Wilma Donahue

Education's Role in Maintaining the Individual's Status:

the continuously changing biological substructure of the aging organism. Each change in function is conditioned by concomitant or preceding biological circumstances and by environmental stress to which the aging individual is exposed. The concept of the individual as a functional but changing whole moving through a dynamic life space has been accepted in the study and treatment of children; it has not yet been fully comprehended as including the total life span. The period of later maturity has been traditionally regarded as static, as a time when the individuals development has been halted and his potentialities dissipated by the blight of age, during which he can only await his ultimate dismissal from life. Fortunately, there is a growing awareness that age in itself need not impale the individual and transform his life from a state of use-

Preparation for Living in the Later Years

A SUITABLE PROGRAM of action with reference to preparation for living in the later years is difficult to propose. Such a task is rendered complex because there are a large number of unknown and unstable factors involved. In the first place, old age is not a separate, static period of life. The years of later maturity extend over several decades, during which the individual undergoes continuous changes which may be as profound as those occurring during the first forty years of life. Secondly, there is no reason to believe that the old person of tomorrow will be exactly like the old person of today. Medical science assures us that it already has the knowledge and skill necessary to retard physiological aging and to insure prolonged vigor. Moreover, old people, like any other age group, are in large part the product of their life experiences. Since these are not the same for any two generations, and since the pace of contemporary life is so greatly accelerated, the differences between generations of old people may be greatly exaggerated in the future. Thirdly, the situation with reference to old people is an evolving one. If present interest and effort are maintained, the old person of tomorrow will enjoy opportunities for a life of continued usefulness and will possess a role in society as well defined as that of any other major age group. The accumulation of these factors leads to the obvious conclusion that, at the present time, we do not know the pattern of tomorrow’s older

Experiments in the Education of Older Adults

new ideas, to acquire new information, or to adopt new methods of learning or of solving problems. Results of psychological studies have tended to document these assumptions. They have shown that, while there are wide individual differences, the overall pattern of age change is one of decline. When older men are compared with younger men of like professions, they make lower test scores, on an average, than their younger colleagues.&dquo; Some abilities have been found

Chapter II: Developments in Education for Later Maturity

T H E past decade has seen a marked development of interest in adult education addressed to middle-aged and older adults. Education for the older adult may be seen, in part, as an extension of adult education generally. In perhaps greater part, it is education for a new period of life with needs, interests, and characteristics of its own. This growing focus of attention on education for older adults parallels the total development of interest in this period of life as represented by the opening up of the entire field of gerontology. Gerontology itself has sprung from increased life expectancy which has already sent up the number and proportion of older people beyond all expectation, from the newer knowledge of the aging process, and from concern for the wellbeing of aging people (98) . Research, clinical study, and observation reveal that the period beyond 50 years of age represents a definite phase of life characterized not only by changes in the organism, in physiological and psychological capacities (40, 106), and in the individuals social situation, but also by the persistence of desires or needs common to people of all ages (26, 41) . It is becoming recognized, also, that aging is a period of gradual transfer from the responsibilities of parenthood and career application to a period of broadening interests, preservation and improvement of the culture, assumption of community responsibility, and expression of creative impulses (82, 116). From these basic concepts, education for aging is seen to have a number of objectives. One is to give the individual knowledge of the changes taking place in his organism, in his mental capacities, in his personality, and in his social situation, in order that he may understand them and make suitable adjustments (26, 28, 37, 41 ) . Another is to provide new knowledge and skills that may afford a basis for continuing employment, voluntary services, and creative expression. A third objective is that of education for enjoyment of the arts, for intelligent citizenship, and for postponement of mental deterioration. A fourth is that of upsetting current stereotypes of aging and substituting constructive concepts and social attitudes. Fifth, is education to provide the specialized knowledge required by those who are working with older people. A comprehensive review of research in the field necessarily concerns itself with a wide range of subjectmatter. There must be recognition of the changing nature of the individual because of its implications for program content and method of presentation. Equally important is under-

The older worker in the community.

Adjustments for and by older workers can be made on the job and in the community to insure maximum use of their skills and resources.