Grandparents and Their Adolescent Grandchildren: Generational Stake or Generational Complaint? A Study with Dyads in Spain
The majority of research on grandparenting has been carried out either from the perspective of the grandparent or from the perspective of the grandchild. The present study compares the perceptions of grandparents and their adolescent grandchildren on four relationship variables: frequency of contact, shared leisure activities, closeness, and grandparenting styles. A sample of 80 couples answered a series of parallel questionnaires. The results suggest that grandparents perceive a greater level of change in the relationships as grandchildren age. The discrepancies between members of the dyad seem not to follow the intergenerational stake hypothesis, which predicts that older generations will…
How students evaluate university programmes for older people: A comparison between two models in Spain
Abstract This study examines how older students evaluate the University Programme for Older People (UPOP) they participate in, and how such evaluation might vary depending on the type of UPOP. The sample was made up of 257 older students (mean age = 67.6 years) and was gathered from two UPOP models, one structured as Older People Classrooms (134 participants) and the second one as University of Experience (123 participants). Participants completed a questionnaire evaluating different dimensions of the programme and two incomplete sentences to identify its weak and strong points. Overall, results suggest that older students are very satisfied with the educational experience. Apart from attra…
Older people's university students in Spain: a comparison of motives and benefits between two models
ABSTRACTThis study examines both the motives for and the benefits of attending a university programme for older people (UPOP) in Spain, and how they vary with the type of UPOP. Two UPOP models were assessed: The ‘Older People's Classes’ of the University of Barcelona, which is organised as a lecture course, and the ‘University of Experience’ at the University of Valencia, which is a three- or four-year variant of regular university degrees. A sample of 321 older students (mean age 67.5 years) was gathered from the two UPOPs, 161 participants from the former and 157 from the latter. The findings suggest that expressive motives such as acquiring knowledge, expanding the mind or learning for t…
The Teacher's Perspective in Older Education: The Experience of Teaching in a University for Older People in Spain
The aim of this study was to explore university lecturers' descriptions of their teaching experience with older students. Twelve teachers of the Nau Gran (a university program for older people [UPOP] in Valencia, Spain) were interviewed. We analyzed their responses to questions about their experience of teaching older adults, the rewarding aspects of that experience and the teaching strategies they used. Teachers described their experience as extremely positive and rewarding, and often contrasted the active, interested, and grateful older students with the relatively passive regular younger students. The teachers also mentioned how they adapted their teaching to suit a more motivated and pa…
Reasons for Older Adult Participation in University Programs in Spain
This study examined the reasons expressed by older adults for attending a university program in Barcelona (Spain). Results were based on the responses of 36 elders to questions from a semistructured interview. These were (a) reasons for joining a university course and (b) factors that prevent enrolling in that course. Participants mentioned more expressive than instrumental reasons for participating in a university program. Most mentioned barriers to entering university that were lack of interest, lack of self-confidence, health problems, and limited information. These results are discussed in the context of new strategies to improve university courses aimed at the elderly.
La relación entre abuelos/as y sus nietos/as adolescentes: comparación de perspectivas generacionales
ResumenEl presente estudio tiene como objetivo examinar la relacion entre abuelos/as y sus nietos/as adolescentes comparando ambos puntos de vista. Una muestra de 67 parejas contesto a una serie de instrumentos paralelos que recogian aspectos de su relacion (contacto, actividades de ocio, intercambios de apoyo y cercania) con el otro miembro de la parejas. Los resultados sugieren que los abuelos/as perciben que la relacion cambia mas a medida que el nieto/a se hace mayor. Las discrepancias encontradas entre ambas generaciones ponen en duda la adecuacion a la relacion entre abuelos y nietos de la hipotesis del interes intergeneracional, que predice una percepcion mas optimista de la relacion…