findsen & M. Formosa (eds.), International perspectives on older adult education: Research, policies, practices (pp. 161-272). New York: Springer.
Gladdish, L. (2010). Learning, participation and choice: A guide for facilitating older learners. Leicester: NIACE.
Glendenning, F. (1992). Educational gerontology and gerogogy: A critical perspective. In C. Berdes, A.A. Zych and G.D. Dawson (eds.) Geragogics: European Research in Gerontological Education and Educational Gerontology (pp. 5-21). Binghampton, NY: Haworth.
16 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Prof. Marvin Formosa
Professor Marvin Formosa Ph.D. is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Gerontology, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta. He holds the posts of Chairperson of the National Commission for Active Ageing (Malta), Director of the University of the Third Age (Malta), and Director of the International Institute on Ageing, United Nations - Malta (INIA). Prof. Formosa directed a number of training programmes in gerontology and geriatrics in the Philippines (2), China (8), India, Turkey, Malaysia, Belarus, Kenya, Argentina, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation. His interests include active ageing, social class dynamics, critical gerontology, and older adult learning. Published books include Lifelong learning in later life (with Brian Findsen, 2011), Learning across generations (with Schmidt-Hertha & Jelenc Krašovec, 2014), Social class in later life (with Paul Higgs, 2015), Population ageing in Malta (with Charles Scerri, 2015), Ageing and later life in Malta (2015), International perspectives on older adult education (with Brian Findsen, 2016), Population ageing in Turkey (with Yeşim Gökçe Kutsal, 2017), and Active and healthy ageing: Gerontological and geriatric inquiries (2018). Prof. Formosa published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Ageing in Developing Countries, and Country Team Leader (Malta) of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Formosa, M. (2015). Ageing policy in Malta: Issues, policies and future trends. Malta: Book Distributors Limited. Findsen, B. & Formosa, M. (2011). Lifelong learning in later life: A handbook on older adult learning. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers. Formosa, M. (2009). Class dynamics in later life: Older persons, class identity and class action. Hamburg, Germany: Lit Verlag. Formosa, M. & Yeşim Gökçe, Y. (eds.) (2017). Population ageing in Turkey: Social and health care services for older persons. Malta: Book Distributors Limited. Findsen, B. & Formosa, M. (Eds.) (2016). International perspectives on older adult education: Research, policies, practices. New York: Springer. Formosa, M. & Scerri, C. (eds.) (2015). Population ageing in Malta: Multidisciplinary perspectives. Malta: Malta University Press. Formosa, M. & Higgs, P. (eds.) (2015). Social class in later life: Power, identity and lifestyle. Bristol, United Kingdom: The Policy Press. Schmidt-Hertha, B., Jelenc Krašovec, S. & Formosa, M. (eds.) (2014). Learning across generations: Contemporary issues in older adult education. Netherlands: Sense. Formosa, M. (2018). National policies for healthy ageing in Malta: Possibilities and limitations. Healthy Aging Research 7 (1), 1-6. Formosa, M. (2017). National policies for healthy ageing: The Malta experience. Polish Social Gerontology Journal. 13 (1): 73-84. Formosa, M. (2017). Responding to the Active Ageing Index: Innovations in active ageing policies in Malta. Journal of Population Ageing, 10 (1): 87-99. Hafford-Letchfield, T. & Formosa, M. (2015).Mind the gap! An exploration of the role of lifelong learning in promoting co- production and citizenship. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 7 (2): 237-252.
17 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Les Critères et Balises en Vigueur à l’Université du Troisième Age de Sheerbrooke
Monique Harvey, Ph. D. Directrice de l’UTA. Université de Sherbrooke (Québec, Canada)
Mission de l’UTA
L’Université du troisième âge (UTA) de l’Université de Sherbrooke,
• rattachée à la Faculté d’éducation de l’Université de Sherbrooke
• représente un secteur de la formation continue non-créditée
• réalise une mission éducative auprès des personnes de 50 ans et plus.
Qualité et standards universitaires
• L’UTA a à cœur la qualité des activités offertes à l’intérieur de ses programmations.
• Le cadre universitaire auquel ces programmes d’activités sont associés, exige la détermination de balises claires et la présence de critères de qualité qui respectent les standards universitaires habituellement en vigueur tout en présentant une certaine souplesse considérant qu’aucun crédit n’est attribué pour ces formations.
• Aucun préalable n’est demandé et aucun examen n’y est administré.
La qualité des activités dans le cadre de l’UTA repose sur des critères et balises relatifs au contenu, à la personne-ressource et l’intérêt manifesté par la clientèle.
18 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
1.1 Le contenu de l’activité
• Les activités de nature académiques offertes prennent appui sur des fondements, c’est-à-dire, les théories, références et bases théoriques solides.
• Les activités proposées doivent être accompagnées d’un court descriptif représentatif du contenu avant d’être acceptées. Un syllabus plus détaillé est ensuite préparé. Celui-ci précise les éléments de contenu qui seront abordés et la structure de l’activité.
• Les domaines couverts varient selon les types d’activités qui sont regroupés en deux catégories, c’est-à-dire, les activités de nature académiques et les activités à caractère culturel :
o Académiques : les programmes d’activités de l’UTA couvrent les domaines habituellement reconnus dans le milieu universitaire. Ces domaines sont : l’histoire, la politique, les langues, la littérature, la santé, la philosophie, les religions, la psychologie, les sciences pures et naturelles, les sciences sociales, la géographie, les technologies et les arts.
o Culturels : les activités de ce volet sont reliées à la culture, par exemple, les voyages, des témoignages, des services ou ressources pour les personnes aînées.
• Une évaluation des activités est réalisée après sa prestation, afin d’assurer un contrôle sur la qualité. Cette évaluation peut s’effectuer sous diverses formes : sondage d’appréciation, évaluation subjective par les représentants de classe, rencontres régionales des comités pédagogiques, évaluation électronique, évaluation en format papier, appréciation globale écrite, etc. L’évaluation se fait en collaboration avec les bénévoles, la direction de l’UTA et les conseillères pédagogiques.
1.2 La personne-ressource :
• Les qualifications de la personne-ressource sont validées à partir du curriculum vitae. Pour les activités académiques, une formation de niveau universitaire reconnue en lien avec les activités est exigée. La preuve de l’obtention des diplômes est exigée à l’ensemble des personnes- ressources qui enseignent à l’UTA.
• Les personnes qui détiennent une expérience en enseignement où elles ont pu expérimenter différentes approches pédagogiques pour faciliter la transmission de leur savoir en fonction de la clientèle visée sont privilégiées.
1.3 Les intérêts de la clientèle :
• Le choix des activités proposées est fait en fonction des intérêts manifestés par la clientèle. Ces intérêts sont connus de différentes façons, que ce soit sous la forme de sondages d’intérêts, des demandes formellement formulées par les étudiants, de suggestions de sujets auprès des bénévoles ou autres sujets qui les concernent.
• La participation et la fidélité des étudiantes et étudiants pour certaines activités (ex. conférences) ou pour certains domaines (ex. Histoire) constituent aussi des indicateurs de l’adéquation entre l’offre et la réponse aux besoins de la clientèle visée.
19 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
2- Protection de la clientèle
Dans le but de protéger la clientèle de l’UTA, aucune sollicitation n’est permise auprès des étudiantes et étudiants sous quelque forme que ce soit, sauf celles concernant directement l’UTA et autorisées expressément par la direction.
Les activités offrant un potentiel d’endoctrinement, des visées thérapeutiques ou de vente de services professionnels sont exclues des programmes des activités.
L’UTA entend poursuivre le développement et la consolidation de ses programmations tout en ayant la préoccupation de répondre aux besoins des étudiantes et étudiants, dans le respect du cadre universitaire. L’accessibilité et la qualité des activités continueront de représenter des principes importants pour la réalisation première de sa mission éducative.
LISTE DES SUJETS EXCLUS
• Finances personnelles: Ex. placements, revenus de retraite, patrimoine, etc.
• Thérapie (aspect thérapeutique) et croissance personnelle; Ex. analyse transactionnelle, art-thérapie, coaching, hypnose, méthode Coué, morphopsychologie, programmation neurolinguistique, relaxation, rêve éveillé, scénothérapie, sophrologie, training autogène, etc.
• Médecines alternatives, douces, naturelles, holistiques, parallèles, etc. Ex. biologie totale, herbothérapie, acupuncture, massothérapie, homéopathie, phytothérapie, aromathérapie, ostéopathie, etc.
• Activités manuelles: Ex. menuiserie, tricot, artisanat, ébénisterie, sculpture, poterie, céramique, jardinage, fabrication de savons, etc.
• Cours de cuisine: recettes, techniques, etc.
* * *
20 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Monique Harvey, Ph. D.
Poste actuel Directrice de l’Université du troisième âge (UTA) de l’Université de Sherbrooke (Canada)
Itinéraire académique 1998 – 2003 Doctorat en éducation, Université de Sherbrooke: 1992 – 1995 Maîtrise en gérontologie (M.A.), Université de Sherbrooke 1985 – 1988 Baccalauréat ès Science en activité physique et sportive, Université de Sherbrooke 1984 – 1985 Certificat en gérontologie, Université Laval
Itinéraire professionnel 2005 – auj. Directrice de l’Université du troisième âge de l’Université de Sherbrooke 2001 – 2005 Adjointe au directeur de l’Université du troisième âge de la Faculté d’éducation de l’Université de Sherbrooke.
21 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Education of Older People. Conditions • Methods • Trends. Education Towards, For and In Old Age
Małgorzata Stanowska Member of the Commission of Experts for Elderly People at the Human Rights Defender. Director of the University of the Third Age in Lublin. (Warsaw, Poland)
Abstract
Over 600 Universities of the Third Age have been established in Poland over the last decade. This is good news! But are we really dealing with 500 new centres of studies on old age, ageing and education of older adults, as assumed by the founders of the idea of Universities of the Third Age, Pierre Vellas or Halina Szwarc? Unfortunately, most of the newly established “universities” are just centres of meetings, integration and cultural life (also very necessary). Therefore, after years of work in a U3A and for U3As, I see the need to return to the original idea of U3A, ie lifelong learning of the elderly, and to conduct research on aging and old age in U3As. However, at the same time, I see the urgent need to actively involve older people in the roles of trainers and teachers of people who will work or work already for older adults in their environment. In the further part of the paper, I will present in detail the idea of education Towards, In and For old age and the idea of creating Inter-University Research Centres on Ageing and Old Age (MCBS).
Text
Over 600 Universities of the Third Age have been established in Poland over the last four decades. This is good news! Most of the newly established “universities” are just centres of meetings, integration and cultural life (also very necessary). Therefore, after years of work in a U3A and for U3As, I see the need to return to the original idea of U3A, ie lifelong learning of the elderly, and to conduct research on aging and old age in U3As. In the further part of the paper, I will present in detail the idea of education Towards, In and For old age and the idea of creating Inter-University Research Centres on Ageing and Old Age (MCBS).
22 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
EDUCATION TOWARDS, FOR AND IN OLD AGE
As people enter old age, they face challenges. For individuals to enjoy old age and feel satisfied, they must maintain activities and find a replacement for the statuses and associated roles they have left behind as they aged.
Education Towards, For and In old age is an answer to those challenges.
1. Education for old age is the process of preparing the society to work in order create an environment friendly to older people (eg care and medical staff, designers of public space, designers of technological devices, home furnishings, geriatricians, dieticians, trainers, etc.).
2. Education towards old age (the whole society) - it is a process of conscious preparation for the changes we undergo in the process of natural ageing of our body and taking up the challenges resulting from these changes. The goal is to prepare people for older adulthood and retirement.
3. Education in old age (older adults) - in 2012 Council Declaration on the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, in the document: The Way Forward included: Guiding Principles for Active Ageing and solidarity between generations. The Council Declaration was adopted by the Council (EPSCO) on 6 December 2012. It contains the Guiding Principles for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, jointly agreed by the Social Protection Committee and the Employment Committee. Life-long learning: Provide older people with learning opportunities, notably in areas such as information and communication technologies (ICT), self-care and personal finance, empowering them to participate actively in society and to take charge of their own life.
4. The Idea ofInter-University Research Centre on Ageing and Old Age. (MCBS).
EDUCATION TOWARDS OLD AGE
Awareness raising on the opportunities existing in the latter part of life is necessary for society as a whole. It has to be directed towards the general public, since this is fundamental to promoting a change in the perception of the value of the third age and creating social awareness about the benefits of active ageing through lifelong learning
The aging process is of key importance because it is associated with signinficant changes in everyday life, perceived in various spheres of activity. The main challenge concerns losing control over these changes, which may jeopardize the quality of life, especially when we are are unprepared for them. The problems that arise force us to adapt by changing our current lifestyle. Nevertheless, these changes can be predicted and we can prepare for them properly. In the case of preparation for old age, the main problem is the change in time perspective in late adulthood, strengthening prospects for the future, highlighting the problems faced by ageing individuals and groups in the future.
In the process of preparing and implementing courses/trainings devoted to preparation to retirement, it is necessary to develop such methods of motivational impact, which will stimulate the participants to undertake and continue educational activities. The key to improve the quality of life of people entering retirement is:
− thinking about oneself through permanent development,
− focusing on constant acquisition of knowledge,
23 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
− setting new standards and awareness of limitations and barriers,
− reviewing the actions taken,
− planning future solutions.
EDUCATION FOR OLD AGE
U3A leaders in Poland, pay attention to the problem of preparing staff able to work with and for - senior citizens. At universities there are no courses on how to teach older adults. There is a real need to prepare adequately qualified personnel because of the growing demand for their services resulting from the specificity of teaching in Universities of the Third Age.
The challenges for the next decade can be grouped as follows:
− preparing experts with competences in shaping public space that is friendly to the elderly, due to the elimination of information, technical, urban, architectural and communication barriers;
− education aimed at increasing the awareness of decision-makers and investors operating in the public space to undertake activities favourable for the adaptation of public space and infrastructure to the needs of people with various disabilities;
− providing to human resources the knowledge and skills necessary to improve communication with older people in public institutions and not only;
− enriching educational offers from various fields with issues related to the ageing processes, eg facilitating the use of public websites and electronic services as well as promoting designs oriented to the elderly user;
− preparing staff ready to take on the challenges of the dynamically developing silver economy;
− the development of scientific research in the field of healthy ageing and diseases associated to old age, expanding the educational offer for the development of new fields of studies and other forms of education dedicated to the elderly.
EDUCATION IN OLD AGE
The diversity of Polish Universities of The Third Age can be also shown by analyzing their programmes. These are the U3As that can be distinguished:
− Scholarly-academic which put emphasis on knowledge, the quality of teaching, science, research, they usually cooperate closely with colleges;
− Leisure-educational which focus on activities related to practical skills. Their collaboration with colleges is more casual, they have many partners;
− Educational-integrational which choose the feeling of community, group creation and students’ integration as their most important goals;
− Artistic-educational which encourage their students to express their creativity. Recently, universities with a distinct artistic profile, e.g. dance or photography U3As have started to emerge.
24 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Another aspect of older people’s education is to answer creation of new technological solutions was not without effect on the change of the civilization code of society, which is more and more often called network society. In the near future, the ability to use new technologies, to have particular technical competences and to access codes to specific virtually mediated social networks will become one of the key social competences.
INTER-UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CENTRE ON AGING AND OLD AGE (MCBS).
In order to meet all the challenges presented and develop a holistic approach to the upcoming demographic changes, it is necessary to create an Inter-University Research Centre for Aging and Old Age (MCBS). They would be a response and a real form of implementation of the Towards, In and For Old Age education idea. Especially that this is the only case where the subject of research (an aging person) is often the best researcher. MCBS would be a place where seniors could be not only recipients of knowledge, but also its source and co-creators. This is particularly important especially in the case of disappearing intergenerational bonds, which causes the isolation of individual age groups, and hence, the lack of knowledge about the needs and capabilities of other generations.
MCBS would become a place of exchange of thoughts and views on ageing - on the one hand between representatives of different generations, and on the other hand between representatives of various fields. The idea of MCBS is a development of the idea of the Universities of the Third Age by including studies on ageing and old age according to the concept of education Towards, In, and For old age. The aim of MCBS is to correlate activities aimed at a complementary approach to scientific research in the area of aging and old age, popularizing their results and disseminating knowledge and social awareness in the areas of action undertaken.
The structure of MCBS: 1. U3A (education and personal development of older adults. 2. Research Centre (studies on aging, old age and related social processes. 3. Training and Information Centre (courses and certification of persons operating in the silver economy areas, promotion and dissemination of results, publishing house).
Currently, there are no such centers in Poland. Research studies on aging and changes and social challenges related to demographic change are conducted in various isolated centres, often dealing with other issues on a daily basis and not cooperating with each other. I consider it urgent and necessary to create such a platform for the exchange of knowledge and information on aging and old age. It is an investment in the future that will enable people to live a longer and healthier life and will be a response to WHO recommendations regarding the need to prepare for the new decade 2020-2030, ie the Decade of Healthy Aging.
CONCLUSION
Paying attention to the future by people in late adulthood is important for their self-development and motivation to act. Educating older adults (in the so‐called third age) is becoming an increasingly important activity for the elderly, above all because it empowers them, while at the same time reducing their social exclusion.
My many years of observation from work with U3A students point to the important role of affordable and accessible public lifelong learning programme for pensioners, in particular seniors at risk. I suggest
25 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
the need for further quantitative research to measure the impact of learning on health and the quality of later life. As the population of older adults increases, the field of adult education needs to respond accordingly. The capacity of older adults to remain physically, mentally, and socially active is partly dependent on continued participation in learning and education.
In general, over-65-year-old people are found to be underrepresented in participation in formal adult education in Poland. We need to reconsider the ways we think of older people and stress the positive roles of old age in and older adults. Career education, particularly directed at training older people to work in human services, the work of helping others, is viewed as a plausible, viable concept. It can help many older adults “retire to” rather than “retire from” and help them help themselves, their peers, and others.
Educational activity of older people allows to break the stereotypical image of an elderly person: dependent, infirm, socially isolated and isolating themselves. It gives the sense of social inclusion and counteracts depression, which older people often are susceptible to as a result of social alienation.
* * *
26 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Małgorzata Stanowska
Member of the Commission of Experts for Elderly People at the Human Rights Defender. Coordinator of many projects concerning the activation of elderly people. One of her main research interests focuses on university education for older people and lifelong learning. First President of the Social Council of Elders of the Lublin City. Director of the University of the Third Age in Lublin. Specialist in the field of education of elderly people. Coordinator of educational programs for seniors. Vicepresident of the AIUTA Board (International Association of Universities of the Third Age. One of her main research interests focuses on university education for older people and lifelong learning. Co-editor of the research work “Getting Old with Dignity”, editor of the yearly “ Guide for U3A Students”.
27 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Standards of Education for the Elderly within Romania. General Theory Principles and Local Practices
Prof.univ.dr. Violeta Puscasu Faculty of Legal, Social and Political Science “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati. (Romania)
CV
Geographer with concerns in extremely diverse areas such as demography, tourism, economic geography, but also urban planning or development strategies and territorial organization. Author / co-author of numerous works, including 8 books, over 100 articles and studies published in scientific journals, conference volumes. She has also administrative responsibilities at the faculty level (i.e. vice-dean) in the “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati. In 2016, She founded and now coordinates the activity of the University of Third Age from Galati.
28 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Catching the BALL: U3A Reykjavik, Adult Education in Iceland and Innovations for the Third Age - Warehouse(s) and Academy of Opportunities
Dr. Hans Kristján Guðmundsson Chairman of U3A Reykjavik (Island)
Abstract
A short account will be given on the role and activities of U3A in Iceland in the light of the general adult education environment and other opportunities available to people in or approaching their third age. The results of the Catch the BALL Erasmus+ project will be discussed; the European Warehouse of Opportunities and its national versions, to be launched at the end of June, will be presented and demonstrated. Also a training package for trainers, the Academy of Opportunities, will be briefly discussed.
Text
Adult Education, U3A Reykjavik, and the Third Age Generation
On January 1st 2018, the population of Iceland was 348 450. The age group 50 years and older counts around 112 000 individuals, close to one third of the population, and the age group over 65 counts around 49 thousand. Life expectancy is high, and those who have reached the age of 65 will on the average have 21,3 more years ahead for women, and 19,5 years for men. Thus, when approaching the third age, citizens can on the average expect to enjoy a period of freedom and activity in retirement of a similar or even longer duration than the early years up to adulthood. The generation over fifty is the basic target group for the educational and other activities of the U3A Reykjavik.
The adult education environment in Iceland is very diverse and changing. Adults used to be able to re-enter the formal secondary system to continue their education after years on the labour market. Following a new legislation on adult education that was passed a few years ago, adult students are now, however, mainly directed away from the formal education system towards private alternatives. Several such possibilities are available through the trade unions and professional associations, as well as private institutions, offering continuing education courses, as well as bridging the gap towards the tertiary level. However, no specific policy exists regarding adult education for older citizens or the third age groups.
29 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
The tertiary education system, the universities in Iceland, does not discriminate based on age. If you have the basic qualifications to enter a university, you can enter at whatever age, given of course that possible pre-knowledge requirements are met. It is quite common that people in their sixties and even seventies enter masters or doctoral programs and finish their degrees. All universities offer Open University and continuing education programs and courses on the open educational market.
U3A Reykjavik was established in 2012 as an independent association of people in their third age, defined as 50+, regardless of their educational or professional background. The aim is to provide its members with a diversified selection of educational activities, to be a platform for learning and mutual dissemination of knowledge. The activities are mainly based on learning with and from peers, and there are no requirements for participating and no tests are taken. This would classify in the terminology of education as informal adult education, a lifelong learning activity, aimed at people in their third age. We prefer to use the term members rather than students.
The establishment of U3A Reykjavik was based on the assumption that such an organization, based on mutual sharing of knowledge and experience, would have a given place in the rather diverse educational environment for adults and people in their third age, and would be a valuable and needed forum, complementing other opportunities for lifelong learning. A forum for sharing knowledge and experiences in a voluntary atmosphere among equals. The steadily growing membership shows that this platform for peers has a given place in the flora of adult education offers available in Iceland.
Innovative Research and Development
The BALL-project (Be Active through Lifelong Learning), was defined and carried out to investigate how best to plan and implement preparations as to make the most and best use of the possibilities that may lie ahead in the latter part of life and for retirement. The idea was tabled in 2013 through early discussions on the strategy of U3A Reykjavík.
The project idea aimed at developing guidelines and recommendations for early preparations for a dynamic third age, and grew into a cooperative European project, involving three U3A organizations, U3A Reykjavik, UPUA in Alicante, Spain, and LUTW in Lublin, Poland. The project management was taken on by the company Evris Foundation in Reykjavik. The project was accepted for funding by the European Union Erasmus+ program, department for adult learning, and started in September 2014. The project results, the BALL guidelines and recommendations, were published in the book “Towards a Dynamic Third Age” in September 2016. The book and a few interim research reports are available at the project website www.ball-project.eu from where it can be downloaded.
The BALL recommendations are defined in three actions, a three step process proposed as a ”best practice” system for preparing individuals for the changes, challenges, and opportunities lying ahead in their latter part of life, summarized as follows:
Awareness Raising on the value and importance of the third age, directed both towards the society and the individuals themselves
Personal Development Academy, supporting individuals who need and want to evaluate their strengths, desires, and possibilities to be prepared for the latter part of their lives
The Warehouse of Opportunities for the third age, a virtual pool, a portal, where individuals get access to relevant opportunities.
The BALL guidelines have been disseminated worldwide and have been very well received. The project received the Erasmus+ Quality Award in the field of adult education in November 2016.
30 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Following the success of the BALL project and the general appreciation that the resulting guidelines have received around the world has given a large boost to the work and recognition of U3A Reykjavik, in Iceland as well as internationally. Research and development to the benefit of the third age will consequently henceforth be on the agenda of the organization.
The logical step forward was therefore to embark on a new project, aiming at implementing the ideas put forward in the BALL project. The “Catch the BALL” project was defined and prepared in 2016, with the aim of realizing and implementing the BALL guidelines and recommendations. Catching the BALL, and get it rolling. The project received continued support from the Erasmus+ program, and was launched in December 2017. This time new partners joined the Icelandic BALL partners, U3A Reykjavik and Evris Foundation. These partners are STPK, the Science and Technology Park in Kaunas, Lithuania, and MBM, Training and Development Center in Liverpool, UK.
The Catch the BALL project implements two of the three BALL recommendations that will be available in June 2018. Firstly, the Personal Development Academy, its working name being “Academy of Opportunities” as a course program for trainers to instruct and assist people who want to identify their strengths, needs, and dreams and desires to fulfil, in order to create a dynamic third age. Secondly, the Warehouse of Opportunities is being developed in the image of a real warehouse or a store, as a web portal with web pages as racks and shelves, presenting opportunities as products on offer. The aim is to offer people a user-friendly gateway to diverse opportunities to enhance the content of their latter part of life, improving skills and life fulfilment, getting advice on finances, on starting a new career, and other issues useful for creating their own dynamic third age. The model warehouse is a European Warehouse with global opportunities that is linked to national warehouses in the partner countries.
The Catch the BALL project is coming to an end and the two resulting outputs, the Academy and the Warehouse(s), will be formally launched at a conference in Reykjavik June 26th 2018. A demonstration of the Warehouse of Opportunities will be given at the end of this talk.
* * *
31 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Dr. Hans Kristján Guðmundsson
Born in Reykjavik, Iceland on Dec. 2nd 1946. He is a physicist and engineer with a doctoral degree in Solid State Physics (TechnD) from KTH, Stockholm, 1982.
After research, teaching and administrative careers at KTH, the University of Iceland (1980-1985), and the Iceland Technology Institute, IceTec, (1985-1992), Hans Kristján Gudmundsson served as a science counselor with EFTA, the European Free Trade Organisation, from 1992 to 1995 and at the Icelandic Mission to the EU in Brussels from 1995-1999. He was member of the Nordic Science Policy Council 1996-1999, served as Rector of NorFA, the Nordic Academy for Advanced Study, in Oslo, Norway, from 1999-2003 and in 2004 as chairman of the NorFA Governing Board. The years 2004-2006 Hans Kristán held the vice chair of IGFA, the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research. In 2003-2008 Hans Kristján was Director General of RANNIS, The Icelandic Centre for Research. He then served as Dean of the Faculty of Business and Science at the University of Akureyri. He has an extensive experience of international cooperation on the Nordic and European Arena on research, research training, science policy and administration.
After retiring in 2012 Hans Kristján has been working on different projects cultivating his interests. He is actively engaged in matters of the third age, since 2015 as Chairman of U3A Reykjavik. He has had a leading role in the European project BALL (Be Active through Lifelong Learning), supported by the European Union Erasmus+ program, a cooperation between U3A organisations in Reykjavik, Lublin,Poland and Alicante, Spain how to best prepare for the third age. The resulting guidelines have been widely disseminated and a new two year project, “Catch the BALL”, implementing the ideas put forward in the BALL guidelines will be coming to an end summer 2018, launching among other the Warehouse of Opportunities for the Third Age.
Hans Kristján is married to Sólveig Hulsdunk Georgsdóttir, anthropolgist and translator. They have one son, Gunnar Ólafur Hansson, associate professor of linguistics at the UBC in Vancouver, and two granddaughters.
32 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Los Estandares de los Programas Universitarios para Personas Mayores y el Impacto en los Diferentes Actores del Contexto Universitario: La Experiencia del PIAM.
MSc. Marisol Rapso Brenes Universidad de Costa Rica CV
FORMACIÓN ACADÉMICA: 2009. Universidad de Costa Rica, Sede Rodrigo Facio Magister Sientiae en Gerontología. 2008. Diplomado en Administración para la Gestión Gerontológica a Distancia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. 2005. Diplomado en Seguridad Social, Retos demográficos y económicos. Centro Interamericano de Estudios de Seguridad Social (CIESS). México, D. F. 1984. Universidad de Costa Rica, Sede Rodrigo Facio. Licenciatura en Trabajo Social. 1981. Universidad de Costa Rica, Sede Rodrigo Facio. Bachillerato en Trabajo Social
EXPERIENCIA PROFESIONAL: INVESTIGACION Y DOCENCIA Actividad de Investigación: 2009- 2011 Instituto de Investigaciones en salud. INISA. Universidad de Costa Rica. Investigadora colaboradora del Proyecto: “La persona adulta mayor en los Guido, Desamparados” 2006-2011. Centro Centroamericano de Población, CCP. Universidad de Costa Rica. Investigadora colaboradora del Proyecto: “Informe Estado de Situación de las Personas Adultas Mayores en Costa Rica (ESPAM)”. 2007-2008 Programa de Cooperación Interuniversitaria y cooperación científica entre España e Iberoamérica (AECI). Convenio UNED de España - UCR de Costa Rica. Investigadora colaboradora del proyecto: “Evaluación de un programa formativo de mayores” 2005-2007 Convenio con la Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo y Universidad de Jyvaskilla (Finlandia) Investigadora colaboradora del proyecto: “Programa de formación de adultos mayores y profesionales en Gerontología Social Universidades para la tercera edad en América Latina: Apoyo para las universidades de tercera edad y entrenamiento profesional” Cooperación Técnica Regional No Reembolsable No ATN/FT-8931-RG. 2002-2004. Escuela de Trabajo Social, Universidad de Costa Rica. Investigadora principal del Proyecto: “Percepción de abuso de las personas adultas mayores”. 1994-1996. Instituto de Investigación y Mejoramiento de la Educación, IIMEC. Universidad de Costa Rica. Investigadora colaboradora del Proyecto Sentido de vida para los mayores de 50 años.
33 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Actividad docente: 2004 a la fecha. Directora del Programa institucional para la persona adulta mayor, PIAM, Universidad de Costa rica 1995 a la fecha. Profesora Adjunta en grado y posgrado. Escuela de Trabajo Social y Maestría en Gerontología. Universidad de Costa Rica. 1995 a la fecha. Lectora y directora de 27 trabajos finales de graduación de grado y posgrado. Escuela de Trabajo Social, Escuela de Orientación, Escuela de Sociología y Maestría en Gerontología. Universidad de Costa Rica. 1995 a la fecha. Miembro de las Comisiones de Curriculum, Investigación y Acción Social; coordinadora de las Secciones de Docencia, Investigación y Acción Social y miembro del Consejo Académico de la Escuela de Trabajo Social.
Participación en otras actividades académicas: Miembro de la Comisión Académica del Programa Interdisciplinario de Maestría en Gerontología, Universidad de Costa Rica, desde marzo 2009. Miembro de la Asamblea Colegiada Representativa de la Univerisdad de Costa Rica desde diciembre del 2004 a diciembre del 2010. Miembro del Junta Directiva del Centro Infantil Laboratorio CIL, I ciclo 2007. Miembro del Consejo Directivo del Programa de Atención Integral en Salud. PAIS, II ciclo 2004 y I ciclo 2005. Miembro de la Comisión de la Persona Adulta Mayor CONARE, desde marzo 2005 a la fecha. Coordinadora de la Comisión de la Persona Adulta Mayor CONARE diciembre 2005 a diciembre 2006 y diciembre 2009 a diciembre 2010. Miembro de la Junta Rectora del Consejo de la Perosna adulta Mayor CONAPAM, diciembre 2009 a diciembre 2010. Miembro del Consejo Editorial de la Revista Electrónica PALABRAS MAYORES del Programa Universidad de la Experiencia (UNEX), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Miembro del Consejo Editorial de la Revista La Voz de los Mayores, Consejo de la Persona Adulta Mayor CONAPAM.
34 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Diversity and Quality of Senior Education in the Czech Republic
Prof. Ing. Roman Prokop, Phd. Tomas Bata University in Zlín (Prague, Czech Republic)
Abstract
The presentation is divided into two parts. The first part deals with history of senior education in Tomas Bata University (TBU) which is one of the youngest universities in the Czech Republic. TBU was founded in January 2001 and there was an effort to establish a University of the Third Age (U3A) in March 2002. The first year of U3A there were 85 participants in two lecture cycles. The first lecture cycles were concerned with sociological, economics and technology issues. Thanks to a new computer room it was later possible to open a cycles concerning on ICT, Computing in practice and Media and communications. The interest of senior students was increasing in next years and at present there are more than 600 seniors enrolled on 19 study programs in the towns of Zlin, Vsetin, Kromeriz and Uherske Hradiste.
The second part of the presentation is devoted to the Association of U3A in the Czech Republic. The association was established in 1993 which year was designated as European year of older people and solidarity between generations. From the beginning of the association the main priority is devoted to the quality of senior education. The association runs its own information system which contains information about it members and databases of all study programs and courses. Senior education in the Czech republic is partly supported from the Ministry of education. This is a relevant reason for proper database sources of statistical data. The system is described in the second part of the presentation.
35 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Prof. Ing. Roman Prokop, Phd.
Prof. Roman Prokop is a professor in Technical Cybernetics and he teachs at the Faculty of Applied Informatics TBU in Zlín. He is the head of the department of Mathematics (since 2015) and vice-rector for life-long learning (since 2016). In the field of senior education he is the president (since 2016) of the Association of the Universities of the Third Age in the Czech Republic.
Prof. Prokop has been working in Zlín from 1995. During this years he had several posts: Vice-rector for Pedagogical Activities, Vice-dean for Pedagogical Activities, Vice-den for International Relations, Department Director.
His scientific domain is Automatic Control theory, esspecially Robust and Adaptive Control, Automatic controller tuning, Delay Systems.
36 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Participación Social, Bienestar y Proyectos Intergeneracionales
Dra. Sacramento Pinazo Hernandis Vicepresidenta de la Sociedad Española de Geriatría y Gerontología Profesora de Psicología Social en la Universidad de Valencia (España)
Texto
En el análisis del envejecimiento de la población confluyen diferentes perspectivas y enfoques: unas, problematizando su significado para el futuro de las sociedades modernas; otras, desde posiciones contrarias enfatizando que se trata de una mejora social sin precedentes, una celebración y un cambio, como dice el documento de Help Age International (2012), Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: A Celebration and a Change. Pero si hay algo que está claro en el envejecimiento es su diversidad y heterogeneidad: hay muchas y diversas formas de envejecer que dependen de variables personales, situacionales, del entorno, sociales, económicas, de salud y estilos de vida. Para la Comisión Europea, órgano ejecutivo de la Unión Europea que vela por interés general de ésta, el envejecimiento poblacional tiene una especial repercusión en la estructura demográfica, el mercado de trabajo y la jubilación, la salud, las condiciones de vida y la participación social. El hecho de que en el mundo viven aproximadamente 750 millones de personas de más de 60 años es un motivo de celebración; pero también el hecho de que cerca de dos tercios de estos hombres y mujeres mayores viven en países pobres es una llamada a la acción (Indice Global de Envejecimiento, 2013).
Participación social de las personas mayores
Cuando el CIS estudia la participación de las personas mayores de 16 años, habla de cuatro tipos de participación: la participación en asociaciones formales, la participación en grupos informales, la ayuda individual a personas de otros hogares y la ayuda a personas necesitadas de ayuda en la propia familia. Según el Estudio del CIS, el tiempo medio dedicado al conjunto de las redes por los mayores de 16 años en el mes anterior, es de 12 horas por persona (unas 3 horas a la semana) (CIS, 2011).
Por otro lado, la Encuesta de Empleo del Tiempo (INE, 2002) habla de tres tipos de actividades de participación: ayuda informal a otros hogares (entraría dentro del ámbito de la reciprocidad y no sería participación ciudadana); actividades participativas (asistir a reuniones u otras actividades
37 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
de organizaciones sociales, políticas, religiosas, juveniles, deportivas, etc., cuando el que acude no forma parte de dichas organizaciones y se caracteriza por el escaso protagonismo de las personas que intervienen); trabajo voluntario al servicio de una organización (participación no remunerada o con honorarios mínimos, en las actividades y servicios de una asociación o entidad formal, ya sea como miembro de la misma o como colaborador voluntario); con un componente mayor de protagonismo social y político, pues implica desarrollar un papel activo en las organizaciones de las que se forma parte, ya sea en la gestión o en las actividades propias de la entidad, pero es a la que menos tiempo se dedica en España, unos 30 minutos semanales como media en un mes, si tenemos en cuenta que se dedican 89 horas a tareas domésticas, 80 horas a trabajo remunerado, 59 horas a ver la televisión y 45 horas a relaciones de ocio y amistad.
Se entiende por participación directa en los asuntos públicos cualquier actividad, intervención o relación que los ciudadanos mantienen con las instancias e instituciones que están más allá de la esfera de la reciprocidad inmediata (parientes y amigos) y del intercambio mercantil (empleo y consumo).Tales relaciones y formas de intervención directa en la vida pública presuponen la voluntad de participar por parte de los ciudadanos, lo que depende a su vez de cuáles sean sus actitudes y opiniones respecto a las instituciones más amplias de las que forman parte. La participación directa en los asuntos públicos se puede ejercer esporádicamente, por ejemplo acudiendo a una manifestación, o de manera continuada, por ejemplo militando en un partido político. En ambos casos las formas concretas de participación presentan una gran diversidad y complejidad, lo que explica que la información disponible sobre estos asuntos sea heterogénea y difícil de captar con precisión y fiabilidad.
Otra vía de participación ciudadana en los asuntos públicos consiste en formar parte de redes sociales y asociativas que permiten crear lazos más allá de la familia, los amigos y el puesto de trabajo. Estas redes sociales pueden tener fines diversos (culturales, políticos, deportivos, religiosos, profesionales, etc.) y adoptar un carácter formalizado, como una ONG o un sindicato, o más bien informal, como un grupo de tertulia o una peña de jóvenes en las fiestas de los pueblos. Además, el grado de participación puede ser muy variado, incluyendo a aquellos que dedican muchas horas a la entidad de la que forman parte pero no participan de sus actividades o lo hacen ocasionalmente. Ello explica también que las estimaciones sobre la proporción de personas asociadas en España varíen de forma notable de unos sondeos a otros.
Para describir la participación en redes asociativas, el punto de referencia es la encuesta del CIS sobre Ciudadanía, participación y democracia de 2002, que proporciona una información desagregada sobre las redes asociativas. Este estudio permite conocer muchos aspectos relacionados con el asociacionismo formal e informal en España. En primer lugar, las personas pertenecientes a asociaciones formales de cualquier tipo constituyen el 42%, si bien sólo el 31,6% ha participado en alguna de sus actividades en el último año y únicamente el 16,3% ha realizado trabajos voluntarios para dichas asociaciones. Es decir, que de las personas inscritas en clubes, asociaciones y otro tipo de organizaciones, la mayoría participa como usuaria o receptora de servicios, y sólo un tercio coopera activamente en la gestión y tareas de la entidad.
Entre las redes informales de participación se distinguen dos tipos principales: los grupos que se reúnen habitualmente porque “comparten algunos intereses”, sobre todo en el campo cultural y del entretenimiento (tertulias, peñas, etc.), donde se encuadra el 31,9% de las personas de 16 y más años; y la “ayuda brindada voluntariamente” a ancianos y enfermos que no son parientes al margen de asociaciones formales (16,7%).
Según el Panel de hogares de la Unión Europea, realizado entre 1996 y 2001, la proporción de personas que pertenecía a alguna asociación en España se mantuvo casi sin variaciones en dichos años (25% y 26%, respectivamente). Las mayores tasas de asociacionismo se registran entre las personas de edades
38 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
intermedias (más que entre jóvenes y personas mayores), con renta familiar alta (el 30% frente al 20% entre población de rentas bajas) y con estudios universitarios (doble proporción que quienes no superaban el nivel de la enseñanza primaria) En el contexto internacional, una encuesta promovida en 2003 por la Fundación Europea de la Ciencia caracterizaba a España como un caso paradójico en materia de asociacionismo: era el país donde la población asignaba más importancia a “participar activamente en asociaciones voluntarias”, pero, en la práctica, registraba uno de los porcentajes más bajos de participación. “Más allá de estas situaciones contradictorias, cabe destacar que son los ciudadanos de los países del norte de Europa los que sistemáticamente muestran mayores niveles de colaboración y participación en asociaciones voluntarias, mientras que son los europeos del Sur y los ciudadanos de algunos países ex comunistas los que menos se comprometen con este tipo de organizaciones”. Participación social, generatividad y bienestar La participación social, entendida en un sentido amplio, significa tanto contribuir con el tiempo y el esfuerzo de uno/a mismo/a para ayudar o mejorar la realidad de otras personas o grupos, como formar parte de una realidad social sintiéndose partícipe, es una expresión o manifestación de envejecimiento activo. La participación social es una muestra de generatividad que puede vehiculizarse a partir del cuidado de los nietos, las actividades de voluntariado, el asociacionismo o la implicación en actividades comunitarias. La satisfacción con la vida es un elemento esencial que, junto con las expectativas, temores y emociones, forma parte de las dimensiones subjetivas del envejecimiento. Siguiendo a la OMS el envejecimiento activo y sano se relaciona directamente con la participación activa en asuntos sociales y culturales. El modelo de envejecimiento activo de la OMS propone tres pilares básicos: salud, seguridad y participación. Algunos autores han añadido un cuarto pilar al modelo de envejecimiento activo: el aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida. Fomentar el envejecimiento activo implica potenciar la activación conductual de la persona, lo cual se puede lograr de forma más adecuada, eficaz, eficiente y duradera situando la activación del comportamiento en el marco de los valores individuales y sociales de cada persona y la apropiada aceptación y manejo de situaciones como la pérdida de salud o la disminución de la funcionalidad. Los programas de formación a lo largo de la vida (y en concreto los programas universitarios para mayores) pueden ayudar a las personas a utilizar instrumentos para mejorar su salud, promover conductas y estilos de vida saludables, prevenir el deterioro, y retrasar la dependencia. En la Unidad de Investigación en Intervención Psicosocial en Envejecimiento de la Universidad de Valencia hemos estudiado el efecto que tiene la participación social sobre la satisfacción con la vida. Para ello, hemos preguntado por la participación social y el autocuidado a estudiantes del programa Universitat dels Majors. Ha participado una muestra de 1.200 estudiantes mayores de 50 años en un estudio transversal de encuesta. Además, hemos pasado los mismos cuestionarios en las Aulas de la Tercera Edad de la Comunidad Valenciana. Se han realizado diversos análisis descriptivos y correlacionales. Como resultados más relevantes destacamos la importancia de la participación social. Los datos muestran que existen relaciones estadísticamente significativas y positivas entre la participación social y la satisfacción con la vida. Esto quiere decir que, a mayor participación social, mayor satisfacción con la vida. Otros resultados interesantes de este estudio muestran que de todos los indicadores de participación social, los que tienen un mayor peso como predictores de la satisfacción con la vida presente y futura son, en este orden: el cuidado de nietos, el asociacionismo y la participación en actividades formativas y de ocio.
39 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Los resultados también revelan asociaciones entre participación en el programa formativo y autocuidado, lo que indica que la participación en programas educativos, culturales o formativos se relaciona con la dimensión de autocuidado; esto es, a más participación, más cuidado de uno mismo. ¿Qué interés tienen estos resultados? En primer lugar, que las personas que participan en programas formativos muestran una alta satisfacción con la vida que se relaciona directamente con su participación social. En segundo lugar, las personas mayores que asisten a programas de formación a lo largo de la vida dedican más esfuerzos al autocuidado. Los programas universitarios para mayores son un excelente recurso para promover la salud, desde una perspectiva holística y biopsicosocial. En tercer lugar, que los programas universitarios para mayores son un buen recurso también para promover la participación social y la generatividad. En los programas Universitat i Societat y Universitat dels Majors se imparten unos contenidos formativos que incluyen materias de psicología, filosofía, sociología y salud, entre otros, y se promueven actividades de relación social y trabajo grupal. Entre los objetivos de estos programas formativos está: sensibilizar a la sociedad en general sobre el valor del envejecimiento activo, destacar y apreciar la valiosa contribución que las persones mayores hacen a dicha sociedad; promover el envejecimiento activo, la solidaridad intergeneracional, la vitalidad y dignidad de todas las personas, esforzarse más para movilizar el potencial de las personas mayores, para hacer posible el que lleven una vida independiente; estimular el debate y el intercambio de información para desarrollar un aprendizaje mutuo; promover actividades que sirvan en una lucha contra la discriminación por razón de edad y superar los estereotipos relacionados. Hablábamos al principio del Informe de HelpAge International (2012). El aumento de la longevidad es un motivo de celebración: las personas mayores también contribuyen a sus familias y a sus comunidades; pero a la vez el envejecimiento representa un desafío si se quiere maximizar el potencial de la población mayor como capital humana conectado en una Sociedad para todas las Edades. Proyectos intergeneracionales La importancia del desarrollo de la solidaridad intergeneracional en nuestras sociedades y en nuestras políticas como vía de la participación social, ha sido citada en varios documentos relevantes, como el de la OMS (2002), donde encontramos una alusión directa a los programas intergeneracionales y la necesidad de desarrollar la solidaridad entre generaciones: “Las siguientes propuestas políticas se han diseñado para abordar los tres pilares del envejecimiento activo: salud, participación y seguridad. Algunas son amplias y abarcan todos los grupos de edad, mientras que otras se dirigen específicamente a los grupos que se aproximan a la ancianidad o a los propios ancianos. .../...Con respecto al apoyo social. Reducir los riesgos de soledad y aislamiento social apoyando a los grupos comunitarios gestionados por personas mayores, a las sociedades tradicionales, a los grupos de ayuda mutua, a la esfera de acción de las personas de la misma edad, a las visitas vecinales, a los programas de ayuda telefónica y a los cuidadores familiares. Apoyar el contacto intergeneracional y proporcionar viviendas en comunidades que fomenten la interacción social diaria y la interdependencia entre los jóvenes y los mayores.” (OMS, 2002: 99). Para ilustrar esto, a continuación expondremos tres ejemplos de programas: Hear me. Un ejemplo de proyecto en el marco de la solidaridad intergeneracional es el que pusimos en marcha desde la Universidad de Valencia: el Proyecto Hear Me!/Escúchame, centrado en el envejecimiento activo, el lifelong learning, la participación activa, la relación entre generaciones y el diálogo mutuo entre los mayores y los menores. Se trata de un programa de mentorización que ayuda a transmitir la
40 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
experiencia y conocimiento de los más mayores, además de su salud mental y física, proporcionándoles una mejora en su autoestima. Los mentores apoyan a los menores a superar las dificultades con las que se encuentran al actuar como modelos de rol, a desarrollar mejor su potencial y a encontrar su propio camino.
Memoria y Patrimonio Vivo.
Otro proyecto fue el de Memoria y Patrimonio Vivo, cuyo objetivo fue unir a generaciones distintas (jóvenes estudiantes del Grado en Magisterio) con personas mayores que acudían al programa de la Universitat dels Majors. A lo largo de seis meses, se estuvieron reuniendo con el fin de compartir sus visiones sobre la educación.
Literatura y transgeneracionalidad
Diferentes estudios hablan de la sintomatología depresiva de las personas mayores que viven en residencias. A su vez, las investigaciones advierten de los estereotipos asociados a la vejez. Con la idea de mejorar el estado de ánimo de las personas mayores institucionalizadas y disminuir los estereotipos hacia las personas mayores se diseñó un proyecto intergeneracional. Participaron 44 personas, 17 personas mayores y 27 adolescentes. Los resultados muestran que el intercambio intergeneracional influyó positivamente en la afectividad de las personas mayores, redujo la sintomatología depresiva y ayudó a promover una imagen más adecuada de la persona mayor institucionalizada. El análisis de los datos ha mostrado los beneficios de la intergeneracionalidad, el intercambio de aprendizajes, y la reducción de estereotipos hacia las personas mayores.
* * *
41 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Dra. Sacramento Pinazo Hernandis
Doctora en Psicologia, Licenciada en Pedagogia y Máster en Psicologia Comunitaria por la Universitat de València. Es Profesora Titular de Psicologia Social en la Universitat de València des de 1999. Imparte docencia en Grado, Postgrado (Máster y Doctorado) en diferentes universidades españolas y formación a profesionales de la Gerontología dentro y fuera de España. Es Vicepresidenta de Gerontologia de la Sociedad Española de Geriatria y Gerontologia. Es Presidenta de la Sociedad Valenciana de Geriatria y Gerontologia. Como Cap d’Iniciatives del Vicerectorat de Participación y Projección Territorial coordina el Programa Universitario ‘Universitat dels Majors’ de la Universitat de València en Gandia y en Cullera.
Ha sido directora del Máster en Gerontología Social desde 1994 a 2006 y del Màster Oficial en Atenció Sociosanitària a la Dependència de la Universitat de València desde 2010 a 2016.
Coordina la Unidad de Investigación Intervención Psicosocial en Envejecimiento de la Facultat de Psicologia en la Universitat de València. Forma pate del Grup d’Investigació en Gerontología (Universidad de Barcelona-Universitat de València-Universitat Ramón Llull).
Ha participado en diversas investigaciones I+D+i, ha dirigido varias tesis y ha publicado articulos en temas de Intervención Psicosocial y Gerontologia: generatividad y participación social, envejecimiento activo y exitoso, aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida, relaciones intergeneracionales abuelos-nietos, programas intergeneracionales, personas mayores en situación de vulnerabilidad social y soledad.
42 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
Envejecimiento Activo, Educación y Participación Social: Retos y Oportunidades Futuras
Dra. Montserrat Celdrán Castro Facultad de Psicología. Universidad de Barcelona. (España)
Texto
La comunicación quiere ser una oportunidad de debatir sobre la importancia de la participación social a través de la educación, y muy especialmente, de la educación intergeneracional, con una mirada puesta en aquellas personas que asisten a las aulas de extensión universitaria.
Centraré la comunicación en dos apartados:
· La participación social y la educación dentro del marco conceptual del envejecimiento activo · Los retos y oportunidades de esta participación
Hablar de educación y personas más sénior siempre ha sido como una batalla. Aunque muchos países hablan de aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida, es cierto que aun hoy se sigue considerando la educación y formación muy ligada a la experiencia y trayectoria profesional, haciendo un gran salto cuando hablamos de personas jubiladas o prejubiladas.
Por ejemplo, PIAAC: Programa para la Evaluación Internacional de las Competencias de los Adultos, prolongación del programa PISA, solo evalúa a adultos de 16 a 65 años.
De hecho, peor suerte corrió el cuarto pilar del conocido como Envejecimiento Activo. En este marco conceptual propuesto por la OMS, de los tres pilares fundamentales para conseguir “el proceso de optimización de las oportunidades de salud, participación y seguridad con el fin de mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas a medida que envejecen”.
Sin embargo, la educación marca los tres otros pilares de una forma muy importante como la literatura previa ha señalado de su importante factor para entenderlos.
· Eje salud: mejor educación y su asociación con el manejo de problemas de salud, menor tasa de morbilidad y el aumento de lo que se conoce como reserva cognitiva.
43 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
· Eje participación: mejor nivel de educación y mejor acceso a nuevas formas de participación como el voluntariado. · Eje seguridad: mejor nivel de educación y la prevención de malos tratos, sobre todo el económico.
También se apuntará alguna noción del Índice de Envejecimiento Activo y qué papel juega la educación a lo largo de la vida.
Desde los estudios que llevamos a cabo el grupo de Investigación en Gerontología, dirigido por el profesor Feliciano Villar y del que también forma parte Sacramento Pinazo que hoy también nos acompaña en el acto, llevamos tiempo trabajando la idea de la participación y la educación como dos elementos unidos para comprender la calidad de vida y bienestar de las personas una vez se jubilan.
Hemos diseñado una posible clasificación de las actividades que pueden ser consideradas activas según dos ejes: uno referido a los recursos requeridos para desempeñarla (en términos de tiempo, capital humano, capital social o grado de compromiso) y un segundo referido a si la actividad tiene una orientación prioritariamente individual (dirigida a uno mismo) o prioritariamente social (dirigida a otros).
Creemos que esto es básico para entender la forma en que las personas se acercan a los programas educativos y como estos dan respuesta a sus necesidades. Dentro de este paradigma se han estudiado las motivaciones, beneficios que las personas obtienen de este tipo de actividades. Me centraré en los aprendizajes que la persona obtiene.
En nuestro estudio comparamos cuatro grupos de actividades: Mayores que participan en actividades de ocio formal (n=144); Mayores que participan en universidades de mayores (n=121); Mayores que participan en acciones de voluntariado (n=159); Mayores que participan en organizaciones políticas (n=97)
Los resultados apuntan a cuatro formas de aprendizaje: Autoconocimiento, Habilidades Instrumentales, Habilidades Interpersonales y Conocimiento social. Podremos comentar diferencias significativas entre los diferentes grupos y ello nos puede hacer pensar cuan valido sería promover cualquiera de estas acciones en los grupos educativos que llevamos a cabo.
Retos de la participación y educación intergeneracional
Me gustaría finalmente apuntar algunos retos
· El reto de la participación ante las nuevas tecnologías La nueva generación de mayores viene con unos aprendizajes de nuevas tecnologías que nos hará plantearnos los cursos formativos sobre esta temática. También es importante destacar la idea de si estos curso de informática permiten que la persona mayor pueda participar de forma activa en la sociedad (desde el grupo de investigación estamos llevando a cabo una investigación sobre blogueros mayores para analizar esta idea de la participación significativa a través de las nuevas tecnologías)
44 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
· El reto del propio edadismo dentro de los nuevos mayores Muchas personas que se jubilan en la actual pueden no sentirse atraídas por un paquete formativo en el que se les etiquete como personas mayores, por las implicaciones negativas que lamentablemente tiene esta categoría en la sociedad. Ahora bien, ¿un programa abierto a cualquier edad ayudaría aquellos que realmente necesitan de dicha formación a sentirse bienvenidos en dicha programación? futuros.
· Atender a los nuevos perfiles de personas mayores En el futuro tendremos una diversidad de personas mayores con historias culturales, religiosas, sexuales, etc. mucho más diversas. Esto debería ser un reto para no dejar a nadie fuera de una participación efectiva a nivel de programas educativos
· Por último, sería deseable que la participación en acciones educativas de las personas mayores tuviera un impacto en la sociedad. si no caemos en el peligro de “entretener” a las personas o educarlas pero sin que ello pueda después revertir en la sociedad. Esto puede hacerse a través de programas intergeneracionales, a través de acciones de voluntariado, de formaciones y aprendizajes que después les ayudan en su día a día, etc.
* * *
45 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
CV Dra. Montserrat Celdrán Castro
INTERESSOS • Recerca en àmbits de la gerontologia, tant en envelliment actiu (voluntariat en gent gran, educació a persones grans) com envelliment patològic (cures a persones amb demències, bon tracte en centres residencials....) • Des de 2012. Integrant vocalia de la entitat EIMA (Asociación para la investigación del maltrato a las personas mayores) • Des de 2016. Integrant de la junta gestora de la Fundació Amics de la Gent Gran
TÍTOLS ACADÈMICS • Títol “Expert universitari en direcció i gestió d’organitzacions no lucratives i d’economia social”. Fundació Pere Tarres. 2016. • Doctorat Interuniversitari Psicologia de l’educació. Cultura, educació i sistemes semiòtics. Universitat de Barcelona. 18 d’abril de 2008. Nota: Cum laude. Premi extraordinari tesi doctoral • Màster Psicogerontologia i neurociències aplicades. Universitat de Barcelona (UB). Novembre 2005 • Llicenciatura en psicologia. Universitat de Barcelona (UB). Juliol. 2002
DOCÈNCIA IMPARTIDA • Grau de psicologia. Diferents assignatures de psicologia del desenvolupament i psicogerontologia • Màster oficial en psicogerontologia https://masterpsicogerontologia.com/ • Docència en matèries com ara el voluntariat en gent gran, soledat cura de persones grans, demència i maltractament vers les persones grans.
TRAJECTÒRIA LABORAL (últims 10 anys) • PROFESSORA AGREGADA INTERINA. Actualment- Octubre 2016 Facultat de psicologia. Universitat de Barcelona • PROFESSORA ASSOCIADA. Setembre 2016 – Octubre 2014. Facultat de psicologia. Universitat de Barcelona • PROFESSORA LECTORA Setembre 2014 – Setembre 2010. Facultat de psicologia. Universitat de Barcelona Agost 2010 - Setembre 2009. Psicologia. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Tarragona
PUBLICACIONS CIENTÍFIQUES (selecció 10 publicacions) • Celdrán, M., Serrat, R., Villar, F., Pinazo, S., & Solé, C. (2018). The experiences of retired managers acting as volunteers in an entrepreneurial mentoring organization. Journal of Population Ageing https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-017-9210-6 • Serrat, R., Villar, F., & Celdrán, M. (2015). Factors associated with Spanish older people’s membership in political organizations: The role of active aging activities. European Journal of Ageing, 12(3), 239-247. • Villar, F., Celdrán, M., Fabà, J., & Serrat, R. (2017). Staff members’ perceived training needs regarding sexuality in residential aged care facilities. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 38(4), 443-452 • Celdrán, M., Villar, F., i Triadó, C. (2014). Thinking about my grandparent: How dementia influences adolescent grandchildren’s perceptions of their grandparents. Journal of Aging Studies, 29, 1-8. • Villar, F., i Celdrán, M. (2013). Learning in later life: participation in formal, non-formal and informal activities in a nationally representative Spanish sample. European Journal of Ageing,10(2), 135-144.
46 AIUTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · Standards of Education among U3as and the Intergenerational Formatio · BARCELONA - 29th JUNE 2018
• Villar, F., Pinazo, S., Triadó, C., Celdrán, M. i Solé, C. (2011). How students evaluate university programmes for older people: A comparison between two models in Spain. Journal of Aging Studies, 25, 118-125. • Villar, F., Celdrán, M., Pinazo, S. i Triadó, C. (2010). The teacher’s perspective in older education: The experience of teaching in a university for older people in Spain Educational Gerontology, 36, 951- 967. • Villar, F., Triadó, C., Celdrán, M. i Solé, C. (2010). Measuring well-being among Spanish older adults: Development of a simplified version of Ryff’s Scales of psychological well-being. Psychological Reports, 107, 265-280. • Celdrán, M., Triadó, C. i Villar, F. (2009). Learning from disease: Lessons drawn from adolescents having a grandparent suffering dementia. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 68, 243-259. • Celdrán, M. i Villar, F. (2007). Volunteering among older Spanish adults: Does the type of organization matter? Educational Gerontology, 33 , 237-251.
PARTICIPACIÓ EN PROJECTES D’INVESTIGACIÓ SUBVENCIONATS (selecció) • Hacia una concreción del envejecimiento activo: antecedentes y consecuencias según el tipo de actividad realizada. Projecte subvencionat pel Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad , referència PSI2016-77864-R (2016-2019). Investigador principal Feliciano Villar. • Lifelong Learning and Active Citizenship in Europe’s Ageing Society. Projecte subvencionat per la Comisió Europea (projecte Grudtvig), amb la referència 225817-CP-1-2005-1-NL (trienni 2005- 2007). Investigador principal per part d’Espanya, Feliciano Villar. • Seguimiento longitudinal de la evaluación de programas universitarios para personas mayores. Projecte subvencionat per l’IMSERSO (Instituto de Migraciones y Servicios Sociales), amb la referència 66/06 (bienni 2006-2007). Investigador principal Feliciano Villar. • Las abuelas y los abuelos cuidadores: Tareas de cuidado, necesidades y consecuencias para la salud y el bienestar psicológico. Projecte subvencionat pel Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, amb referència SEJ2005-04154/PSIC (trienni 2005-2007). Investigadora principal Carme Triadó Tur.
47