Tihomir Žiljak,Public Open University Zagreb
Improvement of the teaching method is a continuous process throughout the educational system. However something that might seem like new has actually been used 30 or 40 years. Experience of the Public Open University in Zagreb has shown that some methods of cross-curricular teaching and active participation of students were used 70 years ago in the music compendia or early 1960s in courses on contemporary art. Innovative characteristics of the building of Public Open University Zagreb itself were important. In 1960s it was designed as a space where there are no conventional classrooms and classical teaching; and round tables, blended learning, etc., classrooms connected to the cabinets have been used. Already then it was clear that the new methods cannot be implemented without a new design of space and equipment. For this purpose furniture for adult students who are actively involved in teaching was designed. Arrangement of premises was in accordance with continuous communication between teachers and students. Unfortunately, sometimes we are doomed to discover again what we have already applied.
Many years of experience in adult education were the basis for the development of specific methods of teaching third age persons. That is one of the issues of professional differences between pedagogy, andragogy and geragogy as specific concept of instruction for elders (or fine-tuning adult learning teaching and instructional styles to enhance the learning experiences of older adults). Separation of andragogy or geragogy as separate scientific discipline does not go always easy, because questions are constantly asked if there are sufficient reasons to separate these disciplines. Since professionalization is controversial even for adult educators, it is even more pronounced for geragogy. There are no developed graduate studies of geragogy, there is no sufficiently strong and influential professional community, there is small number of journals and professional literature, there are no strong and influential professional NGOs. The community is scattered because it is working in different institutions and with different interests. And many questions remain. Is it a scientific field or field of practical learning in elderly age (in which education is only one form of learning) with a strong emphasis on intergenerational learning? What is the relationship between critical educational gerontology and geragogy? Different places, ways and purposes of learning also determine the methods. Therefore methods are being developed within the divided communities of practitioners with moderate theoretical impact. Theoreticians of education of elderly in these conditions are still struggling for their academic field. Development of innovative methods requires right to make mistake, and not everyone working in education is willing or able to take that risk. The right to error is the key to innovation and the creation of new methods. Similar risk will be taken by those who will develop emancipatory programs for the elderly, trying to strengthen their social and political importance and influence.
The next question that affects the method is the environment in which the programs are implemented. On the one hand, experts and scientists are trying to find the factors that encourage or facilitate learning of adults. On the other hand social and economic changes, along with the new political values that they bring in their wake, are transforming the situation of older adults in Europe. A research which was conducted in the EU dealing with active aging (Eurobarometer, 2012) shows significant differences in individual countries. In Croatia, the dominant perceptions of older people as those who take care of the grandchildren and in small extent engage in volunteer work. This can help inter-generational learning in the family, but will complicate implementation of the numerous forms of learning out of it. Even if the EU encourages volunteering projects as way for connecting and mutual learning of citizens, it is more difficult to implement this in countries where volunteering of citizens is neglected. There are great differences in the risk of poverty of elderly people. There are great differences in the perception of quality of life and availability of information technology (we ourselves conducted research on this as part of our Danube network). Concept of active aging and learning in old age depends not only on needs, but also perception, the possibilities of older people and the society in which they live.
Elderly people are not educational priority in almost any country. In a situation where the main emphasis of education policies is on employability and the labor market, people who are older become interesting when it comes to paid work or professional knowledge, and all other aspects of social and political involvement lose importance. So the development of participative methods depends on the social, cultural capital and material resources of participants and access to education. For them experts and institutions create spaces of learning in spite of dominant social and political trends. Opportunities are always there, but content and methods should be adapted to local conditions.
It is in this diversity that opportunities for different professions that need to develop new methods of teaching of elderly are opened. Third Age Universities are the leaders in this education. However, specific methods should be developed by other institutions and professions. For example, medical and social workers are constantly faced with the needs of teaching the elderly on healthy and safe old age. Public Open University Zagreb is participating in the project ELLAN which deals specifically with new needs for this professions. The project promotes European cooperation and exchange of innovation and good practice related to the ageing population and to the educational preparation of those that work with older people. The desired outcome of the project is better quality of higher education related to the care of people in later life. The main aim of the project is to develop an agreed Core European Competences Framework for working with older people. In this area there is certainly room for geragogy, because it is significantly focused on learning about health. Instead of professional exclusivity interdisciplinary cooperation is required.
Therefore methods are not tools that have only mechanical value. They contain in them belief of implementators and the communities in which the programs are implemented, they are tightly linked with the content and purpose of education, they respect tradition and the needs of users. Local knowledge should be respected and appreciated so all new methods that are being introduced should be adapted to these circumstances. Because of that (using culinary vocabulary), all instructions on the methods of teaching should be understood as basic recipes that should always be prepared in accordance with objectives, local tastes, needs and ingredients that are available. Only in this case, the result will be successful.