The Fourth Age Sandra von Doetinchem sandra.doetinchem@berkeley.edu
Short bio - Sandra von Doetinchem Field of Study: Educational Sciences with specialization in Older Adult Education (2009), University Duisburg - Essen, Germany Thesis Title: "Lifelong Learning - An empirical study focusing on the educational needs and requirements of adults over the age of 80" Research Interest: Third and Fourth Age Education, International comparative adult education and lifelong learning, Global education and aging Joined OLLI @Berkeley as Public Education Specialist/ Research Assistant in 2010 Chair of the LEARN council of the American Society on Aging
Terminologies - Life phase "Age" ● increased life spans make a breakdown of the life phase "age" necessary ● differentiations, e.g.,: ○ Bernice Neugarten: "young-olds" & "old-olds" ○ Hans Peter Tews: "young-olds", "old-olds", "oldest-olds" ○ Margaret & Paul Baltes/ Peter Laslett: "Third" and "Fourth Age" ○ Ludger Veelken: "High old adults" ● beginning of the "high old" age is statistically defined as the age of 80 or 85
Why do we need Fourth Age Research? The Aging Population ● the populations in developed countries like the U.S. and Germany are growing slower or are even shrinking ● the averages of the population age are increasing
Why do we need Fourth Age Research? The Aging Population ● the births over deaths ratio is decreasing and is in Germany already below 100% ● at 100% the population size stays constant
Why do we need Fourth Age Research? The Aging Population ● the percentage of the population age 80+ is increasing ● education of the older population will play a crucial role!
Why do we need Fourth Age Research? Lack of Research & Programs ● worldwide nearly no research on lifelong learning in the fourth age is existing ● most lifelong learning surveys end at the age of 75-79 ● most studies on the fourth age have a rather negative and loss-oriented perspective ● targeted educational programs for learners in the fourth age are mainly taking place in retirement/ nursing communities ○ only a handful programs are integrated in regular lifelong learning programs worldwide
We need to study what you CAN do, instead of what you CANNOT do!
Benefits of Lifelong Learning ● "(...) because education is a lifelong process, it is possible that elderly people can delay or even prevent the onset of dementia by keeping their brains active.” Dr. Mortimer, Director of USF Institute of Aging ● researchers from the Albert Einstein School of College of Medicine showed in a longitudinal study that those participants who did the most cognitive activities were 63% less likely to develop dementia, as compared to those who did the least (Verghese J. et al.: Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in the elderly. N Engl J Med 2003; 348: 2508-2516
Possible Approaches ● OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salons ● Study: Lifelong Learning - An empirical study focusing on the educational needs and requirements of adults over the age of 80, Sandra von Doetinchem ○ Goal: deeper understanding of the status of high age adult education and of the special educational needs of this extremely diverse age group ○ Sample: 44 participants of both genders between 80 and 96 years (average age: 83) from various educational backgrounds and personal life situations, living in regular households
OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salon ● opportunity for OLLI @Berkeley to learn more about the learning needs and interests of members over the age of 80 ● launched in September 2011 ● 17 meetings so far
OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salon Guest speakers: ● Peggy Kelly , PhD, clinical psychologist talk on hearing loss and hearing aids ● Mary Heller, PhD, clinical psychologist talk on memory processes ● Lauren Vanett, OLLI faculty, SF State Extended learning faculty talk on core strengths and positive emotions ● Prof. Greg Niemeyer , Department of Art Practice and the Center for New Media, UC Berkeley talk on new media and video games for older adults
OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salon Guest speakers - Continued: ● Prof. Ken Goldberg , UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering and School of Information talk on UC Berkeley’s Center for New Media projects ● Andrew Gaines, Executive Director of The Ashby Village talk on the Village movement and Ashby Village ● Dr. Allan Chinen, clinical psychologist and author talk on why men are underrepresented in lifelong learning
Demographics (Source: Human Mortality Database) OLLI's membership profile showed that the OLLI membership is 75% ● women and 25% men 84% of the participants in the German study were female, 16% male ● unique group: Fourth Age Salons have more like a 50/50 gender ● composition
Living Arrangements "Pat and Masa live in the Retirement Community Lake Park and Lorraine will move to St. Paul’s Towers in August. The rest of the group lives either alone or with their partners in their own homes." Distribution of the living arrangements in the German study
Educational background ● the majority of Fourth Age Salon members has advanced degrees and is therefore only a small subgroup of the overall population ● the German study had a more representative cross-section ○ only 9% of the study participants had an advanced degree
What do you "make"? "I edit a technical book on physics." "I make ideas." "I collect things and make art out of it." "I like to write stories and to create meals." "I like to knit and to play the piano"
Hobbies - German Study Top 3 activities Top 3 activities people used to enjoy people enjoy now: in the past: ● traveling ● watching TV ● sports ● meeting friends ● crafting ● reading
Volunteerism ● some of the Fourth Age Salon members are volunteering ● 41% of the over 80 respondents (n=29) in OLLI's Getting to Know You Survey Spring 2012 are volunteering ● 18% of the participants in the German study are volunteering ○ those who are volunteering or have volunteered in the past participate in formal education more than twice as much than participants who didn't have any volunteer record
Lifestyles "(...) it is important not to think about things too long rather than just doing them" "I prefer not to look backwards!"
Lifestyles ● recent research shows that those high old people, who are optimistic about their future, have an overall higher life satisfaction and a better health (2nd Heidelberger Centenarian Study, 2013) ● asked for their interest in memoir work and writing, the majority of the participants in the German study responded that they prefer more forward-looking activities
Technology Knowledge Level ● all Fourth Age Salon members have a computer and at least one email account ● results from OLLI's Getting to Know You Survey (Spring 2012, n=458) show that 99% of all OLLI members have a computer. ● results from the 80+ sample in OLLI's Getting to Know You Survey (Spring 2012, n=29) show that 86% are very comfortable or comfortable using a computer
Technology Knowledge Level - German Study ● participants had some cell phone knowledge ● but were mainly not computer and Internet experienced
Lifelong Learning Experience "All of the Fourth Age Salon participants took classes at least in one of these fields (OLLI curriculum areas)"
Lifelong Learning Experience - German Study single people participate much more in lifelong learning than widowed or married people
Lifelong Learning Experience - German Study 65% of the participants consider education at high age as important or very important
Lifelong Learning Experience - German Study ● 30% of the study participants took part in lifelong learning after their 75th birthday ● if people participate in education after the age of 75, they do this very frequently
Classroom Preferences & Issues "The group has a preference to have talks that are around 20-30 minutes, leaving an hour for discussion" top 3 teaching methods prefered by OLLI members age 80+: ● small groups (76%) ● large lectures (55%) ● guided discussion (48%) (Source: OLLI's Getting to Know You Survey, Spring 2012)
Classroom Preferences - German Study ● learning with peers ● learning in small groups ● opportunity for social interaction ● positive and inviting learning atmosphere
Health as an Accessibility Issue ● older adults often have to struggle with unexpected happenings, like physician's appointments, illnesses, tiredness, which do not allow them to visit the classes on a frequent basis ● concerns about memory loss and brain health increase with age and are often mentioned in the Fourth Age Salon ● the majority of participants in the German study reported an average health and mobility level
Health as an Accessibility Issue "(...) they answered simultaneously that hearing is their biggest issue." "The group suggested a hearing interest circle"
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