Inclusion through Folk High School courses for senior citizens

Bibliographic Data

ID21537600
AuthorsJoel Hedegaard (0000-0002-2045-7716, Jönköping University, corresponding author), Martin Hugo (0000-0002-6448-4636, Jönköping University)
Year2020
Volume46
Issue2
Pages84-94
Publication date2020-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducational Gerontology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0360-1277 • E-ISSN: 1521-0472
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03601277.2020.1712773
OpenAlexW3000607768
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited18

The increasing proportion of senior citizens in the population places new demands on the existing welfare system, in terms of the delivery of social services, but also with respect to democratic issues such as ‘inclusion’ and ‘participation.’ Participation in adult education offers a context where senior citizens can be included in society, experience meaningfulness, and even create the conditions for their own well-being. In Sweden, there exist formal adult education systems that have enjoyed more success than others with respect to attracting groups of senior citizens who traditionally have not participated in the same degree in this domain. The Folk High School is one such educational system. The purpose of this article is to provide a description of how Folk High School senior courses are organized and what role the courses that are offered there play in the participants’ lives with respect to meaningfulness, their well-being, and life-long learning. Eight focus group interviews with 33 participants were conducted at eight different Folk High Schools in southern Sweden. The results of this study indicate that Folk High Schools’ senior courses are organized together with the participants and in such a manner that interaction with participants from other courses is made possible. This interaction gives rise to an unpretentious- and, in a broad sense, an intercultural learning experience. The participants experience this as meaningful, and as something which impacts on their quality of life in a positive manner. Furthermore, it plays an important function in the participants’ continued life-long learning

Democracy · Focus group · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Population · Sociology · Adult and Continuing Education Topics · Innovative Education and Learning Practices · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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