From Older Adult Education to Social Service: The Transformation of Elderly Education Organizations

Abstract

In recent times, fiscal austerity has driven many nonprofit organizations to transform into social enterprises. This study sought to explore the process that elderly educational organizations undergo when making this transformation. The 11 managers who participated in this study had guided the transformation of active aging learning centers into social enterprises and equipped with knowledge of the transformation experience. A qualitative method of phenomenological approach that included semi-structured in-depth interviews was adopted. The results indicated that the transformation process can be divided into four stages. The first stage is recognizing an organization's needs and desired change. The second stage is preparing for the transformation given the organization’s existing foundation, which involves managers leveraging their older adult education talents and courses as niche points for the transformation. The third stage is overcoming transformational difficulties and developing coping strategies. The fourth stage is reaping post-transformation benefits, including the participation of individuals who can serve the organization internally or externally, and the resolution of community issues. Recommendations for future study is that, larger samples of participants from extended and wider elderly education organizations can be used to fully understand the transformation of elderly education organizations to promote social services in the community.