‘You're never too old to learn!’: Third‐Age perspectives on lifelong learning

Abstract

This article builds on the author's previous work on the Learning Society as a prescription for change in educational thinking about ways to best meet the massive social, demographic, economic and technological changes which are upon us in the late 20th century. The demographics of an ageing society have posed new educational challenges which, the article argues, can be met best through bringing Third‐Age perspectives to bear on lifelong learning. A review of current definitions of lifelong learning reveals minimal recognition of the Third Age. The article uses evidence from the literature on ageing and learning and the viewpoints of members belonging to one campus of the University of the Third Age (U3A) to uncover Third‐Age perspectives on life and learning which need to be incorporated into a redefinition of lifelong learning to make it a more inclusive concept. It concludes that age‐integrated rather than age‐segregated educational programmes ought to be the basis of lifelong learning. Such programmes might prepare people at all stages in the human life span better for their responsibilities as custodians of society's past and trustees of its social future.