A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of African-American Adult Learners in the Third Age: Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning
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| Language: | English |
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Cleveland State University / OhioLINK
2015
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1432557940 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-csu14325579402021-08-03T06:31:26Z A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of African-American Adult Learners in the Third Age: Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning Simpson, Darcia Lee Adult Education African Americans Aging Community College Education Continuing Education Curriculum Development Educational Leadership Educational Sociology Gerontology Minority and Ethnic Groups Spirituality Lifelong learning third age adult learning adult development African-American older adults older adults aging retirement third agers Baby Boomers elderly volunteerism motivation spirituality African-American spirituality adult education The aim of this qualitative study was to examine contextualized experiences of African-American Third Agers (AATA). Current literature conceptualizes Third Agers as individuals who are societally positioned to experience meaningful and purposeful periods of self-discovery and adult development later in life. However, among Third Age theorists, adult educators, educational gerontologists (a sub-field of adult education), psychologists, sociologists, and diversity theorists, there are comparatively few research studies of the experiences of AATA. As a result, we do not know much about AATA; this poses a significant problem. Therefore, this investigation of AATA’s experiences simultaneously reduced the related literature gap, added to the academic body of knowledge on older adults, and strengthened the emerging study of the third age. The goals of the study were to understand who these individuals are, what their experiences were as adult learners, and what learning meant to them at this stage in life. The overarching research question that guided this inquiry are the following: what does it mean to be an AATA adult learner? Within this question are two related questions: (1) What is the experience of lifelong learning as narrated by AATA, (2) What meaning do AATA give to this phase of life as it relates to lifelong learning? Narrative research was used to capture the stories of a small group of participants, with the intent of collecting rich, in-depth narratives on the topic. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was guided by the narrative inquiry approach. This study produced an understanding of how AATA perceive of themselves as learners and investigated their attitudes towards lifelong learning for assisting institutions in the delivery of quality educational experiences for an aging population. 2015-05-27 English text Cleveland State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1432557940 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1432557940 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Adult Education African Americans Aging Community College Education Continuing Education Curriculum Development Educational Leadership Educational Sociology Gerontology Minority and Ethnic Groups Spirituality Lifelong learning third age adult learning adult development African-American older adults older adults aging retirement third agers Baby Boomers elderly volunteerism motivation spirituality African-American spirituality adult education |
| spellingShingle |
Adult Education African Americans Aging Community College Education Continuing Education Curriculum Development Educational Leadership Educational Sociology Gerontology Minority and Ethnic Groups Spirituality Lifelong learning third age adult learning adult development African-American older adults older adults aging retirement third agers Baby Boomers elderly volunteerism motivation spirituality African-American spirituality adult education Simpson, Darcia Lee A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of African-American Adult Learners in the Third Age: Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning |
| author |
Simpson, Darcia Lee |
| author_facet |
Simpson, Darcia Lee |
| author_sort |
Simpson, Darcia Lee |
| title |
A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of African-American Adult Learners in the Third Age: Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning |
| title_short |
A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of African-American Adult Learners in the Third Age: Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning |
| title_full |
A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of African-American Adult Learners in the Third Age: Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning |
| title_fullStr |
A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of African-American Adult Learners in the Third Age: Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning |
| title_full_unstemmed |
A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of African-American Adult Learners in the Third Age: Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning |
| title_sort |
qualitative investigation of the experience of african-american adult learners in the third age: perceptions and attitudes towards lifelong learning |
| publisher |
Cleveland State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2015 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1432557940 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT simpsondarcialee aqualitativeinvestigationoftheexperienceofafricanamericanadultlearnersinthethirdageperceptionsandattitudestowardslifelonglearning AT simpsondarcialee qualitativeinvestigationoftheexperienceofafricanamericanadultlearnersinthethirdageperceptionsandattitudestowardslifelonglearning |
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1719438325013544960 |