Older adults, literacy, and quality of life

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand through the stories of three older adults, how literacy has influenced and shaped the quality of their lives. During a series of conversational interviews, each older adults was able to share stories about their lived experience of literacy and their perception of quality of life. Each adult has lived a unique life. Therefore, as a group, they cannot be viewed homogenously. Portions of their stories do intersect at various points but not in a way that will create generalized theories that can be extended to all older adults.Although they encountered many obstacles and challenges throughout their lives, especially in the context of education and literacy, the older adults exhibited tenacity, perseverence, and resilience, eventually reaching their goals. One of the commonalities evident from their collection of stories was the enduring values that wove throughout each individual life, from the early years until the present day. These values provided the quality of life which each adult experienced.The insights gleaned from these thre older adults may be helpful to other adults, friends and family, care givers, and service providers including educators who are interested in learning what constitutes quality of life from the perspective of older adults.