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The inquiry into the “future for lifelong learning” (IFLL2009) was established in September 2007 and is due to produce its main report in June 2009.

It was sponsored by the National Institute of Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE), with an independent Board of Commissioners. The goal of this initiative is to offer an authoritative and coherent strategic framework for lifelong learning in the UK.

The changing demographics and its likely impact are the subject of many publications and discussion. People will be spending far longer in the period known as the ‘3rd age’ - a concept, developed in the 1970s to describe the phase of life extending from 50-75 years old where employment rates decline as people retire, and before health and disability impose serious constraints on lifestyle. In the 1980s this age was seen as a time where people could exert greater control over their lives, free from the responsibilities of employment and bringing up children. There are also far more people living in the ‘4th age’, recognised as individuals aged 75+ in the final stages of life, who depend on others to cope with aspects of their day-to-day life.

These changes call for a re-evaluation of our healthcare priorities, starting with the methods and emphasis of education. The inquiry advocates challenging, in particular, our policy of education being directed primarily at young people, as prerequisites to achieving and maintaining paid employment. Whilst we must not underestimate the importance of economic productivity, such exclusive focus for education is shortsighted in the face of these well known demographic trends.

Purpose of learning
According to the IFLL report, learning helps individuals build three types of capital:

• Identity capital: To develop a sense of identity and confidence in one’s own knowledge and abilities. This will become increasingly important as individuals spend a greater proportion of their lives in retirement, since an individual’s occupation generates a significant proportion of their sense of identity.
• Human capital: This form of learning develops vocational skills. As the number of people in the 3rd age increases, understanding the learning needs of the voluntary sector increases the bank of useful skills at the community level.
• Social capital: Skills which enable individuals to interact successfully with others, to maintain and enhance relationships, and to pass on knowledge to the next generation. These skills promote an individual’s emotional (and therefore more than likely also their physical) wellbeing.

On the national scale, lifelong learning:

• Maintains the skills base of the population to maximise economic productivity and to facilitate international competitiveness.
• Secures transmission of knowledge and skills between generations and creates strong inter-generational relationships.
• Promotes citizenship and the integration of newcomers into society.

Policy approach
In order to respond to demographic change we must consider a shift in policy, recognising that learning should continue throughout life, and we especially need to support the older community in this. We also have to re-consider the content of learning. Some form of curriculum could be developed for the 3rd and 4th ages to help people adapt better to life changes, improving sense of self and general wellbeing, alongside vocational learning to maintain paid employment.

How do learning motivations change as individuals get older?
The NIACE survey data shows, unsurprisingly, that those who continue to learn are less likely to be learning for employment needs, and more likely to cite personal and social motivations. Learning for personal development and intrinsic interest in a subject increases with age, as does the importance of meeting new people, demonstrating the role of employment in maintaining social relationships. NIACE data supports common expectations of what older adults may wish to learn, the main subjects being: IT skills, cultural subjects, foreign language and health. Information and communication technologies account for the largest group of older learners (40% of those learning over age 55). These subjects, however, may simply represent what is available through formal routes for this age group, and do not necessarily accurately reflect their learning needs. Routes of access to education are changing, and a very large proportion of adult learning takes place informally, without recourse to formal courses and without direct intervention by teachers. This makes data collection difficult, and it is suggested that a significant proportion of education carried out by older adults will not be accounted for in NIACE data. In particular, less conventional topics may be accessed through informal educational routes e.g. the internet. Internet from home helps to overcome the problem of physical access which will be an issue for some people, however, access to computers falls with age with only 37% of people over 65 having access to the internet in comparison to 67% for the general adult population (HM Government, 2008). Any future shift to internet learning must include individuals who do not have access to the web.

Proposed curriculum for the 3rd age
Whilst society devotes much attention to young people entering the workforce, very little is spent on helping to prepare people exiting the labour market and entering the age of active retirement. Key areas for learning include health and finance, information and communication technologies, citizenship and volunteering as well as learning to maintain one’s sense of identity. Also, as life expectancy increases, larger numbers of people in the 3rd age are taking on the role of carers for elderly relatives or spouses. Little training is available to help them with this role. A major challenge is how to deliver this information. One way to support learning is through pre-retirement courses (Life Academy 2009). These programmes have existed for decades, however their quality has been found to be uneven and access is limited. More recently new programmes have been developed aimed at specific topics such as financial literacy and health literacy.

Curriculum for 4th age
Education and learning plays a particularly important role in the 4th age. Whilst these people are only a small percentage of the population, their numbers are rapidly increasing. For the majority, time is spent living in their own homes with their partner or children, with only 20% of people over 80 living in residential homes. Learning can encourage independent living, and helps to improve one’s sense of autonomy where both may be severely constrained. Learning in this life phase can play an essential part in delaying the onset of extreme dependence. Many of the learning needs will overlap with those in the 3rd age, including managing health needs and staying physically and mentally active to maintain a sense of wellbeing. However, people’s physical location and the level of support they require will influence their ability to access education. Often, the learning materials and/or teaching staff have to be brought to the learner. In residential care, what is available will depend on the priorities of the manager and may not necessarily meet the needs of the residents. The report suggests that this is an area with great scope for future research.

The challenge of lifelong learning
The overall goal of the Inquiry is to offer an authoritative and coherent strategic framework for lifelong learning in the UK. The challenge of a rapidly growing population in the fourth age is to develop a relevant curriculum, and establish appropriate working relationships between educational agencies and the health and social care ones without whose cooperation it is difficult to make any provision.

However, we do know that the overall effect of demographic change is likely to be a growing but ageing population, with a workforce increasingly dependent on immigration, a growing retired population, and an increasingly unpredictable lifecourse for many people. The report suggests this poses three risks which policymakers need to consider:

• economic tensions: as a shrinking number of economically active people support a growing number of retired dependents, exacerbated by uneven distribution of income and wealth, which makes it easier for some people to take advantage of new opportunities than others;
• cultural tensions: as new patterns of migration challenge the sense of identity of communities and the security of immigrants;
• personal well-being and health tensions: as the loss of the traditional anchors of identity in work and family undermine people’s confidence and wellbeing.

The report further opines that lifelong learning cannot solve all the world’s problems, but it can contribute to reducing all three of these risks.

Holly Kilim
5th Year Medical Student
Martin Curtice
Consultant in old age psychiatry

BGS Newsletter, May 2009
Issue 21 ISSN 1748-6343 21