A comparative study of country-specific structures of academic continuing education in the third age in Europe

Introduction and background

In all European countries, the share of older people in the total population continually increases, the image of the older people, their experience background, their interests and activities have significantly changed, their life conditions and life perspectives are increasingly manifold. There is in Europe an increasing number of older people, who are prepared to educate themselves further, they usually have great life and professional experience and are on the search for new, meaningful activities. The potential on competence, productivity, creativity that they bring, is connected in many cases with pragmatic realism acquired during their life, with the ability to observe social developments in the mirror of their own experiences and with the search for a holistic way of observing things.

The debate about the necessity and the need for academically-oriented continuing education for older people was initiated by Professor Pierre Vellas at the University of Toulouse. He called in 1972 for the founding of "Universities of the Third Age" (Université du troisième Âge, shortly U3As) and the first U3A was founded in 1973 in Toulouse.

Vellas saw the tasks of the U3As in three areas (Vellas 1997):

In the continuing education of older people as a contribution to the improvement of the "santé publique" ("public health"), so to say as a gerontological prevention
In the continuing education and training of professionals active in the areas of old age work in health and social service, in public and private institutions
In the research of medical, economic, legal, psychological and social problems of age

Other U3As were soon founded, for example in Switzerland (from 1975), in Poland (from 1975). Already in the Autumn 1978 "there were already about 100 organisations with the name University of the Third Age or similar names" (Fülgraff 1980, p.347) and many others followed, especially in various Romanic countries. It is not surprising, that the development of the U3As started in France and was effective in countries which did not have any Volkshochschulen (adult education centres) or similar institutions, which have tried to provide adult education especially to people in the third age (Rosemayr 1980, p.342).

In a number of other countries the tasks of the U3As were partially realised by institutions providing adult education, for example in Germany the Volkshochschulen, in United Kingdom through the extra-mural departments of universities (Füllgraff 1980, p.347). However also in these countries the political interest in connecting education in old age and universities grew.

"Independently on the individual curricula or institutional or organisational specifics, the model had similar targets and programs:

Older people should have access to academic education
Information and exchange deficits between young generations and older people should be changed through the development of joint study possibilities, and thus give rise to intergenerational orientation
The older people should be able to organise their identity newly in the new social space of the university and the starting difficulties should be made easier for them, in any case a constructive orientation-help should be offered to them
The competence of the older people should be of benefit to society
The science of ageing should receive new impulses." (Arnold 1988, p.5)

The comparative study of the academically-oriented continuing education programs for older people in various countries of East and West Europe presents the differences and similarities in the frame conditions and in the user structures. It should also highlight the relationship of the education possibilities in the respective social, cultural, educational and institutional structures and frameworks.