DIGITAL LIBRARY
THE IMPORTANCE OF SENIORS’ EDUCATION FOR THE LEVEL OF THEIR COGNITIVE COMPETENCIES
1 Jagiellonian University (POLAND)
2 Pontifical University of John Paul II (POLAND)
3 Pedagogical University (POLAND)
4 Jesuit University Ignatianum (POLAND)
About this paper:
Appears in: INTED2018 Proceedings
Publication year: 2018
Pages: 4855-4861
ISBN: 978-84-697-9480-7
ISSN: 2340-1079
doi: 10.21125/inted.2018.0949
Conference name: 12th International Technology, Education and Development Conference
Dates: 5-7 March, 2018
Location: Valencia, Spain
Abstract:
Cognitive competencies of adults are described by different theoretical models, most often in empirical research using the information processing model and the genetic-development model. In the first case, individual processes, such as the speed and accuracy of information processing, are tested. The second model tests the ability to solve abstract, laboratory and practical problems. From middle adulthood, competencies in abstract thinking are reduced, but training limits this decline (Salthouse, 1993, 2006; Sternberg, 1996, Birren, Schaie 2006; Michalska 2015). The ability to solve practical problems is stable and even increases with age of adults ((F. Blanchard-Fields, 2007; Gurba 2016), but it is not known whether education is important for these seniors competencies. The purpose of the study was to determine if the level of cognitive competencies of seniors, measured by the way of solving everyday problems (Test Everyday Problem by Sebby, Papini, 1994), depends on their participation in education in the course of the Third Age University. The two groups of seniors: students of the Third Age University (45 persons) and those who did not participate in institutional education (50 persons) were examined. The best solutions presented by the respondents were compared. For the analysis of the level of cognitive competence, the concept of G. Labouvie-Vief (1980 ) was used.
Keywords:
Seniors, education, cognitive competencies, development.