Older adult education and the well-being of local communities

Sonja Kump and Sabina Jelenc Krašovec

Summary:   The paper deals with the influence of community well-being on the offer of older adults’ education. We’ve analyzed the offer of education for older adults in local communities, selected regarding the level of their well-being, with the case studies research. We’ve found out that in Slovenia there is no systematic data collection on educational offer for older adults and on older participants in education in municipalities. Analyses in selected communities show that municipalities with high level of wellbeing don’t have richer and more variable offer for older adults than municipalities with moderate and low level of well-being; the extend of the offer of education for older adults is more connected with the fact whether it is an urban or a rural local community. One of the main obstacles of older adults regarding access to education is geographical distance or seclusion. Research show that educational institutions and community organizations, offering education and learning for older adults in Slovenia, generally don’t collaborate; at the same time organizers of education don’t devote enough attention to the possibilities how to attract older people, who don’t participate in educational activities.