Hostname: page-component-669899f699-7tmb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-25T04:27:50.364Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of learning on wellbeing for older adults in England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2014

ANDREW JENKINS  and
TAREK MOSTAFA
ANDREW JENKINS*
Affiliation:
Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education, University of London, UK.
TAREK MOSTAFA
Affiliation:
Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education, University of London, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Andrew Jenkins, Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is growing interest in factors which can contribute to the wellbeing of older adults. Participation in learning could have beneficial effects, but to date research on the benefits of learning has tended to focus on young people or those in mid-life and there is currently little evidence on the impact of learning on the wellbeing of older adults. In this paper we provide new, quantitative evidence on the relationship between participation in learning and the wellbeing of older adults. Our study used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a continuing, longitudinal survey of older adults. To measure wellbeing we used the CASP-19 instrument, a subjective wellbeing measure which is available at all waves of the ELSA survey. Respondents were asked about four types of learning activity: obtaining qualifications; attendance at formal education/training courses; membership of education, music or arts groups or evening classes; membership of sports clubs, gym and exercise classes. To take account of unobservable factors which might influence wellbeing, we applied fixed effects panel regressions to four waves of ELSA data. Learning was associated with higher wellbeing after controlling for a range of other factors. We found evidence that more informal types of learning were associated with higher wellbeing. There was no evidence that formal education/training courses were associated with higher wellbeing.

Keywords

older adultslifelong learningwellbeingbenefits of learningEnglish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 35 , Issue 10 , November 2015 , pp. 2053 - 2070
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Allison, P. 2009. Fixed Effects Regression Models. Sage, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, S. 2008. Later Life Learning: A Review of the Literature. Association for Education and Ageing, Leicester, UK.Google Scholar
Betts Adams, K., Leibbrandt, S. and Moon, H. 2011. A critical review of the literature on social and leisure activity and wellbeing in later life. Ageing & Society, 31, 4, 683–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dench, S. and Regan, J. 2000. Learning in Later Life: Motivation and Impact. Department for Education and Employment, London.Google Scholar
European Commission 2001. Making a European Area of Lifelong Learning a Reality. COM(2001) 678, Publications Office, Luxembourg.Google Scholar
European Commission 2006. Adult Learning: It is Never Too Late to Learn. COM (2006) 614, Publications Office, Luxembourg.Google Scholar
European Commission 2010. Europe 2020 – A Strategy or Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. COM (2010) 2020, Publications Office, Luxembourg.Google Scholar
Feinstein, L. and Hammond, C. 2004. The contribution of adult learning to health and social capital. Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report 8, Institute of Education, London.Google Scholar
Field, J. 2009. Good for your soul? Adult learning and mental wellbeing. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 28, 2, 175–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Field, J. 2011. Researching the benefits of learning: the persuasive power of longitudinal studies. London Review of Education, 9, 3, 283–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamieson, A. 2007. Education and the quality of life in later years. Quality in Ageing, 8, 3, 15–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamieson, A. 2012. Learning in later adulthood: transitions and engagement in formal study. Educational Gerontology, 38, 3, 201–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laslett, P. 1996. A Fresh Map of Life. Second edition, Macmillan, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McMunn, A., Nazroo, J., Wahrendorf, M., Breeze, E. and Zanninotto, P. 2009. Participation in socially-productive activities, reciprocity and wellbeing in later life: baseline results in England. Ageing & Society, 29, 5, 765–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moody, H. R. 2004. Structure and agency in late-life learning. In Tulle, E. (ed.), Old Age and Agency. Nova Science Publishers, New York, 29–44.Google Scholar
Narushima, M. 2008. More than nickels and dimes: the health benefits of a community-based lifelong learning program for older adults. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 27, 6, 673–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2006. Live Longer, Work Longer. OECD, Paris.Google Scholar
Phillipson, C. 2013. Ageing. Polity, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Russell, H. 2008. Later life: a time to learn. Educational Gerontology, 34, 3, 206–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherger, S., Nazroo, J. and Higgs, P. 2011. Leisure activities and retirement: do structures of inequality change in old age? Ageing & Society, 31, 1, 146–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuller, T. and Watson, D. 2009. Learning Through Life: Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning. NIACE, Leicester, UK.Google Scholar
Swindell, R. and Thompson, J. 1995. International perspectives on the University of the Third Age. Educational Gerontology, 21, 5, 429–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiggins, R. D., Netuveli, G., Hyde, M., Higgs, P. and Blane, D. 2008. The evaluation of a self-enumerated scale of quality of life (CASP-19) in the context of research on ageing: a combination of exploratory and confirmatory approaches. Social Indicators Research, 89, 1, 61–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Withnall, A. 2010. Improving Learning in Later Life. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (WHO) 2001. Active Ageing. WHO, Geneva.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (WHO) 2002. Active Ageing: A Policy Framework. WHO, Geneva.Google Scholar