Chapter 16: Curriculum And Pedagogical Development For Building A Community Of Learners Among Older Chinese Adults In Using Ict

We know little as to how older learners are motivated to learn and how they go about learning. This may be related to the following: first, compared to other age groups, older adults are considered as a minority among ICT users (White & Weatherall, 2000); second, it is generally held that older adults are technophobic and slow in the acquisition of new technology (Ryan, Szechtman, & Bodkin, 1992); and finally, older adults consistently experience cognitive decline, rendering the learning of computer knowledge and skills difficult.

Nevertheless, the number of older adults among ICT users has been growing in most developed countries. In Hong Kong, the elderly population has increased from 87,918 (2.8%) in 1961 to 747,052 (11.1%) in 2001 with an average annual growth rate of 5.5% (Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, 2002a). Among the elderly population, the number of ICT users has increased significantly. For example, between 2000 and 2002, the percentage of older adults using personal computers has increased from around 1.2% to 13.8% for those ages 55–65, and from 0.1% to 2.8% for those over age 65 (Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, 2000, 2002b). Despite this rapid growth of the elderly population and the increased number of ICT users among them, limited effort has been expended on preparing for these changing demographics in Hong Kong. Lifelong education remains rhetoric in the Hong Kong Government’s various reformative policies when older adults are concerned.