With Andrew Jenkins
DBIS Research Paper N° 92.
Published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills – British Government.
In an ageing society such as the UK, there is much interest in factors which can contribute to the wellbeing of older adults. It is not implausible to suppose that participation in learning could have beneficial effects, yet most research on the wider benefits of learning has tended to focus on young people or those in mid-life and there is currently rather little evidence on the impact of learning on the wellbeing of older adults. Insofar as evidence does exist, most of it is qualitative, and while of much value and interest, it is based on very small, and possibly not very representative, samples of the older population. This research aimed to provide new, quantitative evidence drawing on a large, nationally representative sample, on the effects of participation in learning on the wellbeing of older adults.
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