Although educational programs for midlife and older learners may seem unrelated to social ideologies about aging, work, retirement, and the economy, nothing could be further from the truth. Following the older learner’s path through a 70-year journey starting in the 1950s and ending in a projected year 2020 reveals correlations between theories of aging, rationales for older learner programs, and changes in public policy regarding retirement, social and health care insurance, and other age-based entitlement programs and social policies (mainly in North America but also with reference to other countries). If, as is asserted here, we are on the verge of an age-irrelevant society, then these lifelong learning programs hover on the brink of a crisis that may or may not be averted.
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