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The Men’s Sheds Movement: What Does it Tell us About Older Men’s Learning?
Type of Presentation
Shared
Session Abstract
An exploration of how the grassroots men’s sheds movement, developed and proliferated in and beyond Australia, informs men’s informal learning in community settings, particularly for older men beyond paid work.
Target Audience
This session is targeted at adult educators and researchers who have asked the question 'Why does this activity not tend to be attractive for or inclusive of men?' It is particularly relevant to policy makers, practitioners and researchers keen to move away from formal, top-down approaches to adult education and to move towards models of grassroots provision premised on agency: in this case by older men, that are directed at men's broader wellbeing in community settings. Given that men's sheds have moved from Australia to international settings, it raises the question whether a similar movement might spread to the US.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will gain useful insights into evidence-based research from Australia and several other nations about learning by men. Given that men are rarely theorised or discussed as adult learners (indeed, while there is a AAACE session theme on women's issues, status and education, there is no mention of men) participants will come away with new insights on how to accommodate men, particularly older men, in adult and community education policy and programs. The session and its outcomes will be as interesting and informative to women as they are to men who participate
Session Description
This session explores how men's sheds in community settings radically transform thinking and practice about men's informal learning, particularly for the significant proportion of older men not in paid work. The success of the Australian and international men's community shed movement in nations with similar demographics to the US is suggestive that similar approaches may be strategic, timely and highly successful also in the US. Research shows that while the least educated men participate in adult education, they are hardest to engage but stand to benefit most when they do. This session illustrates how a community-based, grassroots movement embedding both learning and wellbeing can be advanced by collective action by men themselves. The critical condition is that men are not treated as customers, patients, students or clients from negative, deficit or ageist models of provision.
Efforts are made to try to schedule sessions on the day preferred by the Primary Presenter, though this cannot be guaranteed. Please check your preference.
Wednesday November 6
Primary Presenter
Barry Golding, PhD, School of Education & Arts, University of Ballarat
Work Title
Associate Dean, School of Education and Arts, University of Ballarat; President, Adult Learning Australia; Patron: Australian Men's Sheds Association