U3As in Australia and New Zealand: Society's $4 million bonanza

Abstract

The self-help model of the University of the Third Age (U3A) has developed strongly since its comparatively recent introduction to Australia and New Zealand. This article reports on ® ndings from a survey of 84 U3A groups in Australia and 14 U3A groups in New Zealand. The survey had three discrete aims. The ® rst was to demonstrate a method for explicating the nature and extent of the voluntary activities underpinning the self-help approach, and to ascribe a dollar value to these activities. Conservative calculations show that the annual value of voluntarism in Australian U3As is in excess of $4 million and, in New Zealand U3As, in excess of $300,000. A second aim was to reveal regional similarities and differences in approaches, as well as to highlight the educational characteristics of the very successful self-help model of adult education. The third aim of the study was to gain a measure of U3A administrators' preparedness to respond to possible social change, by analysing responses to 18 futures-oriented questions. Findings show that U3A administrators have a vision that extends well beyond the immediate con® nes of their own groups and are prepared to consider the introduction of research projects, communications involving new technology, and activities that involve their groups in interactions with the wider ageing community.

Exploring social inclusivity within the University of the Third Age (U3A): a model of collaborative research

“…Despite this knowledge, there appears to be a distinct lack of British research into why this may be the case. Indeed, with a few notable exceptions (Glendenning 2001; Huang 2006), there is a paucity of UK literature detailing experiences of lifelong learning within the U3A in comparison to the volume of research originating from Australia (Hebestreit 2008; Swindell 1991, 1993, 1999; Whyte 1991; Williamson 1995: 36, 1997, 2000), Malta (Formosa 2000, 2009, 2012 b , 2014) and Poland (Ratman-Liwerska 1996; Wilinska 2012). To the best of our knowledge, no qualitative studies have been conducted in the UK exploring participation in the U3A, nor have any focused primarily on U3As in the North of England (although a survey of ten U3As in the North-East was conducted exploring U3A successes and future improvements – see O'Keefe, Atkinson and Pinkerton 2005).…”