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For 25 years, the New Horizons International Music Association has grown to become a large network of organizations in service of older adults seeking a musical and social experience. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT: Ryan and Deci, 2002), people seek out social environments that allow for the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs, that of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This study examines the choices of six older adults to participate in a New England New Horizons ensemble and the extent to which various facets of participation serve to satisfy or thwart their basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Field observations for this study were analyzed though dramaturgical coding as a means of providing a theatrical structure to the data. Six participants in the ensemble were selected as representative of the gender and experiential distribution of the musicians. Transcriptions of the interviews were adapted to become theatrical monologues as a means of telling the stories of these individuals. The monologues were analyzed with a focus on how participation in the New Horizons ensemble served to fulfill or thwart these musicians’ basic psychological needs. Findings indicate that fulfillment of relatedness though peers, conductors, community members, and family were mentioned most frequently. Fulfillment of the need for autonomy was not only evident in intrinsically motivated behaviors, but in autonomous forms of extrinsic motivation as well. The participants tended to define their sense of competence as New Horizons members and musicians in general, by their experiences of lacking competence. However, they willingly embraced the New Horizons motto of your best is good enough. It is hoped that this study will lead to further examination of basic psychological needs satisfaction in New Horizons members.

Lifelong Learning is the development of human potential through a continuously supportive process which stimulates individuals to acquire knowledge and skills throughout their lifetimes (Dewey, 1910; Leicester & Field, 2000). It is significant both for the individual and the society in the 21st century, especially for China. Inspired by the Lisbon Key Competences (Cziboly, 2010) and Capability Approach, the author defined five core capabilities for lifelong learning related to this educational research: language capability, learning capability, creative capability, aesthetic and cultural capabilities, and social and civic capabilities. Drama in educational settings is the focus on the educational function to define drama as a teaching and learning method (DfES, 2003). It incorporates elements of an actor's training to facilitate students' physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. Drama used as a pedagogy in education is seen as a valuable tool for learning in many aspects related to language learning and lifelong learning (Cziboly, 2010). However, influenced by culture and history, drama pedagogy is less well developed in China compared to the West, in terms of both theory and practice. In this research, the author conducted a case study using drama pedagogy to design a drama program through "College Chinese" teaching in the Communication University of China. The two main research questions were 1) to explore the relationship between drama pedagogy and lifelong learning and 2) to discover the positive and negative effects of using drama pedagogy in the Chinese context. For the second question, the author used the concept of "localisation", which is the process of adapting a product or content to a specific locale or market. Although it is a term that is more often used in business and economics, the author used it in this research because it is closely related to the idea of adapting a teaching strategy from one distinct cultural area (e.g. the West) to another (e.g. China). This research contributes to the theory of the relationship between drama pedagogy and lifelong learning. It also has implications for the localisation of liberal pedagogy in indigenous contexts and the future educational reform in China.

Coaches learn from a number of different situations and their past experiences influence what they choose to pay attention to and learn (Werthner & Trudel, 2009). Understanding the process of learning to coach can be explored holistically over the course of an individual’s lifespan. This thesis is guided by Jarvis’ (2006, 2007, 2009) theory of human learning, which takes a psychosocial perspective to understanding the way that individuals perceive their social situations, change their biographies, and become who they are over the course of their lives. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the biographies of five Canadian women coaches to understand how the multitude of experiences throughout their lives have contributed to their learning and coaching development. Four in-depth interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim with each coach. From these interviews a biographical narrative analysis was created to document how each coach learned throughout her life. The transcripts and narrative analyses were member checked to augment trustworthiness. Four articles and one research note comprise the results section. The main points in this dissertation are as follows: (a) experiences in primary and secondary socialization influenced the coaches’ approaches to coaching; (b) specific meaningful learning experiences helped the coaches develop and become experienced as coaches; (c) values develop throughout life experiences and influence coaching actions; (d) Jarvis’ theory is used to explore my own process of learning throughout the PhD degree, and how this learning was influenced by my lifetime of experiences to date; and (e) a brief research note highlights how the research process was a co-creation between the researcher and the participants. These findings add to the emerging body of literature on female coaches and coach learning by further understanding how the coaches’ biographies determined what kinds of learning opportunities they each found meaningful; the importance of social connections in learning to coach; and the importance of reflection in understanding the interconnections of learning from life experiences. The study may motivate women coaches in understanding how lifelong learning influences their career paths and it informs coach education programs about the muddled reality of coaches’ learning and development.

Coaches learn from a number of different situations and their past experiences influence what they choose to pay attention to and learn (Werthner & Trudel, 2009). Understanding the process of learning to coach can be explored holistically over the course of an individual’s lifespan. This thesis is guided by Jarvis’ (2006, 2007, 2009) theory of human learning, which takes a psychosocial perspective to understanding the way that individuals perceive their social situations, change their biographies, and become who they are over the course of their lives. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the biographies of five Canadian women coaches to understand how the multitude of experiences throughout their lives have contributed to their learning and coaching development. Four in-depth interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim with each coach. From these interviews a biographical narrative analysis was created to document how each coach learned throughout her life. The transcripts and narrative analyses were member checked to augment trustworthiness. Four articles and one research note comprise the results section. The main points in this dissertation are as follows: (a) experiences in primary and secondary socialization influenced the coaches’ approaches to coaching; (b) specific meaningful learning experiences helped the coaches develop and become experienced as coaches; (c) values develop throughout life experiences and influence coaching actions; (d) Jarvis’ theory is used to explore my own process of learning throughout the PhD degree, and how this learning was influenced by my lifetime of experiences to date; and (e) a brief research note highlights how the research process was a co-creation between the researcher and the participants. These findings add to the emerging body of literature on female coaches and coach learning by further understanding how the coaches’ biographies determined what kinds of learning opportunities they each found meaningful; the importance of social connections in learning to coach; and the importance of reflection in understanding the interconnections of learning from life experiences. The study may motivate women coaches in understanding how lifelong learning influences their career paths and it informs coach education programs about the muddled reality of coaches’ learning and development.

Coaches learn from a number of different situations and their past experiences influence what they choose to pay attention to and learn (Werthner & Trudel, 2009). Understanding the process of learning to coach can be explored holistically over the course of an individual’s lifespan. This thesis is guided by Jarvis’ (2006, 2007, 2009) theory of human learning, which takes a psychosocial perspective to understanding the way that individuals perceive their social situations, change their biographies, and become who they are over the course of their lives. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the biographies of five Canadian women coaches to understand how the multitude of experiences throughout their lives have contributed to their learning and coaching development. Four in-depth interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim with each coach. From these interviews a biographical narrative analysis was created to document how each coach learned throughout her life. The transcripts and narrative analyses were member checked to augment trustworthiness. Four articles and one research note comprise the results section. The main points in this dissertation are as follows: (a) experiences in primary and secondary socialization influenced the coaches’ approaches to coaching; (b) specific meaningful learning experiences helped the coaches develop and become experienced as coaches; (c) values develop throughout life experiences and influence coaching actions; (d) Jarvis’ theory is used to explore my own process of learning throughout the PhD degree, and how this learning was influenced by my lifetime of experiences to date; and (e) a brief research note highlights how the research process was a co-creation between the researcher and the participants. These findings add to the emerging body of literature on female coaches and coach learning by further understanding how the coaches’ biographies determined what kinds of learning opportunities they each found meaningful; the importance of social connections in learning to coach; and the importance of reflection in understanding the interconnections of learning from life experiences. The study may motivate women coaches in understanding how lifelong learning influences their career paths and it informs coach education programs about the muddled reality of coaches’ learning and development.

Coaches learn from a number of different situations and their past experiences influence what they choose to pay attention to and learn (Werthner & Trudel, 2009). Understanding the process of learning to coach can be explored holistically over the course of an individual’s lifespan. This thesis is guided by Jarvis’ (2006, 2007, 2009) theory of human learning, which takes a psychosocial perspective to understanding the way that individuals perceive their social situations, change their biographies, and become who they are over the course of their lives. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the biographies of five Canadian women coaches to understand how the multitude of experiences throughout their lives have contributed to their learning and coaching development. Four in-depth interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim with each coach. From these interviews a biographical narrative analysis was created to document how each coach learned throughout her life. The transcripts and narrative analyses were member checked to augment trustworthiness. Four articles and one research note comprise the results section. The main points in this dissertation are as follows: (a) experiences in primary and secondary socialization influenced the coaches’ approaches to coaching; (b) specific meaningful learning experiences helped the coaches develop and become experienced as coaches; (c) values develop throughout life experiences and influence coaching actions; (d) Jarvis’ theory is used to explore my own process of learning throughout the PhD degree, and how this learning was influenced by my lifetime of experiences to date; and (e) a brief research note highlights how the research process was a co-creation between the researcher and the participants. These findings add to the emerging body of literature on female coaches and coach learning by further understanding how the coaches’ biographies determined what kinds of learning opportunities they each found meaningful; the importance of social connections in learning to coach; and the importance of reflection in understanding the interconnections of learning from life experiences. The study may motivate women coaches in understanding how lifelong learning influences their career paths and it informs coach education programs about the muddled reality of coaches’ learning and development.

The purpose of this study is to identify the pivotal factors contributing to programmatic success of arts programs for people, age sixty-five and older, in the United States. This study examines select programs within five arts disciplines: Elders Share the Arts (theatre), Museum One (visual art), Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (dance), New Horizons Music (music), and Arts for the Aging (writing/literature). The selected programs serve a heterogeneous population of older adults and exist independently of larger, non-arts institutions, such as hospitals, nursing homes, or senior care facilities. Success factors were determined by three methods, including: (1) direct questioning of program staff members about what they believed made their programs successful, (2) observations of program delivery to determine success factors in action, and (3) research and review of literature. The conclusions of the aforementioned methods result in six universal factors among successful programming within arts programs. These common factors are: 1. Reminiscence regularly occurs among individual participants. Older adults who have the opportunity to reflect, without inhibition, on events from their past tend to experience more self-satisfaction, a reinforcement of their identity, and a ready connection with other adults. 2. Programs establish and maintain a safe, non-threatening environment. Allocating a small amount of time for everyone to acclimate to the new environment allows older adults to feel more at ease, encourages their participation, and increases their enjoyment. 3. Teaching artists are personally committed to the context in which they work and exhibit patience when engaging with older adults. Teaching artists find a balance between activities that are aesthetically enjoyable and educationally and socially rewarding. 4. Another organization or venue serves as a host for the program. This reciprocal relationship sustains the arts program and increases the vitality of the host organization by providing a wide range of programs. 5. The organization's leader is enthusiastic and mindful of both challenges and opportunities in the field. A single person in a highly-placed administrative position is identified as an essential driving force behind successful programs. 6. Teaching artists demonstrate loyalty by committing several years to the programs. The long-term retention of all teaching artists ensures consistent, reliable, and quality programs. / Master of Fine Arts