Nytt om äldres lärande

Ett av de områden som flera forskare i Encell fokuserar på är äldres lärande. Nu finns det flera nya publikationer ute. 

Cecilia Bjursell har skrivit ett kapitel i den nyligen utkomna antologin The University of the Third Age and Active Ageing (Formosa Ed., 2019). I kapitlet Swedens Senior University: Bildung and fellowship Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster. skriver hon om deltagare vid Senioruniversitetet och deras tankar om lärande och att studera sent i livet. 

Abstract:
The chapter provides an overview of the Swedish Senior University movement and explores why individuals choose to participate in the organised learning activities. Currently, there are 34 Senior Universities across the country and they have a total of 25,000 members. They are organised as independent associations but linked to the Swedish Folkuniversitet system, one of ten educational associations that exist in the Swedish Folkbildning organisation (a ‘general level’ education structure for adults). When one asks participants in Senior Universities why they are involved in the association’s activities, two main points are generally raised. First, that they wish to further their education by acquiring new knowledge, and secondly, that they aspire to be part of a social community with other, like-minded and same-aged peers. Senior Universities are self-organised associations, and they mainly attract people with academic backgrounds. Hence, Senior Universities should only be regarded as one of several possibilities for people at a later stage of the life course to engage in learning activities. The Senior University is seen as something positive for those who are active in the movement, but there are several different reasons why people attend.

I en annan ny antologi, Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging (Danan Gu, Matthew E. Dupre (Eds.)) har Cecilia Bjursell tillsammans med Anita Björklund Carlstedt vid Hälsohögskolan i Jönköping skrivit kapitlet Bridge Jobs Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster., om övergången mellan arbetsliv och att vara pensionär på heltid. 

Joel Hedegaard och Helene Ahl har publicerat en ny artikel med utgångspunkt i deras forskning om Men's Shed, men nu med fokus på hur deltagarnas partners påverkas av aktiviteterna: Learning to deal with freedom and restraints: Elderly women’s experiences of their husbands visiting a Men’s Shed Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster.. 

Abstract:
This article explores the effects of activities in Men’s Sheds on elderly women. Specifically, it investigates the opportunities that are made available for women when their husband/partner becomes active in the Men’s Shed movement; focussing on ‘empowerment’, ‘gender identity’ and ‘well-being’. Five focus group interviews and eight individual interviews with elderly women were conducted and subsequently analysed through a content analysis, guided by the concepts of ‘empowerment’, ‘gender-as-performative’ and ‘well-being’. The result indicates that the notions of ‘self-fulfilment’ and ‘self-sacrifice’ are central to understanding how men’s participation in Men’s Sheds has affected elderly women’s empowerment, gender identities, and well-being. When men visit Sheds, it empowers women and offers them a sense of freedom and independence due to the women feeling less concern for their partners and a concomitantly eased bad conscience for leaving the men home alone with nothing to do when the women leave the household to pursue their own activities. Simultaneously, ‘Shedding’ provides new avenues for women to reproduce traditional feminine gender roles where they are primarily responsible for the socio-emotional work within their marriage. This was demonstrated by the women’s extensive engagement by which they, practically and emotionally, prioritised their husbands/partners and their new Shedding experiences.

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