COMMUNITY‐BASED OLDER LEARNERS: BEING WITH OTHERS

Abstract

Data collected in seven community‐based learning contexts revealed that older adults valued friendship, reciprocity, communication, family spirit, and a sense of belonging in their experience of being with others. In the first part of this article, the older learners’ descriptions of their experiences are presented. The literature on similar or related themes‐‐social self, friendship, reciprocity, recognition, and communication in informal groups‐‐is then reviewed. In the final section, I refer to the literature to interpret the value the older adults placed on the sense of belonging and friendship, question certain aspects of the literature, and reflect on the respondents references to family and reciprocity with young people. I suggest that in learning activities, practitioners and older adults are making the community a reality.