Knowledge, Skills and Learning
Opportunities for learning or gaining knowledge and skills come in different ways and at different times, through formal, informal and non-formal settings. Residents at one location appeared to welcome being involved in meetings, and wanted more of that, so not just receiving knowledge but also imparting it – through consultation with management and other professionals, such as architects:
“I’d like him to ask me onto a committee, that when they’re getting the architect in, to show us the drawings, and let us meet with him. Show us the drawings and, ‘No, that’s not suitable. No, that’s not suitable’”
(Resident 2)
This extends the notion of learning and knowledge and skills to the exchange of knowledge outwards from the almshouse, the charity, staff and residents to the wider community beyond. As needs change so does the learning, and noticing the learning gaps in others is as impactful as understanding and acknowledging your own learning process.
“I was totally on my own, so I had to learn to do these things. I mean, I went to night school for woodwork, and I taught woodwork then to special needs children”
(Resident 2)
For some people learning is all about acquiring new skills. This is particularly true with the use of technology. Even if we have learnt to use current technology, it will always be changing, and some formal help in understanding how new technology works is acknowledged and welcomed as a necessity (see also Residents and Communications Technology).
This ‘skills’ acquisition doesn’t have to be in one direction. As talked about above, learning takes place across a whole community and when a new building is built, or a new type of technology installed, everyone has to learn how to use it. An approach to this is sharing skills and recognising the different skills that everyone brings to a place. This happens informally, with minor repairs and helping neighbours, but can also happen more formally, by asking residents and staff, either when they move in or at different times. At one almshouse, “ … when anybody comes, they’re asked what they can contribute” (Resident 24). Lifelong or lifecourse learning is something we all do, consciously or unconsciously. Formally or informally, we learn every day, and this is what leads to change. For one resident this meant that they were “ … rebuilding my life. I’m like a sponge at the moment, I’m sucking up everything and starting off again” (Resident 3).
“They’ve never done anything like this before so it’s a learning curve for them as well, which is nice, you know. … That we are all learning”
(Resident 64)
The above quote from a resident is made in reference to attending a meeting with staff about the future ambitions for the charity and the homes themselves, noting their personal interest. There is a recognition that we are ‘all learning’ throughout our lives, and this helps to give context to the future, and the past. Residents found that learning about the past and how it impacts the present and future was relevant for their own wellbeing as well as that of the charity:
“We joined that and we found it really interesting, didn’t we? … Plus, it helps us, as well. It keeps our mind going … we’ve got a few … who have got dementia or going through the first stages of it. So, we try to keep our minds active as well, because our bodies are collapsing, but we try to keep our minds going”
(Residents 1 and 2)
What some of the residents talk about, without naming it, is the importance of perspective transformation, or transformative learning, through facing a disorienting dilemma such as moving, ill health or loss of mobility. It does not have to be catastrophic – it could just be an everyday task, like having to learn to cook on a new stove, that disorients you nonetheless.
“I saw this old man once, I was 14 years old, and I saw him struggling, and I was struck with that, and I swore, I swore that would never happen to me, you see. People are trained to look after themselves from an early age, you wouldn’t let a car fall into disrepair, you love your car, you take it to the mechanic, or you maintain it yourself, because you’ve learnt how to deal with an engine. You sort out the brake pads, keep your tires pumped up, keep it oiled, keep it watered. But when it comes to the self, no. People need to be trained, to have a different outlook.”
(Resident 11)
The above quote from a resident highlights the significance of witnessing an event and allowing that to change our perspective, and our thinking. In this case the resident saw a future they did not want for themselves, and that changed how they thought about their own life and in that moment and through thinking about it, changed their behaviour as well. This must have been an impactful event on the resident, as they are reflecting on it many years later and reflecting back to when they were 14 years old, identifying that event as a turning point in life where their outlook changed or transformed. Not all changes are so significant and perhaps not so readily recalled, but the change has taken place, nonetheless. Some of the theorists who talk and write about transformative learning agree that, through learning, a transformation can happen even without us knowing, a deeper transformation within what they call ‘the soul’. We won’t know if this has happened, but there were links to a deeper understanding of yourself that residents found important in relation to being resilient:
“This is resilience, it’s the not knowing that’s going to kill you. But once you know, then you can face up to that demon and deal with it”
(Resident 16)
