Generating Knowhow in Later Life Helen Kimberley, Bonnie Simons, Seuwandi Wickramasinghe Brotherhood of St Laurence Imagining Social Equity Conference Melbourne Social Equity Institute Melbourne 28 February and 1 March, 2014

Overview Aim and context of the study Understanding knowhow Perceptions of later life Research findings What knowhow is valued? Strategies for acquiring knowhow Enablers of new knowhow Generating knowhow

This study An investigation of what knowhow is needed in later life and how such knowhow is generated.

The context Social, economic & technological change Plethora of choice in a market economy Individualisation of responsibility Risk New capabilities needed to live a life one has reason to value Sen’s Capabilities Approach – Capabilities (opportunities or freedoms) for living a life one has reason to value At any given moment a person has available a range of functionings, what they can be and do, which may be adequate or inadequate to their life situation right then However they are likely to be insufficient to navigate the changes internal and external on their journey through later life They need new capabilities to live a life they have reason to value

Understanding knowhow Knowing that and knowing why are the cognitive aspects Knowing how is often tacit or invisible Acquiring knowhow may be intentional or incidental, conscious or unconscious Tacit knowledge cannot be reduced to a specific set of rules Only becomes visible when a person encounters a new situation – Burns Schugurensky Self-directed learning – intentional and conscious Incidental learning – unintentional but may become conscious – no previous intention to learn but a realisation that learning has taken place Socialisation (incidental learning) – unintentional, internalisation of values, attitudes, behaviours, skill etc that occur during everyday life - No a priori intention / no awareness of learning

Perceptions of Later Life Physical limitations and health Gradual transition Changed responsibilities and new opportunities Identity

What knowhow is valued? Practical and technical Health and wellbeing Social and emotional wellbeing Maintaining independence Philosophical

Strategies for acquiring knowhow Cumulative knowhow Storytelling and information exchange Self directed enquiry and structured learning

Enablers of new knowhow Personal attributes Social contacts Access to information

Capabilities & knowhow Basic capabilities Personal attributes Internal capabilities Cumulative knowhow External capabilities Access to information/social contacts Combined capabilities interplay of internal and external capabilities Nussbaum Basic capabilities- (personal attributes) immutable capabilities a person is born with. This means a person’s potential, which may or may not be developed in later stages of life, Internal capabilities- (cumulative knowhow) capabilities a person develops throughout life (e.g. a younger person will usually have a different capability set than an older person), External capabilities- either freedoms or choices given, or constraints or limits imposed by a person’s social environment, and Combined capabilities- the interplay of internal and external capabilities (or the lack of them).

Enabling capabilities Older adults’ capabilities to generate knowhow depends on their external and combined capabilities Opportunities for their development depends on the freedoms or choices given, or constraints or limits imposed, by their social environment

Accessing information Direct access to information Standard & traditional means such as media, publications, ‘old’ technologies, adult education Access using ‘new’ technologies Smart phones, tablets, computers, internet and other technologies to come Eg skype – personal/telehealth

Information intermediaries Older adults often lack technology skills Facilitators and interpreters may be needed at the information interface who Understand the need for information Retrieve, filter, translate it in the context of the individual Contribute to turning information into knowhow capabilities Godfrey & Johnson 2008 Access can be improved by engaging older adults and their networks of friends, family, neighbours, carers, volunteers and social and community workers Older adults gain help, information & advice from people in their support networks – and give information & advice to others As mediators, people act at the information interface – understanding the need for information, retrieving, filtering and translating it in the context of the individual so they can gain meaning from it

Social contact Older adults are often socially isolated Generation of knowhow demands social capital especially Bonding capital Bridging capital Linking capital Bonding capital – relations among family members, close friends, neighbours and other ‘closed’ networks Bridging capital – connects people and assists access to resources and opportunities across networks – including information intermediaries Linking capital – the capacity of individuals or groups to access economic, social and political institutions and services of their community The measure of a just society is that opportunities are available for people to develop capabilities individually and communally

Generating knowhow Access to information If the measure of a just and equitable society is the opportunities available to develop capabilities, essential to generating knowhow in later life are opportunities for Access to information Access to information intermediaries Above all Social capital

Thank you