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ERIC Number: EJ1240174
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0360-1277
EISSN: N/A
Inclusion through Folk High School Courses for Senior Citizens
Hedegaard, Joel; Hugo, Martin
Educational Gerontology, v46 n2 p84-94 2020
The increasing proportion of senior citizens in the population places new demands on the existing welfare system, in terms of the delivery of social services, but also with respect to democratic issues such as 'inclusion' and 'participation.' Participation in adult education offers a context where senior citizens can be included in society, experience meaningfulness, and even create the conditions for their own well-being. In Sweden, there exist formal adult education systems that have enjoyed more success than others with respect to attracting groups of senior citizens who traditionally have not participated in the same degree in this domain. The Folk High School is one such educational system. The purpose of this article is to provide a description of how Folk High School senior courses are organized and what role the courses that are offered there play in the participants' lives with respect to meaningfulness, their well-being, and life-long learning. Eight focus group interviews with 33 participants were conducted at eight different Folk High Schools in southern Sweden. The results of this study indicate that Folk High Schools' senior courses are organized together with the participants and in such a manner that interaction with participants from other courses is made possible. This interaction gives rise to an unpretentious- and, in a broad sense, an intercultural learning experience. The participants experience this as meaningful, and as something which impacts on their quality of life in a positive manner. Furthermore, it plays an important function in the participants' continued life-long learning.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A