This article investigates the modern phenomenon of age friendliness, more particularly the notion of an “age-friendly city,” from both a macro perspective as well as at the level of a localized application of age friendliness in a single city. Much of the rhetoric of age-friendly conceptualization has strong affinity to the themes of lifelong learning, and proponents of each sector can benefit from mutually understanding the respective principles and implementation strategies of the other. Allied concepts of aging (“growing older”) and active aging are discussed before discussion of the main discourses of lifelong learning. A case study of an age-friendly city in New Zealand is presented wherein achievements and challenges are discussed; an argument is presented that as “close cousins,” actors within these two domains can enhance the application of their humanistic principles by closer alignment of policy and practices. Further, challenges ahead for implementation of age friendliness are discussed, some of which are shared by the lifelong learning movement.

This chapter explores learning in later life in the Nigerian context, highlighting research findings on the focus of learning among older persons, with special emphasis placed on adult and non-formal education programmes. Discussion includes allied concepts of ageing and learning, lifelong learning/education, policy developments in (older) adult education, patterns of Nigerian seniors’ participation and intergenerational learning in this West African nation.

This article traces some of the major achievements of a local Taiwanese initiative – the Active Ageing Learning movement, which provides seniors with greater opportunity to engage in learning in later life, whether for expressive or vocational reasons. Taiwan has faced considerable increases in the numbers of older people proportionately in the general population as it moves from an "aged society" to a "super-aged society". This article's purpose is to provide a historical account of developments and challenges in senior learning as an example of an East Asian nation's efforts to move away from social welfare paternalism to older citizens as active educative agents in a mainly post-work environment. Data were derived from a combination of document analysis of policy documents and research located within professional practice. The pathway towards a more sustainable learning society in which seniors play an important role has been met with resistance and has faced several challenges. In addition to analysing achievements, this article investigates these challenges and provides suggestions for greater clarity and integration of learning opportunities for elders in Taiwan. The article concludes that both challenges and successes need acknowledgment. As a major recommendation, in order to meet the demands of a super-aged society, Taiwan can profit from planning and implementing regional centres as sites of learning located conceptually and physically between top-down government-driven directives and more democratic bottom-up community-based initiatives. To be successful, such centres will require substantive training and development and a collective push from the state, civil society members and private enterprise.

The concept and practices associated with learning in later life provide a broad context for understanding the articles published in the IJLE. The main aim of this review is to identify dominant aspects in discourses on older learners in the IJLE and how they have changed over the decades. Hence, we identify and briefly discuss historical trends in the lifelong learning/education literature before focusing on emergent themes from IJLE articles from 1982 to 2020. In the first part, we present an overview on the development of research on later life learning to provide a historical frame for the contributions dedicated to that topic. In comparison with the international development of research on later life learning, this topic has been somewhat delayed in the IJLE. Selected articles are discussed in the second section to illustrate and analyse the different approaches to learning in later life, as represented in the IJLE. The analysis shows that aspects of inclusion and exclusion - social marginalisation, exclusion from paid work, health resources, digitisation - are very central in many contributions. Thus, we identify different aspects of inclusion and exclusion in later life and discuss the role of education and learning in this context within the IJLE contributions.

This chapter builds on earlier chapters and prefigures a group of chapters focusing on more specific developments of Taiwan’s senior learning movement. While it is primarily based on the author’s professional observations from several visits to Taiwan, the first of which was in 2013, it is also complemented by his overall experiences in conferences and allied events and reading of pertinent literature on lifelong learning and later life learning. The historical/cultural dynamics and current character of senior learning in Taiwan are discussed, including observations of practices in three Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs). Finally, using an outsider’s lens, challenges and issues ahead are identified.

Greater numbers of researchers are investigating the character of later life learning, especially as governments and civil society members globally become aware of the extent of population ageing and of the need to understand better what and how older adults are learning. While the field of gerontology is dominated by positivist (medical) approaches to research, the sub-field of educational gerontology has tended to favour interpretivist and more humanistic strategies.This chapter examines the dynamics of later life research into learning/education, and it discusses the philosophical, pragmatic and ethical issues facing researchers in this fledgling domain. The argument is directed towards promoting a more participatory research approach that honours the integrity of older adult learners.

The sub-field of educational gerontology, better known colloquially as learning in later life, has been receiving increased attention in the new millennium, especially as in many countries the proportions of older adults are reaching dramatic levels. This article provides insights into the historical development of later life learning including consideration of the ideas of old age or later adulthood. It looks into how knowledge (or curriculum) has been constructed within a lifelong learning framework before analysing issues of older people’s participation and providers of learning opportunities. Coverage of recent developments in this sub-field includes a review of important reports and academic publications. Finally, a number of emergent issues of special salience for older learners, especially connected to the new millennium, are discussed.

This article investigates the engagement of universities in older adult education in the specific context of Aotearoa New Zealand. Initially, the broader context of the tertiary education system and the place of universities within it are explained. Not unexpectedly adult education, and particularly older adult education, exists only on the margins of the system. Significant achievements in the past in regard to universities' contribution to older adult education are acknowledged before judging the effectiveness of current engagement, using Peterson's (1976) definition of educational gerontology as a benchmark. Globally, there are adventurous moves afoot to extend the vision and practices of universities to embrace elders as legitimate partners in learning. The article explores potential engagement by reviewing some global examples including an exemplary "traditional" programme, inter-generational learning/education, an application of the Age Friendly University concept and two solid research studies of older adult education conducted in sites in Europe and Asia. The article concludes by reflecting on the possible application of these initiatives in the New Zealand context.

In our final paper we reflectively stand back and ask, 'What do we know and what have we learnt about lifelong learning in later life from the international Getting of Wisdom Exchange program and process, including the research papers in this volume? In critically addressing this question we draw not only on new insights from the papers in this themed volume and the wider literature of lifelong and later life learning, but also on insights from Indigenous knowledge(s). We sense an ideal opportunity to reflect on our insights into Indigenous learning and eldership in Australia and New Zealand to go beyond what research is actually included in this volume. In part, what we do is ask what voices, pedagogies and research tends not to be included here, that is also missing in most mainstream Western research, that typically seeks universal 'truths' about learning through peer reviewed scientific perspectives and methods. We certainly do not regard learning shaped and re-shaped by governments through neoliberal and conservative discourses as the only or last word. We have chosen the ancient te reo Maori words, Ma te ora ka mohio/'Through life there is learning' as the title for our paper to emphasise that lifelong learning is an ancient and wise construct that regards life and learning as inseparable and mutually reinforcing.

The problematics of accessing res participants have been largely under-stated in the education research literature. This article discusses two case studies which illustrate the complexity of the process of access. This is complexity beyond ethical consent; it is the complexity of gaining access to research sites and participants and of ongoing negotiation concerning aspects of access, especially when the stakes are high for participants. In this article we first set out what is already known in the literature about challenges and strategies of access. Next, we evaluate our own experiences of access with others. Our analysis reveals key findings: a) the relevance of insider/outsider status; b) the need to engage in repeated negotiations to obtain the agreement and consent of gatekeepers; c) the value of identifying kaiārahi (guides) and building relationships; d) the importance of understanding organisational culture, power dynamics of relationships and of knowledge production; and e) the significance of operating in a transparent manner around researcher identity and the nature of the specific study. A research plan may be approved as ethical but may not prove to be practical when the researcher tries to enact it, thus necessitating modification. The challenge becomes finding a practice that is ethical for a particular group and context. Lastly, we propose that education researchers who have negotiated the power dynamics to build relationships among kaiārahi, gatekeepers and participants need to communicate their knowledge and experiences of accessing research participants with other researchers.Â

This article is concerned with how learning in later life has been constructed and practised by the two most numerous ethnic groups in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Pakeha (Europeans) and Maori (Indigenous people). It is argued that learning is heavily influenced by historic features of interaction between these two groups; Pakeha as the dominant cultural and economic group and Maori as subordinate. While contemporary perspectives are necessarily interpreted in the light of historical trends and events, fresh interpretations of what constitutes biculturalism in this country allow for more nuanced understanding of possibilities for and obstacles to older adult learning/education. Themes from lifelong learning are analysed with special reference to older people's learning, the consequences of Maori sovereignty on pedagogy and trends identified for older adult education. Two linked case studies of Pakeha and Maori older adult education in a New Zealand university are described to illustrate complexities and tensions in provision in a bicultural context.

The phrase "learning in later life" has assumed major significance for educators and allied professionals in their efforts to understand the dynamics of learning for older people across the globe. In earlier times, the phrase "educational gerontology" was used to describe a similar set of ideas but is now deemed too restrictive for the vast range of learning in which seniors participate, whether organized for them or with them, or self-initiated. The purpose of this article is to provide a solid platform for conceptualizing the complex array of learning opportunities open to older adults in diverse cultural contexts.