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International Perspectives on Older Adult Education pp 345–356Cite as

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Part of the book series: Lifelong Learning Book Series ((LLLB,volume 22))

Abstract

In Portugal, the debate on the elderly and ageing has followed the lines of the most expressive international discussions, although it is still only being approached by a rather minimal number of national researchers. When considering social and educational policies studies, this debate has been centred on the short role of the State, namely in terms of funding and organisation of provision, and on the emphasis of orientations and programmes, in line with European Union guidelines, on “productive” or “active” ageing. Owing to this, in the recent years the establishment of several Third Age Universities, as non-governmental organisations, has flourished in the frame of a self-organisation movement that was already initiated in the 1970s. Mainly involving retired better-educated middle-class women, these organisations have tried to diversify learners who join activities by stimulating and responding to senior citizens’ aspirations to participation. These developments have been particularly centred on non-formal and informal education initiatives undertaken by extremely differentiated entities and projects. However these practices have not been greatly delved into; yet, both the fields of older adult education and learning, as well as knowledge thereof, are in need of deeper understanding.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is noteworthy that “the poverty rate of the elderly in Portugal which, in a period of 15 years…dropped from approximately 40 % in 1993 to 21 % in 2009” (Rodrigues et al. 2012: 187).

  2. 2.

    Various studies in Portugal, both on the development of public welfare policies, as well as more specifically on adult education, have recurrently observed and analysed the interconnection of the tendencies pointed out which are, indeed, in tune with the more extensive political and economic dynamics of Europeanisation and globalisation (Clarke and Neuman 1997; Hespanha et al. 2000; Lima and Afonso 2006; Guimarães 2011; Antunes 2013).

  3. 3.

    The recent national survey on Education and Training (Instituto Nacional de Estatística 2013) refers for the first time older adults (55–69 years old) participation in formal and non formal education activities. In general, participation rates concerning people aged 55–69 years old are lower than the ones for the rest of the Portuguese population (18.9 % for older adults but 45.9 % for the rest of the population aged 18–54 years old), being 2.3 % (but 15.4 % for the rest of the population) for the participation in formal education and 17.5 % (but 39.2 % for the rest of the population) in non-formal education.

  4. 4.

    For example, one recent study draws attention to the fact that only 11 % of the interviewees registered attendance at courses or training actions through their own initiative or involvement in any artistic activity; at least 27 % mention going to the cinema, concerts, the theatre, museums, galleries or art exhibitions; approximately one quarter state that they participate in activities directed at pensioners, or the so-called third age, promoted by certain entities and institutions (Cabral et al. 2013: 163, 188 ff.).

  5. 5.

    It was estimated that in 2012 there would be about 4 million adults between the ages of 15–64 in Portugal, whose highest level of complete education was distributed across various levels of schooling, without exceeding basic education. In the same year, 131.521 adults were registered in basic and secondary education; this is approximately 3 % of the potential demand for formal adult education at a non-superior level. These values are mentioned with the purpose of creating a better context of the significance of the social and educational dynamics revolving around TAU which, though they cover a tiny portion of the population over the age of 65 (around 1.5 %), still reveal a scope whose order of greatness is not far removed from that which formal AET (Adult Education and Training), as a state policy, undertook in the same year (DGEEC and DSEE 2013: 57).

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Acknowledgements

The writing of this chapter was supported by the Unit of Research and Teaching Policies of Education and Training (Unidade de Investigação e Ensino Políticas de Educação e Formação) of the Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon (Portugal), funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/FCT). (Paula Guimarães)

The writing of this chapter was supported by the Center of Research on Education (Centro de Investigação em Educação/CIEd) of the Institute of Education of the University of Minho (Portugal), funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/FCT) under the Project PEst-OE/CED/Ui1661/2014. (Fátima Antunes)

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  1. Instituto de Educação, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Paula Guimarães

  2. Centre of Research on Education, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Fátima Antunes

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  1. Paula Guimarães
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Correspondence to Paula Guimarães .

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  1. Te Whiringa School of Edu Leadership, University of Waikato, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand

    Brian Findsen

  2. Dep of Gerontology, Fac for Social Wellb, University of Malta, Malta, Malta

    Marvin Formosa

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Guimarães, P., Antunes, F. (2016). Portugal. In: Findsen, B., Formosa, M. (eds) International Perspectives on Older Adult Education. Lifelong Learning Book Series, vol 22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24939-1_30

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