Education, Active Aging, and Social Participation 2009 (SUF edition)

The present survey has set itself the task of finding empirical evidence for (further) education in old age as an instrument of socialisation. The aim is to find out whether participation in educational processes as such already leads to social inclusion in old age or is a prerequisite for subsequent social participation.

In this study, the educational behaviour of older people is questioned and an attempt is made to explain the connection between education and social inclusion. Participation in education is thus not described as a private matter, but in its significance for social action. According to the thesis, those who learn in an organised manner not only learn for themselves but are also in a social or societal process.