Seniors, as a segment of the general adult population, represent a special category of learners, whose relevance is increasingly greater. Against the general background of population aging, in particular the European one, seniors are becoming an extremely important group of people, and society can no longer remain inert to all these demographic, economic and cultural transformations. It is therefore necessary to delimit a new field of study - education for seniors (with specific objectives, theories, teaching methodologies in relation to traditional education and adult education).
Senior education fulfills, in this sense, the broader goal of lifelong education, which reflects the humanist political ideal of European society and cultural tradition. The traditional training scheme is no longer relevant in postmodern society, it no longer has a linear dimension, in the education - work - retirement continuum. The period of initial education is increasingly extended, while the period of employment is no longer stable at all, involving temporary work, job search, unemployment. Life expectancy is progressively extending, as is the retirement age. Therefore, a new understanding of human time and educational possibilities is needed, both from a gerontological, political and especially pedagogical perspective, in relation to seniors.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexandru Strungă
Product compliance information
1. Introduction to the issue of senior education/7
1.1. Characteristics of senior education versus adult education/7
1.2. Senior education: theory, paradigm or interdisciplinary structure?/12
1.3. Senior education from the perspective of types of education/23
1.4. Senior education from a pedagogical perspective/29
1.4.1. Hermeneutics of education and the specifics of senior education/29
1.4.2. Types and characteristics of senior education/42
1.4.3. Principles of senior education/49
1.4.4. Strategies and methods in senior education/61
1.4.5. Curricular structures and contents in senior education/69
2. The role of universities in adult education and senior education/83
2.1. Adult education and senior education before 1989/83
2.2. Adult education and senior education after 1989/88
2.3. Senior education and adult education in the socio-educational field/97
3. Theoretical approaches and models of senescence/102
3.1. Approaches to senescence: general perspectives/102
3.1.1. Biological, medical and psychophysiological approaches/114
3.1.2. Psychopathological approaches/125
3.1.3. Sociocultural approaches/128
3.2. Theoretical models of senescence/133
3.2.1. Hereditary and environmental theories/135
3.2.2. Biological, genetic and epigenetic theories/137
3.2.3. Psychosocial theories/154
3.2.4. Relevance of theories about senescence in the education of seniors/159
4. Theoretical foundations of senior education/162
4.1. Premises of an integrated theoretical framework in senior education/162
4.2. Postmodern theoretical perspectives in senior education/167
4.3. Theoretical foundations of senior education/182
4.3.1. Social and demographic foundations of senior education/182
4.3.2. Psychological foundations of senior education/186
4.3.3. Economic and technological foundations of senior education/191
4.3.4. Political foundations of senior education/195
4.3.5. Pedagogical foundations of senior education/197
5. Curricular Perspectives on Senior Education/202
5.1. Health Education. Education for Longevity/202
5.2. Religious and Spiritual Education in Thanatological Context/229
5.3. Art Education and Postmodern Art/242
5.4. Research on Seniors’ Curricular Preferences in the Context of Curriculum Theory and Practice/256
5.5. Essential Research in the Field of Seniors’ Curricular Preferences/265
Bibliography/272