A study on the application feasibility of McClusky's Educational Needs of the Ageing as a theoretical framework for the analysis of older adults’ educational needs

Abstract

As the elderly population grows and its dynamics change, there is an increasing demand for expanding the diversity of and improving the quality of old adult education programs. Therefore, as a theoretical framework for systematically analyzing the educational needs of the older adults, the applicability of McClusky's Educational Needs of the Ageing was examined. McClusky identified five educational needs: coping needs, expressive needs, contributive needs, influence needs, the need for transcendence. McClusky’s Educational Needs of the Ageing is an educational perspective based on life-span development, and it is a meaningful reference frame to evaluate the efficacy and comprehensiveness of an elderly education program. Through the evaluation of McClusky’s Educational Needs in terms of ageing discourse and changes in social approaches to old age, it was confirmed that while coping and expressive needs are the main focus of current old adult education programs, contributive, influence, and transcendence needs are equally important. Therefore, we argue that a balanced approach to the five Educational Needs is necessary. In addition, we re-evaluated the contributive, influence, and transcendence needs by reflecting on the evolution of societal perceptions on old age and role of the older adults.