Centre for Policy on Ageing



Older adult education in a Maltese University of the Third Age — a critical perspective
Author(s)	Marvin Formosa
Journal title	Education and Ageing, vol 15, no 3, 2000
Pages	pp 315-338
Keywords	U3A ; Malta.
Annotation	The University of the Third Age (U3A) represents one of the most successful and important educational programmes specifically developed for older people. In preparation for this article, critical field research was carried out at the University of the Third Age (U3A) in Valletta. Data was interpreted through Paolo Frere's critical pedagogy and critical educational gerontology theory. The study revealed that despite the often reported positive functions of U3A for older people and society in general, the Valletta U3A is grounded in mainstream and traditional models of educational practice which equate education as a one-way flow of information from teachers to students. The study concluded that as a result of such a "banking" ideology, the U3A fails to act as an archetype of transformative education, but is yet another euphemism for glorified occupational therapy that is both conservative and oppressive. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-010209202 A
Classmark	V5A: 76W
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.