Abstract
The chapter provides an overview of the Swedish Senior University movement and explores why individuals choose to participate in the organised learning activities. Currently, there are 34 Senior Universities across the country and they have a total of 25,000 members. They are organised as independent associations but linked to the Swedish Folkuniversitet system, one of ten educational associations that exist in the Swedish Folkbildning organisation (a ‘general level’ education structure for adults). When one asks participants in Senior Universities why they are involved in the association’s activities, two main points are generally raised. First, that they wish to further their education by acquiring new knowledge, and secondly, that they aspire to be part of a social community with other, like-minded and same-aged peers. Senior Universities are self-organised associations, and they mainly attract people with academic backgrounds. Hence, Senior Universities should only be regarded as one of several possibilities for people at a later stage of the life course to engage in learning activities. The Senior University is seen as something positive for those who are active in the movement, but there are several different reasons why people attend.
I hope that you have understood how much Senior University has meant to me!
Swedish Senior University student (2018).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The term Senior University , also known as the ‘Pensioners’ University’, is the name used by most associations, and thus, will be used throughout this chapter.
- 2.
The excerpts from the responses have been kept anonymous, with the author communicating only the gender of the author (indicated by ‘f’ for female and ‘m’ for male), plus an ascribed unique number to indicate when multiple excerpts or quotations have been made from the same respondent. Moreover, it should be pointed out that the collection of narratives and reflections that were shared with the author did not constitute a systematic investigation but, rather, an exploratory effort to come to an understanding of why older persons are motivated to enrol in Senior Universities.
References
Andersson, E., Bernerstedt, M., Forsmark, J., Rydenstam, K., & Åberg, P. (2014). Cirkeldeltagare efter 65: Livskvalitet och aktivt medborgarskap. Folkbildningsrådet utvärderar, 2014. Stockholm: Folkbildningsrådet.
Andersson, E., & Tøsse, S. (2013). Tid för studier efter sextiofem. In A. Fejes (Ed.), Lärandets mångfald: Om vuxenpedagogik och folkbildning. Studentlitteratur: Lund.
Bjerkaker, S. (2014). Changing communities. The study circle—For learning and democracy. Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 142, 260–267.
Bjursell, C., Nystedt, P., Björklund, A., & Sternäng, O. (2017). Education level explains participation in work and education later in life. Educational Gerontology, 43(10), 511–521.
Bjursell, C. (2017). Äldre medarbetares kompetensutveckling. In: Helene Ahl, Ingela Bergmo Prvulovic & Karin Kilhammar (Eds.), HR: Att ta tillvara mänskliga resurser (pp. 177–190). Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Bjursell, C., Bergeling, I., Bengtsson Sandberg, K., Hultman, S., & Ebbesson, S. (2014). Ett aktivt åldrande: pensionärers syn på arbete och lärande. Visby: Nomen/Books on demand.
European Commission, (2006). Adult learning: It is never too late to learn. Brussels: European Commission.
Folkuniversitetet. (2018). Welcome to Folkuniversitetet. http://www.folkuniversitetet.se/Skolor/Senioruniversitet/. Accessed April 3, 2018.
Formosa, M. (2013). Creativity in later life: Possibilities for personal empowerment. In A. Hansen, S. Kling & Ŝ. Strami González (eds.), Creativity, lifelong learning and the ageing population (pp. 78-91). Ostersund, Sweden: Jamtli Förlag.
Formosa, M. (2014). Four decades of Universities of the third age: Past, present, future. Ageing and Society, 34(1), 42–66.
Formosa, M., & Higgs, P. (2015). Introduction. In M. Formosa & P. Higgs (Eds.), Social class in later life: Power, identity and lifestyle (pp. 1–14). Bristol: The Policy Press.
Golding, B. (Ed.). (2015). The men’s shed movement: The company of men. Champaign: Common Ground Publishing.
Higgs, P., & Formosa, M. (2015). The changing significance of class in later life. In M. Formosa & P. Higgs (Eds.), Social class in later life: Power, identity and lifestyle (pp. 169–181). Bristol: The Policy Press.
Nordvall, H. (2002). Folkbildning som mothegemonisk praktik? Utbildning och demokrati, 11(2), 15–32.
Nordzell, A. (2011). Samtal i studiecirkel: Hur går det till när cirkeldeltagare gör cirkel?. Stockholm: Stockholms universitets förlag.
Statistics Sweden. (2016). Hur stor är Sveriges folkmängd 2060? http://www.sverigeisiffror.scb.se/hitta-statistik/sverige-i-siffror/manniskorna-i-sverige/framtidens-befolkning/. Accessed March 15, 2016.
Swedish National Council of Adult Education. (2017). Annual report 2016. Sweden: Swedish National Council of Adult Education.
Walder, A. (1989). Så började Uppsala Pensionärsuniversitet. I Uppsala Pensionärsuniversitet 1979–1989. Uppsala: Uppsala pensionärsuniversitet.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bjursell, C. (2019). Sweden’s Senior University: Bildung and Fellowship. In: Formosa, M. (eds) The University of the Third Age and Active Ageing. International Perspectives on Aging, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21515-6_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21515-6_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21514-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21515-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)