This study sought to identify the support needed by returning baby boomers to succeed in online master's programs at a Midwest institution. Tinto's (1975, 1987, 1993) theory on social and academic integration, Kember's (1989) model of dropout distance education, Bean and Metzner's (1985) student attrition model, and Park's (2007) model for adult…

In this paper we discuss individual numeracy practices of older people (age cohort 65 and above), concentrating on findings concerning interdependencies of numeracy practices and vulnerability and their reciprocal effects, drawing on first results of a qualitative, explorative study entitled 'Numeracy as social practice in the course of time'. For…

Older adult education is still under-researched, with many terminological ambiguities, clichés, and prejudices. Older adult teacher education and older adult English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher education is rare. Many factors can influence EFL teachers of older adults' teaching performance and its perception. Pre-service (presumably…

The purpose of this study is to examine the process from technology exploration to acceptance for older adults. A senior technology exploration, learning, and acceptance (STELA) model is proposed to examine the technology exploration and learning process. Adopting a new technology can pose challenges with increasing age. In order to help older…

A considerable number of studies have been carried out to explore the experiences of the elderly engaging in third age education, however, most of these investigations have focused on elderly motivation, the benefits accruing from their participation, and the barriers they have encountered during their lifelong learning experience. However, there…

The importance of gerontology-focused classroom and field education has been emphasized heavily in social work education for decades as the population of older adults continues to expand, as does the need to provide services to support the health and well-being of older adults. Although the need for social workers and other professionals who…

Public awareness of demographic change is necessary to guide individual and national planning for retirement. For the first time in American history, older adults are forecast to soon outnumber children. Accordingly, expectations for retirement should be considered in a larger than personal context, a broad perspective that implicates relatives,…

Previous research has made it clear that older learners are mainly learning for learning's sake. However, few studies have explored the intrinsic aspects of older learners' motivation in detail; also, the factors that influence their learning motivation remain under-researched and under-theorised. To address this gap, this survey-based…

In the study of gerontology, fieldwork with older adults is often used to enhance students' understanding of the aging process. While assignments based on interactions with older adults are a common practice in teaching students enrolled in gerontology studies, we know less about the impact of such activities on students from other disciplines.…

A rapid demographic transition to aging populations is imminent over the next decade, especially in Southeast Asian countries. An aging population presents a host of medical challenges, such as multimorbidity; chronic illnesses; and geriatric syndromes, such as frailty, falls, dementia, and incontinence. In order to tackle such issues efficiently,…

The article considers the problem of activation of people of retirement age during the period of self-isolation and studies education as a means of their activation. As a research method, the questionnaire method was used, which allows us most effectively to find out the features in the attitude of retirement age people who are in self-isolation…

Literature has widely explored the learning processes with information and communication technology (ICT) in later life, mostly focusing on the individual learner rather than materialities--such as smartphones, notepads, and handouts. The aim of this paper is to introduce a socio-material perspective by focusing on the question: What role do…

Social isolation and loneliness are important issues for older adults. This paper discusses a program called NeverTechLate (NTL) that was created to combat these issues by providing digital literacy education and by promoting the use of tablets and video conferencing technology to empower older adults. This program involved using the feedback from…

Younger adults generally hold negative attitudes and stereotypes about aging, which can affect the success with which they age as well as how they interact with older generations in everyday settings. The current study sought to improve expectations about aging in a largely first-year undergraduate student population through a small,…

This research examines the role of adult and lifelong learning in facilitating successful aging among Chinese older adults. A life history research is adopted to conduct the study. By analyzing narratives of research participants' learning stories, the study explores the provision of lifelong learning programs, Chinese perspectives on successful…