Emancipating older learners

On the problems of naïve consciousness and the enlightened teacher

Abstract

The tension between education and emancipation is a recurrent theme in educational philosophy but remains comparatively neglected in critical educational gerontology (CEG). CEG is a philosophical strand in older adult education aiming at the social emancipation of older learners. CEG links radical emancipation to the outcome of raising older learners’ presumed naïve consciousness with the help of an enlightened teacher. In this essay, we argue that the logic of radical social emancipation features theoretical contradictions at its roots, which translate into empirical ambiguities when employed to raise older learners’ consciousness. We address two problems: (1) older learners’ naïve consciousness and (2) its subsequent dependence on teachers’ critical consciousness. To solve these problems, we propose Jacques Rancière’s logic of educational emancipation, focusing on the individual’s capacity to learn by presuming intellectual equality as a pre-condition for learning rather than an outcome as with CEG. By treating this perspective in older adult education, we hope to emancipate CEG itself by refocusing its scope primarily on the educational realm.