Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement: Perspectives from outside in and from inside out (Lifelong Learning Book Series, 28) 3030935663, 9783030935665

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Lifelong Learning Book Series 28

Brian Findsen Hui-Chuan Wei Ai-tzu Li   Editors

Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement Perspectives from outside in and from inside out

Lifelong Learning Book Series Volume 28

Series Editors Karen Evans, UCL, Institute of Education UCL, London, UK Andrew Brown, UCL, Institute of Education UCL, London, UK Editorial Board Members Chiara Biasin, University of Padova, Padova, Padova, Italy Richard Desjardins, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA Kitty te Riele, Ctr for Educational Attainment, Univ of Tasmania, Peter Underwood, Hobart, Australia Yukiko Sawano, University of the Sacred Heart, Shibuya-ku, Japan Maria Slowey, Dublin City University, Higher Education Research Centre,  Dublin, Ireland Maurice Taylor, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada Ann-Charlotte Teglborg, Ecole Supérieure Commerce Paris, PARIS, France Rebecca Ye Rongling, Stockholm University, Norrköping, Östergötlands Län, Sweden Dayong Yuan, Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences, Beijing, China

Competing visions and paradigms for lifelong learning co-exist at national as well as international levels. The fact that one ‘official’ discourse may be dominant at any one time does not mean that other ways of thinking about learning throughout the life course have disappeared. They are alive and well in a range of critical traditions and perspectives that retain their power to engage and persuade. In this series, contributors critically analyse issues in lifelong learning that have important implications for policy and practice in different parts of the world. Evidence, ideas and the polity can mobilise political thinking in new directions, as policy makers search for the new ‘big idea’. In turbulent times, ideas for better connecting system worlds and life worlds in the pursuit of broader and more just forms of meritrocracy can focus compellingly on learning as a lifelong process which links, rather than separates, the older and younger generations and incorporates the realities of working lives. The series aims to engage scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and professionals with contemporary research and practice, and to provoke fresh thinking and innovation in lifelong learning. Each volume is firmly based on high quality scholarship and a keen awareness of both emergent and enduring issues in practice and policy. We welcome work from a range of disciplines and, in particular, interand multi-disciplinary research which approaches contemporary and emerging global and local challenges in innovative ways. Through advocacy of broad, diverse and inclusive approaches to learning throughout the life course, the series aspires to be a leading resource for researchers and practitioners who seek to rethink lifelong learning to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century. Please submit your proposal for this Series to the Series Editor: karen.evans@ ucl.ac.uk or the publishing editor: [email protected]. More information about this series at https://link.springer.com/bookseries/6227

Brian Findsen • Hui-Chuan Wei • Ai-tzu Li Editors

Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement Perspectives from outside in and from inside out

Editors Brian Findsen Division of Education (Emeritus Professor) University of Waikato Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand Ai-tzu Li Department of Adult & Continuing Education National Chung Cheng University Chiayi, Taiwan

Hui-Chuan Wei Department of Adult & Continuing Education National Chung Cheng University Chiayi, Taiwan

ISSN 1871-322X     ISSN 2730-5325 (electronic) Lifelong Learning Book Series ISBN 978-3-030-93566-5    ISBN 978-3-030-93567-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Foreword

The field of older adult learning is certainly at an important crossroads. Despite a global and dramatic increase in the education attainment levels of adults, the number of participants in older adult learning has not increased in a commensurate manner, and typical learners remain physically and cognitively healthy older women from relatively advantageous socio-economic backgrounds (Formosa, 2021a, b). The perils of globalization, malestream biases, neo-liberal hegemony, the fetish of consumption, novel generational habitus of incoming cohorts of older persons, a neglect of older persons in care homes and/or living with dementia, and the ingoing COVID-19 pandemic, amongst other challenges, are really testing the established ethos and vision of late-life learning. Such encounters are not surprising and instead to be expected. Furthermore, later-life learning runs the risk of experiencing academic imperialism, becoming dominated by Western philosophies and modes of practice, and Eurocentric hegemonies as a way of knowing, seeing and understanding its subject matter (Formosa, 2019a, b, c). Such waves of ideological domination are both hidden and expressed, as they seek to reinforce past and present superiorities of Western social systems over others. Of course, in the drive to sustain social, economic and political agendas, such conceptual ascendancies are produced and reproduced in the echelons of learning institutions, and the overlapping arenas of older adult education and educational gerontology are absolutely no exception. One thus welcomes the imperative of Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement: Perspectives from Outside In and from Inside Out to crystallize the need for the discipline of late-life learning to counteract such currents of intellectual subjugation and instead act in culturally relevant ways, go against the current of assimilationist education, and embark on geragogical practices that are cross-cultural, multi-­ cultural, culturally sensitive and socially inclusive. In many ways, this publication was certainly thought, planned and written in line with a Freirean ideological spirit: I don’t want to be imported or exported. It is impossible to export pedagogical practices without reinventing them. Please tell your fellow educators not to import me. Ask them to re-create and re-write my ideas (Freire, 2005, p. 58).

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This was both foreseeable and anticipated. Primarily, the oeuvre of work published by one of the editors, Brain Findsen, has been consistently rooted in a critical and decolonizing paradigm. One article that surely deserves special mention is ‘Learning in later life: A bicultural perspective from Aotearoa/New Zealand’ (Findsen, 2016) as it traversed the overall relationship of colonizer and colonized in the particular context of Aotearoa New Zealand, and argued that the plight of older adults’ learning needs to be contextualized as how this wider socio-cultural framework was recently influenced by a government-led neo-liberal agenda. Second, the past decade witnessed an emergence of scholarly writings that highlighted the uniqueness and potential of Eastern approaches in enriching older adult learning. As Tam (2012, 2016) argued, Western and Eastern modes of learning are generally perceived as polarized and described in terms of the Confucian-Anglophone dichotomy. According to Confucian beliefs, lifelong learning is an effort made throughout one’s life span to inculcate a morally excellent life and to develop into a virtuous person, since learning is conceived as a vehicle of ‘learning for the sake of the self’ to enrich one’s life and character. Quite to the contrary, engagement in ‘learning for the sake of others’ is generally congruent with the instrumental and competition-­ directed notions of lifelong learning in Western societies for survival or competitive purposes in a knowledge-based society. Finally, recent years also witnessed a constructive critique of older adult learning for overlooking the fact that many older persons outside the Global North may have never attended any formal education when younger and, thus, may be more interested in basic literacy provision rather than the liberal courses that are generally offered. Ratana-Ubol and Richards (2016, p.  99) rightly pointed out that the University of the Third Age phenomenon ‘is sometimes resisted (or may not sufficiently inspire) in non-OECD or at least more traditional societies on the basis of cross-cultural differences as well as views of education directly linked to the tension between tradition and modernity (and associated rural-urban, poor-rich, and technological divides)’ on the basis that most learning programmes for older persons were, ultimately, created in – and for – a Western context. As scholars in older adult learning debate such intricacies, Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement: Perspectives from Outside In and from Inside Out is certainly a book whose time has come. Anyone who works in the field of older adult learning, irrespective in which geographical territory, will be fascinated by the chapters herein, as they oscillate between outsider and insider viewpoints, as they question and discuss the extent that Western models of late-life learning are appropriate or applicable for older persons in non-culturally dominant cultures. Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement: Perspectives from Outside In and from Inside Out demonstrates that in an increasingly globalized world, it is vital to recognize the diversity of the aging population within different continents and countries so that culturally appropriate practices distinguish the diversity within, build on existing strengths of older learners, develop cultural competencies (such as bilingualism, cultivate tolerance and anti-discrimination), provide information and better communication channels, and work in partnership with key stakeholders that may range from academia to government officials to family and friends (Warburton et  al., 2009). Taiwan’s

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Senior Learning Movement: Perspectives from Outside In and from Inside Out also interrogates the extent that the most popular providers of older adult learning in Western societies, such as the University of the Third Age, should be implanted on Asian shores in a lock, stock and barrel fashion. The chapters are evidence that contemporary incarnations of older adult learning ‘have played an important role in moving away from the earlier deficit model, the focus on the positive and productive aspects may be as narrow and prescriptive as the earlier negative conceptions and fail to recognize the diversity of the ageing experience’ (Carrow & Bartlett, 2015, p.  290). Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement: Perspectives from Outside In and from Inside Out is a strong signal that it is time to look beyond Western models of lifelong and late-life learning, and focus more on culturally diverse ways of creativity in later life. However, such an approach will definitely not materialize unless informed by more research on the specific needs of different groups of older persons, especially those in non-Western countries, an endeavour which lies at the heart of this book. Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement: Perspectives from Outside In and from Inside Out focuses on how the global movement of older adult learning exemplifies a wider challenge and related solution to promote an international brand of older learning that is both loyal to international principles but also uniquely sensitive to local social and cultural currents. The chapters herein demonstrate the urgent need to take the best of diverse knowledge and education systems on a complementary basis for a more equitable practice of late-life learning that is also faithful to social justice stances. While Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement: Perspectives from Outside In and from Inside Out has covered a lot of ground, the road to be travelled remains never ending, and it is augured that one witnesses more regional works on senior learning in as varied geographical contexts as possible. Associate Professor of Gerontology, Department Marvin Formosa of Gerontology and Dementia Studies Faculty for Social Wellbeing  University of Malta Msida, Malta

References Beatty, P. T., & Visser, M. S. (2005). Thriving on an aging workforce: Strategies for organizational and systemic change. Krieger Publishing. Carrow, M., & Bartlett, H. (2015). Ageing well across cultures. In J. Twigg & W. Martin (Eds.), Routledge handbook of cultural gerontology (pp. 285–293). Routledge. Findsen, B. (2016). Learning in later life: A bicultural perspective from Aotearoa/New Zealand. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 35(5), 555–568. Formosa, M. (2019a). Active ageing in the fourth age: The experiences and perspectives of older persons in long-term care. Geopolitical Social Security and Freedom Journal, 2(1), 78–92.

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Formosa, M. (2019b). Educational gerontology. In D. Gu & M. E. Dupre (Eds.), Encyclopedia of gerontology and population ageing. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-­3-­ 319-­69892-­2_411-­1 Formosa, M. (2019c). University of the Third Age. In D. Gu & M. E. Dupre (Eds.), Encyclopedia of gerontology and population ageing. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-­3­319-­69892-­2_412-­1 Formosa, M. (2021a). Building evidence for the impact of older adult learning on active ageing: A quantitative study. Studies in Adult Education and Learning. https://doi.org/10.4312/as/9934 Formosa, M. (2021b). From invisibility to inclusion: Opening the doors for older men at the University of the Third Age in Malta. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/02701960.2021.1913413 Formosa, M. (2021c). Manifestations of internalized ageism in older adult learning. University of Toronto Quarterly, 90(2), 169–182. Freire, P. (2005). Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare teach. Westview Press. Ratana-Ubol, A., & Richards, C. (2016). Third age learning: Adapting the idea to a Thailand context of lifelong learning. International Journal of Lifelong Learning, 35(1), 86–101. Tam, M. (2012). East-West perspectives on learning. Educational Gerontology, 38(10), 661–665. Tam, M. (2016). The Confucian view of lifelong learning: Relevancy to the teaching and learning of older adults. In C. M. Lam, & J. Park (Eds.), Sociological and philosophical perspectives on education in the Asia-Pacific region (pp. 193–204). Springer. Warburton, J., Bartlett, H., & Rao, V. (2009). Ageing and cultural diversity: Policy and practice issues. Australian Social Work, 62(2), 168–185.

Acknowledgments

“Yes, we did it!” After 2 years of preparation, an international book on active aging learning in Taiwan has finally been completed. First, we would like to thank all the contributors to this book who provided a new forward-looking exposition of the situation of lifelong learning and senior education in their respective countries. Second, we are also grateful for the funding work on the book to the National Chung Cheng University Center for the Innovative Research on an Aging Society. This program is supported by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Taiwan. We are especially grateful to Professor Marvin Formosa, professor at the University of Malta, Department of Gerontology, for his critical insights into lifelong learning and senior education in the foreword. Many thanks also go to our colleagues, many of whom are authors in this book, and our student David Meng-Jin Shen, who has helped provide impetus for this edited volume. We are also grateful to Springer and the staff who worked in unison towards the professional production of the book. Finally, thanks to Brian Findsen, who is our dear friend, colleague, contributor, and editor. Without his consistent support and encouragement, this book would not have been completed smoothly. A book of this undertaking could not have been possible without the contribution of those mentioned above. Hui-Chuan (Peggy) and Ai-Tzu (Iris) Li, October 2021 In addition to the remarks by Peggy and Iris, I endorse all that they have written. I would also like to thank my wife, Caterina, who has supported my work on this project, including accompanying me to Taiwan on three occasions in late 2019 and early 2020. The Taiwanese team (Peggy, Iris, An-Ti Lin, and David Shen) have been excellent colleagues from whom I have learned a lot about the importance of cross-­ cultural communication and mutual respect. Their considerable hospitality and friendship through the entire process of constructing this book has added immeasurably to my life in early retirement. I will long value this opportunity to contribute further into research into learning in later life and to the significance of the senior learning movement in Taiwan. Brian Findsen, October 2021 ix

Contents

Part I Global Perspectives and Conceptual Framework 1 Introduction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    3 Brian Findsen, Hui-Chuan Wei, and Ai-Tzu Li 2 A Global Perspective on Active Aging����������������������������������������������������   11 Kathryn L. Braun 3 A Global Perspective on Later Life Learning ��������������������������������������   23 Alexandra Withnall Part II Perspectives from East Asian Countries on Senior Learning/Education 4 Never Too Old to Learn: Development, Challenges and Strategies of Education for Older Adults in Mainland China ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   39 Gong Chen and Yang Wang 5 Lifelong Learning Among Older Adults in Singapore: An Overview ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   55 Chin-Fai Leng and Wei-Loong Lim 6 An Appraisal of Korean Seniors’ Education ����������������������������������������   67 Soo-Koung Jun 7 Learning as the Key for the 100-Year Life Society: The Experience of Policy and Practice in Japan as a Super-Aged Society��������������������������������������������������������������������������   81 Atsushi Makino

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Part III Past and Present Taiwanese Senior Learning Developments 8 An Outsider’s Perspective on Taiwanese Senior Learning Developments��������������������������������������������������������������������������   97 Brian Findsen 9 Developing Policy and Practices of Senior Education in Taiwan����������������������������������������������������������������  109 Hui-Chuan Wei, An-Ti Lin, and Feng-Ming Hao 10 Bracing for the Super-Aged Society: A New Era for Active Aging Learning ��������������������������������������������������  125 Hui-Chuan Wei and Li-Hui Lin 11 Flourishing Blooms: The Practices and Effectiveness of the Active Aging Learning Movement in Taiwan������������������������������  139 Ai-Tzu Li Part IV Concluding Remarks 12 Concluding Remarks ������������������������������������������������������������������������������  157 Brian Findsen, Hui-Chuan Wei, and Ai-Tzu Li

About the Editors

Brian  Findsen  completed a doctorate in Adult Education and Sociology from North Carolina State University, USA, in the late 1980s. Brian has worked in adult and continuing education in universities for most of his career, as an adult educator (teacher, researcher, manager) at the University of Auckland, AUT University, and the University of Glasgow (2004–2008), where he served as the Head of Department for Adult and Continuing Education. At the University of Waikato, New Zealand, he was the first Director of the Waikato Pathways College from 2008 and latterly as Professor of (Adult) Education in the Division of Education. He was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor in October 2021. Most of his substantive research has focused on learning in later life. He was admitted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2012. Having retired from the University of Waikato, Brian continues to undertake voluntary work. Hui-Chuan Wei  (魏惠娟) completed a PhD in Education Policy and Administration from University of Minnesota, USA. Professor Wei is the Principal Investigator of the Taiwan Active Aging Learning Program funded by the Ministry of Education. She has overseen the program for over 10 years, ever since the policy enactment in 2008. She is also a professor and the former chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Near the university campus, she tried to integrate education and welfare using her farm to run an innovative community care center, “Active Aging on the Ark”. Ai-Tzu Li  (李藹慈) achieved a doctorate in Social and Philosophical Foundation with a major in Adult Education from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA. Professor Li is the current Associate Dean of the College of Education and the chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Alongside Professor Wei in Taiwan’s Active Aging Learning Program, Professor Li serves as a co-Principal Investigator of the program and the former chair of the Taiwan Active Aging Association. She specializes in human resource development, program planning, and evaluation.

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Global Perspectives and Conceptual Framework

Chapter 1

Introduction Brian Findsen, Hui-Chuan Wei, and Ai-Tzu Li

1.1  Introduction The story around historical and recent educational developments in East Asian societies is rather fragmented and limited in terms of outsiders’ understanding of them. Most of the reports and research have been published in  local Asian languages, thus making access more difficult for an international readership, especially English speakers. Narratives around education are customarily focused on the formal education system, especially schooling. Outside this formal system a very different learning scenario is in place in community settings and none more so than learning and education for older adults (Findsen, 2005). In most, if not all, East Asian countries population aging is occurring at alarming rates including the focus in this book, Taiwan. This situation presents a major challenge for societies and governments to more fully comprehend the nature of learning in later adulthood and to make feasible plans based on solid research, the lived experiences of older people and then to enact appropriate social policies. Taiwan’s senior learning movement is the topic of this book. The word senior is used to include older people, usually over the age of 55, but more normatively over the age of 65. No single definition of older adults is agreed upon internationally (Jarvis, 2001) but in the case of Taiwan, as will be revealed in later chapters, the preparation for retirement is taken seriously by government (national and local) especially. Of course, the concept of retirement itself is problematic as increasingly across the globe older people continue to work until death, undertake part-time paid B. Findsen (*) Division of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand H.-C. Wei · A.-T. Li Department of Adult and Continuing Education, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_1

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work, volunteer as a contribution to the entire society or undertake second/multiple careers (Lain, 2018). Hence, retirement is not confined to a particular age necessarily and may constitute uneven patterns of recreation, work and learning. In the traditional portrayal of retirement older people were expected to retire from the world and engage in fairly passive activities (Phillipson, 1998). Much has changed. Today, the concept of active aging (explored in Chap. 3 of this book) has been emphasized wherein older people are encouraged to engage in active lives, undertake productive endeavors and engage socially within their own and across generations. The inclusion of the phrase social movement is deliberate to signify that what learning older adults as individuals do is part of a broader initiative wherein sometimes cultural, economic and political factors interact to influence people’s decisions about what, how, where and why to continue learning, consistent with a lifelong and life-wide agenda. In defining what a social movement is, Crowther (2006, p. 171) comments: Versions of lifelong learning through the knowledge they generate, the identities they foster, the learning processes and educational spaces they open up and their potential to mobilize and influence a wide range of people for collective action and/or personal transformation.

Theorists/practitioners who study social movements have often differentiated between old and new forms. The old social movements have been characterized by class politics with actors struggling to gain control over the state, the economy and have frequently crossed national boundaries (e.g. labor, peace, and civil rights). Many of these struggles have been longstanding and debates over action strategies are common (e.g. whether to centralize or decentralize resources). The new social movements, according to Mayo (2005), seek greater solidarity across movements, often center around identity and cover a wide political spectrum (radical-­ conservative). In our seeking to understand the character of the Taiwanese senior learning movement, both old and new elements are revealed though the fundamentals veer more towards a new movement.

1.2  Rationale The exploration of societies’ responses to active aging and lifelong learning have been carried out in earlier work. At a more generalized level, the book Improving learning in later life (Withnall, 2010) investigated allied concepts concerning seniors’ learning but not in the context that is investigated here. In 2011, the co-­ authored book by Brian Findsen and Marvin Formosa entitled Lifelong learning in later life: A handbook of older adult learning, provided an overview/map of what has been understood as learning in later life from many perspectives (e.g. historical; philosophical; issues of participation) – in effect, a panoramic synthesis. In work that has more specifically examined accounts from individual countries, Gillian Boulton-Lewis and Maureen Tam constructed as editors Active Aging, Active learning: Issues and challenges (2012) which focused on aging issues, research

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methods and three comparative chapters illustrating patterns in each of Hong Kong and Australia. One chapter by Ernest Chui (Chui, 2012) did provide a snapshot of “Elderly learning in Chinese communities: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore”. In 2010, Wei-Yuan Zhang edited the book Theories, policy and practice of lifelong learning in East Asia, one chapter of which discussed the relationship between lifelong learning and social changes in Taiwan (Wang, 2010). Other chapters focused on neighbouring East Asia countries’ educational philosophies and practices. In 2016 Findsen and Formosa edited a mammoth publication entitled International perspectives on older adult education: Research, policies and practice. In this work which captured what older adult learning/education looked like in 42 countries, there were nine from Asian countries. Some of these same countries are to be included in this book but based on a different viewpoint. In 2019 Marvin Formosa edited The University of the Third Age and Active Aging: European and Asia-Pacific Perspectives. Included in this volume were chapters from Mainland China, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, complemented by authors from New Zealand and Australia. Hence, it is acknowledged that these chapters provide useful insights into what is happening in adjacent countries to Taiwan. However, the comparative nature with Taiwan is not explicitly addressed in that U3A-focussed book. Other contributions in later life learning have focussed on regions outside of East Asia. Finally, in 2019, Findsen edited Fresh perspectives on later life learning, a selection of issues pertaining to later life learning from diverse parts of the world, including one from Maureen Tam (2019) concerning Hong Kong. So, what can be deduced from these recent publications? Some are concerned with depicting the character of lifelong learning for older adults, some provide panoramic views of the field of later life learning, some provide case studies from specific countries and some concentrate on one country. The three books with closest affinity to this current book are Zhang’s Theories, Policy and Practice of Lifelong learning in East Asia (2010), Findsen and Formosa’s International perspectives on older adult education (2016), and Formosa’s The University of the Third Age and Active Aging (2019) wherein there are several chapters describing older adult learning/education in (East) Asia. This current book offers a more cohesive concentration on Taiwan and its senior social movement from both macro (global) and micro (localised) perspectives.

1.3  Focus of the Book In this case, we editors seek to clarify the character of the senior social movement in which older people are the primary actors and to more fully understand how the movement has crystallized and to point to possible futures. Undoubtedly, there have been several factors of influence in the formation of the senior learning movement in Taiwan, explored in more detail in subsequent chapters. Changing demographics, past and present cultural practices, historical precedents and political emphases

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(identified via governmental policy transitions) are to the fore. To what extent has this movement been bottom-up or top-down? What have been the priorities and goals for key players? What events/institutions/people have triggered new developments? To what degree are its strategies and achievements sustainable? These and allied questions embedded in Crowther’s definition form a strong basis for this book. We argue that this book offers an in-depth analysis of historical and recent developments of senior learning in Taiwan where publications in English have been scant. The sub-title of this book Perspectives from outside in to inside out is related to seeking to understand the influence of more global forces on later life learning (outside in) before concentrating on how Taiwanese educators/gerontologists perceive local developments (inside out). The structure of this book emanates from this initial analysis of broader ideas to more localised perspectives.

1.4  Structure of the Book The book is subdivided into four parts. The first part, Global Perspectives and Conceptual Framework, including this introductory chapter, provides a macro perspective to the significant complementary concepts of active aging and lifelong learning (learning in later life). As will be demonstrated in Part III where the focus is on the Taiwanese senior learning situation, these two concepts become intermingled into the Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs). Part II, Perspectives from East Asian Countries on Senior Learning/Education, concentrates on samples from mainland China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. These countries are not just geographically near Taiwan, they have had a long relationship in terms of lifelong learning research with Taiwan. Since 2004, the above-­ mentioned countries and Taiwan have participated in senior-related seminars or conferences held by each other, and conducted joint senior research projects, which are grappling with kindred issues of an escalating senior population base, and what might constitute effective structures and processes with and for older adults’ learning. These countries have arguably influenced policy decisions and practices in Taiwan, even if not in a direct fashion. The decision to include these countries (others were equally compelling for inclusion) has been related mainly to similarities in socio-economic status. Hence, to some extent, the choice of countries was arbitrary and not intended to be exclusive of alternative contributions to the debate on learning in later life. Part III, Past and Present Taiwanese Senior Learning Developments, which includes four chapters, focusses more directly on the development of senior learning in Taiwan. The first of these chapters acts as a transition from Part II in that the author (one of the editors) offers an outsider’s perspective from experiences encountered on several occasions in visiting and working temporarily in Chiayi, Taiwan, the site for the National Chung Cheng University. The other three chapters are by Taiwanese authors focussing on major elements of the social movement such as policy, research and practices.

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Part IV, Concluding Remarks, consisting of one chapter, attempts to provide explanations for why and how the senior learning movement has developed, based on analysis of contributing chapters. It reflects back on what can be learned about the character of the movement and what to anticipate in the future. Overall, the direction of the book is as follows: an overview of major contributing concepts and theoretical positioning; perspectives of neighbouring countries’ experience and issues dealing with learning in later life, mainly for comparative purposes; more focussed treatment of specific developments within Taiwan; a reflection and synthesis on what has been learned.

1.5  Contributing Chapters’ Content In Part I, the two chapters authored by leading proponents of active aging and educational gerontology respectively, open the conversation on these significant concepts. The complementary chapters point to developments in these fields and lead into debates in subsequent chapters on what these concepts mean and how they may be operationalized. Kathryn Braun, director of the Active Aging Consortium Asia Pacific (ACAP), provides a broad discussion on the character of active aging and how allied concepts around aging have modified thinking as to what constitutes active aging. Different modifiers of aging (e.g. productive; healthy) reflect the agendas of theoreticians wanting to emphasize varying aspects of the human condition. The question of active aging in the region of the Asia Pacific is analyzed in the fuller context of the WHO (2002) pillars of security, health and participation. Subsequently, Braun explains what the ACAP schema looks like and makes sensible connections of active aging with lifelong learning, the focus of the next chapter. The third chapter, constructed by Alexandra Withnall of the UK, provides a panoramic perspective of learning in later life from a lifelong learning position. Approaches to both lifelong learning and more specifically, learning in later life, continue to change and she astutely maps these theoretical developments. In what Withnall calls the Age of Longevity, she traverses linked topics of ageism, intergenerational learning, the plight of older men, and the impact of the covid-19 pandemic as illustrative of issues which have existed in longer-term (e.g. ageism) or are more immediate (the covid situation for older adults and their learning to adapt). In Part II, the focus of this book is directed to neighbouring Asian countries facing the issues of a dramatically changing demographic (towards aged societies) and how older adult learning/education is characterized and practised. Chapter 4, by Gong Chen and Yang Wang, describes what has happened in later life learning in mainland China, the largest landmass in this region and the country with the most economic/political power. Amid many sub-topics, these authors provide a solid depiction of relevant policy and legal matters and then provide how a supply-demand conundrum is currently being dealt with in terms of quantity of provision, a balancing of competing interests and how quality might be better

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enhanced. Chen and Wang point to strategies to further develop older adult education in China. Chapter 5 switches attention to Singapore’s initiatives of older adults’ learning in relation to this small country’s historical, economic and geographical context. Chin-­Fai Leng and Wei-Loung Lin describe the shape of lifelong learning in terms of a trio of governmental objectives: vocational training; self-development; community participation. Unapologetically, Singapore’s lifelong learning movement has emphasized utilitarian goals where adults as human resources have long been cherished. Leng and Lin indicate what they see as key challenges ahead and possible future developments. In Chap. 6, Soo-Koung Jun discusses key concepts of older adulthood and older adult education in the South Korean historical context. She points to changing laws and social policies affecting the lives of older Koreans and then concentrates on several strategic policies that are more specific to education for older people. A range of avenues and projects for seniors to participate in learning/education are discussed, illustrating the diversity of provision, inclusive of both public and private institutions’ offerings. In the final chapter in this Part, Atsushi Makino outlines the goal of Japanese society, given its nearing super-aged status, to undertake a new movement in the 100-year life society. He argues for a society in which older age is not treated as extraordinary but integrated into a society where everyone has responsibility for nurturing aging people. Sustainability is key as increasingly Japanese society has a significant transfer of its population away from youth to older adulthood. Makino explains how more localised initiatives using community development principles use lifelong learning at their base. In Part III there are four chapters focusing on different aspects of the senior learning movement, the first of which (Chap. 8) is written by co-editor, Brian Findsen, based on his experiences and observations as an outsider while based in Taiwan. He traces some of the historical/cultural influencing factors in shaping Taiwan’s senior social movement. The change in ideology from a welfare to an educative stance in public policy is reflected in the emergence of Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs) throughout the country based on the idea of equal educational opportunity. His visits to different sites of AALCs demonstrates the extensive range of activities, both expressive and instrumental, consistent with articulated local learning needs of elders. Chapter 9, constructed by Hui-Chuan Wei, Department of Adult and Continuing Education (DACE), An-Ti Lin and Feng-Ming Hao of the Center for Innovation in Research on an Aging Society (CIRAS) at the National Chung Cheng University, concentrates on the development of educational policies, especially those salient to the lives of seniors in Taiwan. They outline the movement from a pre-Active Aging discourse to a post-Active Aging stage in which Taiwan is currently occupied. Amid key issues affecting the emergence of an active aging phenomenon, the role of universities comes under scrutiny, particularly when proportionately larger numbers of older adults wish to continue their learning/education. Challenges and recommendations for the future are discussed from a policy framework.

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Hui-Chuan Wei and Li-Hui Lin (DACE) in Chap. 10 provide a systematic overview of developments in the Taiwanese Active Aging movement, focussing on policies and practices. Their emphasis is on how policy has been translated into practice (implementation). This new structure for senior learning has necessitated an overturning of traditional (more paternalistic) views of aging. In addition to discussing the character of courses in accord with this approach, they produce a very useful framework for the delivery of a core curriculum for Active Aging Learning. In the final chapter in this Part III (Chap. 11), Ai-Tzu Li (DACE), after discussing the philosophy behind the Active Aging Learning movement, analyses key factors in the operation of the AALCs. In actual sites of the AALCs she points to key elements of effectiveness such as a meaningful vision statement, a strong team structure, learning and development (training) for paid and volunteer staff and a useful curriculum and effective teaching. She posits that on-going assessment of achievements and quality of learning in individual locations is essential in the sustaining of the AALCs. Outcomes need to be monitored to maintain the relevance of the AALCs to local seniors. In Chap. 12 (the sole chapter in Part IV), the co-editors reflect on what has been learned from the close-up scrutiny of the senior learning movement. They look at the achievements of the AALCs (see Chap. 1 for leading questions) as well as limitations in terms of the distance between intentions (reflected in social policy) and reality. Key issues are discussed and possible futures projected. Overall, the book seeks to explicate the dynamics connected to the Taiwanese senior social movement. The character of Taiwan has presented fairly unique conditions where social policy related to older adults has been carried out in a fluid and fragmented fashion. No change, as in the establishment and enhancement of Active Aging Learning Centers, occurs in a vacuum away from the overall development of Taiwan as a relatively small society wherein its senior citizens carry out productive lives.

References Boulton-Lewis, G., & Tam, M. (Eds.). (2012). Active aging, active learning: Issues and challenges. Springer. Chui, E. (2012). Elderly learning in Chinese communities: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. In G. Boulton-Lewis & M. Tam (Eds.), Active aging, active learning: Issues and challenges (pp. 141–161). Springer. Crowther, J. (2006). Social movements, praxis and the profane side of lifelong learning. In P. Sutherland & J. Crowther (Eds.), Lifelong learning: Concepts and contexts (pp. 171–181). Routledge. Findsen, B. (2005). Learning later. Kreiger. Findsen, B., & Formosa, M. (2011). Lifelong learning in later life: A handbook on older adult learning. Sense Publishers. Findsen, B., & Formosa, M. (Eds.). (2016). International perspectives on older adult education. Springer International Publishing Switzerland.

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Formosa, M. (Ed.). (2019). The University of the Third Age and active ageing: European and Asian-Pacific perspectives. Springer Nature Switzerland. Jarvis, P. (2001). Learning in later life: An introduction for educators and carers. Kogan Page. Lain, D. (2018). Reconstructing retirement: Work and welfare in the UK and USA. Policy Press, University of Bristol. Mayo, M. (2005). Global citizens: Social movements and the challenge of globalisation. Zed Books. Phillipson, C. (1998). Reconstructing old age: New agendas in social theory and practice. Sage. Tam, M. (2019). Later life learning experiences: Listening to the voices of Chinese elders in Hong Kong. In B. Findsen (Ed.), Fresh perspectives on later life learning (pp. 97–113). Routledge. Wang, C.-Y. (2010). Enhancing the interactive relationship between lifelong learning and social changes to carry out a learning society in Taiwan. In W.  Zhang (Ed.), Theories, policy and practice of lifelong learning in East Asia (pp. 38–45). Routledge. WHO World Health Organization. (2002). The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. The Second United Nations World Assembly on Ageing. Withnall, A. (2010). Improving learning in later life. Routledge. Brian Findsen completed a doctorate in Adult Education and Sociology from North Carolina State University, USA, in the late 1980s. Brian has worked in adult and continuing education in universities for most of his career, as an adult educator (teacher, researcher, manager) at the University of Auckland, AUT University, the University of Glasgow (2004–2008), where he served as the Head of Department for Adult and Continuing Education. At the University of Waikato, New Zealand, he was the first Director of the Waikato Pathways College from 2008 and latterly as Professor of (Adult) Education in the Division of Education. He was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor in October 2021. Most of his substantive research has focused on learning in later life. He was admitted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2012. Having retired from the University of Waikato, Brian continues to undertake voluntary work.   

Hui-Chuan Wei (魏惠娟) completed a PhD in Education Policy and Administration from University of Minnesota, USA. Professor Wei is the Principal Investigator of the Taiwan Active Aging Learning Program funded by the Ministry of Education. She has overseen the program for over 10 years, ever since the policy enactment in 2008. She is also a professor and the former chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Near the university campus, she tried to integrate education and welfare using her farm to run an innovative community care center, “Active Aging on the Ark”.  

Ai-Tzu Li (李藹慈) achieved a doctorate in Social & Philosophical Foundation with a major in Adult Education from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA. Professor Li is the current Associate Dean of the College of Education and the chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Alongside Professor Wei in Taiwan’s Active Aging Learning Program, Professor Li serves as a co-Principal Investigator of the program and the former chair of the Taiwan Active Aging Association. She specializes in human resource development, program planning and evaluation.  

Chapter 2

A Global Perspective on Active Aging Kathryn L. Braun

2.1  Introduction In 2002, the term active aging was defined by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) as “optimizing individual function and opportunities to participate for all age groups, including older adults” (p.  12), Promoting active aging will require individual action, changes to current norms about aging and older adults, and passage of supportive social policy. This chapter presents the history of the active aging movement and explains how active aging encompasses but goes beyond the concepts of creative aging, successful aging, productive aging, and healthy aging. Lifelong learning is a key tenet of all of these approaches.

2.2  Global Aging Population aging is happening quickly. Worldwide, the absolute number of people aged 60 years and older is expected to double between 2017 and 2050, when it is projected to exceed 2 billion people, about 21% of the global population. The Asia-­ Pacific region is particularly affected by population aging. The United Nations (UN) K. L. Braun (*) Professor of Social Work and Public Health, Honolulu, HI, USA Barbara Cox Anthony Endowed Chair on Aging, Honolulu, HI, USA Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders, Honolulu, HI, USA Active Aging Consortium Asia Pacific, Honolulu, HI, USA Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_2

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projects that, by 2050, the percentage of population aged 60 and older will be 40% or greater in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2017; United Nations Population Division, 2017). Although some countries measure old age from age 60, others use age 65. Superaged societies are defined by the UN as countries with more than 20% of the population age 65 or older. In 2020, there were just a handful of super-­aged societies, including Bulgaria, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Sweden, and Portugal in Europe, and Japan in the Asia-Pacific Region. By 2030, most of the countries in Europe, along with Canada, the US, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore, will be among the ranks; Thailand and Australia are expected to catch up shortly thereafter (O’Connor, 2014). Major reasons for population aging include improved access to food and safe environments, advances in medical care, broad access to birth control, and changing norms about the roles of women  (WHO, 2010). In traditional societies, life was focused around farming, hunting, and gathering. Life was much more perilous for newborns, children, and young adults, and few people survived to old age. Having many children was a way to assure that at least some survived to contribute to the family’s livelihood, and extended families provided care for dependents within their homes. Within the context of traditional society, elders carried and transmitted knowledge and skills essential to a community’s survival. With industrialization and modernization, families started to break apart, with younger members traveling to industrial and urban centers for work. The status of older people tended to be diminished and, in the more developed countries, pension systems were established. These served to increase the independence of young working adults from their older parents and relatives (Cowgill & Holmes, 1972). With pension schemes in place, the class of retired older adults started to grow and supported the notion that old age was a time of leisure activity and diminished engagement in society (Martin, 1973). However, population aging as experienced in the late twentieth and early twenty-­ first centuries has required new thinking around aging and eldercare. More recent research suggests that countries are worried they cannot afford to maintain a large leisure class of older adults (Lee & Mason, 2017). Also, research suggests that many elders are not happy in retirement. In an analysis of longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe, retirement was associated with a 40% decrease in rating one’s health as excellent or very good and a 40% increase in suffering from depression (Salgren, 2013). With the large increase in older adults, policy makers and thought leaders have proposed several paradigms to frame the development of social policy to prepare for super-aged societies. One of these is the 2002 Active Aging Policy Framework of WHO, which is based on the concept of active aging. But active aging is just one of the terms used to frame how individuals and policy makers should respond to the rapid aging of their populations.

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2.3  A  ctive, Creative, Successful, Productive, and Healthy Aging As local, national, and global populations continue to age, governments are paying more attention to keeping older adults healthy and active. Within the past few decades, terms such as creative aging, successful aging, productive aging, and healthy aging have come into common use, and all these terms have relevance for active aging. As shown in this review, most of these approaches call for expanded opportunities for lifelong education and training.

2.3.1  Successful Aging As defined by researchers Rowe and Kahn (1998), successful aging meant being free of disease and disability in old age, as well as maintaining cognitive and physical function and staying socially engaged. Subsequent researchers have criticized the Rowe and Kahn model as being incomplete and for focusing on things that may be out of control of older adults. For example, few older adults can avoid disease, disability, or dementia. Interestingly, when the Rowe and Kahn criteria were applied to a large national sample of older Americans, researchers found that less than 12% of older Americans met all three criteria for successful aging (McLaughlin et al., 2010). Nonetheless, the authors provide ample evidence that education and lifelong intellectual pursuits are strong predictors of successful aging, especially for good cognitive function and productive engagement in later life.

2.3.2  Creative Aging Discussions of creative aging began in the 1980s, with creative aging defined as a neurophysiological framework that supports the belief that aging is an active and creative process (Ager et al., 1982). The definition later evolved to focus on expanding opportunities for older adults to participate in the creative arts. These programs have cited research suggesting that older adults involved in weekly art programs had fewer doctor visits and took fewer medications than those without creative outlets (Samuel, 2017). Thus, the creative aging policy framework advocated for government support for lifelong education and training in the creative arts, including education and training for older adults (Klimczuk, 2016).

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2.3.3  Active Aging The term active aging joined the vernacular in 2002 at the UN Second World Assembly on Aging in Madrid, Spain. At this meeting, members unanimously adopted the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging (MIPAA). WHO’s contributions to the Second World Assembly included the submission of a policy framework based on active aging, which was published in a stand-alone document titled Active Aging: A Policy Framework (WHO, 2002). Guided by the UN Principles for Older People (UN, 1991), the framework outlined policy recommendations in three areas—health, participation, and security (Table 2.1). The area of health included recommendations for social policy to reduce environmental and behavioral risks linked to disease and disability, as well as social policy to increase the Table 2.1  Active aging policy recommendations in three pillars—security, health, and participation Health 1.1 Prevent and reduce the burden of excess disabilities, chronic disease, and premature mortality. Enact policies and programs that address the economic factors that contribute to the onset of disease and disabilities in later life, e.g.,  Make screening services available and affordable to women and men as they age.  Create age-friendly health care centers and accessible prevention and treatment services for physical, mental, and oral health.  Develop barrier-free housing options for aging people with disabilities. 1.2 Reduce risk factors associated with major diseases, and increase factors that promote health throughout the life course, e.g.,  Take comprehensive action at local, national, and international levels to control the marketing and use of tobacco products.  Develop culturally appropriate, population-based information and guidelines on physical activity for older men and women. Support peer leaders and groups that promote regular, moderate physical activity for people as they age.  Ensure adequate nutrition throughout the life course, particularly in childhood and among women in the reproductive years. Ensure that national nutrition policies and action plans recognize older persons as a potentially vulnerable group. 1.3 Develop a continuum of affordable, accessible, high quality, and age-friendly health and social services that address the needs and rights of women and men as they age, e.g.,  Ensure affordable, equitable access to quality primary health care, as well as long-term care services for all.  Recognize and address gender differences in the burden of caregiving, and make a special effort to support caregivers.  Provide paid caregivers with adequate working conditions and remuneration.  Provide comprehensive mental health services for men and women as they age.  Provide policies, programs, and services that enable people to remain in their homes as they grow older. 1.4 Provide training and education for caregivers, e.g.,  Provide family members, peer counselors, and other informal caregivers with information and training on how to care for people as they grow older.  Inform all health and social service professionals about the process of aging and ways to optimize aging among individuals, communities, and population groups. (continued)

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Table 2.1 (continued) Participation 2.1 Provide education and learning opportunities throughout the life course, e.g.,  Make basic education available to all across the life course. Aim to achieve literacy for all. Promote health literacy.  Enable the full participation of older people by providing policies and programs in education and training that support lifelong learning for women and men as they age. 2.2 Recognize and enable the active participation of people in economic development activities, formal and informal work, and voluntary activities as they age, according to their individual needs, preferences, and capacities, e.g.,  Include older people in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of social development initiatives and efforts to reduce poverty.  Enact labor market and employment policies and programs that enable the participation of people in meaningful work as they grow older.  Enact policies and programs that recognize and support the contributions of older women and men in unpaid work in the informal sector and in caregiving in the home.  Recognize the value of volunteering, and expand opportunities to participate in meaningful volunteer activities as people age. 2.3 Encourage people to participate fully in family community life as they grow older, e.g.,  Provide accessible, affordable public transportation services.  Involve older people in political processes that affect their rights.  Provide greater flexibility in periods devoted to education, work, and caregiving responsibilities throughout the life course.  Work with groups representing older people and the media to provide realistic and positive images of active aging.  Support for organizations representing older people. Security 3.1 Ensure the protection, safety, and dignity of older people by addressing the social, financial, and physical security rights, and needs of people as they age, e.g.,  Support the provision of a social safety net for older people who are poor and alone.  Protect consumers from unsafe medications and treatments and unscrupulous marketing practices.  Ensure that decisions being made concerning care in older age are based on the rights of older people.  Uphold older persons’ rights to maintain independence and autonomy for the longest period of time possible.  Recognize older people’s right to and need for secure, appropriate shelter, especially in times of conflict and crisis.  Recognize older adults and encourage the prosecution of offenders. 3.2 Reduce inequities in the security rights and needs of older women, e.g.,  Enact legislation and enforce laws that protect widows from theft of property and other harmful practices.  Enact and enforce laws that protect women from domestic violence and other forms of violence as they age.  Provide social security (income support) for older women who have no pensions or meager retirement income. Source: World Health Organization (2002)

age-­friendliness of cities and communities. To increase participation, policy recommendations supported the inclusion of older people in education, employment, volunteering, civic, and cultural activities. Policies that assured the physical, financial,

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and social safety over the life course were recommended to increase the security of older adults. WHO’s Active Aging Framework recommendations also were framed by life course theory (Ferraro & Shippee, 2009). In the context of active aging, this meant a commitment to preventing diseases and disability over the life course—from pre-­ conception through childhood, adulthood, and old age. The life course approach recognizes that healthy babies and healthy and well-educated youth are much more likely to grow into healthy, productive older adults than unhealthy babies and youth. The framework also recognized culture and gender as cross-cutting determinants of active aging. Culture determines the expected roles and behaviors of older people and how older people are viewed. For example, some cultures expect older adults to retire to make way for younger adults in the workplace. Other cultures expect older adults to become the primary caregivers of children rather than to stay employed or engage in leisure, educational, voluntary, or civic activities. Culture also determines norms around gender. For example, in some cultures, girls are not encouraged to pursue education, and women are discouraged to work outside the home. In other cultures, widows may be stripped of their property and titles. These gender-­ discriminatory practices decrease the ability of women to have a healthy and secure old age. The European Union (EU) declared 2012 as the European Year of Active Aging and Solidarity between Generations. EU-level events included major conferences, awards for best practices (e.g., for social entrepreneurs, in workplaces, in journalism, and in age-friendly environments), research, and dissemination of information about active aging through reports, education campaigns, and multimedia, including the web. Also more than 748 national and regional initiatives on active aging were held in the region. Activities and policy development during the year aligned with European Council (EC) policies related to aging—for example, the European Council’s 2010 call for policies to promote active aging, raise employment rates of older workers, and increase elders’ employability through training and education, as well as its 2010 Digital Agenda for Europe to promote digital literacy for all ages (Tymowski, 2015). Also in 2012, work began on an Active Aging Index (AAI) to allow credible comparisons of the operationalization of active aging across EU countries. The AAI’s 22 indicators include measures of education, employment, participation, health, independence, and security. Also included were indices for measuring the age-friendliness of the environment and a function to examine indicators by gender. The developers designed the AAI to help raise awareness of the contributions that older people make to society, to encourage dialogue on issues of policy on active and healthy aging, to provide a way to compare countries, and to connect with the process of monitoring progress in the implementation of MIPAA (Zaidi et  al., 2013). The team also has published a toolkit to guide countries in the collection and analysis of data around AAI indicators (Zaidi et al., 2018).

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2.3.4  Healthy Aging While active aging remains a popular concept, different international institutions have started to focus on different aspects of the active aging framework. Perhaps not unexpectedly, WHO began attending more to the health aspects of the 2002 Active Aging Framework. For example, in 2016, WHO members adopted the Global Strategy and Action Plan on Aging and Health (WHO, 2017). This plan defined healthy aging as “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well-being in older age” (p.  4). The plan’s five strategic objectives included: (1) committing to action on healthy aging in every country; (2) developing age-friendly environments; (3) aligning health systems to the needs of older populations; (4) developing sustainable and equitable systems for providing long-term care (home, communities, institutions); and (5) improving measurement, monitoring and research on healthy aging. Policy recommendations around education in this framework call specifically for expanded training in geriatrics for all levels of care providers. In 2020, the UN declared 2021–2030 as the Decade of Healthy Aging, and called upon the WHO to lead its implementation in collaboration with the other UN organizations, governments, international and regional organizations, civil society, the private sector, academia, and the media. Progress will be monitored by WHO’s International Consortium on Metrics and Evidence for Healthy Aging, which will: (1) compile national case studies on how data, information, and evidence are being used to improve older adults’ lives; (2) conduct research on ways to operationalize, develop metrics, and measure healthy aging in a comparable way, within and across countries and over time; and (3) synthesize evidence on interventions that aim to improve healthy aging (Sadana & Banerjee, 2019).

2.3.5  Productive Aging While the WHO turned its attention to healthy aging, the EU and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) began focusing on the economic aspects of the 2002 Active Aging Framework. The term productive aging emphasizes the positive contributions elders can make to their own lives, their communities, organizations, and society as a whole. However, the term has a distinct connection to employment, emphasizing policy recommendations to raise the retirement age, to limit access to early retirement schemes, and to more strongly link pension contributions to pension benefits as an incentive to delay retirement (European Council, 2009). In the United States (US), the framework of productive aging has been adopted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to promote continued employment of older people and safe and multigenerational environments within which they can continue to work. The authors of the NIOSH framework note that operationalizing the productive aging concept would

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require a broad range of education and intervention strategies to enhance working life for all ages (Schulte et al., 2018). In 2021, the European Commission released its Green Paper on Aging, which calls for action to support healthy aging, active aging, and productive aging (European Commission, 2021). Under the domain of healthy and active aging, policies are needed to promote healthy lifestyles and reduce differences in the provision of health care within and across countries. Under lifelong education and training, countries are urged to invest in people’s knowledge, skills, and competencies across the lifespan. Under the domain of bringing more people into the workforce, policies should support high labor-market participation and longer working lives of women as well as men. This would require expanded availability of quality childcare and long-term care options, as well as policies that support legal migration to fill skill shortages. The fourth domain—staying active—includes policies that support expansion of work, volunteer, caregiving, and learning opportunities in old age. Longer working lives are recommended as a way to reduce the threat of old-age poverty. The final category focuses on meeting the growing needs for long-term care, with policy recommendations around affordable quality services, cross-border mobility for eldercare, and intergenerational solidarity. This Green Paper illustrates how terms like creative aging, successful aging, productive aging, and healthy aging can all have relevance for active aging.

2.4  Active Aging in the Asia-Pacific The active aging paradigm also has become popular in Asia, especially following the establishment of the Active Aging Consortium Asia Pacific (ACAP) in 2005. ACAP is an unincorporated, voluntary organization, with no dues structure. It is open to people of all ages, abilities, and disciplines. Members tend to be engaged in programming, policy development, and education related to aging, primarily in the Asia Pacific region, although ACAP has members in Europe and in North and South America and is affiliated with the Pass It On Network, based in the US and France. Activities focus on information sharing, including a bimonthly newsletter and participation in and hosting of conferences and webinars throughout the region. By adopting the broader perspective of active aging, ACAP members embrace all the aforementioned paradigms, including creative aging, successful aging, productive aging, and healthy aging. ACAP is dedicated to empowering older adults to maintain their physical, social, psychological, civic, economic, and environmental wellbeing so that they can continue to contribute to their families, their communities, and society at large (Fig. 2.1). Members believe that achieving an active aging society requires a partnership of individuals, families, and social policy leaders. Specifically, individuals and families must prepare for old age and adopt positive practices for long life. Social policy must offer protections, encourage participation, promote lifelong learning, make healthy choices the easy choices, and lead to the

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Fig. 2.1  Schema for active aging as individual, family, community and social policy partnership. (Source: ACAP, 2010)

building of age-friendly environments. As individual behaviors and social policy change, so will societal norms about the value of aging and older adults. The Active Aging theme was prominently featured in the 2013 World Congress of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, with the theme “Digital Aging: A New Horizon for Health Care and Active Aging.” The congress, held in Seoul, attracted more than 4200 people, representing 86 different countries. South Korea has one of the fastest internet networks in the world, and 92% of the population was estimated to be using the internet in 2020 (Waldeck, 2020). However, older Koreans are less likely to use the internet than younger Koreans (Han & Braun, 2011). The conference theme recognized the importance of increasing older people’s access to information and communication technology to reduce isolation, strengthen intergenerational exchange, promote civic engagement, and increase access to education and entertainment, all of which can promote active aging. In 2017, Zaidi and colleagues began to adapt the AAI developed for EU nations for use in Asia. In developing the Asian AAI, the research team revised the choice of indicators based on cultural norms in Asia, especially in consideration of the contributions older adults make to family. Comparing the findings from Europe and Asia, Japan scored as high as the Scandinavian countries, which scored the highest among EU countries. Also, Thailand and Indonesia scored as well as many European countries due to high levels of participation of their older adults in employment and

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family care in these countries (Zaidi & Um, 2019). In the AAI toolkit publications, the team provides specific considerations for Asian and Pacific countries and how the Asian AAI could be further refined (Zaidi et al., 2018).

2.5  The Key Role of Lifelong Learning in Active Aging Lifelong learning is essential for active aging. An examination of the 2002 Active Aging Policy Framework demonstrates the need for education in all three pillars— health, participation, and security (Table 2.1). For example, in the area of health, education is needed to assure that older people understand factors associated with disease and disability so they can make healthy lifestyle choices and engage in preventive health services. Individuals providing social, health, and long-term care services need continuing education and training on aging and eldercare. Families and well elders need education on how to care for people as they grow old. Programmers and policy makers need continuing education on best practices. In the area of participation, recommendations call for making basic education available to all across the life course and to achieve literacy and health literacy for all. This includes expanding training in new and rapidly evolving areas, including digital modes of finding information and communicating with agencies, friends, and family. Continuing education is needed to better engage older people in work, both to delay retirement age and to reduce poverty often associated with old age, especially in countries with inadequate pension systems. In the security pillar, older adults need education to protect themselves from unscrupulous marketing practices and scams. They also need continuing education on their rights as human beings and how to join with others to advocate for better protections under the law. Lifelong access to education and training also is called for in the European Commission’s (2021) Green Paper and by advocates for successful aging, creative aging, healthy aging, and productive aging. It also is the focus of Sustainable Development Goal #4, which calls on countries to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (UN, 2015, p.  18). Learning throughout an individual’s lifetime provides the opportunity to fulfill one’s basic human rights for education, protection, freedom, meaning, influence, and control over one’s destiny (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2019). In 2018, the European Commission adopted recommendations on key competences for lifelong learning for personal fulfilment, a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, employability, active citizenship and social inclusion (European Union, 2019). The ACAP bimonthly newsletter, conferences, and webinars feature examples of education and training programs that advance active aging in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, in 2020, members learned about age-friendly university programs in Indonesia and Hong Kong, a training program on community-based eldercare in Thailand, a program that trains well elders to help frail elders in South Korea, and web-based educational programs to help elders stay active during COVID-19.

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2.6  Summary The active aging movement is dedicated to helping countries better tap the potential of older adults in the context of global aging. Because the active aging framework is broad, it can encompass other popular models of aging, including creative aging, successful aging, productive aging, and healthy aging. This comprehensive framework can help guide individual action, policy development, and efforts to change norms about aging and the older adults. Lifelong learning is a key tenet of active aging.

References Active Aging Consortium Asia Pacific (ACAP). (2005). Active Aging Consortium Asia Pacific— ACAP. https://www.facebook.com/acap2005/ Active Aging Consortium Asia Pacific (ACAP). (2010). Constructing age-friendly communities. Fukuoka 2010 Active Aging Conference in Asia/Pacific. http://aabc.jp/assets/images/aaca.pdf Ager, C. L., White, L. W., Mayberry, W. L., Crist, P. A., & Conrad, M. E. (1982). Creative ageing. International Journal of Ageing and Human Development, 14(1), 67–76. https://doi. org/10.2190/65xq-­ju8v-­e8a4-­lgv0 Cowgill, D. O., & Holmes, L. D. (Eds.). (1972). Aging and modernization. Appleton-Century-Crofts. European Commission. (2021, January 27). Green Paper on Ageing: Fostering solidarity and responsibility between generations. https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/ green-­paper-­ageing-­fostering-­solidarity-­and-­responsibility-­between-­generations_en European Council. (2009). Dealing with the impact of an ageing population in the EU (2009 Ageing Report). https://eur-­lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0180: FIN:EN:PDF European Union. (2019). Key competencies for lifelong learning. https://op.europa.eu/en/ publication-­detail/-­/publication/297a33c8-­a1f3-­11e9-­9d01-­01aa75ed71a1 Ferraro, K.  F., & Shippee, T.  P. (2009). Aging and cumulative inequality: How does inequality get under the skin? The Gerontologist, 49(3), 333–343. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnp034 Han, D. H., & Braun, K. L. (2011). Promoting active aging through technology training in Korea. In J. Soar, R. Swindell, & P. Tsang (Eds.), Intelligent technologies for bridging the grey digital divide (pp. 141–158). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-­1-­61520-­825-­8.ch010 Klimczuk, A. (2016). Creative ageing: Drawing on the arts to enhance healthy ageing. In N. Pachana (Ed.), Encyclopedia of geropsychology. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-­981-­ 287-­080-­3_363-­1 Lee, R., & Mason, A. (2017). Cost of aging. Finance Development, 54(1), 7–9. PMID: 28835725; PMCID: PMC5564373. Martin, W. C. (1973). Activity and disengagement: Life satisfaction of in-movers into a retirement community. The Gerontologist, 13(2), 224–227. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/13.2.224 McLaughlin, S. J., Connell, C. M., Heeringa, S. G., Li, L. W., & Roberts, J. S. (2010). Successful ageing in the United States: Prevalence estimates from a national sample of older adults. The Journals of Gerontology, Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences, 65B(2), 216–226. https:// doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbp101 O’Connor, S. (2014, August 6). World will have 13 ‘super-aged’ nations by 2020. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/f356f8a0-­1d8c-­11e4-­8f0c-­00144feabdc0 Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1998). Successful aging. Pantheon.

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Sadana, R., & Banerjee, A. (2019). WHO consortium on metrics and evidence for healthy ageing. Metrics and evidence for healthy ageing. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 97(12), 792–792A. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.19.246801 Salgren, G. H. (2013). Work longer, live healthier: The relationship between economic activity, health and government policy. Institute of Economic Affairs. Samuel, L.  R. (2017, September 29). Creative ageing has become a force to be reckoned with. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/boomers-­30/201709/ creative-­aging Schulte, P. A., Grosch, J., Scholl, J. C., & Tamers, S. L. (2018). Framework for considering productive ageing and work. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60(5), 440–448. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001295 Tymowski, J. (2015). European year for active ageing and solidarity between generations 2012: European implementation assessment. European Union, Europeans Parliamentary Research Service. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (2019). 4th global report on adult learning and education. https://uil.unesco.org/system/files/grale_4_final.pdf United Nations. (1991). United Nations principles for older persons. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ ProfessionalInterest/Pages/OlderPersons.aspx. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. United Nations. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2017). World population ageing 2017. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/ pdf/ageing/WPA2017_Report.pdf United Nations Population Division. (2017). World population prospects: The 2017 revision—Key findings and advance tables (Working Paper No. ESA/P/WP/248). United Nations. https:// population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2017_KeyFindings.pdf Waldeck, Y. (2020, November 27). Internet usage in South Korea. Statistics & Facts. Statistica. https://www.statista.com/topics/2230/internet-­usage-­in-­south-­korea World Health Organization (WHO). (2002). Active ageing: A policy framework. Geneva. http:// whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/WHO_NMH_NPH_02.8.pdf World Health Organization (WHO). (2010, October 2). Newsroom Q&A: Ageing: global population. https://www.who.int/news-­room/q-­a-­detail/population-­ageing#:~:text=Why%20is%20 the%20population%20ageing,people%20who%20are%20over%2060 World Health Organization (WHO). (2017). Global strategy and action plan on ageing and health. https://www.who.int/ageing/WHO-­GSAP-­2017.pdf?ua=1 Zaidi, A., & Um, J. (2019). The new Asian active ageing index for ASEAN. Journal of Asian Sociology, 48(4), 523–558. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26868275?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents Zaidi, A., Gasior, K., Hofmarcher, M.  M., Lelkes, O., Marin, B., Rodrigues, R., Schmidt, A., Vanhuysse, P., & Zolyomi, E. (2013). Active Ageing Index 2012: Concept, methodology, and final results. European Center. https://www.euro.centre.org/downloads/detail/1542 Zaidi, A., Parry, J., & Um, J. (2018). Developing a toolkit to monitor implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing in the context of the Asia-Pacific Region (Social Development Working Papers, No. 2018/02). UNESCAP. https://www.unescap.org/resources/ developing-­toolkit-­monitor-­implementation-­madrid-­international-­plan-­action-­ageing-­context Kathryn L. Braun completed a DrPH in Health Services Evaluation from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, USA. She is Professor of Pulbic Health and Social Work and Barbara Cox Anthony Endowed Chair on Aging at the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health at the University of Hawai‘i, where she has won the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 1998. She is also Principal Investigator of the federally funded Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders. She serves as President of the Active Aging Consortium Asia Pacific, an international network of gerontologists in the Asia-Pacific region.  

Chapter 3

A Global Perspective on Later Life Learning Alexandra Withnall

3.1  Introduction For some time now, the aging of populations throughout the world and the concomitant increase in life expectancy have posed a number of challenges across a whole range of policy dimensions. However, examining demographic change only through a focus on chronological age fails to allow for the more positive aspects of the longevity effect which is driven by improvements in longer and more productive lives (Gratton & Scott, 2016). What are the implications for later life learning? The last 50  years have been characterized by the growth of scholarly literature worldwide concerning learning in later life in view of the recognition of demographic trends. This chapter discusses current developments in lifelong learning, the meaning of which has itself frequently been the subject of significant debate, and how later life learning is related. It also critically examines theoretical perspectives on later life learning. In addition, it adds to current debates by discussing major issues and significant developments in the light of the longevity effect and the worldwide spread of Covid-19.

A. Withnall (*) Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_3

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3.2  Understanding Learning in Later Life 3.2.1  Global Responses to the Aging World In recent years, the potential impact of the aging of populations has been of such concern that supra-national organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) have initiated large-scale programs to try to address what are seen as the most pressing issues. It is notable that learning throughout life and access to learning opportunities for older people have featured prominently in these programs. For example, the WHO’s policy framework for the formulation of action plans to promote healthy and active aging also addressed the potential challenges of aging populations. The emphasis given to the need to provide education and learning opportunities throughout the lifecourse was fundamental to participation, one of the pillars of active aging within this policy framework. In particular, it was seen as important that older people were given opportunities to develop new skills; but they should also be afforded the chance to participate in formal and informal work according to their interests and capabilities (WHO, 2002). This framework has had a considerable impact on the development of programs for older people across the world although the WHO’s latest focus on healthy aging replaces its previous emphasis on active aging. Its current program, now known as the United Nations Decade of Healthy Aging (2021–2030), proposed as a global collaboration, aims to ensure the development and maintenance of functional ability that will enable more people to lead healthy and active lives well into old age. Functional ability is seen as having the capabilities to enable people to be and do what they value and includes the capacity to ‘learn, grow and make decisions’ and ‘to contribute to society’ although the diversity of the older population and the inequalities that exist are acknowledged. The Decade is based on and builds upon previous work by both the WHO and the UN and is characterized by ten proposed priorities as a basis for action (WHO, 2020). However, with the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the overwhelming effect on people’s lives in many countries, it is not clear how far governments and other organizations across the world will be able to respond as envisaged, especially in some developing countries where it has already proved difficult to implement active aging frameworks. In a recent report, the UN notes that about one in three older persons is living today in Eastern and SouthEast Asia and that this is likely to remain the case until 2050. However, the report comments that population aging does not necessarily have to lead to macro-economic decline as is often feared; with appropriate policies in place that include continuing and lifelong education as well as the promotion of healthy lifestyles and a gradual increase in the retirement age together with improved gender equality in all spheres of life, the risks associated with population aging can be managed and the benefits amplified. Certainly, the promotion of lifelong learning, together with investment in health and well-being, is seen as important for keeping abreast of changes in technology and the maintenance of skill flexibility in

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line with the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 4 concerned with good health and well-being and quality education throughout life (UN, 2019). Overall, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) amount to a call for action on a global scale to improve human lives and the environment (UN, 2018). There has long been a general belief in many countries that learning in later life will have direct positive outcomes for older people’s health and general sense of well-being and therefore, the idea of active and healthy aging is to be encouraged. The underlying hope is that participation in appropriate learning activities will result in a reduction of pressure on health, welfare and care systems with associated savings for governments. Certainly, there is plenty of evidence from a range of international studies as to how older people perceive their lives and sense of well-­being to have been improved by participating in a program, class or course; but it is not always clear whether it is the processes of, and stimulation of learning something new or the chance to be socially active or possibly either or both in conjunction with some other factors that have resulted in enhancing the quality of these older people’s lives. Recently, Schoultz et al. (2020) have conducted an in-depth conceptual analysis of research on the relationship between formally organized learning for older people and health. They found a lack of clarity concerning essential concepts relating to both learning and health and concluded that research needs to be much more explicit about which aspects of learning and health are under consideration before conclusions about the possible relationship can be drawn.

3.2.2  Approaches to Lifelong Learning The nature of lifelong learning and what it means to be an older learner has long been the subject of intense debate. Across the globe, a very varied collection of policies, strategies and plans relating to lifelong learning can be discerned and UNESCO, through its Institute of Lifelong Learning, has been at the forefront of promoting developments in its member states and in inter-governmental organizations. Most recently, it has published a comprehensive series of recommendations advocating a major global shift towards a culture of lifelong learning by 2050  in view of the major challenges currently facing the world including the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the inequalities it appears to have exacerbated. The report particularly stresses the need to see education as a human right, driven by something more than economic necessity; notably, it comments that if the capacity to learn is to be nurtured throughout life, this must also include the promotion of learning in old age. It is also conceded that, for older people, this will require ‘a pedagogical approach that acknowledges their role in society and contributes to a more positive representation of aging’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 8) although what this will entail is not explored further. Overall, this is a visionary and bold collection of recommendations to which responses are still being sought. However, there is always the danger that such

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grandiose proposals will ultimately amount to little more than ‘empty rhetoric’ (Withnall, 2010, p. 14) unless they can be successfully agreed upon and actioned. It is also worth noting that in the original 28 countries of the European Union, the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning program 2007–2013 particularly sought, in its Grundtvig strand, to fund activities that addressed the challenges of an aging population (European Commission, 2006). These included an innovative and valuable range of transnational projects that focused on different aspects of later life learning, most of which involved older learners themselves either as research participants or as co-researchers. However, unless the outcomes of such work are adequately documented and disseminated, lessons learnt will lose their impact and be quickly forgotten. A further notable UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning development has been the emergence of its Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) in 2013 along with the PASCAL International Observatory Learning Cities Network (LCN). The GNLC supports all 17 of the SDGs especially SDG4 which, as has been seen, is concerned with quality education and the promotion of a culture of lifelong learning for everyone in a range of cities across the globe. A learning city is seen as one that offers lifelong learning programs, both formal and informal, that promote equity, cohesion and peace and promotes inclusive learning at all levels, including in the workplace; and makes extensive use of modern technology to stimulate urban and economic growth. Intergenerational learning and opportunities that encourage the participation of people at risk of isolation – especially older people – is particularly encouraged. The Network aims to support its member cities by fostering partnerships, promoting peer learning, sharing best practice and providing capacity development. There are currently 229 active member cities from 64 countries (UNESCO, 2020b). In a penetrative analysis of lifelong learning in Asia from a European perspective, Osborne and Borkowska (2017) observe that the concept of the learning city has taken a strong hold on policy and practice in Asia; they comment on the idea that learning opportunities can be not only lifelong but also life-wide and life-­ deep in that this is seen as essential for ensuring international harmony, a concept they believe is derived from Confucian influences. The role and development of learning cities, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, offers considerable possibilities for further action and for interdisciplinary research in view of their complexity and the fact that within each city, the availability of resources and differing priorities may dictate what can be achieved (Webb et al., 2020). However, in conjunction with the WHO’s age-friendly cities and communities initiative (WHO, 2007) which is based on the rhetoric of active aging and amongst other issues, encourages the social participation of older people in a range of activities including educational and cultural, there is hope that lifelong learning will gradually become a reality for older people across the world.

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3.2.3  Approaches to Learning in Later Life It can be seen, then, that considerable progress is being made to promote the idea of lifelong learning as one of a range of solutions for some of the challenges currently facing the planet including demographic trends. But what has already been achieved concerning the development of opportunities for learning in later life in different countries? In their comprehensive overview of advances in later life education and learning in 42 countries across the globe, Findsen and Formosa (2016) as editors, offer a useful reflection on what they see as the key dynamics at play in the accounts they include. Whilst it has to be emphasized that the individual country reports offer a snapshot in time and that policies and practices are liable to change very quickly, their analysis provides a helpful starting point for understanding some of the main characteristics of later life learning as it has developed on different continents. In particular, they discuss how historical events, religious and spiritual beliefs, cultural attitudes towards older people in different societies and in some countries, the influence of oppressive regimes or changes in ideology have come to affect the availability of learning opportunities for older people in different countries. Within Europe, they found it difficult to characterize the emergence of education for older people since it appears to have developed very differently in different European countries. They further observe that an enormous range of different organizations have been responsible for the promotion of later life learning opportunities in countries across the world. They comment particularly on the role of universities in some countries where departments of adult and continuing education have played a significant role; on the influence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in others; and on the part played by older adults themselves in the acknowledged successful development of, for example, the University of the Third Age (U3A) which has become a worldwide institution. However, different models have evolved over time and in different places; in a recent analysis of the U3A movement in both European and Asian-Pacific contexts, Formosa (2019a) concludes that it needs to renew itself to make it more relevant for successive generations of older people especially in terms of social class, gender, disability and ethnicity. Indeed, it might now be questioned how far the whole concept of the Third Age as a time of active leisure and personal fulfillment (Laslett, 1989) has become an ageist construct itself without a close analysis of how growing older is affected by a person’s particular circumstances including health status. Findsen and Formosa go on to consider some further issues which arise from their overview. These include varying definitions of who qualifies as ‘an older adult’; and possible discriminatory attitudes, such as the treatment of older women in some societies (see also United Nations. Human Rights, 1979), they also note the effects of adult illiteracy on the participation of older people in learning even though they accept that some national or mass literacy programs, especially in an African context, have begun to benefit older populations. At this point, it is also worth noting the example to be seen in the case of a designated learning city, Suwon City, in the province of Gyeonggi, South Korea, which has a population of 1.2 million. It has

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long been recognized that South Korea faces a problem in that basic literacy among older generations is often poor due to the economic difficulties it confronted following the Korean war in the early 1950s. Accordingly, Suwon City’s current lifelong learning strategy includes courses especially designed for older people with 17.8% of lifelong learning courses aimed at this group, the third highest number of courses for people aged 65+ within Gyeonggi Province. However, low literacy rates will doubtless be much less of a problem for succeeding generations so that different learning programs will be required as they move into later life and hence, a revised learning strategy (OECD, 2020). A growing issue in many developed countries is the need to remain for longer in the workplace as the age of entry into government pension schemes, where they exist, increases; and then emerges the issue of workplace training and learning for older workers in a variety of employment contexts. Whilst governments in some countries argue that assisting older workers to reach their full potential is key to improving productivity, it is often the case that older workers receive less consideration than their younger colleagues when it comes to workplace training opportunities. It may also be the case that older workers themselves do not wish to participate in training or feel that the type of training they are likely to be offered will be inappropriate. In the United Kingdom (UK), Dixon (2020) has observed that as people live longer, there will need to be acceptance of changing career paths and greater opportunities for retraining and progression throughout the lifecourse will be required. She believes that governments and employers must increase investment in retraining and reskilling people as well as redesigning apprenticeships and internships to enable people to develop new careers in mid-life. An age-positive culture in the workplace and an appreciation of the proven benefits of age diversity will be key. Perhaps the greatest challenge is to acknowledge how rapid developments in technology will enhance and accelerate the workplace learning experience. Certainly, everyone will need to be digitally capable as has been demonstrated by the switch to ‘working from home’ in many countries during the Covid-19 pandemic. In time, all employees will need to be conversant with artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, robotics and the internet of things as well as data driven decision making. We are already aware that as younger generations grow older, they will be doing jobs that are currently non-existent. As old ways of working change, learning to learn, resilience and flexibility will become increasingly important. A further issue on which Findsen and Formosa remark is the comparative neglect of people in their so-called Fourth Age (Laslett, 1989), a status, rather than an exact age, when people are more likely to be dependent on others for some or all of their care. It is certainly the case in many countries where the idea of long-term residential care is unknown or in its infancy that responsibility for elder care falls predominantly on women within a family. However, there are growing examples of efforts in some, mainly western countries, where strenuous efforts have been made to successfully introduce inclusive learning activities into residential care homes where these exist (for example, Withnall, 2012a; Formosa, 2019b) even though funding for such activities is almost always a problem. Withnall (2012a) also warns that some accounts of good practice need to be subjected to careful scrutiny in that they do not

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always employ a rigorous evaluation methodology but nevertheless make somewhat exaggerated claims for the success of their programs. However, a more exciting development is the Eden Alternative which began in the USA in 1991 and which aims to completely change the culture of care. Its basic person-centered philosophy is that everyone can continue to grow and develop as they age and that care must be a collaborative partnership with education and learning at the core. In 2019, it was operational in 19 different countries (Eden Alternative, 2019). At this point, it must be acknowledged that the pandemic coronavirus Covid-19 which spread across the globe from early in 2020 has had a devastating impact, especially on the lives of many older people who appear to have been most at risk from the virus. However, it has also meant that new ways of learning have come to the fore in many countries. We shall return to a discussion of these developments later.

3.3  Emergent Theoretical Perspectives In view of the rapid growth of later life learning initiatives in so many countries across the world, it is perhaps surprising that comparatively little attention has been paid to the development of theoretical perspectives on what has come to be known as educational gerontology although researchers have not always been in accord as to what this term includes. Kern (2018) has tried to qualitatively analyze nine models of what he terms ‘older adult education’ emanating from seven different countries and three continents but concluded that the absence of shared paradigms has made it difficult to compare or transfer results from existing research and that a solid base of academic knowledge is required to enable progression. In fact, it is necessary to look back over three decades to discern early attempts to develop any theoretical perspectives on the education of older adults; it appears that learning in later life had not yet emerged as a concept worthy of debate. The perspectives developed as statements of principles derived very much from the point of view of the educator, rather than the older learner. Initially, Glendenning and Battersby (1990) introduced their first statement of the principles of critical educational gerontology in which they advocated a more critically informed approach to education in later life based within a socio-political framework derived from the work of Freire (1972). In the same volume, Percy (1990) produced a second statement of first principles in which he critiqued the ideology of critical educational gerontology, preferring instead to think in terms of humanistic, liberal self-actualization as a goal for the education of older people. It took another two decades before Formosa (2011) entered the debate with a third statement of first principles. In an insightful analysis, he reviewed the positions of both Glendenning and Battersby (1990) and Percy (1990) bearing in mind the time when their theories were constructed. Whilst he had some sympathy for the liberal humanist viewpoint, he ultimately opted for the potential of a renewed critical educational gerontology that he believed should rediscover what he termed its liberatory spark in a world which has now become globalized and individualized.

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Most recently, Hachem (2020) has critically re-examined the three original statements of principles using a framework approach which resulted in a consideration of five main themes emerging from the statements – their rationales, philosophical queries about learning, the goals of learning, the profile of older adults they contain and the role of teachers of older adults, all of which he problematizes. In a cogent and closely argued analysis, he detects hegemonic tendencies in the philosophies of both critical and humanist statements in spite of their apparent rejection of these. Furthermore, as he correctly observes, these statements were very much of their time and were anchored in a mainly Anglo-Saxon field of emerging practice. As such, he believes they are not commensurate with more recent developments such as the spread of later life learning opportunities across the world in different cultures, a generally more positive view of older learners in at least some countries and the growth of a more complex and wide-ranging international research field. Hachem does make mention of the call by Withnall (2010, 2012b) for a new paradigm that moves the focus away from practitioner and researcher perspectives towards an acceptance of longevity and a more inclusive society where the complexity of older people’s learning in different contexts is recognized and valued. She advocates a move towards a concept of longlife learning which, although not always enthusiastically received, acknowledges that, in future, we will need to accept a dynamic model of learning throughout life that would recognize the reality of longer lives and all older people as potentially capable learners whatever their chronological age and situation. It is notable that in the USA, a practical example of longlife learning has emerged in a number of universities’ programs which are aimed at people in midlife. The aim is to assist them in the development of a sense of personal wellbeing and resilience as they grow older through fostering communities of mutually supportive midlife peers (Conley & Rauth, 2020).

3.4  Further Challenges in the Age of Longevity In recent years, a range of other issues have emerged which have relevance for the development of learning in later life across the world. We will briefly allude to these prior to commenting on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which has already wrought such far-reaching changes in many aspects of older people’s lives.

3.4.1  Ageism Sadly, it is still the case that ageism can continue to play a part in the public’s perception of older people, their ability to continue learning and the value of them having access to educational opportunities in later life. In western countries, there is a frequently held belief that ageism is less prevalent in Asian cultures because of the

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traditional norms and values that require honor and respect towards older people. Yet in a study comparing attitudes towards older people in the UK and Taiwan, Vauclair et  al. (2017) concluded that cultural differences in ageism are actually more nuanced than in previous research. In the UK, research by the Royal Society of Public Health (2018) found that ageism is rife. The public generally were found to be most ageist about older people’s appearance, memory loss and participation in physical and community activities although there were some variations. Further instances of ageism have emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, Kessler and Bowen (2020) have argued that although chronological age is indeed a major risk factor for Covid-19, older people are by no means a homogeneous group of defenseless and helpless people who must be protected. They fear that this kind of ageism is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy that will come to affect older people’s mental health. However, their view remains controversial as numbers of deaths amongst older people worldwide continue to rise and over-70s have been the first to receive vaccinations in countries where these have become available. There are vigorous campaigns against ageism in many western countries, for example, those led by feminist writers such as Gullette (2017) and Applewhite (2019). Currently, the WHO, together with key partners, is initiating a Global Campaign to Combat Ageism in order to help change the narrative around age and aging for good (WHO, 2021).

3.4.2  Intergenerational Learning Intergenerational learning programs have existed in different forms for well over 50 years beginning with the Foster Grandparent program in the USA. There now exist a myriad of intergenerational programs all over the world and a rich and diverse research literature has emerged together with more recent attempts to provide a theoretical base for further development. However, Watts (2017) believes that it would be more constructive to focus on the idea of multi-generational working and learning in order to highlight and encourage more cross-community involvement since this more accurately reflects the makeup of society. More recently, the aim of a number of programs has been to tackle the so-called digital divide between generations where older people are helped to improve their knowledge and competencies in the field of information technology and younger people, in return, come to understand more about older people’s histories. Usually, a measure of success in achieving their objectives is claimed in such projects but it is not always clear how far any learning gains are sustainable and, in the case of digital skills, how quickly they may become outdated. This suggests that we need more reliable measures to assess particular outcomes for older participants in different inter- or multigenerational programs as well as for other generations (Lee et al., 2020).

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3.4.3  Involving Older Men in Learning It is also worth mentioning a more recent development, that of Men’s Sheds. The idea for these originated in Australia where sheds were conceived as a space for older men to make use of their practical skills or other chosen activities in an informal, safe and friendly atmosphere with other men, recognizing that this is often men’s preferred way to learn. They also offer a way to tackle the isolation and social exclusion some older men experience when they leave the workforce as well as frequently providing a community approach to supporting older men’s health and wellbeing especially in rural settings. This is important since it has been found that it is men with the poorest health outcomes who are least likely to engage with health promotion interventions (Bergin & Richardson, 2020). The concept has spread quickly to other countries including Europe and beyond and many sheds are now open to younger men so that intergenerational mentoring and learning has also become a feature (Golding, 2015). The movement has already spawned an expansive international, interdisciplinary literature and the idea of Men’s Sheds has previously been adopted within male health policy directives in some countries such as Australia and the Republic of Ireland (Cordier & Wilson, 2013). In the Caribbean, they have been seen as a catalyst for promoting informal learning among older men (Dolcy & Livingstone, 2019). However, recent research in Scotland has raised questions concerning the potential causal pathway from Men’s Sheds activity to health generation (Kelly et al., 2019). As was seen earlier, different interpretations of the meanings of health and wellbeing can also make causal connections difficult to establish. The same team has also commented on the capacity of a shed to take on a formal healthcare role since this is likely to detract from the primary purpose of a shed – to provide an informal, unstructured space where members’ particular needs can be met (Kelly et al., 2021).

3.5  The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic Sadly, most of which has gone before in respect of later life learning has been abruptly halted by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic which appeared early in 2020 and which has probably been the most challenging crisis the world has faced in recent times. To date, the virus has affected 219 countries and territories and there have been over two million deaths globally (Worldometers, 2021). Although all age groups are at risk of contracting the virus, it appears that older people are the most vulnerable to the disease. In response to the pandemic, many countries have imposed one or more lockdowns of varying severity disrupting everyone’s lives, not least those of older people living alone who may be experiencing considerable fear and a sense of isolation and depression. Whilst the arrival of effective vaccines is now to be welcomed, it is predicted to be a long time before the world returns to some sort of normality.

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Since we know that continuing to learn in difficult times can help build confidence and create a more fulfilling life as well as generating an individual sense of well-being, it is notable that a whole range of educational providers, both formal and non-formal, have made use of the internet to reach older people and to expand their repertoire of learning opportunities. However, an important prerequisite is the possession of basic digital skills; various organizations, notably U3A, have made strenuous attempts to teach older people how to communicate online including the use of the popular internet conferencing tool, Zoom. In addition, a whole range of organizations have offered online advice as to how older people can learn to stay fit and mentally healthy especially during periods of lockdown. Then there are various examples of courses and classes specifically for older people which they can access online. These include those offered by U3A; GetSetUp, an American site that advertises itself as ‘the largest senior to senior live interactive educational platform’; and in the UK, Rest Less, offers the chance to browse over 50,000 courses from different countries. Of course, older people throughout the world have also long been able to participate in a range of online short courses (known as MOOCS) offered to anyone through different platforms in different parts of the world. Although they appear to have been very popular with older people, there is still a paucity of research as to how they engage with such courses (Liyanagunawardena & Williams, 2016). In many countries then, the internet has become an important educational tool especially as it has been shown that, even before the pandemic, there had been a growth in numbers of older people making use of the internet in developed countries. However, research has shown that whilst Covid-19 has encouraged more older people to get online, it has also actually deepened the digital divide, previously mentioned, in that those who do not have computer access or have no interest are at even greater risk than before on missing out in all kinds of areas of life. Indeed, it appears that age is still the biggest predictor of whether or not a person is able to get online. They are also likely to be in poorer health, less well-off and less well educated than their peers. In addition, there are complex barriers that older people sometimes face in getting online such as affordability of equipment, lack of confidence and internalized stereotypes about ability to learn. In the future, it will be important to expand access to technology, invest in building digital skills and encourage older people’s confidence in the use of technology (Centre for Aging Better, 2020).

3.6  Concluding Remarks We are living through difficult and unprecedented times. However, there are still some reasons for optimism even though we know that the economies of many countries will be badly affected by Covid-19 and may take years to recover. But even as we begin to try to rebuild communities, the pandemic has accentuated the need both for cross-border co-operation and for better intergenerational collaboration within

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local communities. In research terms, we are already reaping the benefits of more interdisciplinary and international cooperation. Even before the pandemic struck, it was apparent that a belief in a concept of lifelong learning that recognizes and includes all older people was firmly on the agenda of different supra-national organizations that are working together to make it a reality across continents even though it will take time. Realization of longevity in different countries has already shown that it is possible to develop relevant and timely opportunities for older people to continue learning taking cultural sensibilities and traditions into account. As we learn more about longevity, through the workings of the brain (Sinclair, 2019; Steele, 2020; Levitin, 2020) and its creative possibilities (Cohen, 2005; Bachrach, 2012) it may be possible to adapt our educational systems to incorporate the new long life in appropriate ways as Scott and Gratton (2020) have envisaged. We are all aging. It is in everyone’s interests to recognize the harm done by ageism and to celebrate the benefits of growing old in a world which encourages us to keep learning for as long as possible.

References Applewhite, A. (2019). This chair rocks. A manifesto against ageism. Melville House UK. Bachrach, E. (2012). The agile mind. Virgin Books. Bergin, N., & Richardson, N. (2020). ‘Sheds for life’: Getting the balance right in delivering health promotion through Sheds in Ireland. Health Promotion International, daaa82. https:// doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaa082 Centre for Aging Better. (2020, August 11). How has COVID-19 changed the landscape of digital inclusion? https://www.aging-­better.org.uk/publications/ how-­has-­covid-­19-­changed-­landscape-­digital-­inclusion Cohen, G. (2005). The mature mind. Basic Books. Conley, C., & Rauth, I. (2020). The emergence of long life learning. Long Life Learning. https://www.longlifelearning.education Cordier, R., & Wilson, N. J. (2013). Community-based Men’s Sheds: Promoting male health, wellbeing and social inclusion in an international context. Health Promotion International, 29(3), 483–493. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dat033 Dixon, A. (2020). The age of aging better? Green Tree. Dolcy, T. J., & Livingstone, K. A. (2019). Education for all? Examining informal adult learning, the Men’s Sheds revolution, and their role in older males’ participation in learning. Caribbean Journal of Education, 41(2), 23–45. https://doi.org/10.46425/c241026319 Eden Alternative. (2019). 2019 Global impact. Eden Alternative. https://www.edenalt.org European Commission. (2006). Consolidated text: Decision No 1720/2006/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe 15 November 2006 establishing an action program in the field of lifelong learning. https://eur-­lex.europa.eu/ Findsen, B., & Formosa, M. (2016). Concluding remarks. In B. Findsen & M. Formosa (Eds.), International perspectives on older adult education (Lifelong learning book series 22, pp. 507–519). Springer. Formosa, M. (2011). Critical educational gerontology: A third statement of first principles. International Journal of Education and Aging, 2(1), 317–332. Formosa, M. (Ed.). (2019a). The University of the Third Age and active aging: European and Asian-Pacific perspectives (International perspectives on aging, Vol. 23). Springer.

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Formosa, M. (2019b). Active aging in the fourth age: The experiences and perspectives of older persons in long-term care. Geopolitical Social Security and Freedom Journal, 2(1). https://doi. org/10.2478/gssfj-­2019-­0008 Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Penguin Books. Glendenning, F., & Battersby, D. (1990). Why we need educational gerontology and education for older adults: A statement of first principles. In F. Glendenning & K. Percy (Eds.), Aging, education and society. Readings in educational gerontology (pp.  219–231). Association for Educational Gerontology. Golding, B. (2015). The men’s shed movement: The company of men. Common Ground Publishing. Gratton, L., & Scott, A. (2016). The 100-year life. Bloomsbury Information. Gullette, M. M. (2017). Ending ageism, or how not to shoot old people. Rutgers University Press. Hachem, H. (2020). Is there a need for a fourth statement? An examination of the critical and humanist statements of educational gerontology principles. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 39(5–6), 465–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2020.1801869 Kelly, D., Steiner, A., Mason, H., & Teasdale, S. (2019). Men’s Sheds: A conceptual exploration of the causal pathways for health and well-being. Health & Social Care in the Community, 27(5), 1147–1157. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12765 Kelly, D., Teasdale, S., Steiner, A., & Mason, H. (2021). Men’s Sheds in Scotland: The potential for improving the health of men. Journal of Public Health Policy. https://doi.org/10.1057/ s41271-­020-­00268-­5 Kern, D. (2018). Research on epistemological models of older adult education: The need of a contradictory discussion. Educational Gerontology, 44(5–6), 338–353. https://doi.org/10.108 0/03601277.2018.1475123 Kessler, E.-M., & Bowen, C. E. (2020). COVID ageism as a public mental health concern. The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 1(1), e12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-­7568(20)30002-­7 Laslett, P. (1989). A fresh map of life. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Lee, K., Jarrott, S. E., & Juckett, L. A. (2020). Documented outcomes for older adults in intergenerational programming: A scoping review. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 18(2), 113–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2019.1673276 Levitin, D. (2020). The changing mind. Penguin Life. Liyanagunawardena, T., & Williams, S.  A. (2016). Elderly learners and massive open online courses: A review. Interactive Journal of Medical Research, 5(1), e1. https://doi.org/10.2196/ ijmr.4937 OECD. (2020). Chapter 4: Case study: Lifelong learning in Korea. In Strengthening the governance of skills systems. OECD. https://www.oecd-­ilibrary.org/education/ strengthening-­the-­governance-­of-­skills-­systems_cd2b486a-­en Osborne, M., & Borkowska, K. (2017). A European lens upon adult and lifelong learning in Asia. Asia Pacific Education Review, 18, 269–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-­017-­9479-­4 Percy, K. (1990). The future of educational gerontology: A second statement of first principles. In F. Glendenning & K. Percy (Eds.), Aging, education and society. Readings in educational gerontology (pp. 232–239). Association for Educational Gerontology. Royal Society for Public Health. (2018). That age old question. http://www.rsph.org Schoultz, M., Öhman, J., & Quennerstedt, M. (2020). A review of the research on the relationship between learning and health for older adults. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 39(5–6), 528–544. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2020.1819905 Scott, A., & Gratton, L. (2020). The new long life. Bloomsbury Publishing. Sinclair, D. (2019). Lifespan: Why we age and why we don’t have to. Thorsons. Steele, A. (2020). Ageless. Bloomsbury Publishing. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (2020a). Embracing a culture of lifelong learning. Contribution to the Futures of Education initiative. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. UNESCO Digital Library. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374112 UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (2020b). UNESCO global network of learning cities. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. https://uil.unesco.org/lifelong-­learning/ learning-­cities

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United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2019). World population aging 2019: Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/430). https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/aging/WorldPopulationAging2019-­Highlights.pdf United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Division for Sustainable Development Goals. (2018). The 17 goals. https://sdgs.un.org/goals United Nations. Human Rights. Office of the High Commissioner. (1979). Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. New York. 18 December. https:// www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cedaw.aspx Vauclair, C.-M., Hanke, K., Huang, L.-L., & Abrams, D. (2017). Are Asian cultures really less ageist than Western ones? It depends on the questions asked. International Journal of Psychology, 52, 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12292 Watts, J. (2017). Multi- or intergenerational learning? Exploring some meanings. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 15, 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2017.1260367 Webb, S., Holford, J., Hodge, S., Milana, M., & Waller, R. (2020). Learning cities and implications for adult education research. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 39, 423–427. https:// doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2020.1853937 Withnall, A. (2010). Improving learning in later life. Routledge. Withnall, A. (2012a). Lifelong learning in long-term care settings. In P. Jarvis & M. Webb (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of learning (pp. 160–167). Routledge. Withnall, A. (2012b). Lifelong or longlife? Learning in the later years. In D. N. Aspin, J. Chapman, K.  Evans, & R.  Bagnall (Eds.), Second international handbook of lifelong learning, Part 2 (pp. 649–664). Springer. World Health Organization. (2002). Active aging. A policy framework. WHO. World Health Organization. (2007). Global age-friendly cities: A guide. https://www.who.int/ aging/publications/Global_age_friendly_cities_Guide_English.pdf World Health Organization. (2020). Decade of healthy aging 2021–2030. https://www.who.int/ initiatives/decade-­of-­healthy-­aging World Health Organization. (2021). Combatting ageism. https://www.who.int/teams/ social-­determinants-­of-­health/demographic-­change-­and-­healthy-­aging/combatting-­ageism Worldometers. (2021). Coronavirus updates. https://www.worldometers.info/ Alexandra Withnall  completed a PhD in Later-Life Learning from Keele University, UK. Dr Withnall is an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, and has been a lecturer for over 20 years. With rich social activity and volunteer experience, Dr Withnall was the Chair of the Association for Education and Ageing in the UK for five years, and the volunteer secretary for Deerings Daytime Women’s Institute for another five years. Alex’s research specialties are in Lifelong Learning and Social Gerontology.

Part II

Perspectives from East Asian Countries on Senior Learning/Education

Chapter 4

Never Too Old to Learn: Development, Challenges and Strategies of Education for Older Adults in Mainland China Gong Chen and Yang Wang

4.1  Challenges of Rapid Population Aging Population aging has become an inevitable phenomenon throughout social development in China. Since 2000, China has entered an aging society. The average life expectancy has risen from 71.4 years in 2000 to 77.3 years in 2019. The proportion of people aged 65 years old and above in the total population has risen from 7% in 2000 to 12.6% in 2019. It is estimated that by 2025, the population aged 60 and above and 65 and above will account for 20% and 14% of the total population, respectively (Zheng, 2020). This study also shows that China has entered a moderately aging society and will continue to move towards a deeply aging society. Population aging has a great impact on the development of the social economy, such as increased consumption of social resources and the reduction of a working-­ age labor force. In addition, population aging increases the demand for old-age security and health care, and leads to pressure on basic social security expenditure. Studies have shown that the development of education for older adults is an indispensable part of China’s active response to population aging (Yang & Wu, 2014). Education boosts the health status and stock by improving their cognitive abilities and other healthy behavior (Wang & Peng, 2020). Also, it enhances the educational capital among older adults, and their re-employment capability as well (Mao, 2017). The development of education for older adults is of great significance to the construction of a lifelong education system and the realization of modernization in education. Since the 1980s, the central government of mainland China has issued policies, such as The Development Plan of Education for the Older Adults 2016–2020 (hereinafter referred to as the Development Plan 2016–2020) and China’s Education G. Chen (*) · Y. Wang Institute of Population Research, Peking University, Beijing, China e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_4

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Modernization 2035. These policies clearly point out that it is essential to construct a lifelong learning education system for all people, including for older adults. They also made corresponding arrangements to promote the modernization of education for older adults (Rao, 2021; Yang, 2019). Online learning has become an innovative and important form of education for older adults. With the outbreak of the new pandemic, Coronavirus 19, people’s learning styles and opportunities in mainland China have been greatly changed, online learning has become more widely accepted, and a larger number of older adults started learning online. Moreover, studies have shown that in the context of population aging, older adults’ educational attainments have improved substantially, with their learning demands being diversified as well (Du, 2021). They may exhibit distinctive learning characteristics. In the next part, we analyze the learning characteristics of older adults.

4.2  L  earning Characteristics of Older Adults in Mainland China Learning characteristics of older adults in mainland China can be summarized in the following four aspects. First, older adults study to keep up with the pace of the information era, and their learning demand is strong. Mainland China has been experiencing rapid and considerable transformation, and an increasing number of older adults are trapped in a cultural dilemma in the digital age (Ye, 2020). To adapt better in this era, they have to learn the requisite knowledge. Second, there is considerable population heterogeneity among older learners. Older learners of different ages, gender, regions, economic levels, vocational backgrounds, and education levels hold varying learning attitudes and demands. The younger-old, women, and those with higher economic and education levels are more likely to access education (Huang, 2020). Additionally, the demands of learning content vary across regions in China. One study found that older adults in eastern regions have higher demands for knowledge of health care, while their peers in central and western regions have higher demands for knowledge of agricultural production (Yang & Mo, 2020). Third, education for older adults in mainland China is mainly driven by the purpose of entertainment. Since the 1990s, China’s work concerning older adults has taken “realizing the happiness of the older adults and enriching their cultural and recreational life” as one of the important goals (China’s Seven-Year Development Plan for the Elderly 1994). To meet the needs of older adults, to improve their quality of life and all-round development, and to adapt to the needs of the times and society are the main pursuits of current older adult education (Liu, 2015). Education institutions for older adults generally offer courses in calligraphy, painting, dance,

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health care, vocal music, and so on, to enrich their spiritual and cultural life (Yue, 2011). Fourth, the intergenerational support model of caring for grandchildren is not conducive to older adults’ participation in education. The family cultural tradition of “the more children, the more blessings” has encouraged adult children to prolong their offspring. In this context, it has become a popular cultural phenomenon for older adults to help their adult children care for their grandchildren as much as they can after retirement. Such intergenerational support is particularly prevalent in rural areas where the development of care services is lagging (Guo & You, 2019). In some poor areas, older adults even save money and accumulate wealth for their offspring, while reducing disposable financial resources to invest for themselves, not to mention spending time studying. In conclusion, the learning of older adults in mainland China is affected by social, cultural, and family environments. Their learning characteristics, as elaborated above, are mostly not conducive to sustained participation in lifelong learning. To promote the development of education for older adults, mainland China has taken active measures to promote the modernization of education for older adults.

4.3  M  odernization and Its Impact on Education for Older Adults Modernization can be defined as the increase and expansion of modernity at the material, system, and notional levels (Jiang & Zhang, 2003). Educational modernization is guided by advanced educational concepts, including humanity, diversity, democracy, productivity, and so on, based on the development of an information society (Chu, 2013). Since the Reform and Opening Up, mainland China’s education development has increasingly taken modernization as one of the core pillars of policy formulation. Education for older adults entails a purposeful, non-traditional, life-long education program, reflecting the characteristics of older adults and the needs of their social development (Ye, 2013). Research on development strategies of education for older adults alongside modernization is mainly based on education policies or laws for older adults and their learning practices.

4.3.1  Policy Promotion First, education for older adults has been promoted through policies such as the Five-Year Plan. In 1994, ten departments, including the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and so on, jointly formulated The 7-Year Development Outline on Work Concerning Older Adults in China (1994–2000) (hereinafter

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referred to as the 7-Year Outline). It was proposed to achieve goals concerning population aging, among which “learning for older adults” is included. In the following years, policies, including The Decision on Strengthening the Work on Aging, the Outline of the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of China’s Undertakings for the Aged (hereinafter referred to as the Five-Year Plan), emphasized that all locations should attach importance to the development of education for older adults, basically to realize the goals of “learning for older adults”, as well as “teaching for older adults”. Also, The Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010–2020) (hereinafter referred to as The Outline 2010), clarified the importance of education for older adults in terms of their learning needs and relevant curricula. Second, education for older adults is being integrated into the lifelong education system. From 1994 to 2010, the 7-Year Outline, the 11th Five-Year Plan for the National Education Program, as well as the Outline 2010, stressed protection of the rights of older adults to receive education and continuously improve their quality of life. The common goal of these policies is to basically form a learning society in which everyone learns for life. The Development Plan 2016, and the Notice of the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of National Education, issued in the following year, both incorporated education institutions for older adults into the local public service system for the purpose of constructing a lifelong education system. Third, attention has been paid to remote education, network education, community education for older adults, and the introduction of non-governmental sectors to promote older adults’ education. The policies, including the 7-Year Outline, The Decision on Strengthening Aging Work in 2000, and the 10th, 11th, 12th Five-Year Plan, gave full play to all kinds of adult schools to include modern media such as radio and television facilities. In 2010, the Outline 2010, and The Opinions on Further Promoting the Development of Community Education, advocated that extensive urban and rural community education should be carried out to basically consolidate a learning society featuring lifelong learning for all. Most of these requirements were re-emphasized in subsequent policies of the Development Plan (2016–2020), the 13th Five-Year Plan, and so on. From this point, education for older adults was enhanced by remote education and community education to help realize the “2035 Education Modernization” goal.

4.3.2  Legal Protection The education rights of older adults have been protected by law. In 1982, the Constitution of China stipulated that everyone has the right to receive an education. The Education Law of the People’s Republic of China in 1995 stated that citizens of the People’s Republic of China have the right and duty to receive education. In 1996, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Older Adults (hereinafter referred to as The Law 1996) explicitly stated

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that older adults have the right to continue their education. In this respect, the state took measures to carry out various forms of health education. It is regarded as one of the most important regulations targeting older adults. Since then, education for older adults embraced both rationality and legitimacy. The Law 1996 then experienced three rounds of revisions in 2012, 2015, and 2018, all of which continued to emphasize the protection of older adults’ education rights.

4.3.3  Practical Measures Measures to strengthen the practice of older adult education have been taken. First, management of institutions for older adult education has been established. There are three central management bodies of education for older adults in mainland China. The first body is the Veteran Cadre Bureau, which is in charge of universities for older adults. These universities in mainland China mainly provide educational activities for retired senior cadres (retired civil servants) since it was constructed within the background of abolishing the life-long system of leading cadres in 1982. The second body is the comprehensive management department for developing activities for older adults, including the China National Committee on Aging and the China Association of University for the Aged. The former is an administrative body for the education of older adults, established in 1983; the latter is the first national folk older adult education association in mainland China, set up in 1988. Thereafter, the leading management institutions, associations, and business departments of national education for older adults have all been established. The third body consists of the Cultural Departments and Educational Administrative Departments, divided by functional attributes. The Ministry of Culture administers education for older adults from 1999; it was appointed to be fully responsible for non-degree education for older adults nationwide and guides the work of universities for older adults at all levels and for all types. With the further development of the aging population, the scale of education for older adults has also escalated. The Ministry of Education started to administer education for older adults in 1995, and in 2010, the state issued the Outline 2010 to further clarify the educational nature of education for older adults, but the focus of the Ministry of Education is generally school education. Thus, in 2016, the Central Government issued a specific policy to emphasize the role of the Education Department in developing education for older adults—the Development Plan 2016–2020. It stipulated that an education management system for the education of older adults should be established under the leadership of the Party Committee, coordinated by the government, closely linked to the Ministry of Education, Organization, Civil Affairs, Culture and Aging. A second major measure to strengthen practice has been to innovate in the field of education for older adults through information technology. National universities for older adults have built virtual classes through information technology. In 2020,

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during the period of Fight COVID-19, in order to encourage retired veterans in continuing to study, led by the National Bureau of Statistics older university organization, and the Ministry of Education, radio, film, and television were jointly administered to construct the high-quality network broadcast classroom, wherein retired cadres could stay at home and choose classes. Universities for older adults use information technology to accentuate the teachers’ expressions and body language to appear in high-definition and to be magnified on the TV screen. Older learners like to observe the teachers’ demonstration at close range, and the positive learning effect is obvious (Huang & Li, 2021).

4.4  Characteristics of Strategies for Older Adult Education The strategies of education for older adults have focused on cognition in line with the requirements of mainland China in a specific historical period. It is a process where the individual “learning needs” of older adults are transformed into “social needs”, and further into “social policies” (Wang & Wang, 2015). The education strategies alongside modernization have the following characteristics. First, the service target is transformed from retired cadres to ordinary older adults; universalization has become the main developmental direction. For a long time since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, education for older adults has been deemed equivalent to universities for retired cadres. The escalation of the aging society and the enhancement of educational equity awareness have spawned the older adults’ awareness of their right to receive education. The Development Plan 2016–2020 points out that seniors’ rights and interests should be protected and equal opportunities should be ensured. The change for this target of education embodies the democratization process, a key core element of modernization. Second, the strategies of older adult education in mainland China have the pursuit of social integration and productivity. Health education and social participation education are important aspects of education for older adults; education is not just aimed at the healthy and young older adults, but also those who are physically handicapped or marginalized. Education for older adults is also one of the crucial means of the strategic policy of “active aging” in mainland China. It has experienced the transformations from “welfare and security” to “cultural leisure” (Wu, 2019, p. 45), and then “empowerment and increase of ability” (Wang & Tan, 2011, p. 32). Among the three means, the last one has significant implications, considering that it advocates for guaranteed education rights of older adults, and encourages them to continue to participate in society by the use of their knowledge, experience, and skills. Thus, it can help older adults to satisfy the desire of contributing to society and improve their satisfaction in later life, as well as to maximize social benefits. Third, education for older adults has diversified through information technology and community education. In the process of producing an information society, the content and methods of education for older adults have become variable, given

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seniors’ varying educational attainments, different occupational characteristics, and living in different regions. In addition, education for older adults also needs to fit individual demands. Special emphasis has been placed on adjusting measures to local conditions to encourage creativity and to establish diversified forms of education. Thus, it is clear that strategies for older adult education in mainland China have a trend towards flexibility and diversification. Through the education strategies reviewed above, the modernization process of education for older adults in mainland China is advancing rapidly. But older adult education in mainland China still faces the challenge of supply-demand imbalance. In the next part, this challenge will be elaborated on in detail.

4.5  S  upply and Demand Analysis of Older Adult Education in Mainland China Under the new demographic and economic background, the supply-demand imbalance of China’s older adult education is mainly reflected in the quantity, distribution, and quality.

4.5.1  Quantity Imbalance The early 1980s is widely regarded as the budding period of China’s older adult education. The first university for older adults in mainland China was founded in Jinan, Shandong, in 1983. In the following years, universities for older adults kept on springing up in other parts of China. A statistical estimate showed that there had been around 2300 universities for older adults in 1990 (Li, 2021). By 1995, the figure had soared to more than 6000, and more than 500,000 older adults studied in universities and schools for older adults (Ma & Ye, 2018). With the advent of the new century, education for older adults evolved from the welfare for retired government officials to a public cause associated with lifelong education and demographic development. Statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs show that there were around 3.138  million students in universities and schools for older adults in 2004, and that the figure has doubled in the next eight years (Fig. 4.1). Regardless of the unprecedented growth achieved by education for older adults over the past four decades, the supply rate of older adult educational resources has been far behind potential demand. As stated above, since the year 2000 China witnessed entry into the aging population period, and the average lifetime of older adults has been increasing annually in mainland China. This suggests that the time available for older adults after their retirement has been extended considerably. Besides, the educational attainment of older adults in mainland China has been

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800

692

700 600 504.1

500 400

541.5

586.9 603.2

733.1 732.8

710.2 704

625.3

442.2 313.8 330.8

383.4

300 200

100 0

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Fig. 4.1  Statistics of students learning in China’s universities and schools for the older adults (Unit: 10,000). (Source: Ministry of Civil Affairs PRC, Statistical Bulletin of Civil Affairs, 2004–2017. http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/sj/tjgb/?)

significantly improved. In 1982, older adults having not received education accounted for as high as 79.39% of the total. In 2015, older adults having received secondary education or higher took up 31.52% of the total, of which around 10% held a qualification from senior high school or above (Wang & Peng, 2020). Given this background, the potential demand for older adult education has also experienced an unprecedented increase. In 2006, the coverage of schools for older adults, namely the percentage of the older adults studying at schools for the aged in the total aged population in mainland China, was around 2.57%. In the following 3  years, the coverage of schools for older adults experienced a rapid increase to reach 4.79% in 2009. From 2010 to 2017, the coverage of schools for older adults dropped, but it was maintained at around 3%. This suggests that, given population aging, even though the total older adult educational resources were on the increase, the opportunities for older adults to receive older adult education had not been correspondingly increasing. This resulted in a long-term imbalance between total supply and total demand of older adult educational resources in mainland China (Fig. 4.2).

4.5.2  Structural Imbalance The supply-demand imbalance of education for older adults in mainland China is also reflected in regional and differences related to social stratification.

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6.00%

4.79%

5.00%

4.00%

3.00%

2.88%

3.30%

3.15%

3.26%

3.22%

3.42%

3.45%

3.30%

3.08%

2.92%

2.57%

2.00%

1.00%

0.00%

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Fig. 4.2  Participation rate of schools for older adults in mainland China 2006–2017. (Source: National Bureau of Statistics of PRC. Statistical Communiqué on National Economic and Social Development 2006–2017. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjgb/ndtjgb/)

Concerning regional differences, the accessibility of older adult education in China’s eastern coastal areas is much better than that in the central and western part of China. The developed regions in the eastern part of mainland China started earlier with older adult education, thus having formed a more complete structure, more vigorous supporting measures, and stronger supply capacity of older adult educational resources. Meanwhile, due to the more developed economic level and higher aging level, the demand for older adult education is also higher in the eastern part of China (Yang & Mo, 2020). It is also worth noting that the accessibility of urban older adult education is better than that of rural areas. Due to China’s urban-rural dual system’s long-term impact, education for older adults in rural areas lacks public resources such as education funds and hardware facilities, as well as cultural resources such as teachers, learning organizations, and management teams. Concerning differences related to further social stratification, older adult educational resources are mainly concentrated in the downtown area, and older adult education in grassroots communities and towns started late, resulting in the shortage of facilities and budgets in these regions (Cheng, 2020). The number of older adult educational institutions, older adult education coverage, hardware facilities, and instructors is significantly varied in cities, counties, towns, and villages. Older adult education resource supply level for the urban context is relatively high, but at the grassroots level, the supply keeps worsening (Han et al., 2019). In recent years, equalization and popularization of older adult education have continuously been mentioned in policies. The Development Plan 2016–2020 emphasizes the necessity of optimizing the layout and orientation towards the

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grassroots level for China’s older adult education. In the future, grassroots older adult education at the town and rural levels will embrace new development opportunities.

4.5.3  Quality Imbalance The supply-demand imbalance of older adult education in mainland China is also reflected in the inconsistency among the teaching content, instructor capability, and older adults’ learning needs. Consequently, the utilization efficiency and output of teaching resources still need to improve. As stated earlier, the educational level has constantly been improving among China’s aged population. The acceleration of modernization has propelled the update of lifestyles, technological knowledge and cultural conceptualization. While pursuing a better quality of life and better integration into society, older adults have generated more diverse learning needs, ranging from the traditional knowledge of health care, culture and art to the contemporary knowledge of technology, current events and social participation (Dong, 2001). This has put forward a higher requirement for elder education quality. In mainland China, the teaching content of schools for older adults is largely varied, and most of them are casual and not targeted to provide older adult education. A majority of schools for older adults fail to carry out a survey of learners’ pedagogical needs before setting up the courses. Hence, the allocation of teaching resources has been uneven, with some courses being popular while some are holding no attraction for students (Yue, 2011). Meanwhile, the teaching content tends to be knowledge-based and casual, where developmental and participatory education is ignored. The teaching repertoire still features traditional classroom teaching, which does not accommodate older adults’ initiative and potential (Li & Wang, 2019). In addition, the percentage of full-time instructors in schools for older adults is still low. Instructors are dominated by the retired who work concurrently and earn a low payment, leading to a high staff turnover. Besides, the training mechanism for instructors in schools for older adults is still incomplete. A majority of instructors have not received training on older adult education and psychology (Song, 2018). From the above, one can easily find out that the new population and their economic background have fueled the strengthening and diversifying of older adults’ learning needs, thus posing a tremendous challenge to the supply quantity, structure and quality of older adult education. Also, up-front supply structural problems have prevailed in the process of older adult education spreading from retired cadres to all older adults, and from a concentration on welfare to a public education and aging focus. It would be useful to consider further the positive measures from demonstration sites’ experiences to promote education for older adults.

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4.6  S  trategies to Promote the Development of Older Adult Education 4.6.1  The Experience of Shanghai Shanghai has been the provincial administrative region entering the population aging period the earliest and with the highest level of structural aging. In 2019, the aged population accounted for 35.2% of the total in Shanghai (Shanghai Health Committee, 2020). It leads the country in dealing with policy issues and financial investment. Adoption of modern information technology for education is considered to be efficient and indicative of future developments. The challenge of education supply for older adults is one to be faced by other parts of the country. Its developmental models and directions undertaken in older adult education will have implications for the rest of China. Shanghai started early to provide older adult education, and its government supported it via enactment of policies and fiscal spending. As early as 2003, the General Office of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government issued the Notice on Further Strengthening Older Adult Education which has been one of the earliest provinces to issue education policies for older adults. In 2019, Shanghai’s fiscal expenditure on education for older adults accounted for 0.25% of the city’s total education expenditure, with an average per capita expenditure of 362 yuan, much higher than other provinces. After more than four decades of development, a structurally complete older adult education system has taken shape, which covers different forms of education, including school education, social education, distance education, and so on. Concerning school education, Shanghai has set up branches and graded guidance to make educational resources accessible to the grassroots level. So far, a four-level older adult education schooling network that is made up of universities for older adults at the municipal, district, subdistrict, and village level has been formed. By 2019, Shanghai had set up four municipal-level universities for older adults, which provided learning opportunities for around 41,300 students. There were 62 universities for older adults at the district, college, and municipal levels, which had around 200,800 students. There were around 221 schools for older adults at the sub-district and village level, for 318,400 students. There were 5589 learning sites for older adults at the village level, for 392,500 students. In total, there were approximately 953,000 learners studying at schools for older adults in Shanghai, inclusive of 18.4% of the aged population (Fig. 4.3). In terms of remote and online education, Shanghai started developing remote and online education in the 1990s as an attempt to improve the accessibility of educational resources. Shanghai has integrated multi-party resources, including resources of colleges, government departments, and media, to launch educational television-­ learning platforms, such as “Classroom for the Aged” and “Older Adults’ Starry Night”, and multiple distance and online learning platforms, such as “Shanghai MOOC Platform for Older Adult Education”, “Shanghai Older Adults’ Learning

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Fig. 4.3  Number of learners at schools for older adults at different levels in Shanghai (Unit: 10,000). (Source: Statistical Information of Elderly Population and Aging Courses in Shanghai 2019)

Network”, and “Mobile Education for Older Adults”. By the end of 2019, around 5941 remote and online learning sites were established, attracting around 582,700 learners annually. Moreover, Shanghai would combine its information technology with traditional teaching resources to launch Internet platforms, such as the “Shanghai Municipal Older Adult Education Information Management Platform” and “Shanghai Community Learning Map”, to assist older adults in searching for and browsing educational resources, and signing up for courses. Regarding other activities-related education models, Shanghai has fully integrated public resources at the grassroots level and combined old-age, community governance, voluntary service causes, and so on, to set up social learning sites for older adults. Meanwhile, the municipal government supports establishing different kinds of older adults’ learning teams and voluntary teams. By the end of 2018, Shanghai had set up around 129 lifelong learning experience sites, which attracted around 500,000 older adults to participate in education-related activities carried out by various social and cultural organizations. In addition, Shanghai has established an older adults’ education volunteer team, encouraging older adults to contribute in older age by involvement in social services, and by 2015, around 4000 older adults had been members of the voluntary service team. The diverse social educational activities in Shanghai have become the “second classroom” for older adult education. During the period of COVID-19, Shanghai has launched the “Classroom in the Air” for citizens and a live class schedule for older adults. It has also provided high-­ quality online learning resources for older adults, such as cloud vision classes and community micro classes. The “Golden Classroom”, which has been especially designed for older people, has been watched more than one million times a day

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since its launch. At present, older adult participation in learning via different levels of education account for 40% of the aged population in Shanghai.

4.7  Final Observations After analyzing problems facing China’s older adult education supply and referring to the advanced experiences of Shanghai, the authors of this chapter argue that efforts can be made in the following aspects to address issues. First, specialized policies and regulations should be introduced to clarify management and supervision responsibilities and rights. Departments at the national and local level should keep on issuing specialized policies and regulations to detail ruling standards, enhance management mechanisms and development directions for older adult education, and strengthen the support for older adults’ education at the grassroots and rural levels. At the same time, China should reform the multi-party management mechanism of older adult education, promote cross-departmental cooperation in terms of funding, management and supervision, and optimize public resources allocation for older adult education. Second, multi-party resources should be integrated to develop communities for older adult education jointly. China should introduce diverse social networks to participate in developing the older adult educational cause. Communication and co-­ operation among the government, colleges, enterprises, and social organizations can be boosted to establish horizontally sharing and mutually-helping mechanisms. Also, older adult education resources should be introduced to the grassroots and rural level to enhance the interaction and exchange among educational organizations at different levels. At the community level, attention should be paid to integrating older adult education with community governance, volunteer services, and mutually-helping old-age care to ensure full utilization of resources for public services. Third, teaching research should be encouraged to improve teaching quality and forms. China should deepen fundamental theoretical research of older adult education and summarize practical experience to promote the scientific transformation of older adult education. Additionally, the government should encourage the evaluation of older adults’ real demands via scientific survey, which can help provide educational services to better meet learners’ needs and improve educational resources’ utilization efficiency. Meanwhile, educational content and forms should be enriched to accommodate both leisure learning and developmental learning needs of older adults and ensure older adults give full play to their autonomous learning abilities. Fourth, Internet Technology should be fully utilized to better develop online education. Information mechanisms, network platforms and social media should play a bigger role in developing online education, and provide more learning resources for older adults more efficiently. Last, but not least, network learning channels should be integrated and promoted, with offline learning sites set up to increase the accessibility of older adult education resources.

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References Cheng, X. P. (2020). Trends and counter-measures of balanced development of urban and rural education for the aged—From the perspective of resource allocation. Journal of Vocational Education, 36(06), 119–126. Chu, H. Q. (2013). The essence and evaluation of educational modernization—What kind of educational modernization do we need? Educational Research, 11, 4–10. Dong, Z. Y. (2001). Education and resources value elders in the new century. China Population, Resources and Environment, 01, 72–74. Du, P. (2021). Prospect of the development trend of the education level of older adults in China. Unpublished paper. Guo, H.  N., & You, S.  H. (2019). Difficulties and breakthroughs of rural older adult education under the background of rural revitalization. Journal of Vocational Education, 12, 91–98. Han, W., Li, J., Zheng, X., & Yu, W. Y. (2019). Research on co-ordinated development of urban and rural aged education—Taking Qinhuangdao as an example. Adult Education, 39(04), 41–45. Huang, J. L. (2020). An empirical survey on the learning needs of older adults from the perspective of social stratification. In J. L. Huang (Ed.), Study on the learning needs of urban elders from the perspective of social stratification—Take S city M district as a case (pp. 43–65). East China Normal University. Huang, S. Y., & Li, J. J. (2021). Exploration of the innovation path of education and teaching for aged learners in the information age. Continuing Education Research, 1, 46–50. Jiang, H. Y., & Zhang, X. P. (2003). Reconsidering the concept and the study mode of the modernization of educational administration. Theory and Practice of Education, 23(7), 18–23. Li, Y. D. (2021). A research into the supply-side reform strategy of the development of elder education in the new era: A case study of Zhejiang Province. Continuing Education Research, 1, 51–52. Li, Q., & Wang, Y. (2019). Contradictions between supply and demand of education for elders and the resolution mechanism: International experience and local enlightenment. Journal of Yunnan Minzu University Social Sciences, 36(06), 78–83. https://doi.org/10.13727/j. cnki.53-­1191/c.2019.06.012 Liu, L. (2015). The theoretical basis of developmental enjoyable education for older adults. In L.  Liu (Ed.), The study on the supply of the developmental enjoyable elder education in Shanghai (pp. 24–29). East China Normal University. Ma, L. H., & Ye, Z. H. (2018). Evolution and promotion strategies of elder education in the past 40 years of reform and opening-up. Nanjing Journal of Social Sciences, 09, 152. https://doi. org/10.15937/j.cnki.issn1001-­8263.2018.09.021 Mao, J.  R. (2017). Development of human resources as an important mission of elder education. Journal of Hebei Normal University (Education Science Edition), 1, 81–86. https://doi. org/10.13763/j.cnki.jhebnu.ese.2017.01.013 Ministry of Civil Affairs. (2004–2017). Statistics of students learning in China’s universities and schools for the older adults. Statistical Bulletin of Civil Affair. http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/ sj/tjgb/? National Bureau of Statistics. (2006–2017). Participation rate of schools for older adults in mainland China 2006–2017. Statistical Communiqué on National Economic and Social Development. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjgb/ndtjgb/ Rao, G. J. (2021). Research on elder education modernization from the perspective of supply-side reform. Continuing Education Research, 2, 34–38. Shanghai Health Committee. (2020). Statistical information of elder population and aging causes in Shanghai 2019. Song, R. F. (2018). Current situation of curriculum construction in Shanghai University for older adults. In R. F. Song (Ed.), Research on the current situation of curriculum construction in Shanghai University for elders (pp. 14–15). Shanghai Normal University.

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Wang, X. H., & Peng, C. (2020). A study of the trends of the characteristics of the elder population in China. Population and Society, 36(04), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.14132/j.2095-­7963.2020.04.003 Wang, Y., & Tan, L. (2011). Empowerment: Development of elder education in China. Population Journal, 1, 32–41. Wang, Y., & Wang, X. B. (2015). “New normal” of Chinese elder welfare: The social policy analysis of elder education. Social Sciences in Ningxia, 6. Wu, S. X. (2019). Historical retrospect and future prospect of the aged education in China—From the perspective of policy development. Adult Education, 6, 42–48. Yang, X. W. (2019). Towards 2035: The target orientation of China’s education modernization. Journal of Central China Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition), 5, 38–44. Yang, M.  J., & Mo, S.  K. (2020). Influences of ethnic and regional variances on older adults’ educational demands. Journal of Radio & TV University (Philosophy & Social Sciences), 02, 93–99. https://doi.org/10.16161/j.issn.1008-­0597.2020.02.015 Yang, Q.  F., & Wu, C.  P. (2014). Education for older adults is indispensable to China's active response to population aging. Lanzhou Academic Journal, 01, 68–72. Ye, Z. H. (2013). Several basic issues with the education of elders. Modern Distance Education Research, 6, 11–16. Ye, Z.  H. (2020). Strategic thinking on the reform and development of universities for elders under the background of informatization and intelligentization. Contemporary Continuing Education, 2, 4–8. Yue, Y. (2011). Discussion on the curriculum of university for elders. Chinese Journal of Gerontology, 31(20), 4077–4079. Zheng, G. C. (2020). Implementation of the national strategy of responding proactively to population aging. People’s Forum Academic Frontiers, 22, 19–27. https://doi.org/10.16619/j.cnki. rmltxsqy.2020.22.003 Gong Chen (陳功) is the Chair of the Institute of Gerontology and the Chair of the Institute of Population Research at China’s Peking University, Professor Chen has participated in many national activities or announcements in regard to an aging population for China’s central government, published more than 74 SCI/SSCI journal papers, 105 CSSCI/CSCD journal papers, 3 books, and co-authored 25 books. As the winner of over 20 national academic awards, Professor Chen is also in charge of over 30 national research projects.  

Yang Wang (汪洋) is a research assistant of the Institute of Population Research at Peking University. She has published four CSSCI journal papers and two international conference papers. Besides, she has contributed reports in the domestic academic forum many times, and has been deeply involved in the National Natural Science Foundation of China and other projects. Her research interest is in the education for older adults, with a focus on the comparison between domestic and foreign universities for the aged, in terms of university-running mode, educationalteaching methodology, educational policies and so on.  

Chapter 5

Lifelong Learning Among Older Adults in Singapore: An Overview Chin-Fai Leng and Wei-Loong Lim

5.1  Introduction In this chapter, we attempt to provide an overview of Singapore’s effort in promoting lifelong learning among seniors. We begin by describing the unique characteristics of Singapore that are instrumental in putting lifelong learning at the forefront of our national discourse. We then discuss the lifelong learning scene among seniors in Singapore according to three broad purposes. The first is the acquisition of work-­ related skills, the second self-development, and the third, community participation. We then proceed to highlight a few features that uniquely characterize Singapore’s lifelong learning movement. This is followed by noting some key challenges and finally envisioning possible future developments of lifelong learning in Singapore. It is hoped that this introductory chapter will aid readers gain an overview of lifelong learning in Singapore and with that spur interested readers to find out more about the topic. The quotes below are glimpses of how seniors benefitted from lifelong learning: I felt that my mind was still very active. The more I learn, the more I work, the more my brain was growing. In the past, I just stayed at home, and had a few friends, it was quite lonely. After going out [to attend courses], my social circle expanded, and I got to know more friends.

C.-F. Leng (*) Fei Yue Family Service Center, Singapore, Singapore Fei Yue Community Services, Singapore, Singapore e-mail: [email protected] W.-L. Lim Fei Yue Community Services, Singapore, Singapore e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_5

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C.-F. Leng and W.-L. Lim I think [after the course] I am able to understand myself better. And can adjust my emotions and feelings towards others as befits the situation and in control of my feelings. And I also get emotional support from [others] when you attend the courses. The courses that I chose and what I studied helped me in my work. This is why I find courses very important. Otherwise, I would not be where I am today.

The above comments are taken from a study to understand Singaporean seniors’ experiences with, and perception of, lifelong learning (Thang et al., 2012) that one of us (Leng, C.F.) was involved in. Similar findings were echoed by other studies that examined the impact of lifelong learning on older adults’ cognitive, social, emotional, psychological, physical, and occupational well-being (for example, Narushima et al., 2018). Lifelong learning not only benefits individual learners. A nation whose people participate actively in lifelong learning also profits economically and socially in the long term, especially at a time when the world over is grappling with rapid population aging and massive economic transformation. Regardless, promoting and inculcating lifelong learning is seldom a stroll in the park. It is fraught with challenges, and the experiences and success rates differ from one country or region to another.

5.2  T  he Singaporean Context for Lifelong Learning and Older Adulthood Lifelong learning is “the truly lifelong process of continuous learning and adaptation” (Knapper & Cropley, 1985, p. 18). It has a particular emphasis on learning beyond formal institutions of education and beyond the life-stages (usually early childhood to young adulthood) that are traditionally associated with formal education. In Singapore, Sung and Freebody (2017) traced the formal introduction of the term life-long learning to the government’s 2015 Budget Speech, but demonstrated that in reality, lifelong learning in Singapore harks back to its beginning as an independent nation in 1965, and has since been an integral part of nation building. Singapore is a small, resource scarce island nation state. It has often been said that Singapore’s only resource is its people. Therefore, investing in human capital and developing a skilled workforce has always been vital for economic and national development. The approach taken towards education is thus utilitarian, where preparing our learners for the world of work is one of the main thrusts in formulating education and training policies. Viewed from such a utilitarian lens, one can say that lifelong learning is not a new phenomenon that sprung up in recent years in the wake of a rapidly aging population. This is because besides investing heavily in formal education, the Singapore government has long put in place workplace training schemes and interventions to ensure that our workers are constantly upgrading their skills to remain adaptable and employable (Sung & Freebody, 2017). Nevertheless, a rapidly aging population has indeed exacerbated the advent and urgency of lifelong learning as a means to buffer the social and economic impact of population aging. Singapore’s population is aging at an unprecedented pace. It is

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estimated that by 2030, the number of residents aged 65 and above will reach 900,000, which means there will be one senior in every five citizens (Committee on Aging Issues, 2006). The United Nation’s projection placed Singapore’s rate of aging as second only to Japan and Korea by 2050, surpassing that of other developed countries like Australia, the United Kingdom and the US (International Longevity Centre Singapore, 2014). Singapore’s declining fertility rate, extended lifespan brought about by advancement in healthcare, and the aging of post-war baby boomers all contribute to the astonishing pace at which its population is aging. This population trend bears on lifelong learning in two main ways. First, a local study on lifelong learning found learning to positively correlate with education attainment (2017 Skills and Learning Study, cited in Chia et al., 2019). Lifelong learning participation among younger seniors (60–69 years old) is also higher compared to older seniors (70 years and above) (Goh, 2019). It can thus be inferred that baby boomers, being better educated, will view lifelong learning more favourably (Committee on Aging Issues, 2006). Therefore, we can expect greater demand for lifelong learning from the baby boomers cohort onward, and have to ready ourselves for the rising uptake of lifelong learning. Second, in view of population aging, having seniors continue to learn and upgrade to remain in the workforce can mitigate the economic and social burden of a shrinking workforce and an expanding population of older adults. This forms the first strand in the proceeding discussion of lifelong learning, that of learning to acquire work-related skills.

5.3  The Shape of Lifelong Learning for Seniors 5.3.1  Vocational Training The latest and perhaps by far most consequential iteration in this nation-wide work skills learning journey is the Skillsfuture movement launched in 2015. Skillsfuture aims to enable Singaporeans to “develop their fullest potential throughout life, regardless of their starting points” (skillsfuture.gov.sg), as well as to cultivate mastery of skills. Steered by a ministerial level committee, Skillsfuture brings together government ministries, the public and private sectors, educational institutions, and training providers to build a comprehensive lifelong learning infrastructure that assists Singaporeans to continually upgrade their skills or acquire new skills. Under Skillsfuture, every adult Singaporean is given an account with pre-loaded Skillsfuture credit for which they can use to take up a wide range of pre-approved courses. In addition, there are also the Skillsfuture study awards and the Skillsfuture fellowships. The former helps recipients who are pursuing formal education to defray their course expenses. The latter is a sector-specific grant that supports senior workers who are studying for higher degrees as part of sector-leadership development. Since its inception in 2017, the Skillsfuture fellowship has been awarded to 102 recipients (Skillsfuture website: https://www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/fellowships).

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Skillsfuture has evolved over the last few years. Most notably, the government has recently topped up the Skillsfuture accounts of Singaporeans aged 40 and above. In addition, those aged 40 and above can enjoy up to 90% subsidy for selected training, even before utilising their own Skillsfuture credits. Although Skillsfuture caters to every Singaporean adult, it particularly incentivises seniors to persist in learning for employability enhancement or mid-career switch. At the same time, the generous grants and subsidies also provide great impetus for employers to send their senior employees for training. Employers who actively champion employee learning also stand a chance to be awarded the Skillsfuture Employer Award to recognise their exemplary effort in promoting lifelong learning at their workplaces. In 2020, a total of 22 employers received the Skillsfuture Employer Award (Skillsfuture website: https://www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/employerawards). This brief description does not do service to Skillsfuture’s comprehensiveness as a long-term national policy. Interested readers are encouraged to consult scholarly papers such as those by Sung and Freebody (2017), Tan (2017) or the Skillsfuture website (http://www.skillsfuture.gov.sg) for details. In a society that has long placed a high premium on paper qualifications (see discussion by Tan 2017), Skillsfuture can be seen as part of a major attempt by the government to reshape the national narrative surrounding education and entrench lifelong learning in the collective consciousness of the nation. In recent years, government leaders have been driving home the message that in a fast-changing world where skills and knowledge become obsolete much more rapidly than a generation ago, possessing relevant skills and constantly upgrading skills will become increasingly more important than the mere narrow focus on academic achievements. The former Education Minister recently commented that individuals also need to proactively upskill and reskill to stay relevant. If there is one lesson that we must learn from this pandemic [COVID-19], it is that we must continue to be prepared for an uncertain and rapidly changing future. We need to update and upgrade the skills and knowledge we learnt in school. New jobs are continually being created, and even existing jobs are likely to change in form and scope, with technological changes. (Wong, 2021, Ministerial speech).

5.3.2  Learning for Self-Development Besides vocational learning, the second strand in Singapore’s lifelong learning journey is learning for self-improvement. Just as seniors who are in the workforce can tap into Skillsfuture resources to upgrade themselves, those who are out of the workforce can also utilize their Skillsfuture credits to attend self-improvement and enrichment courses. In its 2016 Action Plan for Successful Aging, the government laid out lifelong learning as a key strategy to helping its people age well. The Council of the Third Age (C3A, https://www.c3a.org.sg/microsite/index.html) is a government-linked company tasked to promote active aging. In 2016, the National Silver Academy (NSA,  http://nsa.org.sg) was set up under the C3A to build and

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coordinate a network of course providers that offer a wide range of learning opportunities for seniors. The type of courses offered include health and well-being, lifestyle and hobbies, literature, arts and music, language, life skills, smartphone usage and technology, and so on. Fei Yue Community Services is one such course provider. From the launch of NSA courses in June 2016 to 31 Jan 2021, Fei Yue Community Services has rolled out 258 NSA courses reaching a total of 3869 seniors who have chalked up an impressive participation rate of 10,461.

5.3.3  Learning for Community Participation The third group of seniors who engage themselves in lifelong learning are those looking to equip themselves with relevant knowledge and skills to contribute to the community. These seniors form the third strand - learning for community participation. Fei Yue Community Services currently has a pool of approximately 400 seniors who are actively volunteering themselves as community befrienders. Their main task is to reach out and befriend seniors in the community who are older and frail, or socially isolated. These volunteers undergo training to enable them to outreach more effectively. These trainings include relevant NSA courses and other specific training. Erikson’s classic psycho-social model of human development posits that the main psycho-social task of middle adulthood is generativity, which refers simply to midlife adults contributing to the next generation and to the community at large with their knowledge, expertise and experiences. Co-incidentally, the traditional Chinese saying “家有一老如有一宝” (jia you yi lao ru you yi bao) can be understood as seniors being highly esteemed and respected in family and society as treasure troves of wisdom from which the younger generation can tap. Social changes since Erikson’s time have prolonged the middle adulthood phase. Today, seniors who are in their sixties can still engage in generativity. However, in a fast-­ changing world where knowledge, skills and experiences become outdated much more rapidly than in the past, it can be said that continuing to learn becomes the main vehicle by which seniors can continue to fulfill their generativity role. Erikson further postulates that achieving generativity would lead to ego-integrity during old age, which is a state in which older adults look back on their lives, with all its successes and failures, with satisfaction and peace. Conversely, the failure to achieve generativity results in stagnation in life and subsequently a sense of despair instead of ego-integrity. It thus makes sense that in this day and age, lifelong learning plays an increasingly essential role in enabling seniors to complete their full life-course development on a positive footing. In the report to UNESCO on education, Delors (1996) laid out four purposes of education, which were termed the four pillars of education. These are (1) vocational learning or learning to do; (2) gaining knowledge or learning to know, which mainly entails formal education; (3) personal growth or learning to be; and (4) social participation or learning to live together. In this respect, the three lifelong learning strands in Singapore coincide respectively with three of the four pillars – learning to

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do, learning to be and learning to live together. At this juncture, it should be mentioned that Chia et al. (2019) added two pillars to complement Delors’ original four. These are Technologies for Learning and Learning to Learn. While Delors’ four pillars identify the purposes of learning, Chia, Sheng and Sung’s two additional pillars refer to two crucial enablers of learning – usage of technology and acquisition of learning strategies. More will be discussed about these two pillars in later sections.

5.4  C  haracteristics of Singapore’s Lifelong Learning Movement From the foregoing discussion, three unique characteristics of lifelong learning in Singapore can be observed. Firstly, as Sung and Freebody (2017) point out, the launch of NSA and the proliferation of NSA courses thereafter represent a paradigm shift in lifelong learning from the utilitarian approach to a more social and humanistic outlook. Lifelong learning is no longer merely an economic enabler; it is also crucial for productive aging (Thang et al., 2019). Thang et al. (2019) pointed out that although productivity has traditionally been associated with paid work that serves economic purposes, others have argued for a broader perspective that construes productive aging in terms of one’s personal and social development. Through this lens, productivity not only refers to economic gains but also to seniors living a life that is “fulfilling and meaningful beyond the economic notions of work” (p. 42). Finally, in a fast-changing and rapidly aging society, seniors may find it challenging to fit themselves into the world around them. In this respect lifelong learning also facilitates seniors’ social integration (Goh 2019). The second characteristic is that the lifelong learning movement mainly takes on a top-down approach, with the government setting the blueprint and driving the movement, which is quite reflective of Singapore’s paternalistic style of governance. This might differ from other regions of the world where lifelong learning takes a more ground-up approach, where communities, grassroots people, and professionals adopt more active roles in setting the lifelong learning agenda and driving the movement. Having said that, as Singapore’s population becomes better educated, more exposed, vocal and politically conscious, the government has progressively adopted a more open, consultative and participatory approach to governance. As much as it sets the policy surrounding national and local issues, it encourages conversations at local community level and ground-up solutions regarding these issues. This is somewhat reflected by the third characteristic, that is, the implementation of a lifelong learning program in Singapore is via a contractual model. In the contractual model, the government outsources the services and programs to external entities (community agencies, higher learning institutions, etc.) on a contractual basis, while it provides the fund and sets out key performance

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indicators. Entities who are awarded the contracts are given substantial freedom to create and manage their own lifelong learning programs. This hybrid of top-down and bottom-up contractual model has several advantages. First, as the government only sets the broad perimeters, operators on the ground enjoy the flexibility of developing and customizing programs to meet the needs of different groups of senior learners. This allows a multitude of diverse lifelong learning programs to flourish, which ultimately benefits the learners. Second, the government’s provision of funds and subsidies means that operators need not worry about the cost of setting up and sustaining their programs, and learners are also relieved of the concern over the affordability of the courses. This has resulted in a greater outreach as seniors from all walks of life are able to join in the learning. Third, this decentralised approach also has made lifelong learning more accessible for seniors as they can conveniently attend courses at a community agency located within proximity to their homes. In addition, with the government acting as the main coordinator, lifelong learning programs and activities can be rolled out and managed in a more organized and impactful manner. For instance, the government can steer lifelong learning to align with its social and healthcare policies as laid out in its master plan for active aging. Moreover, as the government has a bird’s eye view of all the existing courses, it can flag excessive duplication of courses and streamline them, identify gaps and promptly take steps to bridge these gaps, perform data analytics, quality monitoring and evaluation to further develop the sector, and quickly disseminate information to ground operators. Overall, this approach has seen an effective division of labour between policy makers and ground operators as each party contributes according to its area of expertise. It has also led to a variety of lifelong learning programs to flourish that cater to the varying profiles and needs of senior learners. Nevertheless, such an approach is not without its limitations. A contractual model inevitably breeds competition among agencies contending for the contracts. Such competition, if not managed well, may potentially result in lowered program quality, to the detriment of seniors’ learning experiences. Furthermore, a funder-­ dominated model such as this also implies that the funder may choose to impose its agenda on operators if it deems fit to do so. This may result in programmers’ creativity being curbed to some degree when new ideas that do not align with the prevailing agenda are less likely to receive funding. As apparent, while lifelong learning as a phrase was only formally introduced into the public discourse in 2015, it rides on a long history of work skills enhancement interventions and successive waves of national active aging planning that began with the formation of the first committee to study aging issues led by the Ministry of Health in 1982. Skillsfuture and the NSA are important milestones in this journey. These initiatives triggered the swift formation of extensive networks and collaborations among players at different levels to create a wide repertoire of opportunities and incentives for seniors to participate in lifelong learning, which is in turn pivotal in lifelong learning quickly gaining traction among seniors. Nevertheless, there remain a few challenges that need to be addressed.

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5.5  Key Challenges Ahead First, there are still segments of the older adult population who have not caught on to lifelong learning. It is therefore important to be cognizant of the barriers that are hindering some seniors from participating in learning. A few roadblocks that have been identified are an “I am old” attitude, low self-efficacy, skepticism, health problems, as well as time and financial constraints (Chia et  al., 2019; Maulod & Lu, 2020; Thang et  al., 2019). In Thang et  al.’s (2019) study of seniors who were engaged in lifelong learning (learners) and those who were not (“non-learners”), “non-learners” who held the “I am old” mindset mentioned that their mental capacities were declining and hence would not be able to learn new things. It appears that when seniors adopt an “I am old” attitude, their self-efficacy is also affected. In response, lifelong learning providers can draw on theories and research in socio-­ emotional and cognitive development in middle and older adulthood to design courses and instructional methods that suit the learning motivations and learning styles of seniors, so as to optimize learning outcomes. An example of such theories is Baltes and Baltes’ (1990) selective optimization with compensation theory (SOC). According to the SOC theory, aging is characterized by both the decline in physical ability and cognitive processes, and the ability to grow and adapt due to the mechanisms of plasticity. Therefore, optimal aging is achieved when older adults selectively narrow in on the functioning domains in which they wish to enhance or grow, while finding ways to compensate for the declining abilities. There is some promising evidence of the positive effects of interventions modelled after the SOC theory on learning, occupational, and well-being outcomes (Freund & Baltes, 1998; Müller et al., 2018). Theories such as the SOC can be used to design pedagogies that suit the developmental characteristics of older adults, and thereby enabling seniors to learn effectively and boosting their self-­ efficacy in learning. Closely related to those with the “I am old” mindset are the skeptics, or those who deemed learning to be useless and unnecessary (Maulod & Lu, 2020; Thang et al., 2019). To reach this group of seniors, we must first recognize that there are multiple channels of learning, hence not participating in structured programs does not imply that one is not learning. A case in point is Thang et al.’s (2019) study which shows that although “non-learners” were not engaged in any formal or non-­ formal learning, they were learning on their own through watching television, reading newspapers and surfing the internet. Thang et al. (2019) mentioned three forms of learning, namely formal and non-formal learning, and informal learning. Formal learning refers to structured learning that takes place in educational settings and leads to some form of certification; non-formal learning is learning for skill improvement, and usually takes place outside of formal education settings. Formal and non-­ formal learning are both structured learning. In contrast, informal learning refers to learning that takes place in the context of daily living, such as learning through watching television programs, reading newspapers, surfing websites of interest or social networks. As Thang et al.’s (2019) study shows, informal learning may be

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more palatable for skeptics who are not ready to take up formal or non-formal learning for various reasons. Therefore, related parties can consider systematically studying and capitalizing on informal learning in more structured, intentional and concretized ways. Next, the lack of technological know-how has also been a persistent roadblock to seniors up taking lifelong learning. Chia et  al. (2019) report that learning in the “technology for learning” domain declines with age and rises with education level. This means older adults and those with lower educational qualifications are less likely to participate in learning that requires technological know-how compared to the younger age groups and those with higher education attainment. We are nevertheless hopeful that these trends can be bucked with the Baby Boomers who are better educated transiting into older age. In the past year, we have also seen the technology barrier exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic when all learning activities had to be done online. At the same time, the pandemic has also accelerated the pace of seniors learning to use technology to navigate the new normal of everyday life. As a result, we have also observed a growing number of seniors embracing the use of technology, although more still needs to be done to ensure that older adults as a cohort are able to harness technology to enhance their learning. Besides barriers, it is equally pertinent to have a good grasp of the motivational factors and enablers of lifelong learning among seniors. Maulod and Lu’s (2020) study of NSA learners suggests that seniors are more likely to participate in lifelong learning if the learning is accessible and affordable, and offers personal development opportunities. In particular, learning should ideally enable senior learners to adopt new roles and through that enhance a sense of purpose, leading to them staying productive, healthy and independent. Furthermore, the same study found instructors who are relatable, empathetic and engaging tend to attract more learners.

5.6  Possible Future Developments Looking beyond the horizon, what can we envision in the next iteration of Singapore’s lifelong learning campaign? We would like to offer four thoughts. First, we have seen that we are well on our way to fulfilling three of Delors’s (1996) four purposes of education in our lifelong learning journey, namely learning to do (vocational learning), learning to be (learning for self-development), and learning to live together (learning to contribute to the community). The fourth pillar, learning to know, refers to educational attainment through formal learning, such as studying for a degree. One commentator (Basu, 2015) noted that although the number of Singaporean seniors going back to school to pursue degrees has been increasing, we still have some way to go compared to other places such as the US, Japan and Hong Kong. This can be attributed to several reasons. The first reason is that Singapore does not yet have a community college sector that provides affordable degree-bearing programs. Although community colleges cater to learners from various age groups, they are particularly appealing to mature

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learners who wish to pursue formal tertiary education. Relatedly, the financial cost of a tertiary education and the limited number of places for adult learners in local institutes of higher learning are also major hindrances. Other than one university specifically set up to educate working adults, the majority of institutes of higher learning (IHL) currently provide adult education through their continuing education units, which seldom confer degrees, and are still largely focused on work-related training. Furthermore, the utilitarian mindset towards education can also potentially hold seniors back from embarking on formal education (Tan, 2017). As education has conventionally been seen as a means to some practical, employment-related returns, and not an end in itself, seniors may hesitate to invest considerable time and finances in formal education at an advanced age merely for the enjoyment of gaining knowledge. In this respect, more can be done to create the right conditions for seniors to pursue formal education. As mentioned earlier, Chia et al. (2019) added two more pillars to Delors’ (1996) original four. These two pillars are Technologies for Learning and Learning to Learn. The former refers to the use of technology for learning which has already been discussed earlier, and the latter denotes learning about learning skills, techniques and strategies. Both pillars serve to enhance learning effectiveness and optimize learning outcomes for seniors if they can gain some degree of mastery in both. Developing these two pillars are therefore crucial for learning to be sustainable. Thirdly, local lifelong learning research is still in a nascent phase. Although there have been a handful of studies examining different aspects of lifelong learning (for example, Ko, 2020a, b; Maulod & Lu, 2020; Chia et al., 2019; Thang et al., 2012, 2019), more research at different levels is needed to shed light on the issues that are important to the success and sustainability of lifelong learning. Finally, besides learners, policy makers and course providers, we should not forget another group of people who form a vital link to the success of lifelong learning, and these are the educators. In this regard, there is a need to develop a pool of high-quality educators to support the expanding adult education landscape, within which lifelong learning is nestled. The Institute of Adult Learning (IAL), an institute of the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), is the agency that leads this effort. IAL provides continuing professional development training programs and qualification courses that train adult educators. From April 2019 to December 2020, close to 4800 learners had passed through the doors of the IAL’s qualification programs. And amidst COVID-19 (April to December 2020), IAL’s online continuing professional development training attracted more than 3000 learners. As of 31 December, IAL’s adult education network boasted a membership of 7000 (Institute of Adult Learning Singapore, 2021). These figures are encouraging for a young profession. It is hoped that with the right incentive, training and career advancement prospects, more people representing a diverse range of expertise would join the profession and take up adult education as a career.

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5.7  Concluding Remarks In this chapter, we have provided an overview of the lifelong learning situation in Singapore. Economic pursuit and a rapidly aging population form the main backdrops for Singapore’s lifelong learning movement, which is a continuation and expansion of long-standing workforce training endeavors. There are currently three main lifelong learning strands. The first comprises seniors in the workforce who engage in work-related learning, the second and third are made up of seniors in the community who participate in learning for personal growth and for contributing to the community. This is not meant to impose a rigid and artificial demarcation of seniors, but to aid unacquainted readers to quickly grasp the lifelong learning scene in Singapore. Singapore takes on a mainly top-down approach and a contractual model in implementing lifelong learning schemes and activities, yet it retains sufficient space for ground-up solutions to germinate. Where things stand presently, there are still segments of the older adult population who have not joined the lifelong learning bandwagon. Hence, more needs to be done to bring these yet-to-reach seniors into the lifelong learning fold. Looking ahead, fostering a conducive environment for seniors to pursue formal education, building up seniors’ capability to use technology for learning, imparting seniors with effective learning strategies, conducting lifelong learning research and developing adult education capability are all essential to support the long-term sustainability of lifelong learning in Singapore.

References Baltes, P., & Baltes, M. (1990). Psychological perspectives on successful aging: The model of selective optimization with compensation. In P. Baltes & M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (European network on longitudinal studies on individual development) (pp.  1–34). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/ CBO9780511665684.003 Basu, R. (2015, June 28). More seniors back in school. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes. com/opinion/more-­seniors-­back-­in-­school Chia, Y.  S., Sheng, Y.  Z., & Sung, J. (2019). Lifelong learning and ageing: Evidence from Singapore. Ethos, 20, 22–31. Civil Service College. Committee on Aging Issues. (2006). Report on the ageing population. http://app.msf.gov.sg/ Portals/0/Summary/research/CAI_report.pdf Delors, J. (Chair) (1996). Learning, the treasure within: Report to UNESCO of the international commission on education for the twenty-first century. International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, UNESCO Pub. Freund, A. M., & Baltes, P. B. (1998). Selection, optimization, and compensation as strategies of life management: Correlations with subjective indicators of successful aging. Psychology and Aging, 13(4), 531–543. https://doi.org/10.1037//0882-­7974.13.4.531 Goh, V. (2019, November 1). Getting more Singaporean seniors to learn. The Straits Times. https:// www.todayonline.com/commentary/getting-­more-­elderly-­singaporeans-­learn Institute of Adult Learning Singapore. (2021). Annual report Apr 2019 – Dec 2020: Inspire, advocate, lead: Advancing towards a continuous learning future. IAL Singapore.

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International Longevity Centre Singapore. (2014). A profile of older men and women in Singapore 2014. Tsao Foundation. Knapper, C. K., & Cropley, A. J. (1985). Lifelong learning and higher education. Croom Helm. Ko, H. (2020a). Teaching older adults: An instructional model from Singapore. Educational Gerontology, 46(12), 731–745. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2020.1807689 Ko, P. (2020b). Investigating social networks of older Singaporean learners: A mixed methods approach. Educational Gerontology, 46(4), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/0360127 7.2020.1726595 Maulod, A., & Lu, S.  Y. (2020). “I’m slowly ageing but I still have my value”: Challenging ageism and empowering older persons through lifelong learning in Singapore. Educational Gerontology, 46(10), 628–641. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2020.1796280 Müller, A., Angerer, P., Becker, A., Gantner, M., Gündel, H., Heiden, B., Herbig, B., Herbst, K., Poppe, F., Schmook, R., & Maatouk, I. (2018). Bringing successful aging theories to occupational practice: Is selective optimization with compensation trainable? Work, Aging and Retirement, 4(2), 161–174. Narushima, M., Liu, J., & Diestelkamp, N. (2018). Lifelong learning in active ageing discourse: Its conserving effect on wellbeing, health and vulnerability. Ageing and Society, 38(4), 651–675. Sung, J., & Freebody, J. (2017). Lifelong learning in Singapore: Where are we? Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(4), 615–628. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2017.1386090 Tan, C. (2017). Lifelong learning through the SkillsFuture movement in Singapore: Challenges and prospects. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 36(3), 278–291. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/02601370.2016.1241833 Thang, L. L., Leng, C. F., Yow, A., & Cai, Y. H. (2012). Lifelong learning among older adults in Singapore. Report by Fei Yue Community Services. https://s3-­ap-­southeast-­1.amazonaws.com/ c3a-­java-­files/52d3ec9b09b2bfea918e7915dfd39f00.pdf Thang, L. L., Lim, E., & Tan, S. L. S. (2019). Lifelong learning and productive ageing among the baby-boomers in Singapore. Social Science and Medicine, 229, 41–49. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.08.021 Wong, L. (2021). Speech by Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Education, at the Skillsfuture Fellowships and Skillsfuture Employer Awards Ceremony, at Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Ministry of Education. https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/speeches/20210120-­speech-­ by-­mr-­lawrence-­wong-­minister-­for-­education-­at-­the-­skillsfuture-­fellowships-­and-­skillsfuture-­ employer-­awards-­ceremony-­at-­sands-­expo-­and-­convention-­centre Chin-Fai Leng (凌展輝) has double Master degrees in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore and in Counselling from the National Chinan University, Taiwan. ChinFai was the  Executive Director of Fei Yue Family Service Centre and Fei Yue Community Services for thirty years, managing a wide range of social and community-based health services, including five family service centers, and fourteeen centers for seniors’ engagement in Singapore. In 2021, he relinquished his position after thirty years at the helm and is currently Senior Consultant at the two organisations.   

Wei-Loong Lim (林偉倫) is a Principal Research Executive at Fei Yue Community Services in Singapore, where he is actively involved in conducting social service research and evaluations, and supporting the agency in utilizing research to inform practice. He has been involved in several research projects that examine the experiences of older adults in different life situations, such as living alone, divorce and widowhood, caregiving, intergenerational interaction, and access to social care services.  

Chapter 6

An Appraisal of Korean Seniors’ Education Soo-Koung Jun

6.1  Introduction South Korea is one of the fastest population aging countries in the world (BBC, 2019; UN, 2019). Korea became an aged society in 2017 as the ratio of older persons aged 65 over, reached 14.2% (KNSO, 2020). The United Nations (UN, 2019) projected that Korea will have the largest increase of older persons for the period between 2019 and 2050, followed by Singapore and China, including Taiwan. Population aging is a natural consequence of social development brought about by society’s economic stability and technology development. However, in the case of South Korea, population aging is a result of various factors. Its rapid economic growth brought about an increase in life expectancy; the aging of the baby boomers, and changes in marital and family values led to extremely low birth rates. These factors have resulted in a serious aging problem that is rapidly progressing, leaving the people with not enough time to prepare nationally and personally for a productive later life (Han, 2015). South Korea has been mostly focused on the urgent challenges of political democratization and economic development. Consequently, there is a lack of preparation on population aging; and South Korea has not been able to pre-emptively respond to the crisis of future demographic changes (Han et al., 2021). An aging population can take its toll on society, via an increased burden of support for elders, and a decreased working population. Thus, it is imperative that older-age education, known as lifelong education for older adults, should be revitalized to help minimize the negative effects of an aging population on society. Moreover, elderly people can lead a vibrant old age by utilizing the assets and wisdom of their life experiences. In this way, they give back their wisdom based on considerable life experience to society (NILL, 2020).

S.-K. Jun (*) Namseoul University, Cheonan, South Korea © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_6

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6.2  Key Concepts 6.2.1  The Concept of Older Adulthood In general, chronological age is the commonly used standard to categorize groups of older people. In the past, the people in Korea celebrated one’s 61st birthday, as the moment of entering into the later period of one’s life. In modern times, this concept is changing and older adulthood is classified differently according to certain laws. The Welfare of Senior Citizens Act recognizes people who are 65 years old or older as “elderly”. In comparison, the Act on Prohibition of Age Discrimination in Employment and Elderly Employment Promotion considers those who are 55 years of age or older as older people (older workers). According to this law, there is also the notion of quasi-older people who range from 50 to 54.

6.2.2  The Concept of Older Adult Education In Korea, educational programs for older people have been differentiated in three categories: education for older people; education by older people; and education about older people. Han (2015) introduced the triarchic concept of senior education in the field of educational gerontology in Korea, using Peterson’s concept of educational gerontology. Peterson (1976) suggested three domains within the field of educational gerontology: education for older adults; public education about aging; and the education of professionals and paraprofessionals in the field of aging. In Korea, Han (2015) added to these domains another, education by older people, meaning educational programs in which older people teach other people, including the younger generation. Education by older people is intended to convey valuable experiences, knowledge, and skills throughout the life of seniors to future generations. Education for older people is mainly aimed at helping them to lead a more creative old age in each institutional branch of older people’s associations, churches, welfare centers, and public institutions. The focus of older adult education is to convey information about old age, pertaining to elders’ interests and hobbies, knowledge and skills for employment and service, and information for adapting to social changes. Education about older adults is not limited to what has been taught in elementary, middle and high schools, universities, and social education institutions. Education about older adults includes retirement preparation for those who are about to retire, and seniority education for those who are engaged in or want a job related to working with seniors. On the basis of this classification, this chapter focuses on the first area which is education for older adults.

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6.3  Historical Background to Lifelong Education In 1970, South Korea’s first lifelong education institution for older adults opened in Beomil-dong, Busan. It was the Hanul Senior Citizens’ University. Subsequently, a retirement life lecture was delivered at the Seoul Lifelong Education Center in 1972 (Han, 2015). Since then, lifelong education facilities for older adults have spread rapidly, centering on religious institutions and private organizations, as explained below. In the case of South Korea, still in the 1960s, after Japan’s colonization and the Korean War, economic development was the first goal in the whole society and welfare for older people was outside governmental attention (Jun, 2014). Thus, interest in lifelong education for seniors originated from the private sector. However, in 1978, the Ministry of Education (MoE), published the Senior Class Installation Guidelines and designated elementary school classrooms as The Senior Class in each district. This was intended to support the operating expenses of establishing the Class for the Elderly. Later, in 1981, the Korean Adult Education Association (KAEA) operated the largest number of senior classes, which were then absorbed by the Korean Older People Association (KOPA). KOPA restructured the organization into school districts and started to operate the Senior Class (Jun & Evans, 2019). In 1987, as a result of the re-organization of the government, lifelong education for seniors was transferred from the Ministry of Education (MoE) to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) because MoHW took care of seniors. The school district senior classes in elementary schools were gradually incorporated or abolished in the senior university under the KOPA branch. In 1998, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MoEHRD) took a role to improve senior education. Based on research work to support lifelong education practices and policies for elders, Park Jae-Gwan established the Korea Senior Citizens’ Research Institute in 1975. In 1976, the Senior Welfare Research Institute was established under the Korean Social Work College, which is now Daegu University. In 1978, the Korean Gerontology Association was founded providing increasing attention to the aging phenomenon. However, their research mainly focused on the welfare of the older people or on a wide range of studies about older adulthood. The extent of lifelong education for seniors was very insignificant (Han, 2015). Academically, discussions on lifelong education for older adults began with Kim Jong-seo. In 1986, Kim Chan-Jong received his doctorate at Asia Union Theological University for his dissertation on A Study on the Elderly Education Program as a Welfare Program. In 1987, Kim Jae-in at Ewha Women’s University earned her doctorate for her work on A Study of Interrelationship between Participants of Older Adults in Social Educational Activities and their Life Satisfaction. As a discipline, lifelong education for older adults continued until the early 1990s without receiving much attention. However, in 1994, Han Jeong-Ran obtained her doctorate degree for An Action Research on the Curriculum Development of the Aged at

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Yonsei University. Similarly, Huh Jeong-Moo received his doctorate at the Korea National University of Education for A Study on the Aged Schoolteachers’ Preparation for Retirement and Retired Schoolteachers’ Social Adaptation. From this time forward, the field of academic research on lifelong education for older adults began to expand (Han, 2015).

6.4  Korean Older Adult Education Laws and Policies 6.4.1  T  he Welfare of Senior Citizens Act Concerning Older Adults There are three leisure facilities for seniors incorporated within The Welfare of Senior Citizens Act: Senior Welfare Centers, Senior Classes, and Senior Community Halls. Most of the leisure welfare facilities for older people are occupied by the Senior Community Halls (97.4%), followed by the Senior Classes (2.0%), and the Senior Welfare Center. By law, senior community halls (Kyungrodang), are situated in villages and urban apartment complexes. According to the regulations on housing construction standards under The Housing Act (from 1993), in a housing complex that builds 150 or more houses, senior community halls (Kyungrodang) must be installed. The number of senior classes whose main purpose is to provide educational opportunities for older adults is relatively larger in urban areas than in non-urban areas. Fortunately, the overall number of leisure and welfare facilities for seniors continues to increase (Tables 6.1 and 6.2).

6.4.2  The Lifelong Education Act (LEA) In 2000 The Lifelong Education Act (LEA) was implemented in Korea, aiming to develop a learning society following the international trend. In 2008, reflecting on the accomplishments and limitations identified since 2000 under the LEA and changes that had taken place in the policy environment, the government initiated a revision of the Law. The LEA clarified the scope and field of lifelong education, Table 6.1  The increasing number of senior leisure facilities Total Senior Welfare Center Senior Community Hall Senior Class

2016 66,787 350 65,044 1393

2017 67,324 364 65,604 1356

Source: e-National Indicator, https://www.index.go.kr/

2018 68,013 385 66,286 1342

2019 68,413 391 66,737 1285

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Table 6.2  Articles of the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act for senior leisure facilities Classification Details Senior Class Definition Facilities aimed at providing healthy hobbies, maintenance of elders’ health, income security, and other daily life-related learning programs to satisfy older people’s desire to participate in social activities. Programs must be conducted at least once a week Facility Capacity: 50 or more Office, restroom, lecture room (more than 33 sq.m.) Offices and rest rooms can be combined with lecture rooms as long as they do not interfere with senior education Staff One facility head, instructor (including external instructor) Users People over 60 years Definition Facilities for the purpose of providing various information and Senior services for seniors’ culture, hobbies, and social participation Welfare activities, providing health promotion, disease prevention, income Center security, home welfare, and other services necessary for the welfare of the older population. Facility A total floor area of 500 sq.m. or more Offices, restaurants and cooking rooms, counseling rooms (visiting rooms), meeting rooms (auditoriums), program rooms (suitable cultural facilities and entertainment equipment must be provided), restrooms, physical therapy rooms, emergency disaster preparedness facilities A computer that can access electronic information through the Internet can be installed in the game room. Staff Head of facility (Certificate of Social Worker level 2 or higher), physical therapist, clerk, cook, one manager Two or more counseling instructors (persons who hold social worker licenses and who consult and guide the welfare of seniors, such as maintaining their health and engaging in leisure activities) Users People over 60 years Definition Facilities aimed at providing a place where local older people can Senior autonomously promote friendship, hobbies, joint workplaces, Community exchange various information, and engage in other leisure activities. Hall Facility The national or local governments should develop and distribute standard models and programs with regional and functional characteristics in order to revitalize the Senior Community Hall. 20 or more users (10 or more in the case of eup/myeon areas) Toilet, living room or lounge (more than 20 sq.m.), electrical facilities Users People over 65 years old Source: Edited from the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act, the Welfare of Senior Citizen Act -Enforcement Rule

defining it as “all types of systemic educational activities other than regular school education” (Article 2 in LEA), which includes education for diploma achievement, basic adult literacy education, vocational capacity-building education, liberal arts

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Table 6.3  Articles of the lifelong education law on elderly education Classification Definition

Articles Article 2

The Philosophy of Lifelong Education State and Local Government Duties

Article 4 Paragraph 1 Article 5 Paragraph 1 Article 5 Paragraph 4

Details Lifelong education refers to all types of systematic educational activities including education supplementary education, adult basic and text acquisition education, vocational competency improvement education, humanities, liberal arts education, culture and arts education, civic participation education, etc., excluding the regular school curriculum. All citizens are guaranteed equal opportunities for lifelong education. The state and local governments should establish and promote lifelong education promotion policies so that all citizens are given opportunities for lifelong education. The state and local governments shall actively encourage the implementation of lifelong education for the managers of organizations, facilities, and workplaces under their jurisdiction.

Source: The Lifelong Education Act 2008

education, culture and arts education, and education in civic participation (Jun, 2014; MoEST, 2009). In terms of policy implementation, the 2008 LEA presents an administrative structure that works across central, metropolitan and municipal governments. At the central government level, the National Institute for Lifelong Learning (NILL) was launched under the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MoEST) in February 2008. Under the Law, the NILL was given full responsibility for work related to promoting lifelong education in Korea, administering the Academic Credit Bank System, and operating the Bachelor’s Degree Examination for Self-­ Education (MoEST, 2009). The provisions of The Lifelong Education Act (LEA) for older adult education are shown in Table 6.3. At present, there is no direct reference to lifelong education for older people in the LEA.  So, reference to seniors needs to be inserted in the future. In the LEA, there is no mention of facilities related to senior citizen education (senior schools, senior citizen colleges, religious facilities, etc.). Effort must be made to amend the law for designation and management of various older persons’ education-related facilities.

6.5  Key Policies of Education for Older People Since the Lifelong Education Act was implemented in 1998, the Ministry of Education has actively conducted policy research related to lifelong education for older adults. Here, the various pilot projects related to lifelong education for seniors between 2000 and 2006 are described.

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6.5.1  The Senior Education Expert Training Course The Senior Education Expert Training Course became a policy operated by the Ministry of Education (then the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development) from 2000 to 2004. It was selected and supported by a university-­ affiliated lifelong education center. It operated a training course to develop “excellent” elder education experts by region. The focus was shifted from “older adult welfare” to “older adult education” in order to help develop the skills of older persons. A total of over 4000 people completed the older adult education expert course over a period of five years. The tuition fee for the training course was free, as it was supported by a government subsidy from the Ministry of Education (Lee, 2008). Selecting trainees after completion of the course was a significant venture. The trainees were selected as potential workers or volunteers at facilities related to seniors’ education, or those who had majors in education related to older adult education, or those who had related qualifications to work at facilities related to seniors’ education. The operation of the curriculum is shown in Table 6.4. This project ended in December 2004 due to suspension of financial support from the Ministry of Education.

6.5.2  G  olden Color (Geumbit) Lifelong Education Volunteer Group In 2002, the Golden Lifelong Education Volunteer Corps was organized in 16 local lifelong education information centers across South Korea to utilize professional retirees as volunteers. Volunteers are composed of professional retirees aged 55 or older such as teachers, public servants, private experts, etc. They are selected on the basis of career and expertise qualifications rather than academic background. ‘Golden’ comes from the concept of the gold collar, which is in reference to a professional individual. The Corps taps into retirees with specialized knowledge and skills as volunteers in the field of lifelong education in the local community. The Corps seeks to revitalize lifelong education in the local community and expand the social participation of the retirees. The educational service areas of the Golden Color (Geumbit) Lifelong Education Volunteer Corps are shown in Table 6.5.

6.5.3  The Senior Community Hall Support Project The Ministry of Health and Welfare operated the Senior Community Hall Operation Innovation Project in order to allow the Senior Community Hall to function as a regional welfare and information center for older people. The Senior Community

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Table 6.4  Changes in the curriculum of the senior education expert training course 2000–2001 Subjects Gerontology; Older Adult Education and Welfare related Laws; Older Adult Education Opportunities and Methodology; How to Operate a Seniors’ Education Institution

2002 Gerontology (6); Introduction to Older Adult Education (6); Practice of Seniors’ Education Administration and Management (15); Theory of Learning for Older Adults and the Practice of Counseling for Elders (12); Older Adult Education Methodology (9); Older Adult Education Program Development (15); Volunteering for Older Adults (6); Field practice (6)

Hours

75 h

72 h

2003–2004 Common Introduction to Gerontology (6); subjects Introduction to Older (84) Adult Education (6); Older Age Development and Learning for Seniors (12); Older Adult Education Methodology (12); Older Adult Education Program Development (18); Senior Counseling (9); Older Adult Education Administration (9); Volunteering for Older Adults (6); Older Adult Education field practice (6) Adaptation Education Selective after Retirement, subjects Older People’s Health (6) Care, Death Recognition and Preparation, The Silver Industry, Leisure and Recreation for Older Persons, etc. 90 h

Source: Lee (2008)

Halls (Kyungrodang) are matched to the Senior Welfare Center in the region. The Senior Welfare Center connects, co-ordinates, and supports programs and services for the Senior Community Halls. It has activated various supported programs, such as the education for older people living alone. This program is conducted for two hours once a week and conveys information on health, nutrition management, and simple physical function maintenance programs (Table 6.6).

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Table 6.5  Four types of educational service according to activity area Lifelong Education Service for Marginalized People Literacy, English, computer education for women, older people, and the disabled Boy and girl householder learning guidance Low-income children - after school instruction, etc.

School Education Support Special activity guidance Youth counseling Fairy tale Story Reading instruction, etc.

Community-specific Lifelong Education Historic sites and museums – Guide/ helper Local environmental keeper Foreign workers

Others Legal counseling Consultation on civil affairs For the general public-Calligraphy, Computers, etc.

Source: MoEHRD (2003) Table 6.6  Senior community hall operation innovation project program areas Field Health exercise

Details Support for health exercise programs to maintain and improve the physical and emotional health of older people Healthcare Health checkup, oriental medicine treatment, etc. to maintain and promote the physical and emotional health of older people Education Provision of educational programs for older people to lead a healthy Counseling retirement life by providing various education such as retirement life and information and communication. Leisure activity Provision of programs to maintain healthy leisure and hobbies for older people through various recreational activities such as singing classes Enhancement of Sex education, abuse prevention education, etc. to promote the rights and rights interests of older people Social Volunteer activities such as cleaning up local communities, collecting participation recycled products, and juvenile safety guards, centered on using senior citizens Source: MoHW (2020)

6.6  T  he Current Status of Participation in Lifelong Education for Seniors The Ministry of Education and Korea Education Development Institute (2020), revealed in the Lifelong Learning for Adults in Korea (2020) that older people aged 65–79 years participate less in lifelong learning programs than other adult groups (Table 6.7). Using 100 points as the perfect score, the study revealed lifelong learning outcomes of seniors (65–79 years old) in this descending order of significance: increased psychological satisfaction and happiness (85.9 points), improvement of friendship (78.2 points), health management (77.7 points), self-development such as

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Table 6.7  Adult participation rate in lifelong learning (formal or non-formal) by age Age Participation rate (%)

25–34 50.2

35–44 46.4

45–54 39.9

55–64 33.9

65–79 29.5

Total 40.0

Source: KEDI (2020)

cultivation and knowledge acquisition (74.8 points), social participation (67.4 points), and acquisition of skills necessary for working (60.7 points).

6.7  Current Institutions and Practices Looking at the education programs for seniors currently operating in South Korea according to institution, it can be interpreted that it is largely run by social welfare centers, general welfare centers for older adults, the Senior Class supported by the KOPA, lifelong learning centers and honorary universities (akin to French style U3As) provided by formal colleges, religious institutions, government organizations and private organizations. Since there is no standardized curriculum for an educational program, there are differences in the content and composition, as well as the method of operation of each institution.

6.7.1  The Social Welfare Center Project In 2021, there are 472 social welfare centers in Korea (http://www.kaswc.or.kr). The Social Welfare Center under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) operates various welfare programs for all ages, and it also operates a number of education and leisure programs for senior citizens. They provide health care, life and psychological counselling, education and leisure programs, volunteer groups and job hunting for seniors for free or at a low cost.

6.7.2  T  he Senior College (Class) Supported by The Korean Older People’s Association The Korean Older People’s Association (KOPA) is a corporate judicial entity with the largest subscribers and size among the senior-related organizations in Korea. As of December 2020, it has 245 Si/Gun/Gu branch offices nationwide and 2055 ri/ dong-level branch offices. One of the major projects of the KOPA is the management of senior citizens colleges, which is largely divided into three different levels: Senior Leaders’ Colleges, Senior Colleges, and Senior Community Hall Senior

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Classes. There are 12 Senior Leaders’ Colleges, 327 Senior Colleges and 64,640 Senior Community Halls supported by the KOPA. For the purpose of nurturing and educating older leaders, the Senior Leaders’ College is composed of educational content such as the role of elder leaders, liberal arts subjects, health management, and domestic and international circumstances. The Senior College has an objective of making the rest of older people’s lives worthwhile by providing programs relating to gaining respectability and senior citizen dignity, cultivating the ability to adapt to modern society, redeveloping seniors’ potential, and providing knowledge about senior health management. The Senior Community Hall Senior Class has a large proportion of programs related to health, exercise, food and nutrition. Also, it operates some programs such as filial piety, the role of the elders, and interpersonal relations (Han, 2015; Jun, 2014; Jun & Evans, 2019).

6.7.3  U  niversities’ Lifelong Education Centers and the Honorary University The senior education program operated by a university’s lifelong education center has the advantage of older adults being able to learn high-level knowledge from professors and experts. Although there is a demand from older learners who want a university education, there is a barrier that education costs are expensive compared to other older adult education facilities. The honorary university supplied by formal universities is a system in which classes of undergraduate students in the university are open to seniors. And if an older adult takes certain credit courses for a certain period, an honorary diploma is awarded in the name of the university president. A University’s Lifelong Education Center and the Honorary University give seniors an opportunity to learn high-level academic studies, and enjoy contact and interaction with the younger generation. In addition, it provides prospects to meet fellow seniors with similar interests in the field. Currently, it is operated by Kyungpook National University, Chonbuk National University, and Sunchon National University.

6.7.4  Religious Institutions The senior citizen education program operated by religious institutions has the purposes of education concerning missionary work of the religion, enhancement of faith, and the ability to live a religious life and reflect on one’s self. Educational content is often composed of events such as religious life education, education to help people understand and adapt to old age, and education for a healthy life. In addition, there are excursions, pilgrimages, field trips, and other related activities. In

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2018, out of 1332 senior class operating institutions, religious institutions were at 744 (55.9%). Since religious facilities are not obligated to report the operation of senior citizens’ education, it is difficult to determine its exact status (Son et  al., 2018). The Presbyterian denomination runs the Association of Senior Education, and in 2005, 566 churches were members of this Association. The Methodist church runs 78 senior schools. The Catholic Church organization takes care of 147 educational institutions for older people (circa 2005). 19 Buddhist senior schools are run nationwide (Kim, 2008).

6.7.5  Other Government and Private Organizations Other government agencies and private organizations that support and provide education for older adults include lifelong educational institutions of the Ministry of Education, museums, libraries, and women’s centers. In particular, the Ministry of Education offers and supports educational programs to help vulnerable groups i.e., low-income people, low-educated people, older people and the disabled. Additionally, the teacher training center under the auspices of the provincial office of education operates a retirement education program for those who are expected to retire. In Korea, from 2000 onwards, the Ministry of Governmental Administration and Home Affairs (MoGAHA) has set up at each village office a community centre, which is called the ‘Citizen Self-governed Centre’. Citizen centres provide learning programs, and, in particular, hobbies that are related to all, including older people.

6.8  Key Issues As the importance of older adult education is emphasized, education for seniors is generally expanding. At this time when the providers for older adult education diversify and the boundaries are blurred, there is a growing concern and need to clarify and classify programs according to the perspectives of older people. It is necessary to consider a mix of age-segregated and age-integrated options for optimizing older people’s needs. It can be seen that older adult education differs according to the purpose of each institution. In connection to this, it is necessary to expand the educational programs not only for instrumental purposes, but also to reflect the unique educational needs of older people. It is imperative to find a way to provide lifelong education information and resources of the community to all older people. In the future, the needs and characteristics of lifelong education participants are expected to change significantly, especially as baby boomers are predicted to show their desire for education in different areas than the current older adult generations.

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References BBC. (2019). South Korea’s population paradox. Generation Project, Population Paradox. https:// www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191010-­south-­koreas-­population-­paradox. Han, J. R. (2015). Educational gerontology. Hakjisa. Han, J. R., Kim, Y. S. & Jun, S. K. (2021). A study on the vitalization of lifelong education for the older people in response to an aging society. Policy Research Project Report, Ministry of Education. (Unpublished). Jun, S.K. (2014). A comparative study of two non-credit educational organisations for older people: The University of the Third Age (U3A) in the UK and the Senior University (SU) in South Korea (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Institute of Education, University College London, University of London. Jun, S. K., & Evans, K. (2019). Third age education and the senior university movement in South Korea. In M. Formosa (Ed.), The university of the third age and active ageing (pp. 219–231). Springer. Kim, O. CH. (2008). Korean policy for education of older people. Jibmoondang. (In Korean). Korea National Statistical Office (KNSO). (2020). Statistics on older persons. KNSO. Lee, H.  Y. (2008). A study on training policy for professionals of elder education in Korea. Unpublished MA dissertation, Seoul National University. Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MoEHRD). (2003). 2002 Geumbit lifelong education volunteer group project evaluation report. MoEHRD. Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MoEST). (2009). Republic of Korea, National report on the development and state of the arts of adult learning and education. 6th international conference on adult education, CONFINTEA, UNESCO. MoEST. Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW). (2020). Senior health welfare program guide. MoHW. National Institute for Lifelong Learning (NILL). (2020). 2019 lifelong education white paper. Peterson, D. A. (1976). Educational gerontology: The state of the art. Educational Gerontology, 1(1), 61–73. Son, E. S., Han, J. R., & Jun, S. K. (2018). A study on the development of an elderly class (senior university) education program for the design of three times life plans in an ageing society. Ministry of Health and Welfare. UN. (2019). World population ageing 2019. https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www. un.org.development.desa.pd/files/files/documents/2020/Jan/un_2019_worldpopulationageing_report.pdf Soo-Koung Jun (전수경) holds the post of Assistant Professor at Namseoul University in South Korea. She achieved a B.A. in education from Chungnam National University and an M.A. in education as well as from Seoul National University. She was awarded a Ph.D. in 2014 under the supervision of Professor Karen Evans at the Institute of Education, University of London. Her Ph.D. thesis was titled “A comparative study of two non-credit educational organizations for older people: The University of the Third Age in the United Kingdom and the Senior University in South Korea”. Her research interests are in educational gerontology and professional learning.  

Chapter 7

Learning as the Key for the 100-Year Life Society: The Experience of Policy and Practice in Japan as a Super-Aged Society Atsushi Makino

7.1  I ntroduction: The Era of 100-Year Life and Social Change The era of 100-year life has arrived. It has already been half a century since Japanese society entered the aging phase. The average life expectancy of Japanese as of 2018 is 81.3 years for males and 87.3 years for females, and the most frequent age of death is 87 years for males and 92 years for females (Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, hereafter abbreviated as JMHLW, 2019a); the projected average life expectancy for children born in 2007 is 107 years (U.C.  Berkeley and Max Planck Institute, 2021), The aging rate in 2017 was 27.7% and the number of people aged 75 and over has exceeded half of the older people population (JMHLW, 2019b). Under these circumstances, policy makers are trying to find a way to change society’s outlook from pessimism about a super-aged society to hope for the 100-­ year life society. This reflects the policy intention to promote the revitalization of society and reduce the financial burden on older people by positioning them as active players in society, rather than as targets of counter-measures as in the past.

A. Makino (*) Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_7

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7.2  Towards the 100-Year Life Society 7.2.1  The Super-Aged Society as the Issue The pessimism concerning the super-aged society had spread all over the country in Japan for about 30 years. A movement trying to dispel this pessimism has now been born. In Japan’s society, the declining birthrate and the lifespan extension have caused rapid aging and an abrupt population reduction at the same time. Moreover, the generation of baby boomers has already reached retirement age, and some of them are becoming over 75 years old. Facing such a situation, it is no exaggeration to say that pessimism has become epidemic in this society, enhancing the theory of an aged society crisis. We have political issues called the 2025 problems (JMHLW, 2017). They are: • • • •

The baby boomer generation will become late elderly over 75 years old One in three people will reach over 65 years old One in five people will be over 75 years old 12 million people in the population (i.e., 10% of the population) will suffer from dementia • The total population will begin to decrease by 1 million people every year, and by 2050, the current population of 126 million will be 97 million. • Social security expenses will increase from 120 trillion yen to 150 trillion yen as a special account in the government budget. (The general account of Japan was about 100 trillion yen in 2018). In order to address this crisis, older people have become a policy problem, and its solution has become a major policy issue. Moreover, the ever-growing number of older people has been attracting attention in economic terms as the only expanding market in the society. In this society, people see the aged society as the society of older people and solving the problem of them as a target will lead to a reduction of the social burden, and also have economic merit as well. However, various initiatives, including policies, from this point of view, have had little success up to now.

7.2.2  Development of Policies for Older People in Japan Japan’s policies for older people began in the 1960s. In 1963, the Welfare Law for Older People was enacted, which led to the establishment of special nursing homes for older people and the legislation of home helpers for them. As Japanese society entered an aging society in 1970, personal medical expenses for older people were made free of charge in 1973. After the high economic growth came to an end in 1973 and the country entered a period of stable growth, the Health Care Law for Older People was enacted in 1982, and a system of partial payment of medical

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expenses for older people was introduced, which became the foundation of today’s medical care system for older people. In 1989, the so-called Gold Plan (a 10-year strategy for the promotion of insurance and welfare for older people) was formulated to deal with the ever-increasing number of older people, and it called for the urgent development of facilities for older people and the promotion of home welfare. In 1994, when Japanese society entered the aged society stage, the government further developed the New Gold Plan (a new 10-year strategy for the promotion of health and welfare for older people). In 1999, the Gold Plan 21 was formulated, which further promoted a shift in the view of older people and called for the construction of a vibrant image of them and the formation of supportive communities. In 1996, the governing parties reached an agreement on the establishment of a long-term care insurance system, and in 1997, the Long-Term Care Insurance Law was passed, and in 2000, this system went into effect. This law was subsequently amended in 2005, 2008, and 2011. The direction of the amendments was to focus on preventive care, to promote mutual assistance in local communities, and to propel long-term care services based on the home. To this end, the construction of a comprehensive community care system was advocated, and the establishment of home care support centers was called for. In 2014, this was legislated in the Act on Comprehensive Assurance of Community Healthcare and Nursing Care, which clearly shifted the responsibility for the welfare of older people to the local community through the deployment of life support co-ordinators and the establishment of community care councils in local governments. Furthermore, in order to respond to the ever-increasing number of dementia patients and their care needs, the so-called Orange Plan, a five-year plan for the promotion of dementia measures, was created in 2013, and the New Orange Plan, a revision of the plan, was formulated as early as 2015. The plan calls for the creation of a living-together society that accepts dementia patients as well.

7.2.3  Shifting Perspectives to an Era of 100-Year Life Japan’s policies and measures for the ever-aging society as described above, however, have rarely worked effectively. This is because Japan’s super-aged society policy has been conceived as an extension of the existing welfare policy. This was based on the perspective that older people are objects of welfare, that they have already retired from the front lines of society and should be protected socially. However, the Japanese government had a major problem that required a change in its super-aged society policy. The rapid demographic change with a declining birthrate and an aging population has negated the traditional economic development model, and tax revenues have continued to decline. In addition, the ever-increasing older people population, especially those in the later stages of life, has led to a rapid increase in social security expenditures, which has exacerbated the budget deficit. Furthermore, Japan’s pension system was designed based on inter-generational dependency, and with declining birthrate and aging population, the pension burden

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on older people is falling on the younger generation, increasing the sense of inequity between generations. It has also been pointed out that the conventional welfare policies have made many older people more dependent on the government, causing them to lose their motivation and vitality in life. The combination of these circumstances resulted in the 30-year pessimism on an aged society covering the society, as already mentioned. Against the backdrop of these negative circumstances, Japan’s super-aged society policy has been forced to make a major shift in its fundamental perspective. In the 2010s, a major policy shift took place: social policy based on the concept of a 100-year life span.

7.3  S  hifting Views on Older People and New Research Findings 7.3.1  “Learning” Becomes the Issue This shift in the perspective of social policy was supported by the publication of a series of new research findings that led to a change in the view of older people. What these studies have all pointed out is that older people are not to be protected as in the past, but that they are capable of and willing to live a full life if certain conditions are met. These conditions are connections with others, a sense of owning one’s place in society, and the subjective feeling of well-being that these connections bring. In order to make policy on this subjective feeling of well-being, learning was considered. Through learning, older people can connect with others, feel that they are useful to society, and feel that society depends on them.

7.3.2  The Importance of Connection for Older People To realize this image of older people, it is necessary for all generations involved with them to build relationships with each other so that they can experience the joy of living, and it is important for them to continue to participate in society throughout their lives as they live out their 100-year lives. Some examples follow from research findings that support such a policy shift. In a large follow-up study conducted by Tomo Hirayama and associates on a cohort of older people in Shizuoka Prefecture over a period of nine years, they examined the effects of factors related to exercise, nutrition, and social participation on mortality in older people (Hirayama et al., 2012). Among older people, the mortality rate of those who had good exercise and nutrition habits was about 30% lower than that of those who did not have good exercise, nutrition, and social participation habits within the same period, and the mortality rate was about 50% lower when social participation habits were present. In addition, nutritional factors were not

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significant in the results. The study concluded that social participation is suggested to be a new pillar of health promotion (Hirayama et al., 2012). This research result strongly endorses the three key pillars of active aging as health, participation and safety identified by WHO (2002), especially the importance of participation. There is a study by Hiroshi Hirai and associates that followed about 10,000 older people in the Tokai region for three years to determine the risk factors for them to be certified as needing nursing care, with the objective variable being certification (Hirai et al., 2009). The study mentioned that the following factors were found to be associated with a higher risk of needing nursing care: walking less than 30 minutes, going out less often, meeting friends less than once a month, not participating in voluntary meetings, not working, not doing housework. Of these factors, “voluntary social participation” and “work” are thought to be related to social participation. The risk for older people without voluntary social participation was 1.33–1.43 times for men and 2.17–2.59 times for women compared to those who participated in voluntary associations. The risk for older people without work was 1.54–1.75 times for men, and 1.81–1.82 times for women. This factor is also considered to be a complex one that is related to the frequency of going out and meeting with friends, and is also closely related to the subjective feeling of good health.

7.3.3  New Capabilities of Older People Takao Suzuki and Jinhui Kwon found significance in their study on longitudinal and cross-sectional changes in physical functioning of the 1992, 1998, and 2002 cohorts of older people living in the same area. For example, the normal walking speed of the older people in 2002 was about 10 years younger than that of them in 1992. Furthermore, this trend can be pointed out for other changes in physical functions as well. Suzuki and Kwon conclude as follows: Although there is some variation (3 to 11 years) depending on the measure, it seems certain that both male and female are getting stronger and younger. This suggests that the entry of younger generations into old age, along with increased life expectancy, will not necessarily result in a frail aged society (as is commonly advertised), but in a vibrant older society (at least for the time being) (Suzuki & Kwon, 2006, p. 10).

Cornelius and Caspi’s research on the cognitive abilities of older people has modified the traditional findings of short-term memory-centered changes in cognitive abilities, revealing that older people have cognitive abilities other than so-called short-term memory, that more than compensate for their decline, namely, everyday problem-solving and language (vocabulary) abilities. Moreover, it is interesting to note that education, as represented by schooling, has little to do with everyday problem-­solving skills, although it is deeply related to language skills and influences short-term memory (Cornelius & Caspi, 1987).

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Rather, experience is related to language and constitutes a new ability for older people. It seems that this new ability is also facilitated by social participation, that is, participation in activities in relation to others. In addition to these arguments, it has been reported that older people choose more effective strategies for solving everyday interpersonal problems by mobilizing their past experiences. This may indicate a new ability of them in solving everyday problems, especially in forming interpersonal relationships.

7.3.4  I mportance of Social Relationships and the Subjective Feeling of Well-Being In parallel with this debate over the social participation of older people, the following argument also exists. Holt-Lunstad and associates found that there is a significant correlation between mortality and social connectedness among older people (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). The meta study by Holt-Lunstad et al. re-analyzed data from 300,000 people in 148 studies that examined what factors influence mortality. The study revealed that factors related to human/social relationships have a stronger influence than factors that are considered to be strongly related to health, such as smoking, alcohol intake, exercise, and BMI. In this discussion, it is suggested that social relationships is a concept that is related to the subjective feeling of well-­ being, since social relationships, especially connections, affect the health of older people and have a strong influence on mortality, and the amount of social support also has an impact. Chan examined this point from the perspective of isolation. In her report, she explained the situation of older people in Singapore, and noted that although the traditional multi-generational household is on the decline, new multi-generational cohabitation is on the rise as the percentage of young couples who work together increases, and the question is how cohabitation between older people and children affects the health and mortality of older people (Chan, 2014). Chan’s study dealt with loneliness on a personal level, asking how does isolation correlate with mortality, independently of health? And how do the various dimensions of loneliness affect mortality? She suggested the following conclusions as the result of her study: social relationships, or lack of them, have a significant impact on biomarkers. Chan summarized these findings: loneliness has a significant impact on individual mortality, regardless of the individual’s social network, living arrangements, or health status, and as a variable independent of these factors. Chan goes on to point out that the results show that loneliness is deeply linked to an individual’s subjective feeling of well-being and affects mortality, and that the provision of multi-­ generational housing and measures to enable cohabitation are effective in shaping policy. However, this is not enough. It is necessary to focus society’s attention on the kind of co-residence, including social support, rather than on the fact that

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co-residence functions as a relief. The subjective feeling of loneliness caused by isolation affects an individual’s risk of death as an independent variable (Chan, 2014).

7.4  T  he Development of New Policies for a Super-Aged Society 7.4.1  The Council for Designing 100-Year Life Society In response to those shifts in perspective, policy proposals were issued in rapid succession. One example is as follows: The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the party in power, has been examining the state of the super-aged society for the past 10 years, and has already stopped calling it an aged society and started calling it the 100-year life society. Since we have created a good society in which everyone can aspire to live for 100 years, we should create a society in which all generations can live a full life, instead of treating older people as a problem. In response, the Prime Minister’s Office established The Council for Designing 100-year Life Society in September 2017 and issued this basic concept for the following year (The Council for Designing 100-year Life Society, 2018). The following four issues have been discussed in this context. One is recurrent education and relearning for independence. The second is to reform universities to achieve this objective. The third is to reform the employment system to increase the degree of its freedom and expand employment opportunities for older people, and the fourth is to change people’s outlook on life to see life as multi-stage. To this end, the government is trying to ensure that people can create and lead their own lives independently by switching the social security system to a system for all generations by enhancing opportunities for lifelong learning. Why is it important for this to happen? Again, it is to relearn to be independent, to create one’s own life, to guarantee opportunities for lifelong learning and to reconfigure social security as a livelihood security system for all generations.

7.4.2  Discussion of the Strategy for a Super-Aged Society The government created the Outline of Measures for a Super-aged Society in 2018 (Cabinet Office of Japan, 2018). It stipulates that an aged society is a society in which not only older people but all generations can lead full lives. It also points out the importance of the following three things. First, there should be no disparity or discrimination based on age. The second is to place emphasis on local communities, where all generations can envision their own aging years. The third is to utilize the results of technological innovation.

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A society based on local communities, where people of all generations can actively participate in society, build connections, and live in peace, is what an aged society should look like. In other words, it is a society in which everyone can play an active role in all areas. In addition, the Cabinet Office has a conference body called Choosing the Future 2.0, and in its latest report, it describes the society to be chosen as follows. That is a society as one where people interact and support each other based on local communities, creating an open society where fair competition can take place, resulting in an outpouring of creative human resources, innovation, and a high degree of freedom in the way people work. In this context, biometrics technology is the key factor (Choosing the Future 2.0, 2020).

7.4.3  The Need to Rethink the Concept of “Learning” To realize such a super-aged society, it is necessary to encourage active social participation not only by older people, but also by all generations, so that each person can fulfill his or her life as an actor in society. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to learn and it is important to connect people through learning. In this context, there is a need to rethink the concept of learning and to create policies for multi-­generational interaction over a 100-year life. Japanese government policy is now focused on community and resident learning. For example, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has begun to emphasize the importance of communities in forecast of the rapid increase in the number of dementia patients in the near future, and in addition to the traditional approach of welfare, they are advocating an approach of community development, and at the intersection of these two approaches, they are calling for building a “platform for encounters and learning” (JMHLW, 2019c, p.16). In other words, it is a platform where people can interact and learn from each other. This is the process of learning as a way for people to interact, create mutually recognized relationships, continue to transform their communities, and continue to be reborn as actors of new value creation and transformation. In line with these policy shifts, emphasis is being placed on raising the motivation for social change through mutual learning among residents in small communities.

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7.5  Learning and Local Communities Come into Focus 7.5.1  “Learning” as a Lively Movement I have called this the formation of a small society by all residents. The core of creating a small society is learning, and this learning is not limited to the transmission and handing down of knowledge and culture as it was in the past, but is a lively movement of relationship-building driven by the mutual relationships in the daily lives of multi-generational residents (Makino, 2017). In such a society, people will no longer be able to use the knowledge they have learned in the past based on a single set of values throughout their lives, but will be required to constantly update their knowledge and continue to create new values. It is necessary to relearn (Central Education Council, 2015). Moreover, in such a society, every person will be a creator of value, a subject of dialogue with others, and a leader in the creation of society. All people, from children to older people, will be required to create, carry, and drive this society as “full members of the society” and we will be asked to find ways to make this possible. Every stage of people’s lives reaching 100 years will become indispensable to society (Makino, 2017). In this society, older people will not be the target of policies and measures, but will be the main players. Envisioning an era of 100-year life will inevitably lead to a call for increasing the sustainability of this society, in other words, for society to nurture the next generation (Central Education Council, 2015). In such a value-­ pluralistic society, education (national education) should not be dominated by the uniform sense of values of a large national unit, but rather be controlled by the local community unit, where various residents create various values in their daily lives. It is necessary for children to grow up with diverse people and create themselves as subjects who create and change diverse values. In the same way that older citizens change their position from being the object of counter-measures to being the bearers of society, children change their position from being the object of protection and education to being the main actors in creating value. At this time, they together create local communities. This is a movement in which residents themselves play a leading role in their daily activities. I would like to call this the lively movement of people’s learning. Learning and local community will become the theme to create a new way of society.

7.5.2  The Local Community as a Circular Movement of AAR In any community developing practice, there is a period that appears to be a kind of stagnation, but in fact, underneath the surface, various thoughts and feelings are mixed up, and various attempts to overcome resignation and somehow change the reality are being made in an unconscious way, which can be called an embryonic

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period (Odagiri, 2014). If we observe this process in detail, we can find, at various points in the process, what we might call points of resilience, where people try and stop, give up and try again, and try to change the status quo. As each of these processes takes place in succession and overlaps, it creates a reverse critical point to revive (Makino, 2020). If we observe these points of resilience in detail, we can see the way people are transforming each other mentioned above. It is a cyclical movement that should be called AAR (Anticipation-Action-Reflection) (See Fig. 7.1). The learning movement of people in local communities is a present-based process, which can be called forward casting, in which people constantly reconfigure their relationships with others, regenerate themselves, and then try to develop these relationships into the nature of local communities. Since we do not really know what the future holds, we try one thing at a time to cast (shape) the future. In this sense, this process involves trial-and-error, is optimistic, and inductive. Above all, it is an open-ended way of thinking that does not deny various possibilities, in the sense that it starts from the present and tries to find and shape a better future (OECD, 2018) (See Fig. 7.2). Moreover, this process always incorporates reflection after trying, which leads to the next thought, and the process is continuously driven by the excess of post-­ confirmation. Therefore, the starting point of this process should not be Plan (P) but Anticipation (A), which includes the meaning of thinking something pleasant or good. This kind of constant process of AAR is developing at the points of resilience, which gradually reconfigure people’s relationships and consciousness, and leads to the feeling of “Let's do it!” (Makino, 2020).

Fig. 7.1  The Dividing Line between Revitalization and Extinction of Rural Areas. (Source: Makino, 2020)

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Fig. 7.2 The AAR Circulation Movement as an Open-ended Trial and Error. (Source: Makino, 2020)

7.5.3  The Nature of Residents as a Mutating Relationship There is an objectification of the process itself, as if there is no single purpose, but only to keep doing. And this is also the cycle that is happening to the relationship between young and older people. They themselves have become the parties in the relationship of their interaction. What is important here is the involvement of each resident from his or her own standpoint. The fact that they are different from each other mutually stimulates each other and drives people toward a new relationship. What is more, it is the imagination and consideration of each person for the other that is at work. By activating these things in the grassroots relationships among people in the local community, the society will have a vitality that is constantly developing. In the process of developing this process, people become involved in the process from their own standpoints, and this involvedness brings about new awareness and discovery of the community, as well as meaning and value. It can be seen among children involved in this project that their perspectives on older people in the community have changed, leading to a transformation in their view of the community itself, which in turn has led to a return to self-awareness. Here, we can find a movement in which the relationships that are created through mutual acceptance are transformed through the interaction between the feelings toward the other person and the consciousness that returns to oneself from the other person each time, while constantly renewing one’s involvement. Through the development of the process, the residents are created as a mutual between-ness.

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7.6  Conclusion: Learning as the Process to Create the Sense of Trust From now on, it will be necessary for society to be organized not as a cohesive, homogeneous, and closed framework based on belonging and dependence, where people surrender themselves to external norms, but as an open relationship based on people’s spontaneity, autonomy, and a sense of trust. What is required is to create many small societies where people can recognize their own social existence through others in a mutually visible relationship, and to find a pathway for older residents to create their own relationships with others, to take charge of society, and to manage it. At that time, the ties that bind people together and create a society are for each person to fulfill his or her own role and to take ownership of the joy of realizing their hopes, in other words, to play a leading role in society. Learning is rather about creating this kind of self with others, being an actor and unconsciously thinking and imaging about others, while creating relationships that play a role in the local community, which in turn drives them to create a new place of interaction in the local community. Learning is actually the process of creating a sense of trust. This kind of learning based on imagination and consideration may become the new normal of people’s life in the post/with COVID 19 era.

References Cabinet Office of Japan. (2018). Outline of measures for an aged society. Cabinet Office. Central Education Council, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2015). The way of cooperation and collaboration between schools and local communities for the realization of education and local development in the New Era and future promotion measures (Report). Chan, A. (2014). Aging and social policy in East and Southeast Asia, Institute of Gerontology, The University of Tokyo, International Symposium 2014 “Roadmap to a Vibrant Super-Aging Society – 2030/2060” Report, March 2014, p. 108, Report slide 24. Choosing the Future 2.0. (2020). Choosing Futures 2.0 Interim Report, July 2020. https://www5. cao.go.jp/keizai2/keizai-­syakai/future2/chuukan.pdf Cornelius, S.  W., & Caspi, A. (1987). Everyday problem solving in adulthood and old age. Psychology and Aging, 2(2), 144. Hirai, H., Kondo, K., Ojima, T., & Murata, C. (2009). Examination of risk factors for certification of need for nursing care among elderly people living in the community: A 3-year follow-up study of the AGES project. Japanese Journal of Public Health, 56(8), 501-512. Hirayama, T., Sato, K., Takada, K., & Ohta, H. (2012). The influence of exercise, nutrition, and social participation on mortality based on the Cohort study of the elderly in Shizuoka prefecture, 58th annual meeting of the Tokai Society of Public Health. Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T.  B., & Layton, J.  B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7(7), e1000316. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pmed.1000316 Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (JMHLW). (2017). The 1st study committee on the future of nursing homes, etc. Document 4: The future of aging: The image of a super-aged society in 2025. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/shingi/2006/09/dl/s0927-­8e.pdf

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Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (JMHLW). (2019a). Summary of simplified life tables for 2018. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/life/life18/dl/life18-­15.pdf Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (JMHLW). (2019b). White paper on the aging society in fiscal year 2008 (Full Version). https://www8.cao.go.jp/kourei/whitepaper/w-­2018/ zenbun/30pdf_index.html Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (JMHLW). (2019c). Interim report of the study group for the promotion of a community-based society where residents live together. Makino, A. (2017). Making all people full members of the society: New direction of lifelong learning policy and practices in Japan. Asia Pacific Education Review, 18(2), 203–217. Makino, A. (2020). Implementing “learning” in  local communities: Considering the process of party formation through imagination and consideration (Part4). Monthly Kominkan, 763, 18-21. Odagiri, T. (2014). Rural areas will not disappear. Iwanami Publishing Inc. OECD. (2018). The future of education and skills. Education 2030 Position Paper. http://www.oec. org/education/2030/E2030%20Position%20Paper%20(05.04.2018).pdf Suzuki, T., & Kwon, J. (2006). A study of longitudinal and cross-sectional changes in physical function in the Japanese elderly. Indicators of Health and Welfare, 53(4), 8. The Council for Designing 100-Year Life Society. (2018). Basic concept of the human resource development revolution. U.C. Berkeley (USA) and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (Germany). (2021). Human mortality database. https://www.mortality.org WHO (World Health Organization). (2002). Active aging: A policy framework. http://apps.who. int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/67215/WHO_NMH_NPH_02.8.pdf?sequence=1 Atsushi Makino  (牧野篤) completed a PhD in Education from Nagoya University, Japan. Professor Makino teaches in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo. With a specialty in Lifelong Learning, Professor Makino is also the Vice-Director of University of Tokyo’s Institute of Gerontology (IOG). He has been a member of the Lifelong Learning Sub-committee of the Japanese Government since 2015. As an influential scholar, Professor Makino has more than 30 other social appointments, and has given over 400 domestic or international presentations.

Part III

Past and Present Taiwanese Senior Learning Developments

Chapter 8

An Outsider’s Perspective on Taiwanese Senior Learning Developments Brian Findsen

8.1  Introduction 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 my professional observations from several visits to Taiwan, the first of which was in 2013, it is also complemented by my overall experiences in conferences and allied events and reading of pertinent literature on lifelong learning and later life learning. After reviewing historical/cultural dynamics, I look into the current character of senior learning in Taiwan and then provide observations of practices in three Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs), and finally, point out some challenges and issues ahead.

8.1.1  My Positionality I have worked at three universities in Aotearoa New Zealand, undertook doctoral studies at North Carolina State University in the mid-late 1980s and worked at the University of Glasgow, 2004–2008. The latter portion of my career as a professor of education was located at the University of Waikato (Hamilton) where I began my early adult education practice as a program developer in the University’s Center for Continuing Education in 1979. In semi-retirement I agreed to the invitation from the National Chung Cheng University (CCU) to be a visiting scholar beginning in September 2019 and finishing in January 2020 (just prior to covid’s spread globally). There were three visits in this period related to my status as a visiting scholar. I also presented at international conferences in 2013  in Chiayi and in 2018 B. Findsen (*) Division of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_8

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(Taipei – December 5; Chiayi – December 7) on aspects of learning in later life. My visits were supported too by the Center for Innovative Research on an Aging Society (CIRAS) at CCU. As a guest of CCU I was treated with considerable respect and enjoyed fine hospitality (accompanied by my wife, Caterina, for the 2019–2020 visits) while I undertook teaching in various adult learning/education classes and generally supported the academic culture of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education (DACE). In my earlier teaching experiences, more particularly at the University of Waikato, around half of my international students were from Confucian-Heritage Countries (CHCs) of East Asia (Chui, 2012). As a Westerner, my orientation academically has been aligned traditionally to European/American literature, boosted by many visits to the USA/Canada and the UK/Europe for study leaves and conference participation primarily in the field of educational gerontology. However, increasingly, my focus has been on older adult learning in the Asian context, having visited most countries in East Asia, including other authors’ countries in section 2 of this book. An important caveat regarding Western/Eastern perceived differences on culture and pedagogy needs to be added. Generalizations concerning the learning propensities and capabilities of Asian/Taiwanese students/adults in which they are stereotyped as recipients of banking education (Freire, 1984) are only partially valid. The tendency of CHC students to be respectful of the teacher’s authority, to listen politely to the “wisdom” of the teacher, to seek harmony in teacher-student relationships and consensus in decision-making (Kee, 2007) is often accepted by Western academics as taken for granted and treated sometimes as oppositional to a critical pedagogical stance (Brookfield, 1987). In this increasingly globalized world, amid the covid pandemic, the learning predilections of Chinese/Taiwanese students appear to be moving in stronger humanistic directions (discussed further below).

8.2  Broader Historical/Cultural Influences While some of historical/cultural phenomena are covered in other chapters, it is important to provide a broader context to developments in Taiwanese society before focusing on its education system. Current educational practices are directly related to historical events, cultural influences and accompanying social change.

8.2.1  Confucian Ideology Several scholars in the literature have discussed Confucian influences on the values, beliefs and behavior of East Asian/Taiwanese people. In a book analyzing non-­ Western perspectives on learning and knowing (Merriam, 2007), a chapter written by a Korean author (Kee, 2007) tracks how Confucian philosophy is grounded in four cardinal principles – humanity or love (which translates into an emphasis on

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social harmony and peace), faithfulness and justice, propriety, rite and ritual, and wisdom (p. 153) – that eventually influence what happens in education. Kee argues that the legacy of Confucianism shapes “the moral and legal system, the way of life, and social relations between old and young” (p. 156). Focusing on Confucian educational philosophy, Sun (2010) attests to Confucius holding fast to principles as follows: re-establishing conditions of good government and morality (p. 62); non-­ discrimination in education among people of different social backgrounds; promoting education for the common people (p. 63). Daily and regular activities of “actions of love, benevolence, filial piety, loyalty, trust and propriety” (p. 65) are characteristics rooted in Confucian thought. In relation to lifelong learning, Sun points to the alignment of this holistic theoretical framework to orientations of both humanism and pragmatism. While Confucianism as an ideology may explain some of the emphases in Taiwanese society and education system, history accounts for other understandings about current practices.

8.2.2  Historical Events Historical events have helped to form Taiwan’s current society. According to Huang (2005), significant changes have included the end of colonial occupation by the Japanese after 50 years, the move from a largely agricultural and youthful society to an industrial, mainly urbanized populace with more older people proportionately, and the sheer pace of change through modernization, which have presented many challenges, especially for elders. As an Asian Tiger economy, the serious engagement of Taiwan in high tech industries has accelerated social change. Politically, there have been several changes in Government and fragmentation of policy development has been the norm (Wang, 2010).

8.2.3  Demographic Change Demographically, from just 2.5% of the population being over 65 years in 1950 to 9.24% in 2003 (Huang, 2005) to 14.04 % in 2018 (Li & Wei, 2019) indicates rapid aging for this society. Proportionate to the population base, Taiwan is possibly the fastest growing globally towards a super-aged society (Li & Wei 2019). According to Wang (2010), this move to an aged society has occurred while proportionately the entire population of now around 24.5 million has not risen at the same rate mainly due to a decline in birth rate. Given also that in earlier times many older adults were excluded from formal education or experienced fragmented learning opportunities, current seniors have considerably less literacy than young people (Lee, 2015). Wang (2010) points to an increase in both new immigrants and ethnic minorities as part of

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the diversification of Taiwanese people, a factor to be more seriously considered in a differently shaped aged society of the future.

8.2.4  Retirement Reconsidered Another aspect of Taiwanese society affecting the current and future older generations is how retirement is managed. Internationally, retirement has become a more complex phenomenon (Lain, 2018; Phillipson, 1998) at multiple levels: for governments and pension entitlements; for institutions in terms of redundancies and recruitment; for individuals in relation to the extent of choice they have in their daily lives. The balance between work, leisure and learning for older adults is directly related to this issue of labor market access and/or forced retirement. In addition, as pointed out by Li and Wei (2019), life expectancy for Taiwanese has increased. The average retirement age is 60.4 years and “civil servants and teachers can retire at 54” (p. 98). By international standards, this may be considered a young age at which people retire. Social class position and gender would normally influence further life choices, and coupled with access to pensions (public and/or private) these are key factors in understanding who gets to retire and under which specific conditions (Phillipson, 1998). Yet a counter argument concerning “early retirement” is that preparations for retirement in one’s 50s enables more time and choice about how to lead one’s later life. As will be explained in more detail in subsequent chapters, one of the functions of the AALCs is to provide meaningful activities to enhance prospects for an engaging retirement.

8.3  The Character of Later Life Learning in Taiwan Several authors have provided accounts of the development of older adult learning/ education in Taiwan (Chui, 2012; Kuo & Huang, 2019; Lee, 2015; Li & Wei, 2019; Lin & Huang, 2016; Wang, 2010). Fortunately, there appears considerable unity of perspective in terms of the major political/policy dimensions. Prior to 1978 there was minimal cognizance of the need for any education for older adults when older people were rendered invisible in terms of educational entitlement. Subsequently, an awakening of the need for learning in later life occurred with a raft of white papers and reports issued by respective Taiwanese governments following patterns similar to other East Asian countries (see Chaps. 4, 5, 6 and 7). The switch from a welfare-dominated agenda for the care of older people to a more learning-oriented focus is further explained below.

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8.3.1  The Social Welfare Stage In the reconstruction of society, priority was given to the establishment of the formal education system (schooling). In the pre-2008 period (1978–2008), described as the social welfare stage, Taiwanese governments treated older people and their learning rights in a paternalistic manner (Chui, 2012). As mentioned by Lee (2015, p. 470): Both the Senior Citizen Welfare Act and the Policy for the Elderly, which were announced, respectively, in 1908 and 2003, in Taiwan, indicated concern for the needs of senior citizens based on their social welfare, health promotion and the provision of care measures.

Hence, learning/education was conceptualized via a social service orientation. In terms of Harry Moody’s modal patterns for the treatment of the aged (1976 cited in Findsen, 2005), the Taiwanese Government had moved from rejection (characterized by segregation, mandatory retirement, neglect) to social services (welfare, social security, professional care, senior centers) and were yet to achieve participation (second careers, senior advocacy, autonomy) to the ultimate stage of self-­ actualization (individuation, psychological growth, self-transcendence). According to Li and Wei (2019), older people as learners were seen as disadvantaged, thus requiring a compensatory approach where welfare superseded an educational or developmental strategy. One of the defining characteristics of this stage was the engagement of both national and local government in providing services based on this earlier thinking. The establishment of Chang Ching Shyue Yuan (CCSY) by social service departments of the local government focusing on leisure and entertainment mushroomed between 1983 and 1993. Another milestone was the more active engagement of universities in older adult education. In particular, the establishment of two graduate institutes of adult education (National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi; the National Kaohsiung Normal University) signaled a change in a positive direction (Lin & Huang, 2016). According to Chui (2012), elder learning in Taiwan, in accord with the Elder Learning Implementation Plan instigated in 1991, had the objectives of enabling older people to better adjust to life transitions, to motivate them to consider re-training and re-employment and to promote traditional respect for elders (p. 154).

8.3.2  T  he Educational Gerontology (Learning in Later Life) Stage The second major phase post-2008 of educational gerontology related to the promotion of the concept of active aging began with the Ministry of Education’s white paper Towards an aged society: Seniors’ education policy (2006). In 2008 the Ministry of Education became belatedly to accept the importance of learning in later life and proactively established the Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs)

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linked more closely to Moody’s third level of the treatment of older people in society. These centers targeted citizens over the age of 55 for in-place learning in local sites known as Le Ling Da Shyue. As indicated by Kuo and Huang (2019), the first U3As followed suit based on the American Elderhostel approach. Overall, there was a distinctive shift from a social welfare model to a Ministry of Education-led educational gerontology approach. The structure of programs for elders is not always straightforward to understand. Lin and Huang (2016) identify the following formats: Chang Ching Shyue Yuan (CCYS) as comparable to the Western U3A (albeit having its own uniqueness); the Learning Resource Center for Active Elderly (LRCAE) under the remit of the Ministry of Education; the University-based Programs for Older Adult learners (called Le Ling Da Shyue) aligned to the American Elderhostel system; and programs emphasizing Inter-generational relationships to strengthen filial piety. These four configurations are described as “community-based” (Lin & Huang, 2016, pp. 426–7). More recently, Li and Wei (2019, pp. 105–7) describe three program models: Le Ling Learning Centers (Active Aging Learning Centers, AALCs) of three levels (demonstration; excellence and general); Le Ling Learning Colleges (Active Aging Learning Colleges) and Independent Learning Groups (akin to U3As) where peer learning is emphasized.

8.4  O  bservations from Visits to Taiwan with Special Reference to Selected Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs) Given the cultural/historical and policy context above, I now document my observations from visits, including to three AALCs. My familiarity with relevant literature on Taiwanese (older adult) education at that time was not as current as at present. From September 2019 to January 2020 I visited Taiwan on three occasions. As previously mentioned, I was a visiting scholar at CCU helping with teaching, research and staff development. It is difficult to summarize this special experience. Having retired from the University of Waikato at the end of July 2019 as a professor of (adult) education, I had deliberately allowed space in this new “retirement” phase for this kind of opportunity. I will now reflect on the three visits with a heavier concentration on the third visit in January, just prior to the coronavirus outbreak emanating from Wuhan, China. A further word on the context of Taiwan. Outwardly Taiwan is a fairly homogeneous society following Confucian ideals. To a degree this is true. Yet, as I was to become aware, there are different sub-groups related to historic immigration patterns, primarily from mainland China. Importantly, too, indigenous peoples of around 2% of the population, continue their traditions. Geographically and politically, mainland China occupies a dominant space in which most Taiwanese have considerable ambivalence – most yearning for a democratic future (reinforced at the

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elections in January 2020) but also conscious of important trade connections to mainland China. In terms of population, around 24 million people occupy the territory equivalent to one seventh of Aotearoa New Zealand – hence, a population density around 35 times of my homeland. In practice, as we often travelled on the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Taipei to Chiayi, almost constant conurbation on a North-­ South pathway could be observed through the windows interspersed with intense farming. Not by accident, Caterina and I agreed to be present in Taiwan in the predominantly cooler winter months. The earliest visit (September–October 2019) typified the kind of great hospitality of my Taiwanese colleagues. David Shen, our young mentor for each visit, escorted us to accommodation and campus. I was fortunate to have a large office (an unused classroom) in which I could spread out and receive guests. On this first visit, much of my time was spent teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate classes on selected topics, negotiated with colleagues. Obviously, language was a major issue but not entirely different from my own New Zealand experiences of teaching. In Chiayi, at times I conducted teaching on my own in English; on other occasions, I worked alongside Taiwanese colleagues with impromptu translation; still others with David, whose command of English is strong, who translated as needed. I learned to plan well but to be flexible. The second visit (November–December 2019) included a fairly long period in Taipei where I co-ordinated a seminar on later life learning for the Asia-Oceania International Association for Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) before going to Chiayi. I continued a teaching routine but also undertook a keynote address at an international conference where other overseas contributors came from Japan, South Korea and Thailand. These conferences were also cultural events and featured local seniors demonstrating their engagement with learning in a variety of modes (dancing, singing, cultural displays). This kind of interchange between the university and local communities is exemplary and could be usefully adopted more frequently in Western environments, consistent with an exhortation towards a learning society. Another observation was the explicit inter-connections of different ministries of government (for instance, in Health and Welfare; Education; Employment) collaborating on active aging and lifelong learning initiatives. The third visit in January 2020 coincided with the end of semester so teaching was less. This allowed space for investigating research possibilities and for a planned three site visit to Active Learning Aging Centers across Taiwan. DACE at CCU has been at the heart of Taiwan’s developments in senior education (see Li & Wei, 2019). The policy documents of the Active Aging Learning Center Implementation Plan (2008) and the Senior Education Medium-Term Development Project (2017) have been instrumental guides for the implementation of the AALCs. Caterina and I were guests to visit three locations where AALCs had been established from the early days of 2008.

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8.4.1  Pingtung Our first site to visit on 17 January was to the Pingtung County Senior Education Demonstration Center in a moderately large urban setting. The venue (see Fig. 8.1) was originally a kindergarten which closed and is now the AALC. (This is symbolic of the changing demographics in Taiwan to a more aged-centered society). This center was the first established in Taiwan (104 centers in 2008; 368 in 2018) and has been funded, as for all AALCs, by the Ministry of Education to a varying extent. All these centers are considered to be a result of collaboration between local, county and national leadership. If accompanied by Senior Education Centers (SECs), the universities are more engaged in helping develop these sites (Lin & Huang, 2016). In the case of Pingtung, the SEC is located alongside the AALC in a park-like setting. The curriculum at the Pingtung site was heavily slanted towards crafts (expressive forms of senior learning as described by Hiemstra, 1976) – photography; painting; leathercraft; masks  – and Caterina and I were challenged to undertake a small-scale leather craft exercise (as seniors ourselves). There is a partially regulated curriculum from the Ministry of Education to which centers should adhere but the program includes learning events carefully chosen to reflect local priorities. In the centers we visited, teachers in programs follow a professional training regime, orchestrated by staff from DACE at CCU. To my mind, other worthwhile initiatives

Fig. 8.1  Staff from the Pingtung County Senior Education Demonstration Center, from the CCU and New Zealand visitors. (Source: Gui-Fang Li: Photograph taken on 10 January 2020 with permission of the participants)

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in this location included intergenerational activities, health promotion (driver education; anti-smoking; falls prevention) and support for a long-term care facility. This diversity of offerings demonstrates a holistic approach in tune with local conditions and priorities.

8.4.2  Tainan The second visit (afternoon of 17 January) was in nearby Tainan, a major coastal city south of Chiayi, especially important in early colonization by the Dutch. This center, at the time of the visit, had been part of an elementary school complex for 11 years and we were enthusiastically welcomed by music and dance as we entered their building (previously disused but now remodeled). While in this instance the venue for the AALC was a school, other community-based locations are deemed equally valid for senior learning. The elder membership in Tainan, we were told, was 45,000 strong, ranging in age from 55+ to the 90s; there was a wide spread of engagement from young-old (third age) to old-old (fourth age) (Laslett, 1989). Quite overtly, there was a strong concentration on new industries aligned to elders’ needs such as a salt farm project where more men proportionately were involved. One significant factor is the relatively low literacy level, a result of an older historical cohort, identified at 24.05% at an elementary literacy level. Training needs of staff were consistent with the Pingtung group and the co-coordinator had acquired a Master’s degree from DACE at CCU.

8.4.3  Taichung Our final visit (20 January) was to a major city, Taichung, to the north of Chiayi where we were introduced to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary Senior Learning Center. This setting, amid a high status Catholic school, was highly urbanized and this AALC was one of 29  in this city of 2.8 million. The complex of facilities (including a large auditorium in the basement, multi-purpose rooms, senior education center, and computer room) covered four floors. There was a counselling facility, mainly via telephone, which accommodated elders’ queries from across the country and was supervised by a social worker from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. (In this instance, the counseling function extended to a national level beyond the environs of this city to link to mental health issues experienced by Taiwanese elders). The overt goals of this AALC were to promote learning, train volunteers and reinforce positive attitudes amid elders. Government funding provided 70% of costs, the other 30% coming from fees and donations. (This mix of funding sources reinforced the idea that while the government provided a financial base it was reasonably expected that more localized organizations would complement the resource).

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The intake for this AALC were people of a higher literacy level. Apparently, too, there was little overlap in participation between the AALC and the Senior Education Center (on a user pays system). The scale of this AALC/SEC appeared to be extensive – 45–50 teachers; 100 courses; 1000 participants per week; 13 classrooms and four full-time staff. Training of volunteers at multiple levels was a serious activity here and this voluntary workforce was required to undertake strenuous practice over several days in a rural area as part of accreditation (thus, helping to fulfil the learning needs of rural dwellers). While the AALC followed the regulations of the Ministry of Education, the orientation was declared to be towards a needs-based ideology (Knowles, 1980).

8.4.4  Summative Comment on Visited Sites To summarize, the AALCs are part of a broader plan of provision, funded largely by the government through the Ministry of Education and other authorities for seniors (defined as around 55+) to take up learning opportunities later in life. While government regulations provide some consistency across the numerous AALCs located in diverse environments, there is an expectation of innovation related to more localized economic/social factors. Most activities are focused on leisure and recreation yet there appears to be a strong movement towards more social enterprise and entrepreneurialism. In effect, there is a balance between expressive and instrumental forms of activity, related in part to what constitutes knowledge/skills and interests of localised elders. As in many Western countries, much of the work is undertaken by volunteers. Fortunately, these unpaid older workers receive sound training and gain reward and sustenance from contributing to their peers in lieu of payment. The essential point is that learning in later life is treated as integral to lifelong learning for the Taiwanese and receives state support in policy and funding.

8.5  Challenges and Issues As identified in Taiwanese literature written in English on senior learning/education (see above), the AALCs constitute a very important component of a larger matrix of provision for older learners, increasingly related to learning/education rather than social welfare focused policies and activity (Li & Wei, 2019). My observations are consistent with local authors’ identification with issues, expressed below as objectives for the enhancement of the senior learning movement: To provide a range of activities including both expressive and instrumental forms of learning (for both work and leisure); to engage greater numbers of Taiwanese seniors as the numbers of AALCs continue to increase but importantly to include more “disadvantaged” older learners; to empower older people to take charge of their learning (e.g. via curriculum choice; self-funded learning) through a

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“bottom-up” approach more aligned to popular education (Freire, 1984); to rely less on state funding/provision but not exempt the government from responsibility for providing essential funding and services; for teachers to acquire qualifications in older adult learning but to avoid over-professionalization (Findsen, 2009); to exercise choice in the appropriateness of the educational setting whether separate from or integrated with other education providers. Using a different lens to reflect on the work of the AALCs, that of the dominant configurations of lifelong learning from an international perspective, it is possible to discern where the ideological and pragmatic emphases are currently allocated. In accord with Withnall’s chapter in this book and the earlier work of Findsen and Formosa (2011), the economic imperative of lifelong learning, usually strongly supported by governments, appears to be gaining greater momentum in Taiwan. While earlier iterations of senior learning have heavily emphasized learning for leisure and entertainment (and still predominate), there is a greater consciousness that older learners may need to support themselves financially and to better integrate with younger workers in the labor market. Entrepreneurship is being encouraged among elders (boosting the “silver” economy). Personal development, emphasizing learning for its own sake, has long been to the fore in senior learning, especially in its expressive forms as illustrated in the three above AALCs. The third theme of active citizenship, wherein older people may volunteer their services, has been successfully integrated into the senior learning movement and may help to dispel remaining ageist sentiment among the Taiwanese populace. Older people can benefit from being seen as a social resource rather than as a problem or burden (Chui, 2012). The issue of social inclusion/exclusion has several aspects – within AALCs, the need to encourage more members of the fourth age to participate, to involve more rural dwellers and those with poor literacy (Lee, 2015); through intergenerational approaches to continue to foster strong linkages between young and older learners.

References Brookfield, S. D. (1987). Developing critical thinkers: Challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting. Jossey Bass. Chui, E. (2012). Elderly learning in Chinese communities: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. In G. Boulton-Lewis & M. Tam (Eds.), Active aging, active learning: Issues and challenges (pp. 141–161). Springer. Findsen, B. (2005). Learning later. Krieger Publishing Co. Findsen, B. (2009). The professionalization of adult educators: Issues and challenges. Journal of Adult Learning Aotearoa New Zealand, 37(1), 27–43. Findsen, B., & Formosa, M. (2011). Lifelong learning in later life: A handbook on older adult learning. Sense Publishers. Freire, P. (1984). Pedagogy of the oppressed. The Continuum Publishing Co. Hiemstra, R. (1976). Older adult learning: Instrumental and expressive categories. Educational Gerontology, 3(1), 227–236. Huang, C.-S. (2005). The development of a university for older adults in Taiwan: An interpretive perspective. Educational Gerontology, 31(7), 503–519.

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Kee, Y. (2007). Adult learning from a Confucian way of thinking (Ch. 9). In Merriam, S.B & Assoc (Ed.), Non-Western perspectives on learning and knowing (pp.  153–172). Krieger Publishing Co.. Knowles, M. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy (2nd ed.). Cambridge Books. Kuo, S.-H., & Huang, C.-S. (2019). From social welfare to educational gerontology: The universities of the third age in Taiwan. In M. Formosa (Ed.), The University of the third age and active aging (pp. 233–246). Springer. Lain, D. (2018). Reconstructing retirement: Work and welfare in the UK and USA. University of Bristol Policy Press. Laslett, P. (1989). A fresh map of life: The emergence of the third age. Weidenfeld & Nicholson. Lee, Y.-H. (2015). Older adult education: New public pedagogy in the 21st century. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 55(3), 462–479. Li, A.-T., & Wei, H.-C. (2019). Lifelong learning for aging people in Taiwan: Innovative programs and social effects (Ch. 8). In Q. Sun (Ed.), The changing vista of adult and lifelong education in Asian contexts: Theories and practices from the East (New directions for adult and continuing education) (Vol. 162, pp. 97–110). Lin, Y.-Y., & Huang, C.-S. (2016). Taiwan. In B. Findsen & M. Formosa (Eds.), International perspectives on older adult education: Research, policies and practice (pp. 421–431). Springer. Merriam, S.  B. (2007). Non-Western perspectives on learning and knowing: Perspectives from around the world (1st ed.). Krieger Pub Co.. Moody, H.  R. (1976). Philosophical presuppositions of education for old age. Educational Gerontology, 1(1), 1–16. Phillipson, C. (1998). Reconstructing old age: New agendas in social theory and practice. Sage Publishers. Sun, Q. (2010). Confucian educational philosophy and its implication for lifelong learning and lifelong education (Ch. 8). In W. Zhang (Ed.), Theories, policy and practice of lifelong learning in East Asia (pp. 60–79). Routledge. Wang, C.-Y. (2010). Enhancing the interactive relationship between lifelong learning and social changes to carry out a learning society in Taiwan. In W.  Zhang (Ed.), Theories, policy and practice of lifelong learning in East Asia (pp. 38–45). Routledge. Brian Findsen  completed a doctorate in Adult Education and Sociology from North Carolina State University, USA, in the late 1980s. Brian has worked in adult and continuing education in universities for most of his career, as an adult educator (teacher, researcher, manager) at the University of Auckland, AUT University, the University of Glasgow (2004–2008), where he served as the Head of Department for Adult and Continuing Education. At the University of Waikato, New Zealand, he was the first Director of the Waikato Pathways College from 2008 and latterly as Professor of (Adult) Education in the Division of Education. He was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor in October 2021. Most of his substantive research has focused on learning in later life. He was admitted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2012. Having retired from the University of Waikato, Brian continues to undertake voluntary work.

Chapter 9

Developing Policy and Practices of Senior Education in Taiwan Hui-Chuan Wei, An-Ti Lin, and Feng-Ming Hao

9.1  Introduction The wave of population aging has swept the entire world, and Taiwan is no exception. Taiwan turned into an aging society in 1993, becoming an aged society in 2018. It is estimated that Taiwan will turn into a super-aged society in 2025. In 2020, Taiwan’s population above 85 years old accounted for 10.3% of the senior population, and as the super-aging continues, it is estimated to rise to 27.4% by 2070 (National Development Council, 2020). The aging society is an irreversible trend in the twenty-first century, causing major impacts worldwide on both social systems and lifestyles. The acceleration of aging has become one of the most important challenges to all countries’ future social structures. The issue of aging has been discussed internationally for many years. In 1998, the World Health Organization put forth a report on active aging that emphasized encouraging elders to involve physical activities in their daily lives (WHO, 1998). To dispel the public myth of aging (WHO, 1999), strengthen long-term care policies (WHO, 2000), and improve the health and nutritional status of the older people (WHO, 2002) have been ways to achieve the goal of active aging. In 2002, the WHO H.-C. Wei (*) Department of Adult and Continuing Education, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] A.-T. Lin Center for Innovative Research on Aging Society, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan F.-M. Hao Department of Law, Center for Innovative Research on Aging Society, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_9

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further proposed a major framework for the active aging policy involving participation, health, and security (WHO, 2002). The purpose of the above-mentioned promotions has been to help elders maintain their quality of life after retirement, aging actively and with dignity through specific and effective measures. The early stage of Taiwan’s aging policies was focused on social welfare, that elders are a disadvantaged group that needed to be cared for and served. It was not until the implementation of the Active Aging Learning Program that Taiwan’s aging policy shifted from a welfare perspective to an educational perspective. This chapter mainly analyzes the development of Taiwan’s senior education policies and practices during the pre-Active Aging Learning era, and aims at finding the thread through senior education’s evolution, and analyzing its structure, operation and curriculum content in order to understand its development, including problems in senior education practice.

9.2  A Brief History of the Pre-active Aging Learning Era Before the Ministry of Education (MoE) established the Active Aging Learning Program, the implementation of senior education in Taiwan was carried out by the Ministry of the Interior (MoI), and mostly included leisure-oriented learning courses. There was also a considerable amount of investment in senior education by non-governmental organizations (Wei, 2012). From Table  9.1, the social welfare-­oriented older education executive organizations and their curriculum materials, we see that the Taipei Young Women’s Christian Association had already organized its “Ivy Club” in 1978. In 1982, the Kaohsiung Young Women’s Table 9.1  The social welfare-oriented seniors’ education Year Organization or remarkable event 1978 Ivy Club by Taipei Young Women’s Christian Association 1978 Senior education with a university (Collaboration between Taiwan Province Government & Tunghai University) 1980 Promulgation of Senior Citizens Welfare Act 1982 The establishment of the first Chang Ching Shyue Yuan (Collaboration between Kaohsiung City Government & Kaohsiung Young Women’s Christian Association) 1982 Hsia-Ling Learning Ground (by Ci-Hung Buddhism Social Welfare Foundation) 1983 Chang Ching Shyue Yuan (by Taipei City Government) Source: Wei (2012)

Course description Lectures, skills learning, leisure and entertainment courses Senior education courses

Welfare activities for elders Mainly for leisure and interest courses. The Bureau of Social Affairs’ responsible for funding, the YWCA is in charge of management Its purpose is to encourage elders to study and help them contribute their wisdom The Social Work Office of the Bureau of Social Affairs is responsible for all event planning and service provision.

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Christian Association collaborated with the Kaohsiung City Government to establish the very first “Chang Ching Shyue Yuan (CCSY)1”. In 1987, the policy paper the Key Points for the Implementation of the CCSY of Taiwan was promulgated (Huang, 2004). Adoption of CCSY began nationwide. The unit in charge of the CCSY was the MoI; locally, it was the Bureau (Division) of Social Affairs. At this phase, it had not occurred to anyone that the MoE should have been the competent authority. As we look further into the historical context in the background of the Kaohsiung CCSY, we find out that it originally used the name “Chang Ching College”, and also sought support from the MoE. However, due to the specific usage of “university”, the MoE did not approve. This may be one reason that the education authority missed the opportunity to lead social trends in senior education. In the background, the organizations planning for a “Senior University” at that time also had no choice but to turn to the social welfare authority for help. The establishment of the Kaohsiung CCSY opened up CCSY and Senior Universities development in various places, their management model becoming the basis for other potential organizations. Reviewing Table  9.1, we find that before the introduction of the Ministry of Education’s Active Aging Learning program, the MoI had already started subsidizing the CCSY, which was also the most important senior education promotion program at that time. Therefore, welfare-oriented senior education became mainstreamed in senior education in Taiwan. According to the 2017 statistics from the MoI, Taiwan has 1090 CCSY, with Taichung City’s 257 being the most numerous, followed by Taipei City and Tainan City, with 175 and 123 respectively. A total of 11,015 classes were opened, with 358,859 people participating in courses. Among them, Taipei City, the most populous city, had the largest number of participants, with more than 100,000 course participants (MoI, 2017).

9.3  P  re-active Aging Learning Era: The Practice of Senior Education in Taiwan From the above, we can conclude that Taiwan’s early senior education activities and classes were mostly organized by non-governmental organizations. The government’s social welfare department later joined, bringing systematic and longterm changes to their operation. Next, we will discuss circumstances and issues within the curriculum, locations, funding, and promotion of senior education in Taiwan.

1  Chang Ching Shyue Yuan” (CCSY): the meaning of “Chang Ching” is “evergreen”. The Taiwanese have always used “Chang Ching” to describe healthy and active older adults. “Shyue Yuan” means “a learning place”.

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9.3.1  Educational Purpose According to the official website of the Senior University of the Chinese Senior Education Association, the purpose of their establishment has been to cultivate the spirit of “Live to learn, live to play, live to be happy” (The Senior University of the Chinese Senior Education, 2021). Through various courses, the middle-aged and seniors can expand their horizons, strengthen their body, improve their physical and mental health, and enjoy a high-quality, energetic and intelligent experience in their lives. The CCSY and Senior University played a pioneering role in Taiwan’s senior education. However, do those goals match with theories of senior education? According to a pioneer, Howard McClusky, the goal of senior education is to enable senior citizens to adapt to new circumstances through the intervention of education. His ambition was to improve the quality of life of senior citizens through learning, resulting in a basis for planning senior education programs. In further analysis of his margin theory of needs (McClusky, 1971), the goal of senior education in the pre-­Active Aging Learning era was more inclined to meet the leisure/expressive needs of seniors. However, there is no obvious connection in the senior education program of this period towards consideration of contributive, influence, and transcendence needs. Therefore, in the pre-Active Aging Learning era, senior education policies and practical goals in Taiwan were not evenly balanced, and lacked a certain theoretical direction.

9.3.2  Participants’ Background What has been the background of the seniors who have participated in the senior education courses during the pre-Active Aging Learning era? According to Chuang et al.’s (2009) research on the CCSY, it was found that the majority of people who participated in senior learning activities in senior education institutions were women (twice as many as men), and the dominant age groups were between 56–65 and 66–75 years old. Participants’ jobs before retirement were: military personnel, civil servants, teachers, industrial or commercial workers, and some were housewives. Overall, the main participants in the CCSY and the Senior University were healthy, with a stable economic situation, and of above average education. However, more disadvantaged senior groups with poorer financial and physical conditions tended not to participate in these courses.

9.3.3  Curriculum Content Regarding the curriculum and design of senior education, there are not many relevant research studies in Taiwan (Huang, 1991; Wei, 1995). However, it is possible to find curriculum information from the course schedule and enrolment brochures from the “CCSY” and “Senior University”.

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The CCSY in Chaiyi City is an example, with a total of 47 courses being offered in 2009. The courses were subdivided into five categories: information technology, language, sports, health promotion, and performing arts. Although there was a concept of classification, it still lacked educational theory and purpose. Next, we consider the courses offered by Taipei Senior University in 2009 as another example. A total of 41 courses were offered, such as: Japanese, singing skills, traditional acupuncture and meridian studies, painting, hand-made quilting, and Chinese Tai-Chi. Although these courses are diverse, overall they are still biased towards interest-­ oriented courses and liberal education. Based on the evidence above, we found during the pre-Active Aging Learning era that the courses were still taught in the traditional way, a transmission model aligned to teacher-dominated teaching, and the students were taking in the information. The course content was very diverse, but if we examine further, we find that there is actually only one type of generic course, the leisure or hobby type. This type of course can only meet McClusky’s “personal interest” needs. The meeting of other needs such as contributive needs, influence needs, and transcendence needs are hardly seen. Once again, the content of Taiwan’s senior education courses did not sufficiently meet the needs of senior citizens who want to “successfully age”.

9.3.4  Funding According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (Executive Yuan,2 2021), in 2009, the Taiwan GDP per capita was US$16,933. In terms of funding for senior education during the Pre-Active Aging Learning era, most of it was based on government subsidies. The CCSY in Kaohsiung City in 2009 is an example. Those who were 60–64 years old were charged US$15 per year, and 55–59 years old were charged US $30 per year. In 2009, a total of 490 classes were offered. According to the subsidy regulations of the MoI, the government subsidized US$1,820 for each class, so a total of US$891,000 could be subsidized. However, in the regulations of the MoI to subsidize the CCSY, the subsidy was based on the number of senior citizens in the city, and there was a ceiling for the total amount of subsidy. In 2009, Kaohsiung City had 136,716 citizens over 65 years old. The subsidy method states that if the number of senior citizens exceeds 200,000, the maximum amount of subsidy that can be applied for is US$75,800. Taipei Senior College did not charge tuition, but had a membership fee. However, a total of US$60 was charged for the registration fee, an hourly fee, and an administrative fee when students registered for a class. Each class was taught for 20 weeks at two hours per week. According to the regulations of the MoI to subsidize the Senior University, every six months the maximum amount of subsidy that the Senior University can apply for was US$3,400, and the hourly fee for lecturers was US$21

 The Executive Yuan is the executive branch of the Taiwan government.

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per hour. However, the lecturers’ hourly fee was not calculated on the basis of the number of students. According to the survey of Wei et al. (2007), in terms of the proportion of funding sources and charging methods of senior education institutions, it was found that more than half of the senior education institutions charged tuition, and about 70% of the senior education institutions used the “government subsidy amount” as a factor in whether to charge the students. The government’s subsidy for senior education institutions affected the operation of these institutions. For a quarter of the institutions, 90% of their operating capital needed funding from the government’s Social Welfare Department. For those seniors who were over 65 years old, only 34.4% of them could have free learning opportunities. This meant that senior education was still economically-unfriendly for disadvantaged senior citizens.

9.3.5  A Professional Human Resource From the perspective of becoming a senior education professional, the government did not have a vetting process in place, which actually meant that it did not expect professional qualifications or expertise in the hiring of professional senior education personnel. In a 2008 survey conducted by Chuang, Huang and Wei on senior universities, the CCSY, and other senior institutions, it was found that 53.8% of senior institution administrators had not received professional training, and only 10.2% of institutions provided training courses for their teachers. Sixty percent of teachers in senior education institutions were professionals of various backgrounds in the community, and 42.6% had served as teachers in primary or middle schools. This shows that the professional background and training of senior education teachers was obviously insufficient. If the government could retrain retired teachers to join senior education, it would be another option for the pre-service of retired teachers, and the enhancing of professionalization of senior education. Among senior education administrators 32% of the administrative staff who worked in senior education institutions were full-time, and 24.1% were volunteers, while 52.8% of the administrative staff did not receive any professional training. Regardless of whether the professional training of teachers or institutional administrators was insufficient, the need was to improve the quality of senior education institutions as an urgent problem to be solved.

9.4  P  roblems and Reflections on the Practice of Senior Education in Taiwan In reviewing the practice of senior education in Taiwan during the pre-Active Aging Learning era, it can be concluded that the following problems existed, elaborated below.

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9.4.1  Lack of Authorities’ Response to Aging In the 1990s, the educational authorities were insufficient in responding to, and preparing for, the inevitability of an aging society. In 1989, the MoE, based on the conclusion of the Sixth National Education Conference, formulated a plan for the implementation of senior education, but did not propose innovative practical plans at the same time. At that stage the Five-Year Plan for the Development and Improvement of Adult Education was promulgated in 1991 (MoE, 1991). It mentioned the importance of senior education, but this plan was not specifically designed for seniors. If the government had understood that Taiwan was rapidly aging, it should have considered learning from international senior education trends and policies. The government could have planned the practice of senior education more carefully to reduce negative impacts in Taiwan, especially for a senior society.

9.4.2  Curriculum not Sufficiently Theory-Driven The curriculum goals of the pre-Active Aging Learning courses were lacking a firm theoretical foundation. Although leisure and entertainment education had theoretical support, Taiwan’s adult and senior education pre-AALP was basically practical activities without strong theoretical foundation. The courses mainly catered for the leisure and entertainment of its senior citizen students. These courses involved dancing, singing, painting, sports, computers, etc. Such courses had not changed much from 1982 to the present. The main participants were mostly retired military personnel, civil servants, teachers, housewives, but disadvantaged elders seldom participated in this program.

9.4.3  A Paucity of Innovative Thinking Approximately 70% of pre-Active Aging Learning education activities were taught in a traditional institutional class style (Chuang et al., 2009), so self-planned and self-directed learning design were rarely encouraged. Could the seniors in Taiwan be able to independently plan and manage their own learning like the seniors in the Third Age University in the UK? (Laslett, 1989). Although in recent years, the learning style of the seniors has gradually left the traditional classroom, there is still a large part of senior learning that still follows this mode. This is a question worth further exploration. Is it due to differences in cultural traditions? Or is it a problem stemming from lingering traditional institutional education strategies?

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9.4.4  An Unstable Government Subsidy Scheme The MoI established standards for subsidies for senior education funds, allowing units that had been officially audited to prepare budgets. The guarantee of funds had been the key to the sustainable development of the CCSY. According to the survey, most senior education institutions believed that the funding for senior education was insufficient, and the survey also found that more than 90% of the interviewees believed that the government should “fund senior education” (Wei et  al., 2007). With the rapid aging of the population, the government could redistribute educational resources, allocate funds for senior education, and establish a funding policy. From the example of CCSY, we can see that the award of government funds has had a positive effect on the continuous management of senior education.

9.4.5  Lack of Professional Development and Research The professional abilities, including research capability, of senior educators have been insufficient. The main goal of senior education was and still is to change the concept of how we age, and the key to improve this conceptualization lies in the professional ability of the promoters. From the previous survey, it can be found that more than half of the senior activity organizers had not participated in any training of senior education. In addition, senior education institutions themselves had not provided their teachers with support in terms of programs related to senior learning. Without the support of theoretical research, it would be unlikely to experience any innovative breakthroughs. Also, Taiwan had under-developed international exchange in terms of senior education, and it was less able to integrate with senior education ideas from around the world.

9.5  T  he Development of Senior Education in Taiwan: Moving Towards the Active Aging Learning Policy Era In regard to the conduct of senior education, the MoE stated in the Five-Year Plan for the Development and Improvement of Adult Education in 1991 that senior education was one of the main targets of adult education (MoE, 1991). However, at that time, discussions about changes in the population structure of Taiwan and the world, such as declining birthrates and aging populations, did not receive the attention of government education departments or Taiwanese scholars. Therefore, in the 1991 Development and Improvement of Adult Education Plan, senior education did not feature as a main policy program. The MoE attached greater importance to higher education after the issuance of the 2006 Towards an Aged Society: Seniors’ Education Policy White Paper (MoE,

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2006). In 2007, the MoE promoted the idea to re-use vacant schools to conduct senior education. From this time on, the MoE began to extensively promote senior education programs. Under the policy guidance of the white paper and the success of the pilot project using vacant school spaces, the implementation plan of the Active Aging Learning Resource Centers was started by the Social Education Department of the MoE in 2008 as a larger and more comprehensive implementation of senior education policies. In general, since the issuance of the Towards an Aged Society: Seniors’ Education Policy White Paper in 2006 (MoE, 2006), senior education has gradually moved from a social welfare-oriented role to the new direction of the Active Aging Learning era. From the expansion of welfare orientation to one of Active Aging Learning, we can track the process from the following policies from the MoE.

9.5.1  The Implementation Plan for Senior Education (1989) The Implementation Plan for Senior Education is based on the conclusion of the Sixth National Education Conference by the MoE: to establish an adult education system to achieve the goals of education for all, and lifelong learning (Wei, 2009).

9.5.2  R  egulations for Implementing the Education for Retired Seniors and Women (1993) Regulations for implementing the Education for Retired Seniors and Women opened seniors’ academies and women’s academies in various towns and cities (MoE, 1993). A total of 738 classes were offered, and the principle was to set up one class in every town or city. Each class usually consisted of 35 students, and received a subsidy of US$1,200.

9.5.3  Towards a Learning Society Policy White Paper (1998) In the face of rapid social changes and the rising demand for public education, the MoE issued the Towards a Learning Society Policy White Paper in 1998 to meet the society’s need for life-long learning and to declare the government’s determination to build a learning society. 1998 was also designated as the “Year of Lifelong Learning”, detailing specific ways to build a lifelong learning society. The learning society policies white paper aimed at the pursuit of individual freedom, dignity, and the progress of a pluralistic society and public safety, and achieved the goal of social progress through education. The policies specifically included the establishment of a recurrent education system, with flexible and diverse admission, promotion of education reform,

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development of diversified higher education institutions, and encouragement of private enterprises to provide learning opportunities, development of learning organizations, and development of lifelong learning opportunities for disadvantaged groups. In addition, policies sought to integrate a lifelong learning information network, strengthen people’s foreign language learning, establish life-long education committees at all levels, complete the legal system for life-long learning, establish a system that recognizes national learning achievements, and strengthen the cultivation of teachers’ life-long learning literacy (MoE, 1998).

9.5.4  T  owards an Aged Society: Seniors’ Education Policy White Paper (2006) In 2006, the MoE published Towards an Aged Society: Seniors’ Education Policy White Paper that proclaimed the necessity of constructing a lifelong learning system for older adults, expanding venues for elder education and learning, and innovating the curriculum for older adults’ education and learning (Wei, 2012). Taking (i) lifelong learning, (ii) health and happiness, (iii) independence and dignity, and (iv) social participation as the four policy visions, the government could now actively plan and promote educational activities for seniors, and guide the society to handle more systematic education activities for seniors.

9.5.5  Establishing Community Lifelong Learning Centers The regulations for introducing subsidies to establish Community Lifelong Learning Centers were implemented by the MoE in 2007 (MoE, 2007). The purpose was to use the vacant spaces of elementary and middle schools to set up senior learning centers, community toy workshops, and immigrants’ learning centers. The first two are related to senior learning. Although the plan was based on a trial, its success led to the full implementation of the follow-up Active Aging Learning policy.

9.5.6  P  romotion of the Active Aging Learning Center Implementation Plan The promoting of the Active Aging Learning Center Implementation Plan (originally as Active Aging Resource Center,3 MoE, 2008) enabled centers to be established in townships in local public libraries, socially-based education institutions, 3  Since 2010, the Active Aging Learning Resource Center changed its name to Active Ageing Learning Center (AALC).

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community centers, citizens’ service centers, community care bases, and non-­ governmental organizations to encourage seniors to learn. The program was the basis for the establishment of Active Aging Learning Resource Centers in each of 368 townships across Taiwan in a span of three years in order to provide middle-­ aged and older adults with learning opportunities within their neighborhood through the creation of societal-wide learning venues.

9.5.7  The 8th National Education Conference (2010) During the 8th National Education Conference, on the topic of lifelong learning and the learning society, eight resolutions were put forward to promote senior learning to prepare for an aging society. The resolutions were as follows: 1. Adjust the government’s education policies and funding in a timely manner and in accordance with the increase in the senior population; 2. Actively integrate the policies, implement strategies and funding resources for senior education with other government departments; 3. Eliminate prejudice and discrimination against seniors; 4. Universities and colleges to conduct senior education research, talent training and provide learning opportunities; 5. Encourage innovation in senior learning; 6. Provide counseling and encourage the development of self-directed senior learning groups; 7. Use vacant school spaces as a place for seniors to learn; 8. Widely set up “Active Aging Learning Universities and Active Aging Learning Centers”, and set up “Gerontology Research Centers” to cultivate the professional development of diversified teaching materials and innovative learning models. In particular, the proposal of establishing Active Aging Learning Centers to reflect well the recognition and focus of Active Aging Learning policies.

9.5.8  White Paper on the Aged Society (2015) The intention of this paper was to incorporate learning for seniors into the implementation strategy, and integrate senior education at the individual, family, school, and social levels, so that citizens acquire the concept of lifelong learning and achieve the goal of “active aging”. Through intergenerational exchange activities, such as building a local learning venue, seniors were provided with opportunities in continuing education, to activate their participation in society, reducing society’s negative impression of seniors, and help to achieve a non-discriminatory society. In addition, the white paper strengthened the policy goal of the professionalization of senior education. Taiwan’s first White Paper on the Aged Society took health

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promotion as its core concept and hoped to achieve four goals: First, increase the health of older adults and reduce the population of disabled seniors. Second, provide social support for seniors. Third, reduce the burden of the family’s younger generation of caregivers. Fourth, stimulate the market related to aging (advancing the silver economy). Further, the white paper sought to achieve the goals that seniors can be self-­reliant and independent, to contribute to society at any age.

9.5.9  T  he Senior Education Medium-Term Development Project (2017) Due to social changes and the rapid increase of the older population, the MoE formulated the Senior Education Medium-Term Development Project in 2017 to meet the education-related challenges of an aging society (MoE, 2017a). It mainly focused on the establishment of an education system with a professional training program, innovative learning, and inter-disciplinary integration. The government established a professional training program in 2017, and began to train people who had been interested in teaching Active Aging Learning. How to teach elders became considered a profession; that is why the training of Active Aging Learning teachers has become one of the main focuses of Active Aging Learning as part of the Lifelong Education Department in the MoE. Taiwan’s education authority has systematically promoted senior education policies since the 1990s, especially after the announcement of Towards an Aged Society: Seniors’ Education Policy White Paper in 2006 (MoE, 2006) which had a huge impact on the implementation of senior education. The aging of the population and the importance of senior learning had begun to be valued more highly. The perspectives and strategies on the implementation of senior education since then have also become clearer.

9.5.10  The Higher Education Sprout Project (2018) How should universities respond to the needs and desires of seniors? Universities have abundant resources from the government, industry, and the community. Facing the current situation of a low birth rate and an aging population, it would be reasonable to expect that universities should be more active in research related to the aging society. Since 2012, The Age Friendly University (AFU) has been promoted internationally, allowing older adults to return to academia, participate in the discussion of important social issues, and obtain the results of integrated learning and innovative development (Talmage et al., 2019). This upsurge of interest internationally by some universities points to a positive direction. In Taiwan, the 2010 National Education Conference in Taipei, “Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society” was

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mentioned. Universities and colleges were urged to conduct senior education research, talent training, and provide learning opportunities. The MoE has promoted the Higher Education Sprout Project since 2018 to include the University Social Responsibility Project, and the Featured Areas Research Center Program (MoE, 2017b). In 2018, the MoE passed a total of 220 University Social Responsibility projects, and 65 Featured Areas Research Center Program projects. The Center for Innovative Research on Aging Society (CIRAS) at National Chung Cheng University has been the only group that focuses on senior education (MoE, 2019). The mission of CIRAS is to develop multiple innovative holistic community care models for the aging society in Taiwan, with the main goals of promoting academic research, training, industry-university cooperation, international exchanges, and to establish a cross-domain integration platform that combines the needs of the community. CIRAS implements an active aging intergenerational learning program, and is establishing an active aging consultation network. The Center also co-operates with the Department of Adult and Continuing Education which has the most complete adult and senior education program curriculum in Taiwan. Through CIRAS, the senior education policy can be implemented locally. CIRAS’s ambition is to become a think tank for the government’s senior education policy. Over the past three years CIRAS established six different types of living labs. Starting from the needs of people, with the participation of community residents to solve local problems, the laboratory provides inspiration for participants to think about new research. In line with the work of CIRAS, the policy formulation and planning of senior education requires more professionally-based theoretical research. Such a scheme may demand a variety of methodologies inclusive of surveys and action-based research so that enquiry can be more directional, innovative, and better meet the needs of elders.

9.6  Concluding Remarks In the development of senior education in Taiwan, education policy before the pre-­ Active Aging Learning era was mainly based on welfare-oriented policies, and government agencies have been the main adherents. However, welfare-oriented policies only solve superficial problems of the needs of senior education. There were significant problems in the practice of senior education during this phase. In terms of educational goals, senior education in the pre- Active Aging Learning era tended to satisfy personal leisure life needs of elders. However, the needs for contribution, influence, and self-transcendence among senior citizens were not reflected in any relevant senior education programs during this period. After the white paper on Toward the Learning Society, senior learning gained greater attention, but it was still not sustainable from a long-term perspective of policy development. The Ministry of Education needs to lay out a long-term plan to establish a complete senior education system, along with the establishment of further relevant laws and

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regulations, the cultivation of educational talent, the innovation of learning content, and the improvement of professional quality. Therefore, in response to the impact of rapid aging in Taiwan, elders can be in a better position to achieve “successful aging”. In 2025, Taiwan will become a super-aged society. Therefore, looking forward to the future, the planning of the senior learning policy must consider the situation of seniors and provide them with more learning opportunities.

References Chuang, Y. T., Huang, C. S., & Wei, H. C. (2009). Analysis of the current situation of senior education in Taiwan. In Huichuan Wei (edit) Senior education policy and practices. Wunan. Executive Yuan. (2021). National income statistics from 1951 to 2020. Executive Yuan. https:// www.stat.gov.tw/public/data/dgbas03/bs4/nis93/ni.pdf Huang, Z. G. (1991). The design of the senior education course. Shta book. Huang, F. S. (2004). The elder learning. Wunan. Laslett, P. (1989). A fresh map of life: The emergence of the third age. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. McClusky, H. (1971). Education: Background issues. White House Conference on Aging. Ministry of Education (MoE). (1991). The five-year plan for the development and improvement of adult education. MoE. Ministry of Education (MoE). (1993). Regulations for implementing the education for retired seniors and housewives. MoE. https://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/LawContentHistory.aspx?hid=871 Ministry of Education (MoE). (1998). Towards a learning society. MoE Policy White Paper. https://ws.moe.edu.tw/001/Upload/3/RelFile/6315/6938/87.03%E9%82%81%E5%90%91 %E5%AD%B8%E7%BF%92%E7%A4%BE%E6%9C%83%E7%99%BD%E7%9A%AE%E 6%9B%B8.pdf Ministry of Education (MoE). (2006). Towards an aged society: Seniors’ education policy. MoE Policy White Paper. https://ws.moe.edu.tw/001/Upload/3/RelFile/6315/6929/95.11%E9%8 2%81%E5%90%91%E9%AB%98%E9%BD%A1%E7%A4%BE%E6%9C%83%E8%80%8 1%E4%BA%BA%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E6%94%BF%E7%AD%96%E7%99%B D%E7%9A%AE%E6%9B%B8.pdf Ministry of Education (MoE). (2007). Regulations for subsidization to establish the community lifelong learning center. MoE. https://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/LawContent.aspx?id=FL043991 Ministry of Education (MoE). (2008). Active aging learning centers implementaion plan. MoE. https://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/LawContent.aspx?id=FL049045 Ministry of Education (MoE). (2017a). Senior education medium-term development project. MoE. https://moe.senioredu.moe.gov.tw/senioredu_ms/UploadFiles/20180205113953507.pdf Ministry of Education (MoE). (2017b). Regulations on the funding for higher education sprout project. MoE. https://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/LawContent.aspx?id=GL001753 Ministry of Education (MoE). (2019). About the project: Higher education sprout project. MoE. https://sprout.moe.edu.tw/SproutWeb/Home/Index/en Ministry of the Interior (MoI). (2017). Overview of Chang Ching Shyue Yuan. MoI. https://dep. mohw.gov.tw/dos/cp-­1721-­9415-­113.html National Development Council. (2020). Population projection of Republic of China (2020–2070). National Development Council. https://pop-­proj.ndc.gov.tw/chart.aspx?c=10&uid=66&pid=60 Talmage, C.  A., Mark, R., Slowey, M., & Knopf, R.  C. (2019). Age friendly universities and engagement with older adults: Moving from principles to practice. In B. Findsen (Ed.), Fresh perspectives on later life learning (pp. 65–82). Routledge. The Senior University of the Chinese Senior Education. (2021). The purpose of the senior university. http://www.tau.tw/01.php

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Wei, H. C. (1995). System view and self-directed design of education activities for the seniors. Proceedings of the Senior Education Symposium, June, 175–198. Wei, H. C. (edit. 2009). Senior education policy and practices. Wunan. Wei, H. C. (2012). Taiwan active aging learning. Wunan. Wei, H. C., Huang, C. S., & Chuang, Y. T. (2007). Research on the changes of Taiwan’s population structure and educational policies. Ministry of Education. World Health Organization (WHO). (1998). The role of physical activity in healthy ageing. http:// envejecimiento.csic.es/documentos/documentos/oms-­role-­01.pdf World Health Organization (WHO). (1999). Making a difference, Geneva, Switzerland. https:// www.who.int/whr/1999/en/whr99_en.pdf?ua=1 World Health Organization (WHO). (2000). Towards an international consensus on policy for long-term care of the ageing. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/66339/WHO_ HSC_AHE_00.1_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y World Health Organization (WHO). (2002). Keep fit for life-Meeting the nutritional needs of older persons. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42515/9241562102.pdf?sequence=1 Hui-Chuan Wei  (魏惠娟) completed a PhD in Education Policy and Administration from University of Minnesota, USA. Professor Wei is the Principal Investigator of the Taiwan Active Aging Learning Program funded by the Ministry of Education. She has overseen the program for over 10 years, ever since the policy enactment in 2008. She is also a professor and the former chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Near the university campus, she tried to integrate education and welfare using her farm to run an innovative community care center, “Active Aging on the Ark”. An-Ti Lin  (林安緹) earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from Michigan State University, USA. Dr. Lin is currently an assistant researcher for the Center for Innovative Research on Aging Society, and an Assistant Professor at National Kaohsiung Normal University, and National Chiayi University. As an international musician, Dr. Lin has lived, studied, and performed in Europe and the United States for over ten years. This experience gives her the advantage to bridge different active aging ideas from different cultural backgrounds, and to practice in her homeland, Taiwan. Feng-Ming Hao  (郝鳳鳴) achieved a PhD in Labor Law from Paris II Panthéon-­Assas University, France. Professor Hao was the Acting Minister of Labor of the Taiwan Government, and is currently the Vice President of the National Chung Cheng University (CCU), Taiwan. From his research specialty in the aging workforce to general aging social issues, Professor Hao co-­ordinated CCU professors to build up a brand new research center to develop cross-field research on the aging society, the Center for Innovative Research on Aging Society (CIRAS), and he serves as its founding and current director.

Chapter 10

Bracing for the Super-Aged Society: A New Era for Active Aging Learning Hui-Chuan Wei and Li-Hui Lin

10.1  Introduction The Taiwanese population is aging at a rapid pace; in fact, its age structure comprises 16% of people with the age of 65 and older. Although ranked as the third fastest aging society (with South Korea and Singapore being the first and second), Taiwan is approaching a so-called “super-aged society” at an alarming pace. Taiwan will very soon see 20% of its people aged 65 or above in the upcoming year (MoI, 2021). In response to a rapidly aging population, universities have been cooperating with the government since 2008 in promoting a community-based lifelong learning-­ oriented active aging education policy, collectively called Senior Learning (Le-Ling Learning in Mandarin, meaning Active Aging Learning). The program has been implemented for 13 years, and by 2021, 373 senior learning centers have been established in Taiwan. There were learning activities for senior people across communities in Taiwan before this project was launched, but these earlier activities were not sufficiently based in theory and were mostly held just for fun because old age and senior citizens often were associated with negative bias. Meanwhile, these activities were not resonating with the aging baby boomers, as they tended to have participated more in higher education, have better self-autonomy, and paid increased attention to quality. With the Active Aging Learning Program (under the establishment of the policy white paper, the Active Aging Learning Center Implementation Plan) conducted by the Ministry of Education (MoE, 2008), an emerging trend of lifelong learning has swept over Taiwan, as older adults generally embrace learning even though they are growing older (see also Chap. 9). H.-C. Wei (*) · L.-H. Lin Department of Adult and Continuing Education, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_10

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The Active Aging Learning movement has yielded rich results after 12 years of practice, whether it is about curriculum development, staff training, instructional design, industry connectivity, or learning outcomes (Lin & Chang, 2017; Wei, 2012). Under the holistic planning and implementation by the principal investigator (as one of the authors for this chapter) of the Active Aging Learning Program, which has been funded and conducted by the Ministry of Education, this program has created a unique developmental model across Taiwan (Wei, 2012). Active Aging Learning is an effort that raises the awareness of middle-aged and older adults about some vital facts of an aged society from a future perspective. These facts are: an aged society is not a society merely for senior citizens, but one in which the number of older people has been increasing and this demographic profile definitely affects society as a whole; every individual is expected to adjust his or her life plans in a society where the percentage of people over age 65 is on the rise. Now is the time to prepare for an aging society and take some action. The purposes of this chapter are as follows. First, we aim to explore the background, policy, implementation and core concepts of Active Aging Learning. Following this, two types of Active Aging Learning - Active Aging Learning Centers in local communities and Active Aging Learning Colleges – are explored. Lastly, we present suggestions for future directions.

10.2  Background to Taiwan’s Active Aging Learning A trend for lifelong learning has been emerging across Taiwan over the last decade. The emergence of this trend is considered to be associated with a number of social factors. For starters, as Taiwan is fast approaching a super-aged society, many people have become keenly aware of the need to mentally prepare for an aging future and take action accordingly. Secondly, in addition to a rapidly aging population, Taiwan is also facing the serious impact of low birth rates, which is especially obvious in rural areas. For example, it was reported that there were five elementary schools in Chiayi County that received no students in Grade 1 in 2020. With a continually plummeting birth rate in recent years, there were only 147,702 newborns in 2020 (MoI, 2020). This has not only posed an even greater challenge at all levels of school, but has impacted upon community revitalization and development. Thirdly, the government used to be more devoted to promoting the welfare of elders, yet without sufficient resources or guidance invested into continuing education for older adults. Fourthly, the Ministry of Education did not proffer a corresponding implementation program that helps to successfully build a system for continuing education for older adults even though it promulgated the white paper, Towards an Aged Society: Seniors’ Education Policy in 2006. Considering that the government has not yet offered a systematic initiative to counter the effects of the rapid growth of an aging population by encouraging the older adults to engage in continuing education, Professor Wei, Hui-Chuan, the director of Aging and Education Research Center (AERC) and her team, presented

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a proposal to the Department of Social Education, Ministry of Education, recommending that the central educational authority should guide the public to learn to mentally prepare for the upcoming super-aged society from a pilot perspective. This proposal won the consent of the Director of the Department of Social Education, Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education promulgated the Active Aging Learning Program in 2008, with an aim of setting up Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs) in townships and cities across Taiwan, in order to promote the well-­ intentioned policy for meeting the learning needs of senior people. In the same year that the AALCs were established, the Ministry of Education also proposed a project for Active Aging Learning Colleges. Active Aging can be defined as follows: 1. in Hakka dialect, older adult is pronounced as “lo-ngin-ga (老人家 in Chinese)”, which sounds similar to “Active Aging” in Mandarin; 2. the pronunciation of learning in English sounds similar to the word “Le-Ling (樂齡)” in Mandarin, which refers to “Active Aging” as well; 3. in The Analects of Confucius, the concept and importance of “live and learn happily” has been brought out in his wisdom. Confucius described himself as a person who has nothing to stop him from learning. Once he feels happy, the sorrow will disappear. All of these make him forget about aging; and 4. The word “Le-Ling (樂齡)” had originated in Singapore, which refers to the life of older adults which is meaningful and full of joyful and freedom. Singapore respectfully regards elders as the Active Aging Tribe (Wei, 2012). In order to avoid calling people over 55 years old as old, we brainstormed to come up with Le Ling. At first, most people did not understand it. Over time, this term became popular with the public. Active Aging Learning has been featured with active aging Core Courses with a number of clear concepts and a well-defined vision. It has been promoted by setting up AALCs, which have been well received by the general public. Since 2008, Active Aging Learning has gained popularity among the older population across Taiwan. As of 2020, a total of 369 AALCs had been set up, along with 3175 community learning sites and 1437 clubs and organizations (Wei & Li, 2020). The total expenditure amounted to roughly US$5.45 million. Approximately 200 thousand hours of learning were activated in a year.

10.3  Policy and Implementation The Active Aging Learning Program has been promoted in accordance with two policies by Taiwan’s educational authority. The MoE on June 26, 2002, initiated the Lifelong Learning Act, of which Article 14 read as: “The competent authorities at all levels shall formulate plans for the promotion and implementation of senior citizens’ learning, allocate specific funds for this, and encourage lifelong learning institutions to conduct learning activities for senior citizens” (MoE, 2002). And the

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white paper, Towards an Aged Society: Seniors’ Education Policy, was promulgated by the MoE in 2006. Since lifelong learning institutions are allowed to receive subsidies from legitimate authorities at all levels for conducting learning activities for senior people, the MoE has also formulated Regulations for Subsidization to Establish the Community Lifelong Learning Center (MoE, 2007). Then the MoE established the Active Aging Learning Center Implementation Plan on a yearly basis since 2008. For 12 years, active aging learnng activities have been successfully promoted in urban and rural areas, along coastal and mountainous areas as well as outlying islands. These agencies and their activities are widely loved by people everywhere, and have become a key component of Taiwan’s lifelong learning ever since. In addition to learning in the community, older adults are also able to learn on university campuses. Under the guidance of the aforementioned policies, the Ministry of Education proposed a project for Active Aging Learning Colleges. The development, progress, and modification of this plan were divided into three periods; namely, Short-term Elderhostel Learning Activity, Senior Learning Academies, and Active Aging Learning Colleges. In 2008, 13 universities were subsidized to conduct Short-term Elderhostel Learning Activities for older adults. Boarding education was adopted, and a total of 69 batches for five days and four nights were held. In response to the excellent results of the activities, the project had been extended. It was hoped through these initiatives to establish positive images of older adults to society. The Short-term Elderhostel Learning Activities for older adults have been renamed as Senior Learning Academies, and the scope of performance has been expanded. In 2009, 28 colleges and universities were subsidized to perform the active aging learning class project. As a project plan, the classes were designed by the host sites to undertake the project in accord with their resources. They could provide courses with or without accommodation. These universities also needed to design learning activities of five days for three batches (Lin & Chang, 2017). On the whole, the Short-term Elderhostel Learning Activities and the Senior Learning Academies were condensed into five days. Afterwards, in order to establish learning routines for older adults, the Ministry of Education changed the name of Senior Learning Academies to Active Aging Learning Colleges in 2010. Accordingly, the once centralized education mode was altered to a decentralized and semester system. The project guided the schools within universities to design courses for 12–18 weeks. The course design enables older adults to enter the campus every week for 2–3 days of learning, providing a total of 216 h of learning activities each semester. A combination of seniors’ demand and acquisition of funding from the government has resulted in a numerical increase of the Active Aging Learning Colleges. There were 56 Active Aging Learning Colleges in 2010, and it has grown to 93 by 2021. The promotion of continuing education for elders is led by the Department of Continuing Education, the Ministry of Education. Along with the promotion of active aging learning policies, the MoE also requested Professor Wei, Hui-Chuan from National Chung Cheng University and her team, to set up the first Guidance

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Group of the Active Aging Learning Program. Other district guidance groups were set up in 2012, so the first guidance group has since become the head guidance group. The role and responsibilities of the head guidance group are very much like a think tank, as it mainly deals with the following tasks: Creating the structure of policy practice; developing a roadmap of a course that aims to train professional talent; designing a developmental model for talent training in active aging activities; stipulating performance indicators for AALCs; undertaking visit coaching in AALCs; performing a comprehensive survey of the implementation of efficacy of active aging learning; conducting exchange meetings and an annual meeting in cities and towns each year. The Head Guidance Group of Active Aging Learning Program also compiles a series of Active Aging educational materials and video productions. Local governments also help with the promotion of active aging learning, as the MoE authorizes the local governments and civic organizations, such as community development associations, middle and elementary schools, and township offices to conduct active aging learning activities. All these organizations are required to present a proposal to the local government before they are allowed to conduct an active aging learning activity or program after the screening and selection process. The government encourages qualified units to apply for AALCs, so there are no strict selection criteria. As long as the documents are deemed suitable, they will probably be approved. However, these organizations must receive training, visits, coaching and consultation, and for members to attend meetings so that they will be able to have a grasp of the concepts and philosophy of active aging and learning. The implementation of the Active Aging Learning Colleges is carried out by each university submitting a proposal to the MoE. Active Aging Learning Colleges have been based at universities, utilizing the education resources, library, teachers, and facilities to provide older adults with knowledge systematically. The combination of education, recreation and tourism has become the “best means” of learning for older adults of the new generation (Lin, 2016). In response to the declining birth rate and the aging population, the Active Aging Learning Colleges provide older adults opportunities to join on campus and learn with young students. The project has promoted intergenerational education and advocated for intergenerational integration in the hope of building an age-friendly society without age discrimination. The courses of the Active Aging learning Colleges have been planned and offered to correspond with the universities’ semester system, and the lessons have been planned flexibly by each school from September until July the following year. Courses must be offered in both semesters of the academic year. Each semester lasts approximately 12–18 weeks, 6–9 lessons per week. The total class hours per academic year are 216. Active Aging Learning Colleges have given priority to older adults who are over 55 years old as enrolling students. In principle, the extent of basic subsidy for each school is one class, and the maximum subsidy is two classes. The maximum subsidy for the first class was approximately US$11,800 which could be fully subsidized. Active Aging Learning Colleges have taken a knowledge-based approach as the main framework and organized four categories as the main structure for courses.

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The subsidized universities integrate the courses of related departments, which are differentiated from the activities offered by the senior citizen centers and the senior community colleges. Hence, diverse courses have been available for older adults. The following section describes the four categories of courses offered in this university system (Lin, 2016).

10.4  Courses Related to Active Aging Learning Colleges The content of the courses has been mainly in the form of informational materials to help students understand the challenges and adaptive strategies of aging, especially social aging. For example, topics include the learning characteristics of older adults, the trends of an aging society, and prevention of dementia and depression. General courses, such as life education, safe medication practice, traffic safety education, and anti-drug and anti-cigarette propagation have also been included. Designers of learning plan a series of lessons to help students achieve active aging learning, which has included lifelong learning, aging in place, how to be an active aging learner, lifespan development, interpersonal relationship and communication, stress adjustment, life courses and roles of life, spiritual education, the meaning of life, etc. The content of the courses includes health management, health care, mental health, physical fitness, movie and music appreciation, as well as travelling, learning, and reducing the harm to human health caused by illegal medical treatment, drugs, cosmetics, and nutrition. The content is mainly based on the developmental features of the university and key areas of research, including courses designed by the university, such as death care, marine ecology, marine education, tourism and hospitality, guided tours and exposition of digital media and technology, skill training and art education, etc. Content also focuses on the development of new knowledge which is “essential” to modern society, such as science and technology, and information technology education. Gender equality-related courses (including the choice of children’s surnames and equal inheritance), humanities and arts, law, and social life (including domestic violence prevention, the selection of surname, inheritance), consumer awareness and rights, and more, can also be combined with general education courses provided by the university or be integrated into other related courses. With the intention of meeting the diverse needs of older adults, the learning model of the Active Aging Learning College includes three types of learning within the courses: classroom learning, intergenerational learning, and off-campus learning. Intergenerational learning is implemented in three ways. First, the university arranges suitable courses to be audited. The content of the courses should have been through an evaluation to match goodness of fit for older adults. Second, classroom interaction has been arranged to enable senior college and graduate students to learn together and experience the fun of intergenerational learning. Third, extra-­curricular activities guide older students to participate in student organizations, to achieve

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intergenerational interaction through such activities. Regarding off-campus learning, it has been planned for seniors to visit educational places and sites in the community. Off-campus visiting not only promotes partnerships between the universities and other institutions, but also meets the requirements of the course and provides a wide range of learning channels for older adults.

10.5  Implementation and Outcomes The first author of this chapter has served as the Principal Investigator of the Head Guidance Group of Active Aging Learning Program since 2008. Professor Wei spares no effort and is keen to take every opportunity to visit AALCs across Taiwan, including those in remote areas. In so doing, she can witness how much hard work has been devoted by management, teachers, and even volunteers to promote the concept and implementation of Active Aging Learning Programs. This collaborative effort usually demonstrates great creativity and vitality. The staff and volunteers demonstrate their enthusiasm toward creating a comprehensive and diversified course and in conducting innovative activities, in hope of creating an environment for senior citizens to learn and have fun. It is very heart-­ touching to see their selfless devotion. These elders’ vitality and happiness are to the fore. Some of them have been recently widowed and become unhappy, but regained strength after taking courses in the Active Aging Learning Centers. Some were technologically illiterate before being enrolled in the center but had learned to start a blog of their own. Even those in their nineties can exude enthusiasm. One could recite poems or paint. Another man generously donated his own farmhouse, so local elders could have a place to actively learn and have fun together. For the past 12 years, many moving stories have developed, and these touching and enduring stories have been recorded and spread in  local communities. They are great living examples of keeping active regardless of age. The MoE received the Government Service Quality Award granted by the Executive Yuan in 2014 because of the excellent performance of the Active Aging Learning Program with a small budget. This reflects the spirit of the Active Aging Learning Program: Government believes that education is the most economical and effective strategy to respond to an aging society. The policy of the Active Aging Learning College aimed to establish a localized and diversified education system mainly for older adults 55 years old and above. Adopting the concept of “Active Learning, Stay Young” the policy intended to prepare and help older adults plan for later life 10 years prior to reaching 65. By cultivating the habit of lifelong learning for middle-aged adults and older adults, Active Aging Learning Colleges have enhanced the ability of older adults to adjust to their family and social life after retirement, “slowing down” the aging process. The purpose of the project was not only to strengthen their adaptation toward transformation in physical, mental, family, and social aspects in advancing age, but also to

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construct social participation channels, with an eye to improving the quality of life in old age, to achieve the vision of active aging. For a long time, educational resources have mostly been invested in early life. However, due to a declining birth rate, the student numbers of older adults have become larger than that of the young. As a result, the efficient use of educational resources has become particularly important. According to the view of Dickerson et al. (1990), if higher education wished to fulfill its social purpose, it should expand the scope of education consumers to become lifelong learners. The public should recognize the significance of education for older adults because if older adults who are in their third age (Laslett, 1989) can continue to grow and develop, it will benefit the whole society. Therefore, it is necessary to provide extensive formal and informal learning opportunities for older adults. In Taiwan, the promotion of Active Aging Learning Colleges opened a new page for the integration of university colleges and older adult education. It encouraged domestic higher education institutions to provide diversified access to education resources, guiding these institutes to become one of the learning centers for older adults, providing teaching environments, faculties, and resources of high quality to enhance the vision and life value of older adults. The Active Aging Learning College project has been in action for 12 years. The increasing number of participating universities, colleges and students can demonstrate the result of the advancement of the concept. It can be summarized in terms of the following four benefits: 1. fulfilling active aging learning and enhancing the positive value of older adults; 2. popularizing learning places, distinguishing learning channels, and increasing life-long learning opportunities for older adults; 3. planning systematic courses to enhance the content of active aging learning; 4. creating diverse and innovative learning models to meet the different characteristics of older adults (Lin & Chang, 2017).

10.6  C  ore Concepts and Philosophies of Active Aging Learning The reason why the educational policy about active aging has been popular with people lies in its overturn of traditional concepts and implementation of active aging and learning in local communities. This has reinforced the importance of a more “education-oriented” policy in a rapidly aging society as opposed to one driven by welfare.

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10.6.1  Overturning Traditional Views of Aging The reason why Taiwan’s active aging learning has drawn wide attention and interest from older adults lies in its core philosophy that has effectively overturned the traditional views of aging. What does aging mean? How do you define aging? This question merits our reflection and careful consideration in an aging society (and soon to be a super-aged one). Many stereotypes of aging pose limitations on how we live the latter part of our lives (Phillipson, 1998). There is a strong connection between “the extent to which the stereotypes are overturned” and “how we re-create a second career in the second half of life” (Wei, 2015, p. 8). For that reason, we have begun to use “Le-Ling” (active aging) to describe older adults. The term Le-Ling refers to those above the age of 55 or those who have retired. The second half of life for people in their 50s can better be recharged through active learning. As people approach their retirement age, a re-discovery journey helps them to create a meaningful second journey. The purpose of the Active Aging Learning Program is to encourage adults veering towards retirement to engage in lifelong learning.

10.6.2  Learning for Active Aging Active aging learning allows for a new type of continuing education for the older generation, as it involves providing education for people aged 55 and over. The goals of learning lie in helping older adults lead an active life through practice, alter some traditional views of aging, and increase their self-efficacy. These are very different goals compared to other activities held for the older generation in former days. For instance, take the Chang Ching Shyue Yuan1 (CCSY) as an example. They were founded in 1989 and provided courses that helped elders to find their own hobbies. These courses were very different from Active Aging Core Courses (see Chap. 9). In recent years, the MoE has launched the Active Aging Learning Program as an endeavor to meet the expectations presented by Howard McClusky, a pioneer of education for older adults. According to McClusky (1971), when it comes to later life learning, there are five types of needs: coping needs, expressive needs, influence needs, contributive needs, and transcendent needs that are responsive to our human needs: keeping healthy, maintaining safety, positive thinking, connecting with others and contributing to society. The aim of Active Aging Learning is to encourage people over the age of 55 to acquire education that responds to the above needs supported by subsidies from the government. To facilitate an education that meets the above needs, the head of the Head Guidance Group of Active Aging Learning Program has developed Active Aging 1  Chang Ching Shyue Yuan (CCSY): the meaning of “Chang Ching” is “evergreen”. The Taiwanese have always used “Chang Ching” to describe healthy and active older adults. “Shyue Yuan” means “a learning place”.

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Fig. 10.1  The framework for the core course of active aging learning. (Source: Wei, 2015, p. 154)

Learning Core Courses as seen in Fig. 10.1. This core course stems from a three years research project funded by the National Science Council (from 2013 to 2016 (Wei, 2016), which surveyed a total of 3179 older adults who participated in AALCs and other learning organizations. Results of the study show that seniors agreed that having learning goals in later life helps to obtain new knowledge, and take action on what they have learned. The study revealed that the two variables of acquiring new knowledge and taking actual steps are the best predictors of learners’ continuing participation in lifelong learning. From the year 2014 onward, this course has provided a solid structure for the MoE’s Active Aging Learning Core Course. What is distinctive about Active Aging Learning is its courses. Traditionally designed learning activities include singing, dancing, drawing, etc.; however, Le-Ling learning not only reinforces the idea of active aging (WHO, 2002), but also incorporates adult learning theory (McClusky, 1971) to meet all levels of personal needs (e.g., emotions related to self-perception, to encompass self-transcendence and contributions to the society). It is the satisfaction derived from meeting these personal needs that will contribute towards a longer, better and healthier life. In addition, the content of this framework includes five major categories with 27 learning topics. The core course drives Active Aging Learning differently and provides greater benefits than those of the more traditional and commonplace activities for older adults; thus, it has led to more funding from the Ministry of Education for support to carry out this active aging education and encourage many more seniors to participate freely in order to learn. The development of the core course seeks to not only satisfy “personal desires” such as one’s hobbies or interests, but also extend to greater general “educational needs,” which are of chief importance, as discussed above.

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10.7  Suggestions for Future Directions Looking back on the senior-related policies over the last 30 years, it is clear that policies formulated and implemented by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare have greatly impacted upon the projects focusing on provision of services for seniors. The lifelong learning policy presented by the MoE pays particular attention to the public’s lifelong education by first creating a learning society and then implementing the Active Aging Learning Program to respond to the rapidly aging population in Taiwan in recent years. The essential spirit of the Active Aging Learning Program involves a series of core courses designed to help seniors stay active and healthy, whereas the policies formulated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare started with the Long-Term Care Plan 1.0 and then to an upgraded 2.0 version. In addition to taking care of older adults, this care plan concentrated on prevention and delaying disability. An overview of the development of senior policies in Taiwan suggests that universities have taken a proactive role in presenting policy recommendations and rendering actual help in the implementation of policies. Lifelong learning policies have been formulated by the MoE: Towards a Learning Society White Paper (started in 1998 and lasting for two years), and the Active Aging Learning policies since 2008 (see Chap. 9). From them, the Active Aging Learning Program has proved to be very effective in terms of its continuity, extension and systemization for elders’ learning. Since 2008, Active Aging Learning has been focused specifically on a lifelong learning theme and has evolved effectively over the span of 12 years. Aside from providing a series of courses on prospective learning for the older generation and responsive teaching models in instructional practices, the MoE has begun to heed the professional development issue since 2018. The MoE has expended effort to foster retirees and older adults’ enthusiasm toward participation in varying forms of active aging learning activity. In 2020, the MoE published a roadmap that delineates talent training in the active aging and learning sector, including the hours required to complete the training. This demonstrates the MoE’s ambition and determination in fostering professional talent in the active aging and learning area. The Active Aging Learning College project can still be improved with hard work. First, no relevant database has been constructed for searching the capabilities of professional staff. Second, the issue of wastage through resources misused by repeated applications made by the same applicants is being considered. In response to the first issue, a teacher database should be established based on their expertise and affiliations, and information of teachers could be categorized to identify professional and experienced teachers for related courses. In response to the second issue, a comprehensive and unified registration system for each college/university should be planned, by using ID numbers as identification to avoid repeated registration of the same student, so that limited resources of this project can be better rationalized to benefit more people. Looking to the future, there is a significant issue of developing effective strategies for management dealing with Active Aging Learning Colleges. With an aim of

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constructing a sustainable development strategy for Active Aging Learning College, Lin (2016) has raised four strategies: overall strategy, resource integration strategy, sustainable operation strategy, and organization development strategy, as general guidelines for a comprehensive framework. The sustainable development of the project for active aging learning requires collaborative effort across several domains. In 2017, The Ministry of Health and Welfare began to promote the Long-Term Care Plan 2.0. The primary objectives of the care plan have been to establish care sites in local communities and take preventive measures to maximise older people’s functioning. Compared to the Active Aging Learning Program, the educational content of the Long-Term Care Plan is mainly about doing exercise for health benefits (Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2017). The learning program of the long-term care plan has similarities to the MoE’s Active Aging Learning Program in terms of their sites, audiences, instructors, and some of the learning content. The two programs from different philosophical orientations necessitate further rationalization for the ultimate benefit of older people in Taiwan.

10.8  Concluding Remarks In conclusion, seen from the perspective of development of Taiwan’s active aging learning in terms of its structure of promotion and outcomes, the Taiwanese government has allocated resources in a seemingly random fashion wherein programs are carried out in different ways by different local governments. When it comes to the policies of recruitment of talent, talent training, and even the issue of different rates of payments for coaches/teachers, the two programs of kindred spirit (health/welfare; education) are implemented in accordance with two different standards or strategies. This area of coordination is most urgent. All in all, the implementation of the active aging learning program requires integration of all relevant policies and stakeholders. As the first higher education institution that took the initiative to set up graduate institutes in adult education, the National Chung Cheng University set up an Adult Education Institute in 1993, and an Elder Education Institute in 2003. This has helped to close the gap in higher education with communities and paves the way to more promising development of active aging and learning. In response to a super-­ aged society, Taiwanese society needs to recruit a broad variety of talent in the caring industry as well as in the design of learning. Overall, the government should integrate resources at different levels, recruit professionals who know best how to provide services for seniors and make learning the core spirit and mechanism for implementation of programs. Specifically speaking, prevention (via education) comes first before treatment. Only by doing so can Taiwan take better care of a rising number of older populations, motivate them to actively engage in learning and get started with better self-care routines. In this way, policies that best counter the challenges brought by a super-aged society can be created.

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References Dickerson, B. E., Seelbach, W. C., & Dietz, S. J. (1990). A 21st century challenge to higher education: Integrating the older person into academia. In R. H. Sherron & D. B. Lumsden (Eds.), Introduction to educational gerontology (pp. 297–331). Hemisphere. Laslett, P. (1989). A fresh map of life: The emergence of the third age. Weidenfeld. Lin, L. H. (2016). The study of operation model, implementation effectiveness and development strategy of senior university. Survey Research Data Archive, Academia Sinica. https://doi. org/10.6141/TW-­SRDA-­E10377-­1 Lin, L. H., & Chang, Y. C. (2017). Evaluating the implementation effectiveness of senior learning academies in Taiwan. American Journal of Chinese Studies, 24(1), 29–42. McClusky, H. Y. (1971). Education: Background issues. White House Conference on aging. Ministry of Education (MoE). (2002). Lifelong learning act. MoE. Ministry of Education (MoE). (2006). Towards an aged society: Seniors’ education policy. MoE Policy White Paper. https://ws.moe.edu.tw/001/Upload/3/RelFile/6315/6929/95.11%E9%8 2%81%E5%90%91%E9%AB%98%E9%BD%A1%E7%A4%BE%E6%9C%83%E8%80%8 1%E4%BA%BA%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E6%94%BF%E7%AD%96%E7%99%B D%E7%9A%AE%E6%9B%B8.pdf Ministry of Education (MoE). (2007). Regulations for subsidization to establish the community lifelong learning center. MoE. https://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/LawContent.aspx?id=FL043991 Ministry of Education (MoE). (2008). Active aging learning centers implementation plan. MoE. https://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/LawContent.aspx?id=FL049045 Ministry of Education (MoE). (2017). Senior education medium-term development project. MoE. https://moe.senioredu.moe.gov.tw/senioredu_ms/UploadFiles/20180205113953507.pdf Ministry of the Interior (MoI). (2020). Monthly bulletin of interior statistics: December of 2020. MoI. https://www.moi.gov.tw/english/cl.aspx?n=13134 Ministry of the Interior (MoI). (2021). Monthly bulletin of interior statistics: January of 2021. MoI. https://www.moi.gov.tw/english/cl.aspx?n=13972 Phillipson, C. (1998). Reconstructing old age: New agendas in social theory and practice. Sage. Wei, H. C. (2012). Taiwan Active Aging Learning Intervention and Policy. Wunan. Wei, H. C. (2015). Life-long learning after retirement. Open University. Wei, H.  C. (2016). Training instructional designers of middle aged learners: The development of andragogy-based training program (MOST104-2410-H194-085). Research Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Wei, H. C., & Li, A. T. (2020). Active aging learning head guidance group program annual report. Ministry of Education. World Health Organization (WHO). (2002). Active aging: a policy framework. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/106625/67215 Hui-Chuan Wei (魏惠娟) completed a PhD in Education Policy and Administration from University of Minnesota, USA. Professor Wei is the Principal Investigator of the Taiwan Active Aging Learning Program funded by the Ministry of Education. She has overseen the program for over 10 years, ever since the policy enactment in 2008. She is also a professor and the former chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Near the university campus, she tried to integrate education and welfare using her farm to run an innovative community care center, “Active Aging on the Ark”.  

Li-Hui Lin (林麗惠) earned her PhD in Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University with a major of older adult learning and educational gerontology. She is a professor of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at Chung Cheng University primarily concerned with design of learning programs and engagement with active aging education related policies.  

Chapter 11

Flourishing Blooms: The Practices and Effectiveness of the Active Aging Learning Movement in Taiwan Ai-Tzu Li

11.1  Introduction This chapter introduces the practice model and analyzes the success of Taiwan’s active aging learning movement established in 2008. The movement has focused on encouraging individuals of age 55 and above to prepare a plan for their “second half” of life including learning plans, ten years before retirement, to begin a brand-­ new era different from the former traditional senior education. The whole movement was initiated by the policy making of the Ministry of Education (MoE) (as elaborated in Chaps. 9 and 10), enforced by local governments. Five university advisory groups played the major role of sustaining practice, including advising the central government as the policy think tank, visiting and doing research on the Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs) throughout Taiwan. Additionally, they were involved in tutoring operations, cultivating talent and setting up distinguishing characteristics for each AALC. More details can be found in Li and Wei (2019). The operation of AALCs is undertaken by various types of performance units, from township offices, public libraries, schools to non-governmental organizations. To ensure the consistency of operational quality, a quality assurance mechanism was set up to help the AALCs to establish their own executive vision to achieve excellence in staff professional growth, to learn how to program plan, to lead in management and operational matters. This chapter elaborates on the practice model, quality assurance mechanisms and the distinctiveness and effectiveness of the AALCs’ operation, and suggests future directions.

A.-T. Li (*) Department of Adult and Continuing Education, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_11

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11.2  The Philosophy of Taiwan’s Active Aging Learning The idea of active aging learning is to assist older adults to engage in joyful learning to “forget their age” and therefore live longer, healthier and with dignity. The concept is based on the Active Ageing: A Policy Framework proposed by the World Health Organization back in 2002. That report presented participation, health and security as the three key pillars to be critical in encouraging older people to remain active and independent. Governments were encouraged to improve access for seniors’ health and social participation to provide the necessary safety, security and care systems. Therefore, the promotion of active aging learning has been to extend the third age, and to reduce the fourth age (Laslett, 1989). In order to flip the traditional views of aging as addressed in Chap. 9 of this book, we use “Le-Ling” and set the age range to begin with 55 years old, ten years younger than the legal retirement age in Taiwan, to encourage an early preparation mindset to encounter later life with foresight. Further elaboration of the concept of active aging is available in Chap. 2 of this book.

11.3  The Structure of the Operation The success of the movement relies on the co-operation and trust between central government, local government, guidance groups, and the AALCs. Each of them plays different roles in the process. Kramer (1981) has categorized roles and tasks that non-profit organizations play as follows: service-provider, vanguard, value-­ guardian, and advocacy. This categorization is considered suitable to use as a framework to describe the relationship between different roles of management and stakeholders in the movement. First, central government, via the Ministry of Education, provides the overall guidance to plan, design and establish elder education policies as well as the principles for financial subsidy. It serves the role of governance. Second, local government is responsible for selecting a suitable institution in the county to become a center and provide guidance, counseling, training, and administrative assistance. Also, local government should make a matching grant with the MoE to promote elder education and has to be evaluated by the MoE; thus, the effectiveness of the centers is part of its responsibilities. The local authorities serve in a guardian role. Third, the university guidance groups commissioned by the MoE, conceive and formulate operational strategies, build an active aging learning curriculum system, develop annual assessments and performance indicators to evaluate centers’ performance, develop a series of effective teaching materials, conduct professional training courses and seminars, showcase achievements, and participate in international seminars to enhance the professional ability of elder education instructors (Li & Wei, 2019, p. 101). They not only function as the think tank value-guardian but also

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play a vanguard role because they innovate by experimenting with and pioneering new topics, approaches, or programs in active aging learning program delivery. The role of service provider is at the core of the center operation. The purpose of the center is to integrate the learning resources of elders in townships and villages, to provide diverse learning channels and activities for seniors to conveniently participate (Li, 2012). A new building is not required; existing institutions in townships and villages, including elementary schools, public sector agencies (public library, township offices), civic associations (for example, farmers or fishermen associations, community development associations, community care stations) and non-­profit organizations are encouraged to apply to operate as an active aging learning center (Li & Wei, 2019). In 2011, the Active Aging Learning Demonstration Centers were developed, with the intention that they would become a benchmark showcase for demonstrating featured active aging courses, learning materials, teaching methods, and independent learning service groups (Li & Wei, 2019). At present, the Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs) have been established by 155 schools (42%), 46 township offices (12.5%), seven libraries (1.9%), and 161 non-governmental organizations (43.6%). Libraries have the lowest uptake. Currently, only the Taipei City area is hosted by a municipal library. Its advantage for seniors is that they can use library resources and access other public libraries in various places to develop reading, life course picture books, and other related courses, including picture books to develop stage plays. It is also a major feature displayed by the library management. The AALCs established by the township office have their operational advantages in the use and integration of all the resources in the township, and the village centers are used as a base for group recruitment and expansion. This makes it relatively easy to build a network-based learning base, and at the same time, it is convenient to integrate with township welfare, or various resources for longterm care. AALCs located in schools are conducive to the development of intergenerational education courses, and to plant roots down for positive aging education. For example, activities such as storytelling by grandparents foster intergenerational learning. The highest proportion of centers are based in non-governmental organizations. These organizations have practical operation know-how and authentic experience in operating non-profit organizations, so that they can readily respond to the requirements of the Ministry of Education for senior learning, and at the same time, they can excel at inter-departmental contacts and resource integration. Since the AALCs are dependent on existing institutions to operate, the nature of the original institutions will affect the centers’ operational plan. This occurs when the existing institutions have formal structures, such as schools; these centers would have to modify or adjust the roles or functions of staff members accordingly. For example, in the case of a school-based center, the original service target was young students in formal education. In addition to the original work, the existing teachers

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still need to promote senior education. If there are no appropriate supporting measures to reduce their workload, the willingness to undertake this task would be reduced. The research of Wei and Li (2019) found that the management team members of the non-governmental organization type of AALCs are significantly better than the school type and the public sector type in terms of overall work investment and organizational identification. In actual operation, it appears that the non-­ governmental organization type has better kinetic energy.

11.4  K  ey Factors of Operation for Active Aging Learning Centers Since the Active Aging Learning Center is sponsored by the government and 55+ adults join the programs for free, it has to be responsible to taxpayers. Even though each active aging learning center is operated by a different agency, effective management of the center and its impact are important issues and concerns for stakeholders. An Active Aging Learning Center is not an independent organization, but is attached to a current institution. Also, it has to submit a grant proposal each year to the local government and the MoE to get the funding for running the center. To some extent, it is more like a government sponsored project. However, since a center has been given a distinct feature and values in serving the purpose of promoting an active aging society, there is still a complex relationship between mission, goals, objectives and operation. Also, the group of people in the center occupy different roles designed to achieve center goals. A system of coordinated and purposive activities is implemented in the center. Based on an AALC’s characteristics, it could be seen as an organization (Anheier, 2005). It is necessary to set up an appropriate management model and criteria to help them reach policy goals. The management criteria provide the basis for a formal, systematic, organized process to guide the entire operation, improving the focus and giving the centers clear information to assist in future planning. In 2008, active aging learning was a brand-new concept; therefore, a clear goal and structure was required. Management by Objectives (MBO) served as the guideline for the Head Guidance Group to develop the operation standards for the AALCs to form the basis for monitoring and evaluation. Since an active aging learning center is a place for learning, the center itself should be a place requiring commitment, bonding and participation. Furthermore, apart from the teachers, the director and the staff work as volunteers. The ideological foundations about the existence of the center play an important role in strengthening their motivation, commitment and engagement. Accordingly, a human relations approach has been emphasized as very important for the conceptualization and operation of a center. Both scientific management and human relations approaches are utilized to interpret, advocate, and legitimize the way the AALCs are set up and run. In addition to both approaches, the

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use of management criteria are manifested by the idea of a balanced scorecard mentioned by Kaplan and Norton (1992). It is a tool used to quantify, measure, and evaluate an organization’s inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes (Anheier, 2005). Even though the scheme is formulated for the profit sector originally, with modifications, it can be used in non-profit organizations and it is a results-oriented approach to measuring organizational performance (Anheier, 2005). In accord with this approach, the following management criteria constitute five key aspects in measuring the effectiveness of an AALC.

11.4.1  A Meaningful Vision Statement A meaningful vision statement usually leads to the success of an institution, in this case, an active aging learning center. Hence, each center is required to establish a vision statement that encapsulates the center’s core ideals, provides a roadmap to where it wants to go, and the desired long-term outcomes of the center. A vision statement guides the future direction, the goals and the action plans. It should inspire and give direction to the teams in the centers. In other words, a vision statement is like the guiding light, which leads the action plans in the other four aspects and builds towards the operations of the center. The guidance group holds workshops to help the center shape its vision. Since it is not a large organization, it is encouraged to get the insight of every member of the center while formulating the vision statement. The guidance group also provide feedback in the workshop and in the subsequent annual review meeting.

11.4.2  A Powerful Team Structure In order to reach its goals, the center should establish an organizational structure. The organizational structure defines each employee’s job and outlines the activities that should be implemented in the center. While most of the centers rely on the original institutions, an organizational structure is still required because having a structure in place can help with efficiency, clarity, and productivity. Each center might have a different structure; however, most types of the structure are flat. Basically, there should be a director, who is responsible for the strategic planning; however, some centers might have vice-directors or executive secretaries in addition to a director. The operation team can be divided into sections of Curriculum, Learner Affairs and Volunteering. The Curriculum section deals with the curriculum planning and development and teacher management. The Learner Affairs section deals with learner registration and management. The Volunteering section deals with volunteers’ recruitment, staffing and training.

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11.4.3  Team Members’ Learning and Development In the dimension of learning and development, the issues include how the members of the center learn and develop, and the kind of characteristics and abilities they should have in order to achieve the center’s vision and mission. Essentially, the human resources distribution of the center, as mentioned above, resembles a horizontal structure. The director and the administrative team, instructors and the volunteer team form the important human capital of the center. On the one hand, the center must have enough manpower; on the other hand, these members must have the requisite ability to execute the plan, because the human quality of the center members heavily determines the performance of the center’s operations. According to Kaplan and Norton (1992), in order to achieve the goal of sustainable operation, the center must invest in the future, and this involves the improvement of the capabilities of each member. Therefore, judging the capability and diligence of each team member should be one topic that the center directors must give serious consideration during the operation of the center. If the center has a sound learning and development agenda, the members of the center should improve their competency. This positive agenda usually includes improvement of their morale, satisfaction with the center and retention of staff.

11.4.4  Curriculum and Teaching The curriculum and teaching dimension reflects that in order to achieve the vision and mission and meet the needs of learners, what constitutes premiumquality course content should be questioned. And how to teach effectively? Specifically, it includes the planning and teaching of core courses, plus the design and development of teaching materials. This dimension is the main feature of the operation of the AALCs and the key to distinguish it from other related senior institutions. Active aging core curriculum is planned to enable seniors to learn to live well throughout retirement. Themes include life safety, exercise and health, spiritual growth, interpersonal relationships, and contribution of services, covering 27 topics developed by Wei et al. (2014). When planning annual programs, each center should pay attention to the proportion of core, self-directed and dedicated service courses set by the Ministry of Education. According to the MoE, the proportion of core courses should not be less than 50%. Meanwhile, in the curriculum planning, the curriculum should be deepened via the center’s annual learning theme or in consideration of learners of different learning years. This results in the development of annual, monthly and weekly curriculum plans. At the same time, in order to allow more senior citizens in counties and towns to have access to learning opportunities, each center needs to arrange learning courses taught in extended villages in addition to the courses based in the center. In

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particular, elders in rural areas, if they do not have transportation, are less likely to face the travel to learn. Therefore, in order to facilitate local learning, each center has a target indicator for expanding learning locations every year. In terms of curriculum design, the huge challenge of teaching core curriculum is that it is hard to motivate older learners to take courses and be engaged in learning. In order to maximise the quality of teaching of the active aging core curriculum, the Head Guidance Group developed the teaching 123 method in 2016 and began to train teachers who teach core courses and apply this set of teaching techniques to provide interesting and useful courses. Teach 123 means the instructor should design one learning goal in each learning unit, with two different teaching activities, and three after-class applications. To more comprehensively improve the teaching abilities of the teachers across Taiwan, through the planning and design of the head guidance team and the district guidance team, a map of teacher training courses was established in 2020. The plan divided the elementary and advanced levels to include 27 h and 61 h respectively to conduct the training of the teachers in a more systematic and organized manner. The third focus of curriculum and teaching is to encourage centers to further develop teaching materials or teaching aids to suit the learning of senior students, especially within the core courses. In the example of the premium quality AALC in Hsinchu City, the center recruited a teacher with pre-school education experience. The teacher converted the textbooks used in kindergartens into exercise textbooks suitable for seniors to learn, and this task promoted senior well-being via development of hand-eye coordination and brain cognitive functioning.

11.4.5  Management and Procedures This dimension is concerned about how to achieve the center’s vision and goals, and satisfy older students’ learning needs through its operations. In particular, marketing and promotion, teacher and student management and systematic documentation are key considerations. (i) Marketing and Promotion The center has to formulate a marketing plan through direct posters, leaflets, electronic media, social media, center achievement exhibitions, word-of-mouth marketing, and so on. However, each center must also choose a suitable marketing channel based on the characteristics of the local population, such as the special needs of elders in rural areas. In such instances, it may be more suitable to use word-­ of-­mouth marketing or systems broadcast in community villages to encourage participation; electronic media and social marketing may apply to elders holding smartphones in metropolitan areas, but less the situation for older adults in rural areas.

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(ii) Teacher and learner Management In order to improve the teaching quality of the center, each center checks the qualifications and quality of the teachers. This should be implemented in the recruitment and appointment of the center teachers. Therefore, recruiting principles are meant to be established, including whether an applicant has a college degree or above, senior lecturer training certificates, certificates in a relevant teaching field, etc. Certainly, the attitude and other characteristics of the teachers are also the focus of recruiting. In addition, teachers also have obligations to be met when teaching, such as providing course outlines and teaching plans, assisting in the marketing and enrollment, reporting on learning effectiveness, and participating in the center’s teacher advancement day and professional development activities. The above still needs more attention in the future. Learner management needs more attention additionally. The learners’ satisfaction with the teacher is expected to be analyzed and a standard score compiled. When a teacher has not reached the anticipated quality of teaching, it may be used as a basis for further training or redundancy. On a daily basis, the director of the center should observe the performance of teaching, and assist teachers to make rolling revisions to their teaching plan. Presently, the Ministry of Education has set up a database of teaching staff, which can be used by the centers as a reference when hiring teachers in the future; the center itself should also be managed to ensure the quality and management of the teaching contingent. The management of the learner component mainly focuses on overseeing learner dynamics, learning records, etc. With the rise of big data analysis, an emergent trend is to establish a database of learners for statistical analysis related to learning effectiveness. (iii) Systematic Care of Documents The purpose here is to achieve ideal file management of the center to facilitate the inheritance and preservation of knowledge, especially related to the establishment of courses and teaching files. This may include course planning tables, lecturer sign-in forms, student sign-in forms, learning satisfaction surveys, etc. And naturally, the center’s operating plan, marketing plan and outcomes, and learner learning results are also included. Systematic documentation helps expose and reserve implicit knowledge. AALCs’ operation relies heavily on experiencebased knowledge, especially important when membership of pedagogical teams changes.

11.5  Quality and Achievement of AALCs The AALCs has been promoting active aging learning courses for middle-aged and senior citizens over 55 years old for over 12 years, writing a new chapter for senior education in Taiwan. The movement’s achievement can be narrated in the following aspects:

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11.5.1  The Growth in Numbers The number of the AALCs has grown from 104 in 2008 to 369 in 2020, reaching the goal of “one village with one AALC”; the number of participants has also increased from 470,000 in 2008 to 2,634,336 person-times in 2020. The number of volunteers has increased from 7831 to 12,480 person-times (MoE, 2020). Furthermore, a nationwide study of adult education participation by adults over the age of 55 showed that the participation rate was 29.16% in 2019, higher than 2008’s 19.34%, 2011’s 21.66%, 2016’s 21.35%, 2017’s 25.40%, and 2018’s 24.27% (Wu & Li, 2020). In the past decade, the participation rate has continuously increased, reflecting the presumed effectiveness of active aging learning policy.

11.5.2  The Participants’ Profile Since one of the functions of the centers is to provide an active aging learning program with a focus on maintaining and creating social ties, it is important to know who participates. According to Wei and Li’s National Survey (2019), which sampled 4717 55+ adults from 366 Active Aging Learning Centers, the following results were found: 11.5.2.1  Gender According to Table 11.1, currently, the participation of seniors in learning is still mostly female. In this survey, there are 1161 males, accounting for 24.8%, and 3519 females, accounting for 75.2%, with an approximate ratio as 7.5:2.5. 11.5.2.2  Age The average age of the learners in this survey is 67.72 years old. The majority of participation is in the band of 65–69 years old, accounting for 23.8%; the next one is “60 to 64 years old” accounting for 20.4%. 11.5.2.3  Education Level The education level is mainly “elementary school (inclusive) and below”, with 1669 students accounting for 35.8%, followed by “high school vocational”, with 1117 students accounting for 25.2%, and “junior/junior high school”. The participants who are mainly in elementary school level and below best fit with the purpose of the centers that aims to provide educational opportunities and resources to people with limited access to learning and lesser levels of formal education in their past.

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Table 11.1  The profile of participation Variable Gender Age

Education level

Health status

Financial status

Degrees of participation

Group Male Female 55–59 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80 & above Elementary school & below Junior high school Senior high school/vocational University/college Master’s degree Doctoral degree Very bad Bad Normal Good Very good Quite difficult Slightly difficult Normal Approximately sufficient Quite abundant Less than 1 year 1 year to fewer than 3 years 3 years to fewer than 5 years 5 years to fewer than 7 years 7 years to fewer than 9 years More than 9 years

Numbers 1161 3519 843 844 1093 814 566 498 1669 942 1177 799 71 6 54 371 2121 1463 677 24 202 2007 2081 341 995 1473 1228 523 208 290

Percentage 24.8% 75.2% 15.9% 20.4% 23.8% 15.4% 11.3% 9.0% 35.8% 20.2% 25.2% 17.1% 1.5% 0.1% 1.2% 7.9% 45.3% 31.2% 14.4% 0.5% 4.3% 43.1% 44.7% 7.3% 21.1% 31.2% 26.0% 11.1% 4.4% 6.1%

Source: Wei and Li (2019)

11.5.2.4  Health Status At present, senior learners’ self-evaluated health status are mostly “normal” and “good”, with 2121 (45.3%) and 1463 (31.2%) respectively. It can be seen that most participants self-report as still in good health. 11.5.2.5  Financial Status The senior learners consider their financial situation is “normal” and “approximately sufficient”, with 2007 (43.1%) and 2081 (44.7%) respectively. From this point of view, most currently studying seniors are not facing the threat of economic pressure.

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11.5.2.6  Extent of Participation The participant group from “1 year to fewer than 3 years” is the largest, with 1473 people accounting for 31.2%, followed by “3 years to fewer than 5 years”, with a total of 1228 people accounting for 26%. In addition, there are 995 people who have participated for less than one year accounting for 21.1%, and 498 people who have participated in the program for more than seven years accounting for 10.5%. As a whole, most of the senior learners’ participation experience in the program is between one to five years. 11.5.2.7  Participation Days and Hours On average, learners invest about 2.1 days a week in the activities, and the weekly participation hours range from 1 to 36 h. This means the learners spend an average of five hours a week participating in active aging learning activities. 11.5.2.8  Use of Transportation The transportation used by senior learners to go to class is “ride by motorbike”, accounting for 46.4%, followed by “walking” accounting for 22.7%; while “classmate pick-up/sharing” and “family/friend pick up” are at the least proportion of 2.3% and 4.3% respectively. Generally speaking, most of the participants are females, age falls between 60-69 years old, with a preponderance of seniors having an elementary school education level. It is also reasonable to assert that most of the participants are still in good health because weak or poor health people might not be able to join the activities by themselves.

11.5.3  Outcomes and Quality The operating outcomes and quality of the AALCs are presented from three aspects: participants’ learning, well-being, and team members’ well-being. They have been measured on a 5-point scale. (i) Participants’ Learning The AALCs aim to help seniors over 55 to learn important things about aging itself, about active aging-related knowledge, skills, attitudes, and foresight to respond to future challenges. A study by Wei & Li (2019) found that most senior learners said that through participating in the learning, they did get positive gains. Comments included:

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“Especially after participating in the AALCs’ courses, my life is happier and fuller” and “after participating in the AALCs’ courses, I like learning more”; however, “after participating in the AALCs’ courses, I believe in myself that I am able to achieve the goals for future life” is a less frequent choice. These comments equate with the observation that learning for the future or helping seniors enjoy a better life are important goals of the centers. Further analyzing the relationship between these learning gains and social demographic variables, the following findings are reportable: After participating in learning, female learners tend to acquire significantly better learning results than men; for women, they can more readily change their perceptions of learning, and learn active aging related skills, increasing their confidence and coping ability towards future life. Learners of different ages appear to have no/little significant differences in the performance of learning gains; also, there appear to be no significant differences in learning gains among senior learners of different education levels in this survey. However, the study by Lin (2016) shows contrary evidence - that those with elementary school education benefit more than those who had completed at least junior high school and above. Even though the two research results seem to differ in respect to benefits accrued according to educational level, the principal aims of guiding policy are to uphold social justice, enhance the esteem and life quality of elders, in accord with the core values of active aging learning. In the aspect of health, the learning gains of those who perceive excellent health and those who perceive good health are significantly better than those who perceive normal health and those with poor health. Hence, as anticipated, one’s health status tends to affect participation and aligned outcomes. Those who perceive their financial status to be quite adequate and those whose economic status is generally adequate perceive their learning gains to be significantly better than those who perceive their economic status to be sufficient and those who have a slightly difficult economic status. There appears to be no significant difference in length of participation and learning outcomes. Judging from the average score of 4 points or more, regardless of the length of the learning, all have similarly good results. For those whose learning location is based at either the main center and the extension location, outcomes are deemed better for main center participants than those who only take the class at the extension location. How to strengthen the teaching quality in extension locations (e.g. by adopting better design and implementation of the curriculum), will be an important topic that needs to be discussed continuously. In viewing participants’ profiles and the above analysis, it can be seen that participants predominate who have higher economic and health status. Not surprisingly, healthier and better economic status older adults reported more developed perceptions of learning gains. There are many reasons to interpret issues of participation/non-participation (see, for instance, Findsen & Formosa, 2011, chapter 10). Boeren (2017) cited a three-layered model to explain participation patterns: individual social characteristics, the accessibilities of learning providers, and the countries’ policy. At the policy level of the AALCs, even though the learning is free of

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charge and each township has one center now, some townships are much larger and might not be accessible for every older adult; whether in a rural area or township, those who have no transportation are impeded. At the provider level, many of the courses more readily fulfil the interests of women learners, but not men. At the individual level, as a member in the Head Guidance Group, the observation is that dispositional barriers such as lack of confidence, attitudes toward learning in later life and prior negative learning experiences might be the factors preventing them from taking part in learning. Participation in the AALCs may illustrate the Mathew effect (participation is highest among groups of those who have already successfully participated in learning activities in the past and who have already succeeded) (Boeren 2017). (ii) Well-Being Helping older people to achieve a good quality of life or happiness through learning is also an important achievement for the senior learning movement. According to a survey by Wei & Li (2019), the overall quality-of-life of senior learners is 4.22 points (measured by 5-point scale), suggesting that most senior learners have a better quality of life related to participation. Among them, comments include “I have the ability to engage in current daily activities by myself” (M=4.36) and “I have sufficient physical strength and energy to lead a good life every day” (M=4.31) have the highest scores, suggesting that most older learners are very satisfied with their physical energy levels and daily activity. However, further remarks and scores include: “I am satisfied with my current vision, hearing and other sensory functions” (M=4.06); “I have enough money to cope with the current life need” (M=4.11); “I am yearning for the future I am looking forward to” (M=4.12); “I am satisfied with my current health” (M=4.13); and “I can plan for myself, for future life” (M=4.14). Such scores are lower than the overall average score - thus, current health status (especially the deterioration of sensory function), economic status, and autonomy for future life of senior learners are indicators of their lesser satisfaction in life. Therefore, goals such as developing better self-health care, how to respond and delay sensory function degradation and engaging in later life planning, constitute important course planning directions for enhancing the quality of life of senior learners. As Villar et al. (2020) suggest, although it is possible to learn something from all active aging activities, not every activity for individuals seems to have the same value and potential in terms of learning. If the active aging core curriculum aims to prepare people for the second half of life, the nature of the active aging learning activities requires even more careful design and is a key factor that determines learning quality. In further discussing the difference in quality of life from participating in learning, it is expected and confirmed that the overall quality of life of those who have participated in senior learning for 5–7 years will be significantly better than those who have participated in less than 1 year. Among the detailed quality of life indicators, “self-esteem”, “economic status”, “home environment”, “intimacy”, “health” and “general assessment of quality of life” generally show that those who have

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participated for five to seven years have accrued significantly better outcomes than those who have participated for less than one year. The above results suggest that in the process of participating in learning - being able to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for senior life to effectively respond to changes in personal health, economic status, social interaction and other dimensions, and being able to plan and position themselves more appropriately for later life - may lead to a happier and higher-quality senior life. The results also echo the observation that continuous participation in non-formal lifelong learning may help sustain an older adult’s psychological wellbeing (Narushima et al., 2016). (iii) Team Members’ Learning and Well-being Wei and Li (2019) advocate that the administrative team, teachers, volunteers and other team members who promote active aging learning, are themselves, active practitioners in aging. The research data also support this assertion. The overall average of the AALC management team members’ personal learning and changes is 4.47 (5-point scale), likely indicating that most management team members believe that they have positive gains in the process of investing in the AALC services. From this point of view, investing in the AALC learning services is also a learning process for team members. Their engagement can help them to better understand the needs of seniors and at the same time make life more meaningful for themselves.

11.6  Reflection and Future Recommendations Overall, the success of active aging learning movement relies heavily on the effective governance structure operating across the MoE, local government, guidance groups and the centers. The learning benefits that the AALCs generate have made a new chapter in Taiwan’s senior education, such as enabling the word of “Le Ling” (active aging) to be actioned and reversing the stereotypical image of elders from passivity and dependence into an active and energetic one (Biggs, 1993). In terms of sustainable development, here are suggestions for future operation: First, currently the management criteria are ostensibly for consultation purposes, in order to ensure the quality of the centers. The criteria could be transformed to the evaluation standards such as those implemented via the senior center accreditation standards developed by National Council on Aging in the USA (NCOA, 2021). Second, there is a concern for a systematic way to represent the effectiveness of the centers and their accountability to stakeholders. Most of the research has been in the form of cross-sectional surveys using self-report. The government and guidance group could conduct longitudinal research and start using big data methodologies to provide stronger evidence of the impact the AALCs make. Also, the active aging and lifelong learning discourse needs to continuously emphasize equality of learning opportunities for older adults.

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Third, the AALCs could provide more courses focusing on future life design and provide more evaluative support to strengthen their learning efficacy. There is room for improvement for participants who are male, in poor health, have a poor financial status, and who live in remote locations in improving their learning outcomes. The AALCs should modify the courses and the learning channels to better fit their special needs. Also, the participants from five to seven years yield better learning results than those who stay for just one year. Therefore, how to retain participants continuously will be one of the important issues AALCs should pay attention to.

References Anheier, H. K. (2005). Nonprofit organizations: Theory, management, policy. Routledge, NY. Biggs, S. (1993). Understanding ageing: Images, attitudes and professional practice. Open University Press. Boeren, E. (2017). Understanding adult lifelong learning participation as a layered problem. Studies in Continuing Education, 39(2), 161–175. Findsen, B., & Formosa, M. (2011). Lifelong learning in later life: A handbook on older adult learning. Sense Publishers. Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1992). The balanced scorecard: Measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review, 70(1), 71–79. Kramer, R. M. (1981). Voluntary agencies in the welfare state. University of California Press. Laslett, P. (1989). A fresh map of life: The emergence of the third age. Weidenfeld and Nicholson. Li, A.  T. (2012). The human resource cultivation model for Taiwan’s active aging learning. In H. C. Wei (Ed.), Taiwan active aging learning (pp. 121–150). Wunan. Li, A. T., & Wei, H. C. (2019). Lifelong learning for aging people in Taiwan: Innovative programs and social effects. New directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 162, 97–110. Lin, L.  H. (2016). The study on social outcomes of elder education. Humanities and Social Sciences Newsletter Quarterly, 17(3), 47–54. Ministry of Education (MoE). (2020). The statistics of active aging learning centers. https://moe. senioredu.moe.gov.tw/Home/SeniorCenter Narushima, M., Liu, J., & Diestelkamp, N. (2016). Lifelong Learning in active ageing discourse: Its conserving effect on wellbeing, health, and vulnerability. Aging & Society, 38, 651–675. National Council on Aging (NCOA). (2021). National senior center accreditation: Introduction and guide. https://www.ncoa.org/article/ national-­senior-­center-­accreditation-­introduction-­and-­guide Villar, F., Serrat, R., Celdran, M., & Pinazo, S. (2020). Active aging and learning outcomes: What can older people learn from participation? Adult Education Quarterly, 70(3), 240–257. Wei, H. C., & Li, A. T. (2019). Active aging learning centers’ service effectiveness analysis annual report 2019. Ministry of Education. Wei, H.  C., Chen, G.  L., & Lee, Y.  H. (2014). The framework of active aging curriculum for education of the elderly and its evaluation: A normative needs perspective. Chung Cheng Educational Studies, 13(1), 45–87. World Health Organization. (2002). Active ageing: A policy framework. World Health Organization. Wu, M. L., & Li, A. T. (2020). Adult education survey annual report 2019. Ministry of Education.

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Ai-Tzu Li (李藹慈) achieved a doctorate in Social & Philosophical Foundation with a major in Adult Education from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA. Professor Li is the current Associate Dean of the College of Education and the chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Alongside Professor Wei in Taiwan’s Active Aging Learning Program, Professor Li serves as a co-Principal Investigator of the program and the former chair of the Taiwan Active Aging Association. She specializes in human resource development, program planning and evaluation.  

Part IV

Concluding Remarks

Chapter 12

Concluding Remarks Brian Findsen, Hui-Chuan Wei, and Ai-Tzu Li

12.1  Introduction In this final chapter, we seek to gain greater understanding of why and how the senior learning movement in Taiwan evolved. The structure of this chapter is as follows: we reflect on what we have learned from contributors in earlier chapters using the “outside in” perspective to begin and then narrowing the approach to consider some key neighboring countries’ strategies, achievements and concerns, to an ultimate focus on Taiwan itself (the “inside out” perspective). Next, we explore features of Taiwan’s senior learning movement including issues to be resolved. Finally, we remark on trends and recommendations for the future.

12.2  Reflections on Chapters The essence of this senior learning movement in Taiwan has been based on the notion that older citizens be enabled to conduct their lives in healthy, stimulating and educative ways. Necessarily, the AALC developments, fundamental to a more democratic mechanism for the enhancement of seniors’ lives, is the prominent component of the senior learning movement. The very name Active Aging Learning – Le Ling  – embodies the two main theoretical concepts of active aging, comprehensively discussed by Kathryn Braun in Chap. 2, and lifelong learning, B. Findsen (*) Division of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand H.-C. Wei · A.-T. Li Department of Adult and Continuing Education, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. Findsen et al. (eds.), Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement, Lifelong Learning Book Series 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93567-2_12

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similarly explicated with substantive argument by Alex Withnall in Chap. 3, to form complementary emphases of this social movement. Active aging is unleashed via the activities constructed for and, to a lesser extent, by seniors in the AALCs. From Part I, Global Perspectives and Conceptual Framework, the agenda for exploration of active aging and lifelong learning in later life is mapped by international authors in these respective fields. In Chap. 2 the plethora of terms used in relation to aging are identified, each with its nuance of meaning. For example, the concept of productive aging triggers further questioning – productive in what senses and for whom? Hence, often the meanings of terms to describe aging are laden with economic, social and cultural underpinnings. In this chapter Braun localizes developments in the region in which Taiwan is a member through elaboration on the establishment of the Active Aging Consortium of the Asia Pacific (ACAP) and its continuing work to facilitate debate and discussion. The ACAP schema is a very useful tool for comprehending the salient features of active aging and older persons’ well-being at varying levels across national boundaries. In Chap. 3, Withnall has provided a comprehensive analysis of changing understandings of learning in later life. Lifelong learning is the lynchpin of this discussion where she provides robust theoretical antecedents for an emergent critical educational gerontology. Her review of pertinent issues outside of Taiwan has considerable resonance inside this society: the need to address ageism; the emergence of intergenerational learning as a tool for encouraging greater empathy across generations; how to involve men more proactively in senior learning; how covid-19 has challenged societies in the ways they function, particularly for older people. The chapters from neighbours of East Asia in this book point to kindred issues faced by national governments, civil society (in the form of various NGOs) and older people themselves discussed in Part II, Perspectives from East Asian Countries on Senior Learning/Education. The more specific challenges encountered by Taiwan have some similarity to neighbouring countries (e.g. fragmentation of policy development for older adult education; ageism in the workforce; reticence from some seniors to engage in more formalized education) but there is a unique set of circumstances that mark the character of senior learning in Taiwan (discussed below). From mainland China we can determine that the sheer size of that country and its vast population base set the conditions for unequal quantity and quality of learning opportunities for seniors (see Chap. 4). The now familiar pattern of a paternalistic structure and operations for older adult education (also prevalent in Taiwan but softened) has meant that universalization of educational opportunity remains distant. While lifelong learning has accrued more credibility in recent public policies and there is a more diverse range of agencies providing (older) adult education – both public and private  – the reality of programs meeting localized learning needs of seniors is difficult. However, in the example of the great urban area of Shanghai expansion of opportunity is evident and despite obstacles such as lack of professional development for instructors, the potential for this mega-city and China is significant. In the Singaporean portrayal of senior learning examined in Chap. 5, the historical emphasis on utilitarian purposes of lifelong education for seniors is still strong

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but now more openly complemented by learning for self-development and learning within communities. The traditional top-down paternalistic approach by the government is in a state of flux as the National Silver Academy has sought to establish a diverse array of providers and to emphasize the theme of community participation for seniors in contracts. The importance of vocational training for all age groups via the work of Skills Future reinforces older people as valuable in the workforce but other learning opportunities for older adults have a more humanistic flavour. From an analysis of the South Korean landscape for seniors’ education, the issue of what constitutes older adulthood comes to the fore. Jun (Chap. 6) refers to “quasi-­ older people” (50–54 ages), and as for Taiwan, preparation for retirement at this seemingly young age is deemed crucial. As for China, South Korea has numerous retiring government officials whose learning needs are diverse. One solution, a benefit for the nation and individuals, is to develop the Golden Color (Geumbit) initiative where young-old (Neugarten, 1976) act as volunteers. Amid many different institutions of learning, the extent to which age segregated (as opposed to age-­ integrated) opportunities are offered is an unresolved issue. Japan, which has very close proximity to Taiwan and historically has been an occupier, has considerable aging issues as explained in Chap. 7. Necessarily, Japan requires a major perspective transformation (Mezirow, 1981) to cope with its rapidly changing demographic structure towards what Makino describes as a 100-year life society. In this society, he argues for no age discrimination where older age is not extraordinary but people in this situation, commonly living to 100+ years, being treated as integral in Japan’s overall development as a nation. Makino has described that learning in local communities is vital along community development principles. This re-aligned new society will rely on the AAR (anticipation, action, reflection) movement to function effectively. This empowerment model has echoes in Taiwan’s AALC movement where “buy-in” from local communities is crucial for success. In the transition chapter from Part II to Part III (Past and Present Taiwanese Senior Learning Developments) by Findsen (Chap. 8) the broader historical and cultural influences (e.g. Confucianism) linger in the conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of the AALC movement. As also emphasized in later chapters, the policy position of seniors’ learning has been fraught with Governmental indecision until the sheer sway of structural demographics towards an aged society have forced governments’ hands. Early policy development was characterized by well-­ intentioned but paternalistic attitudes of welfarism and a leisure-entertainment theme; later developments moved firmly in the direction of a learning in later life perspective. Instead of senior education for older citizens, education with them became more prominent. The author’s visits to sites in Pingtung, Tainan and Taichung reinforced the importance of local learning conditions and accompanying seniors’ needs being prominent factors in planning and implementing provision. In Chap. 9 the significance of supportive public policy related to seniors’ actual interests has been signaled. From the pre to post Active Aging Learning eras, manifold white papers emanated from government and eventually, in contested terrain, policies reinforcing lifelong learning for older persons became a reality. Along the

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way to a more enlightened time, the tenacity of advocates has proven to be a key factor in achieving more positive outcomes. In particular, the role of universities, as in many other countries (see Field et al., 2016), has been highlighted where policy advice, research and professional development have been deemed crucial in moving this social movement forward. In Chap. 10, we have delved beneath the surface of the AALC developments to reveal how policy has been translated into programs in both urban and rural areas. The achievements of the establishment of AALCs have been accomplished via sheer hard work of proponents for a more comprehensive array of providers and curricula than in the pre AALC period. At all levels of Taiwanese society, the overturning of thinking about what constitutes older adulthood and relevant programs where older people are treated as subjects in their learning journeys has been problematic. In Chap. 11 the mechanisms of practice are articulated where the operationalization has relied on perseverance and strong belief in the philosophy underpinning programs. The development of effective programs has depended on robust monitoring and assessment of practices in diverse settings. The very human elements of a meaningful vision (one of the hallmarks of new social movements), cooperation among key players (government officials, professors of the Guidance Group, directors, teachers, volunteers, seniors themselves), on-going professional development, coupled with provision of relevant curriculum, are fundamental to the success so far of the AALC movement. This final chapter (sole chapter in Part IV – Concluding Remarks) is intentionally more than a summary of what contributors have identified and discussed (as above). There are themes and issues which permeate many of the chapters, as follows.

12.3  Features of Taiwan’s Senior Learning Movement Policy in the East Asian countries has been developed in a similar path; from a welfare (mainly physical health) orientation to a more educative one (Zhang, 2010). Service providers have adhered to a governmental perspective where older people have been recipients of care and “looked after” by a paternalistic state. In the case of Taiwan itself, this change of orientation is exemplified by the move of much of senior education from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to the Ministry of Education. This is a largely contested domain (Cervero & Wilson, 2001), and remnants of the old system are still apparent in contemporary practice. A fairly major issue, not idiosyncratic to Taiwan, is that policy development has lacked integration (too fragmented), less like near neighbors Japan and China whose systems are seemingly more cohesive. In the early years, adult and continuing education policy in Taiwan had a five-year plan. However, since 2000, due to a rotation of political parties, development has been discontinuous. In addition, policy announcements are not necessarily followed by a corresponding action plan. Further to the issue of political orientation of the two main parties, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Kuomintang (KMT), commitment has been

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tenuous. Active advocacy for senior learning from leading academics in the field has helped to provide a constant vision for an active aging society in Taiwan. From 2008, there have been eight ministers and five directors of the Ministry of Education and there is a tendency of a new government to undo directions of a previous government. Hence, the essential message of the importance of senior learning/education has had to be sustained and not taken for granted. The countries’ governments discussed in this book (China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan) have faced similar discontinuities but appear to have managed greater consistency of messaging. Singapore’s more utilitarian emphasis on human resource development and vocational learning is not repeated in Taiwan. This is not a result of a lack of effort. In 2020 Taiwan passed a law, under the auspices of the Ministry of Labor, related to employment of middle-aged and seniors to encourage (re)employment. County and city governments have been expected to establish employment counseling centers. However, both employers and the general public have needed to overcome stereotypes of the perceived (in)capabilities of older people in the workforce. This situation is hardly idiosyncratic to Taiwan (see Beatty & Visser, 2005). Crowther’s definition of a social movement mentioned in Chap. 1, alerts us to the possibilities prevalent within the dynamics of a society enabling adult learning. In the case of Taiwan, the movement has been both bottom-up and top-down, primarily the latter. Government, urged by scholars and practitioners, has provided much needed funding at varying points of the AALP development; Ministries (Health and Welfare; the Interior; Education) have provided a structure and regulations for local towns and villages to follow. The role of universities, especially that of the National Chung Cheng University, has been pivotal in connecting public resources to the local places where senior learning occurs. Scholars with sound connections to local sites of the AALCs – largely acting as intermediaries – have provided much-needed direction and guidance for formulating the overall vision of a newer aging society, teaching expertise, curriculum development and the cultivation of talent (professional development). There is also a strong sense that each AALC, while necessarily responsive to local seniors’ learning needs, is continuing to foster an awareness of a social movement beyond individual site boundaries.

12.4  Issues to Be Resolved Some issues deserve more discussion as follows:

12.4.1  The Concept of “Old Age” Needs Renovation The traditional definition of “old age” has tended to center around an actual age, whether 55 or 65 (Biggs, 2000). As for some countries (e.g. South Korea) much attention and some resources have flowed from the government based on the idea of preparing for older age. Taiwan’s earlier understanding of older adulthood has

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tended to focus on physical health conditions of senility, sickness, disability and frailty but the advent of the Active Aging Learning Program has contributed to a modernizing of this notion to emphasize more positive attributes of older people and their important role in society. The challenge is to convert thinking at all levels (individual, organizational, governmental) to align more closely to the 100 year life expectancy initiative explained in Chap. 4, now beginning in Japan. There is a need to integrate learning in later life into the lifelong learning framework, as explained in Chap. 3, to build an ageless society. Challenges to creating an ageless society are considerable (Manheimer, 2005) but the AALC strategy provides a more than useful benchmark.

12.4.2  Dependency on Government The crisis of a pending aged society has certainly expedited further resources for seniors in Taiwan. Governmental intervention has two sides: the positive direction of triggering resources for how seniors can lead more active lives; the less favorable attitude of reducing initiative for elders to exercise self-directed learning. Frontline workers are still relatively afraid to innovate in response to problems encountered in the implementation of senior education (Wei, 2020). While public policy and funding is appreciated from government, the private sector in Taiwan has potential to act in a complementary fashion.

12.4.3  The Role of Universities While in some countries across the globe universities have more pro-actively embraced older people entering their territory (see Talmage et al., 2019), this has been slow to happen in Taiwan. While the leadership of the CCU has given considerable credibility and influence over the conception and implementation of the AALP, a cohesive group of scholars focusing on senior learning/education, is yet to materialize. In 2018, the Ministry of Education promoted the University Social Responsibility (USR) program which has encouraged other universities to take action in terms of supporting the AALP. A strong research concentration on older adult education beyond the CCU still is lacking (CIRAS, 2020). Another role of a university can be to influence the government to face its USR in order to develop cross-disciplinary senior learning policies. Universities themselves can go beyond non-credit programs for seniors and enhance both intergenerational learning and entry for older adults to undertake degree qualifications (especially in light of diminishing numbers of “regular” younger students in universities – see Findsen, 2017).

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12.4.4  Fragmentation of Programs for Seniors While senior education over the last two decades in Taiwan has received increasing attention as part of lifelong learning (current funding is about 100 million Taiwanese dollars, roughly equivalent to US$3.6  million), this is not a major funding base. While Taiwan has three main features of senior education – an awareness by the government of its responsibilities to seniors’ education; a core curriculum; a design model for the training of teachers (Wei, 2016) – there are 373 AALCs in 2021 with over 3000 learning bases in communities. At the same time, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has set up a similar number of community-based care centers to provide learning opportunities and funding for health promotion for seniors.

12.4.5  Professionalization of the Field of Senior Learning In the chapters in this book focusing on the operationalization of the AALP, the refrain of lack of appropriate needs assessment, teaching expertise, limited knowledge of curriculum development and effective management systems abounds. We argue that senior education needs greater autonomy and creativity where government intervention is minimized, and where it takes on a more governance function. Greater effort in the normalizing of effective staff development at both national and local levels would boost professionals’ expertise. For example, since 2008, the general guidance group has cultivated staff and teachers with a systematic training and development model to enhance human capital (Li, 2012). Effective quality assurance mechanisms and collaboration between stakeholders (local government, center directors, instructors, and volunteers) are also part of developing greater professionalism in the AALP movement.

12.4.6  Effective Use of New Technologies Among Seniors One of the unintended positive consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic discussed by Withnall in Chap. 3 and further remarked by the Singaporean authors (Chap. 5) is that on-line developments have been accelerated. Students in universities and seniors, as a result of the May/June 2021 covid outbreak in Taiwan, have received more tuition/communication remotely. While the entire society is affected by Covid-19 interventions, one immediate issue is for instructors in the AALCs to receive enhanced training in on-line teaching literacy. As for the rest of society, the balance between face to face and online communication/learning for seniors is an on-going issue to confront.

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12.5  Trends and Recommendations for the Future The active aging exhortation, as highlighted in Chap. 2 of this book, is for seniors to more proactively engage in activities of learning aligned to the third tier of the WHO (2002) to participate in society and continue to contribute their expertise – the other tiers are security and health. The goal of achieving a learning society in which older people have a major role without discrimination is a major current and future aspiration. The move away from a passive, paternalistic service user role of elders to a proactive service provider (Findsen, 2005) can lead to a society where seniors have a central role, as advocated in Chap. 4 of this book concerning Japan. Taiwan (as for China, South Korea and Singapore) can use the senior learning movement to enhance anti-ageism and continue to promote generational inter-changes. The increased attention to later life learning in the future should help older people themselves to fulfil a fuller array of interests. Instead of a preponderance of leisure-oriented programs which function as entertainment, more instrumental possibilities for part-time work could be better incorporated into the curriculum as illustrated in the Singaporean model. Opening up the curriculum should also encourage actual career paths for workers and firmer professionalization yet still a cadre of well-trained volunteers will be required to boost the ranks of workers in the senior learning movement. The public-private industry space in senior education, aligned to greater diversification of learning activities, especially those to attract more men and less privileged senior citizens (including new immigrants), can be enlarged. For instance, private enterprise has expressed an interest in investing in toys for senior citizens (via Taiwan Center of R & D and Testing for Commodities). This initiative would require at least three parties – AALCs, manufacturers and senior citizens – to co-­ operate to produce meaningful toys in line with international standards. This idea would be consistent with ethical approaches that enhance rather than denigrate the status of elders. An “all of society” approach, inclusive of young people and equipment designers, would be necessary for this to be a meaningful development. From the example of Japan described in Chap. 7 of this book, a more vigorous community development model in Taiwan could be incorporated into future planning. In effect, this approach at more localized levels is fundamentally one of empowerment of older learners (Freire, 1984) where ownership of the social learning movement becomes more “natural” for seniors to enact. This is not an easy fix. However, having seniors take a more active stance in their own learning journey in which the AALP plays a fundamental role is highly desirable.

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References Beatty, P. T., & Visser, M. S. (2005). Thriving on an aging workforce: Strategies for organizational and systemic change. Krieger Publishing. Biggs, S. (2000). Understanding aging: Images, attitudes and professional practice. Open University Press. Center for Innovative Research on Aging Society (CIRAS). (2020). CIRAS annual report, Ministry of Education Higher Education Sprout Project. National Chung Cheng University. Cervero, R. M., & Wilson, A. L. (2001). Power in practice: Adult education and the struggle for knowledge and power in society. Jossey Bass. Field, J., Schmidt-Hertha, B., & Waxenegger, A. (Eds.). (2016). Universities and engagement: International perspectives on higher education and lifelong learning. Routledge. Findsen, B. (2005). Learning later. Krieger Publishing. Findsen, B. (2017). The engagement of universities in older adult education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 57(3), 366–383. Freire, P. (1984). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum. Li, A.-T. (2012). The human resource cultivation model for Taiwan’s active aging learning. In H. C. Wei (Ed.), Taiwan active aging learning (pp. 121–150). Wunan. Manheimer, R. J. (2005). The older learner’s journey to an ageless society: Lifelong learning on the brink of a crisis. Journal of Transformative Education, 3(3), 198–221. Mezirow, J. (1981). A critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Education, 32(1), 3–27. Neugarten, B. (1976). Time, age and the life cycle. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 887–893. Talmage, C.  A., Mark, R., Slowey, M., & Knopf, R.  C. (2019). Age-friendly universities and engagement with older adults: Moving from principles to practice. In B. Findsen (Ed.), Fresh perspectives on later life learning (pp. 65–82). Routledge. Wei, H.-C. (2016). Senior learning planner training program: 123 instructional design model. Training & Development, 221, 1–22. Wei, H. -C. (2020). The integrated healthy life learning program planning and implementation for community older adults: Application of the living lab concept (NSC-109-2410-H-194-064SSS). Research Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology. World Health Organization. (2002). Active aging: A policy framework. Author. Zhang, W. (Ed.). (2010). Theories, policy and practice of lifelong learning in East Asia. Routledge. Brian Findsen  completed a doctorate in Adult Education and Sociology from North Carolina State University, USA, in the late 1980s. Brian has worked in adult and continuing education in universities for most of his career, as an adult educator (teacher, researcher, manager) at the University of Auckland, AUT University, the University of Glasgow (2004–2008), where he served as the Head of Department for Adult and Continuing Education. At the University of Waikato, New Zealand, he was the first Director of the Waikato Pathways College from 2008 and latterly as Professor of (Adult) Education in the Division of Education. He was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor in October 2021. Most of his substantive research has focused on learning in later life. He was admitted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2012. Having retired from the University of Waikato, Brian continues to undertake voluntary work. Hui-Chuan Wei  (魏惠娟) completed a PhD in Education Policy and Administration from University of Minnesota, USA. Professor Wei is the Principal Investigator of the Taiwan Active Aging Learning Program funded by the Ministry of Education. She has overseen the program for over 10 years, ever since the policy enactment in 2008. She is also a professor and the former chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Near the university campus, she tried to integrate education and welfare using her farm to run an innovative community care center, “Active Aging on the Ark”.

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Ai-Tzu Li  (李藹慈) achieved a doctorate in Social & Philosophical Foundation with a major in Adult Education from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA. Professor Li is the current Associate Dean of the College of Education and the chair of the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. Alongside Professor Wei in Taiwan’s Active Aging Learning Program, Professor Li serves as a co-Principal Investigator of the program and the former chair of the Taiwan Active Aging Association. She specializes in human resource development, program planning and evaluation.