Project description

The number of older students has grown during the recent years in nearly all European countries. The available empirical research together with the demographic changes and the rising level of education predicts a strong further increase in the demand of older people for (scientific) education. That’s why the lack of national and international forums for older students is felt to be an increasing barrier to them to let their voice be heard. EFOS would like to act as a European platform for older students and to make our ideas accessible for others and create a European network for older students, by means of an Internet site, a forum, common conceptual meetings and exchanges of ideas.
EFOS brings institutions for senior education and elderly students in Europe together. The members of EFOS have commonly agreed on the objectives of this project.
The members of EFOS are students, teachers and organisers with a big potential of knowledge and experience. The aims are to make EFOS widely known amongst the European Universities of the Third Age (U3A), activate elderly people and to integrate them in the learning society, stimulate the social dialogue as a transfer medium.

In the first project year we will create better conditions and possibilities to research teaching and learning needs for elderly people with appropriate forms and methods. A thematic seminar, mobility of elderly students and staff exchanges can show us possibilities for better learning policies and for the analysis of trends in pedagogy and to strengthen the position of U3As.
Approaches of methodical research and comparison of findings will form the basis for the didactical work.

In the second year we will promote senior education and training systems and disseminate information about educational possibilities through thematic networks and the EFOS homepage. An internet forum will facilitate contacts between elderly students. A thematic meeting will be held on the theme of “Equal opportunities for an active life for seniors”. Research and findings will be discussed during the meetings and applied in the partner’s universities.

In the third year the research projects, the EFOS homepage and the partner’s homepages will be completed as a basis for the European network for older students.The forum and the EFOS News (an internet magazine) will be used to disseminate the results of the common research. Another project is the publication of the EFOS history and of the research results on a CD-ROM, with a summary on paper.

The EFOS News will be published once an year, starting end of 2006.

To our great regret we had to terminate the project after one year because one of the national Socrates agencies refused the renewal.