Revival in The Later Periods of Life: A Phenomenological Study on The Experiences of Older Adults at The Rejuvenation University

Abstract

This study aims to examine the learning experiences, motivations, obstacles encountered, and gains obtained from the educational process of students at the Rejuvenation University from a qualitative perspective, with a focus on how learning is experienced and given meaning in later life. The study was conducted with 26 older adult participants who had been studying at the Rejuvenation University at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University for one year during the 2024–2025 academic year. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and evaluated using Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method, informed by interpretive engagement.The analysis was analytically consolidated into four main themes with related subthemes, capturing participants’ lived experiences of revival. Participants articulated their experiences through metaphors such as ‘resprouting’ and ‘reaching the light,’ reflecting a reorientation toward meaning and agency in later life. Motivations for participation included personal development, social bonding, and giving meaning to time. Health issues, transportation difficulties, and social pressures emerged as challenges; however, these were negotiated rather than experienced as reasons for withdrawal. Social and cognitive gains, including friendship, belonging, solidarity, knowledge acquisition, and keeping up with the times, were identified as central outcomes. Participants also reported renewed future orientation and strengthened commitment to life.The Rejuvenation University offers not only a learning environment for older adults, but also a multidimensional experience that supports relational belonging, sustained agency, and intentional living in later life. The findings highlight revival as a phenomenological process shaped through learning, vulnerability, and social connection.