The constructive aging and critical education of adults and older people: explore in the construction of one's life

Abstract

Purpose: The objective is to explore the critical educational process, from the perspective of the students themselves, at the University for the Elderly in La Laguna within the framework of constructive aging, identifying the factors that underlie this process, specifically the one that refers to the learning and constructive aging.

 Method: An exploratory factorial analysis was carried out in a questionnaire of 72 dependent variables. In this study participated, 61 female students and 39 male students between 50 and 81 years old, from three courses of the University Program for Older Persons at the University of La Laguna, of the 2012-2013 academic year.

 Result: We found six factors; three of them related to constructive aging: self-perception, relationships with others and with the environment, attitude towards life and change; and others three that describe critical education: conditions for learning, assessment of education and critical learning.

 Conclusions: The main contribution of the meaning of constructive aging is the relevance that critical education takes in it.