What older people learn: the whys and wherefores of older people learning

Learning matters in later life. It enables older workers to sustain their productiveness in the workplace and adapt their experience and skills to changing contexts. Older workers matter: the age of retirement is increasing, and moving away from paid work is becoming more of a prolonged process, less of an abrupt transformation. People who carry on learning lead healthier lives: learning reduces morbidity, and delays the effects of Alzheimer's on learners' social interactions. Older people are civically active: more likely to vote, usually the mainstay of voluntary organisations.

This is a report of an authoritative scientific study of older learners, part of NIACE's series of annual surveys on adult participation in learning. It examines their subjects of study, motivations to learn, ways of finding out about, and getting to, learning; it reports on the benefits they perceive, the ways they learn, and their views on qualifications and fees; it identifies the key barriers to learning, the effects of illness and disability and access to technology. Practitioners and managers in adult learning, and educational researchers in general, will find this full and detailed review of crucial information about an increasingly important group of learners invaluable as a source of information and insight.

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