ERIC Number: EJ877293
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Oct
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0955-2308
EISSN: N/A
Stage Posts
Soulsby, Jim
Adults Learning, v16 n2 p14, 16-17 Oct 2004
Uncertainty about identity and the future is occurring at a stage of life when people do question what they have achieved and what they still want to achieve. The notion of midlife crisis has been in existence for some time but recently its occurrence has coincided with opportunities to take early retirement or redundancy. This has meant that the natural urge to review and change at this stage of life has often taken the form of an exit from the workforce. An opportunity for reflection has been replaced instead by precipitous change. Now that people are being encouraged to stay in work longer, it is necessary to re-motivate older workers through opportunities to take stock and revise their life planning. Learning and guidance have key roles to play in helping people revise their life planning. The trouble is that involvement in learning often declines at just the stage when it could prove most useful. In this article, the author discusses the concept of Stage Posts as a way of thinking of the relationship between learning and the life course which offers options for those responding to crises and those planning for the future. The author believes the notion of Stage Posts offers people the option to consider what they have been doing and look at what they might be doing, which could be more of the same of something completely different. Just as important, it will help educators create new and more relevant curriculum areas, which might lead people, in time, to other more mainstream areas of learning.
Descriptors: Retirement, Adult Learning, Adult Education, Redundancy, Reflection, Midlife Transitions, Older Workers
National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. Renaissance House, 20 Princess Road West, Leicester, LE1 6TP, UK. Tel: +44-1162-044200; Fax: +44-1162-044262; e-mail: enquiries@niace.org.uk; Web site: http://www.niace.org.uk/publications/adults-learning
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A