Civic Engagement in Later Life

Abstract

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Older adults’ civic engagement has become a key concern in academic and policy debates in recent years. However, existing studies on this topic remain fragmented across various conceptual and methodological approaches.

This book provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary and multidimensional perspective on older adults' civic engagement. It proposes a conceptual framework which understands civic engagement as a multidimensional concept encompassing a diversity of activities through which older adults contribute to their communities and wider society. Contributors explore the factors shaping older adults’ participation in various civic activities across the life course, considering their diversity in terms of social locations such as gender, health status, migrant background, socioeconomic background and residential arrangements.

By analysing past and current research, policy and practice, the book offers recommendations for future efforts to advance the field.