Lifelong learning and productive aging among the baby-boomers in Singapore

Coined in 1982, the term productive aging is commonly associated with active participation in work, although it has since expanded beyond employment to include other dimensions of work, such as volunteering, caregiving and other activities that “produce(s) good/service for society, whether paid or unpaid” (Caro, Bass and Chen, 1993, p. 6). In this paper focusing on examining lifelong learning as one of the other activities in what comprises productive aging, we seek to explore the connections of lifelong learning to the notions of productive aging from the perspective of baby-boomers in Singapore. Using data from the qualitative study of Lifelong Learning among Older Adults in Singapore, which included 64 interviews with learners and non-learners of the baby-boomer generation (age 50–64), we first explore the grounded meanings of productive aging as articulated through lifelong learning. Next, we examine the benefits of lifelong learning as perceived by the baby-boomers, in particular, focusing on general wellbeing in enhancing productive aging. This is followed with a section examining barriers to lifelong learning to provide insight into deterrence to learning. Through the discussion of older adults' perceptions on lifelong learning and their engagement or lack of engagement especially with formal and non-formal learning, we hope to provoke a further re-thinking of what constitutes being productive in later life. Finally, we argue that beyond just another component to productive aging, lifelong learning should perhaps be further recognized as an enabler contributing to capacity-building of the other components including economic production, family care and volunteer services in enhancing productive aging.