A SPECIAL CASE OF THE VERY OLD - LIFELONG LEARNERS

Very old (80+) participants in a university-based lifelong learning pr ogram were studied in an attempt to identify and investigate a subgrou p of the old old who deviate greatly from the negative stereotypes of illness and frailty in old-old age. The findings indicated that these elders had aged in their own homes and communities. They had continued the social contacts of their earlier lives whenever possible and, whe n necessary, established additional supportive associations for meetin g their needs. In many ways, they lived rich lives as active adults, a nd as intellectuals. They did not live as ''old people.'' These old-ol d learners seemed more involved in the planning and directing of their own lives than in the routines of familial responsibility.