Agile manifesto of non-formal education for older adults - a co-design experience

Abstract

ABSTRACT In educational gerontology, non-formal education emerges as a possibility for lifelong learning because it is more flexible and less bureaucratic than formal education. In this context, agile culture offers a potential strategy to enhance non-formal education. While there are four manifestos for agile culture in education, their application in later life is lacking in the literature. The objective is to discuss the agile culture in education and present the concept of the agile manifesto for non-formal education in later life. A co-design process was conducted to develop this manifesto, in which specialists in education, educational gerontology and agile culture, as well as an older person, participated in an active and collaborative way. The manifesto, which has four values and 18 principles, will serve as a guide for educators who intend to develop educational activities based on agile culture, for older adults, in the non-formal instance. It is proposed that the agile culture of non-formal education for older adults is fundamentally about collaboration, democracy, independence and autonomy, considering the needs of everyday life, as well as the multidimensionality and heterogeneity of those involved.