Unlocking the Ivory Tower: Exploring the Barriers to Postgraduate Education for Ireland's Older Generation.

Despite the growing population of older adults in Ireland and the various initiatives by educational establishments and third-level institutions to encourage more post-retirement engagement of older adults in academic activities, the number that engages in formal postgraduate education is discouraging. Copious amounts of contemporary and worldwide research highlight numerous barriers and other factors that inhibit gerontological access to various learning activities – even at the undergraduate level. Unfortunately, none focuses specifically on the engagement of older adult learners in postgraduate study and statistics for those over retirement age are scant. Using a mixed-method approach employing both quantitative and qualitative analyses, this project sets out to identify why the participation rates of this cadre of older adults are so low and what can be done to address the situation. Findings reveal that the issues involved are multifaceted, with age being one of the major barriers responsible.