Lifelong Learning and the Quality of Life – Prejudices and Facts Assistant Professor Aleksandra...

Lifelong Learning and the Quality of Life – Prejudices

and Facts

Assistant Professor Aleksandra Pejatović, PhDFaculty of Philosophy, Belgrade,

Serbia

09/30/12 Template copyright 2005 www.brainybetty.com

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Relationship Between Lifelong Learning and the Quality of Life

The more and the longer education and learning, the better or higher the

quality of life will be!

Is it try?


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Education and Development

• The experiences of countries that have achieved rapid growth confirm that elementary education and health care are among the most powerful forces for growth.

• The prevailing attitude is that education is “a ticket to high society network”.

• The map of development matches the map of literacy.


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OUR WORLD

is the world of both the rich and the poor;

of both the employed and unemployed;

those having good jobs and those performing heavy physical labour;

the world of the healthy and the sick;

the world of the young and the old;

the world in which there are still wars and destructions, crime, corruption....;

the world in which the family is facing a crisis, etc, etc.


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Some Facts

• The years just after World War II were the years of great faith in education and its power, while the sixties and the seventies of the last century showed powerlessness of education (rising unemployment, new conflicts, employers' claiming that those who finish the education system cannot do the job they were trained for...).

• Numerous empirical studies reveal qualitatively different relations between education and certain aspects of quality of life of people.


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Some research results by A. Pejatović published in 1999-2000 (I)

The ranking list of the greatest qualities inone’s life:1. Family2. Certain personal skills and characteristics 3. Dealing with certain areas (job)4. Education / Learning (knowledge acquisition)5. Children / Grandchildren6. Friends 7. Relationships with people8. Values (religion, hope, peace, freedom...)9. Health10 – 12. Love (emotions)10 – 12. Money (standard of living)10 – 12. No quality (gone, yet to come, not sure...)


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Some research results by A. Pejatović published in 1999-2000 (III)

The ranking list of areas in which education played the major role:

1. Job

2. One’s personality

3. Overall life

4. Relationships with other people

5. Family life and parenthood

6. General culture

7. Gaining as much knowledge as possible

8. Acquiring material goods, etc.


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Some research results by A. Pejatović published in 1999-2000 (IV)

The education level and moreobjective indicators of life quality:

people holding university degrees have households which are among best-equipped, all relevant facilities are situated nearest to their places of residence, their income per household member is the highest, in comparison to the others they more frequently spent their last summer holiday at a tourist site in the country...


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Some research results by A. Pejatović published in 1999-2000 (V)

The education level and satisfaction with certain things in life:

Looking at 1993 the most satisfied among the respondents are the ones with (in)complete elementary school. In terms of the expected satisfaction (in five years’ time) the largest number of fairly satisfied and dissatisfied is among the respondents with the fewest years of formal schooling.


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Some research results by A. Pejatović published in 1999-2000 (VI)

The education level and the

judgment on value presence in

life:

truth, wealth and happiness are more frequently present with respondents with (in)complete elementary school, people with scientific degrees are more creative and more famous in life in comparison to others.


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Some research results by A. Pejatović published in 1999-2000 (VII)

• Initial formal education appears as some kind of “pledge” for practising education and learning throughout life;

• Quality of life of people is not necessarily raised by the increase of years of formal education, but quite often different life qualities are associated with members of different educational groups. Education “does something” with the quality of life.


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EDUCATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN OLD AGE

• The research was carried out during March and April 2006.

• 105 participants of the University for Third Age (U3A) from Belgrade were included.

• Gender structure (96 women and 9 men)• Age structure (from 45 to 78 years of age)• Education level (32 – secondary school, 26 –

college, 40 - faculty, 7 – postgraduate specialisation)

• Length of participation in U3A programmes (from 17 years to one month)


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EDUCATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN OLD AGE

The programmes participants arecurrently attending:

1) Painting - 492-3) English Language - 232-3) Yoga - 234) Tai-Chi-Chuan - 75) Patchwork - 66) U3A Member - 4


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Currently the largest quality of life:

1) Health 302) Personal Characteristics 233) Children/Grandchildren 184) Family/Marriage 175) Friends 116) Doing what one likes doing 97-8) Attending U3A 87-8) Love / Emotions 89-12) Education/Activity/Values/Work 5 each


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What is currently diminishing the quality of life significantly?

1) Material and financial insecurity 342) Health deterioration (personal health and

health of close relatives) 263) The overall situation in the country184) Non-values 65) Family/children 56-9) Life far away from children/

Loneliness /Death of a loved person / None for current abilities and desires 3 each

10-11) Duties towards the mother /Jobless 2 each


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The impact of U3A activities on quality of life

1) Socialising and new friends 252) Keeping up mental and physical fitness 233-4) New knowledge 133-4) Making up for what has been missed 135) Overcoming the feeling of emptiness, feeling of

uselessness... 106) Personal development 87-8) Satisfaction 77-8) Creativity, creation 79) Taking time for oneself, doing what one likes doing

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10) Communication with people 4


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Conclusion:

On the basis of the analysed respondents’ views it can be concluded that U3A, via educational and cultural programmes, has a significant share in increasing the

level of quality of life of their participants in two ways :

1) as support to the most significant life qualities in the third age;

2) by mitigating negative effects of certain phenomena which diminish the quality of

life in the third age.


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Students of Bachelor Studies in Andragogy at the Faculty of Philosophy of the

University of Belgrade

Evaluation of the impact of the fact that a person is a student on the present life quality (rankings)

1) Has a positive impact - 382) Has a negative impact - 133) Has a very large impact - 84) Has no significant impact - 65) Present quality on a very unfavorable level -

26) Significantly decreased the quality of life

-1


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Positive quality assessment of the present life (rankings)

1) New knowledge - 182) Contacts with people and socializing - 143) Special status in the society, privileges - 84-5) Personal development - 64-5) Feeling of satisfaction - 66-9) Making self-image, getting to know oneself better -

46-9) Opens the door for further improvement - 46-9) Development of thinking - 46-9) It enables volunteering and working along with studying

- 410-11) Widening general knowledge - 310-11) A clearer picture of the society - 3


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Negative quality assessment of the present life (rankings)

1) Lack of time for other things - 9

2) Poor financial situation- 8

3-4) One has to work while studying- 2

3-4) Health deterioration due to constant stress - 2


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Evaluation of the impact of the current studies on the quality of life in the future (rankings)

1) Has a positive impact - 48

2) Has no significant impact -5

3) Cannot be estimated - 4

4) Has a positive impact, but not in Serbia - 1


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Assessment of the positive impact (rankings)

1) Employment - 232) Further education and training - 63) Developing different qualities which will be useful in

life - 44-6) Changing views on the world and life - 34-6) Provides a variety of options and opportunities -

34-6) Material status improvement - 3

Assessment of the negative impact (rankings)1) Overall has a positive impact, but this is Serbia after

all - 22) Will not find place in the system as such

-1


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The impact of studying Andragogy on the quality of life in the future

1) Positive impact - 472) Has no special impact - 53) (I) cannot judge - 34) Can only be worse -

1Has a special impact on the quality of life in the futuresince Andragogy is a young science, new profession,little known and there are few andragogues:1) Positive - 112) Negative - 3


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Assessment of the positive impact (rankings)1) Getting a job - 212) ''Living the lifelong learning philosophy'' - 153) Having applicable knowledge and skills in life- 74) Cooperation with people - 3

Assessment of the negative impact (rankings)1-4) No positive impact in the failing state system

- 11-4) Does not contribute to getting benefits compared to other

professions - 11-4) Andragogy as a profession cannot bring money

- 11-4) Worse quality of life from the one provided by more

recognisible and better paid sciences - 1


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CONCLUSION:

In doing all three types of assessments on the impact of studying on the quality of life the most dominant ones are the positive assessments of that impact.

The respondents assess this impact as positive to a larger extent when it comes to their quality of life in the future rather than the present quality of life (48 and 47 respondents).

However, when assessing the impact of studying on the quality of present life, 41.67% students described it as negative, usually not disregarding the positive sides.

Lifelong Learning and the Quality of Life – Prejudices and Facts Assistant Professor Aleksandra...

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