Perspective from the East:
Learning to Educate Older Women

Mary Beaudry, co-editor for this issue of Women's Education des femmes, is the coordinator of the Gerontology Program at the College Marie- Victorin in Montreal.

BY MARY BEAUDRY

Many older women today tend to look upon their later years negatively and with much trepidation. I am inclined to agree when I look at sociological trends.

A large percentage of women over the age of 65 live below the poverty line for many reasons: private and public pension plans discriminate against women; women in general earn less than men and hold lower-status jobs; women have different working patterns than men as they often work for shorter periods of time, and interrupt their paid work, due to responsibilities in the home.

The difficulties of aging are manifold for older women who must often face the stress and pain of widowhood and divorce, a lack of social supports, along with a lowered income and changes to our health and our bodies. Emotional distress, loneliness, loss of self-esteem and, at times, helplessness are not uncommon.

How can the field of education and we as educators respond to these difficult social realities?

Studies by Perry (1980) and Szinovacz (1982) found that women who planned for retirement and carried out their pre-retirement plans reported high retirement satisfaction.

Pre-retirement education began in Canada in the 1950s. Large companies and government offices have held such programs. Today, with slashed budgets, many companies which previously offered these useful courses have discontinued them, leaving women who could have participated, out in the cold.

Educational and social institutions have responded in part to this concern by providing programs for seniors at all levels of education, from high school up to university Educational programs for older women do exist. The questions are : "do older women participate in them?" and, if they don't, "what is stopping them?"

Our challenge is not only in convincing women that education is available, viable and beneficial. Educating older women about education, reaching women who ordinarily would not join a social or educational program and educating educators about the special needs of older women are issues to be dealt with before we can "sell" our programs.

It is my hope that this issue of Women's Education des femmes will help promote awareness and understanding surrounding issues of older women and education.

REFERENCES
Perry, Glenys (1980). The Need for Retirement Planning and Counselling. Canadian Counsellor. 14:97-98

Szinovacz, M. (1982) Women's Retirement. California: Sage.