Older men learning in the community : European snapshots

Abstract

Preface: Older Men Learning in the Community 鈥� European Snapshots

I am truly delighted to be asked to contribute this preface to what I regard as a very important and timely European contribution to the broad field of research on older men鈥檚 learning in community settings. As an oft-quoted source in the field, it has seriously concerned me that more colleagues were not working in the field internationally to provide the critically important refutation, qualification, or validation of what many older men were reporting, and that my research was turning up in Australia half a world away. As Australian community men鈥檚 sheds have taken root in culturally similar fertile ground in Ireland and the UK, I have wondered if things will turn out to be similar or different in the possible application of the same principles in more diverse and different cultural contexts in mainland Europe. This research provides some of the answers to this and many other important questions about men learning later in life. This set of excellently edited and carefully researched case studies by highly regarded researchers from Estonia, Malta, Portugal, and Slovenia, which they have modestly called 鈥榮napshots,鈥� is in fact a very important advance. By absolute coincidence, in our 鈥楧iscussion and Conclusion鈥� (Chapter 16) in Men Learning through Life (Golding, Mark, and Foley (2014, p. 252), we also remarked that our seven 鈥榥ational chapters are at best a partial snapshot and are far from representative of men鈥檚 learning worldwide鈥�. This work significantly widens the lens, both culturally and theoretically. The great value in this European book, excellently theorised and written in English, lies in part in the diverse backgrounds and theoretical depth of the 13 researchers who contribute chapters from countries whose national languages are not English. I first met and was enthused by the passion and expertise of Sabina Kra拧ovec (from Slovenia) and Ant贸nio Fragoso (from Portugal) and other researchers from nations whose first language is not English at the 2009 ESREA (European Society for Research on the Education of Adults 鈥楨ducation and Learning of Older Adults鈥� (ELOA)) network meeting in Munich, Germany. I remain humbled by their linguistic dexterity, something most people like me, born in Australia (with the exception of Aboriginal Australians), do not share. Doing field research, writing, and assembling this painstakingly carefully researched book in English across four widely separated European nations, languages, and cultures is a notable achievement. Having access to literature and older men鈥檚 cultural insights in at least five main languages (Slovenian, Portuguese, Estonian, and Maltese/English) expands our collective, recent 鈥榮napshots鈥� of men鈥檚 learning to a very diverse and fascinating three dimensional, coloured picture. Veronica McGivney, a pioneer in the field on men鈥檚 learning in England from two decades ago, remarked (in the preface of our Men Learning through Life) that this relatively unexplored field of research was a theoretical minefield, mainly because it raises questions about existing gender biases, not only in adult education practice, but also in terms of what constitutes an acceptable set of theoretical perspectives to bring to this much neglected field. It is gratifying, in a world increasingly plagued by narrowing, increasingly instrumental, neoliberal views about the highly desirable, emancipatory ideal of lifelong and lifewide learning, to find researchers bold enough to collectively declare at the outset that 鈥榯he neglect of masculinities in older adult learning can never be overstated.鈥� ELOA ambitiously aims on its website 鈥榯o bring together research activities in this field [of older learning] on a European scale and to establish a regular interchange of researchers who work on these topics. By continuous exchange via internet and periodical network meetings the European collaboration in this field of educational research should be strengthened and common research projects and publications should be initiated.鈥� 5 This research and book ably meet this laudable aim. The range of European contexts in which learning is examined in this book鈥檚 national chapters and case studies further broaden the scope and cultural reach of research in this relatively new, interdisciplinary field. The Estonian and Slovenian examination of sharing knowledge, skills, and learning by older rural men has important resonances with some of our Australian research. The examination of politics and religion as vehicles for older men鈥檚 learning in Malta breaks new and important ground, as does the nuanced examination of informal learning by older men in informal spaces in southern Portugal. The strongly stated theoretical issues and the carefully nuanced findings neatly bookend the volume that I highly recommend to those researchers, policy makers, professional and practitioners worldwide who interact with older men. I hope others take up the challenge of extending this thinking, research, and action into Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as into the diverse, other cultural 鈥榥ooks and crannies鈥� across Europe. Finally, I am delighted, not because this gives recognition to the researchers, though this is warmly welcomed, but because excellent research like this can and does make a positive difference in the way we think about and treat older men. Research, in turn, can make huge differences in people鈥檚 lives, as demonstrated by the men鈥檚 sheds movement. There is a case for expanding this European snapshot of learning by older men in this volume to other groups similarly disadvantaged in accessing learning: by history, life circumstances, gender, income, language, culture, religion, or disability. It is a sobering reminder that we have to be very careful as academics, professionals, and practitioners not to get trapped into the dominant and potentially patronising discourse of clients, customers, patients, or students, particularly from ageist and deficit models of service provision which deny people agency. Older men are people with much knowledge and wisdom to share. Even from a narrow, economic-rationalist perspective, it makes sense to help all people to keep learning and looking after themselves, their families, children, and grandchildren for as long as they can.

Professor Barry Golding, 2 April 2014 Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia Ballarat, Australia www.barrygoanna.com b.golding@federation.edu.au