A Bourdieusian interpretation of the University of the third age in Malta

Abstract

The objective of this research paper was to embed the study of older adult education in Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of distinction. Field research was carried out at the University of the Third Age in Valletta in Malta [U3E] with data indicating that the primary indicator for membership was being situated in the ‘young-old’ cohort’, possessing relatively higher levels of educational attainment and qualifications, as well as previous experience in white collar and occupational occupations. Most members were unaware of the real aims and objectives of the phenomenon of the U3E, and seemed to identify cultural pursuits with high-brow culture. Similar to traditional educational systems older adult education came across as a political activity and part of a large macrocosm of symbolic institutions that reproduce existing power relations in a subtle manner. The study thus concluded that attending the U3E is less than an actual example of ‘transformative education’ but more like another euphemism for glorified occupation therapy.