Page 13 - IJPS-10-2

International Journal of
Population Studies Australia’s Knitting Nannas lifelong learning

reality of survey respondents and interviewees. These were Metacognitive – Interpretive learning; and (3) Epistemic and
further combined with an interpretive phenomenology axiological – Emancipatory critical learning (Larri, 2021).
drawn from a feminist poststructuralist researcher My interpretive model is presented in Figure 1. In this
positionality to derive a model for conceptualizing the model, drawing from Kluttz & Walter (2018), learning
Knitting Nannas SML CoP, referred to as “Nannagogy.” can occur across a continuum of two distinct vectors. The

2.3.2. Data collection and analysis strategies first vector, from left to right, recognizes the different ways
learning can be structured, ranging from unstructured,
Before designing the data collection instruments, a data informal, and unplanned to structured, formal, and planned.
matrix was devised, linking the research questions to the The second vector, from top to bottom, acknowledges
data collection instruments. Data were collected through that learning can comprise inquiry directed by the self
primary sources, including a written online survey (n = 67 (individual), the loop (group), and the collective (whole
in 2017), interviews (n = 10, 2018 – 2020), and document movement). Numbered boxes are placed within the model
analysis of social media in the public domain (a purposive to demonstrate the evidence of an element, the structure of
sample of Facebook posts, digital videos, e-mails, and learning, and whether it involves individuals or different-
e-news bulletins, spanning from 2012 – 2020). Analysis sized groups. The placement of each number within each
using NVivo 11 involved thematic coding and triangulation box aims to locate the nature of learning. For example, in
of multiple data sources. Critical feminist geragogy was Figure 2, regarding the formation phase, Box 2 is located
one of the analytical lenses applied to the data to ascertain within both cognitive and metacognitive learning domains.
whether Nannagogy could achieve transformative and It is semistructured in format and occurs within the group
emancipatory learning in older women. setting of the Gasfield Free Northern Rivers (GFNR) CoP.
The survey was designed to elicit both qualitative and
quantitative data in response to Research Questions 1 and 3. Results
2. The purpose of the survey was to gain an overview of The findings presented here pertain to answering the first
the movement after 4 years of its inception and growth. subquestion regarding what older women learned in starting
Semistructured interviews were conducted to contribute and growing their movement, which is referred to as the
more detailed data by confirming and complementing “Formation Phase.” In terms of the initial motivation to create
findings from the online survey. Thematic content analysis the movement, the majority of the Nannas were identified
of media supported knowledge about how KNAG learned as circumstantial activists (described by Ollis, 2012; Ollis &
their activism and online connectivism through the use Hamel-Green, 2015; Ollis, 2020) and novice campaigners
of Web 2.0 (social media) tools in combination with who were intrinsically motivated to establish and join KNAG
traditional media, with posts on Facebook being the most due to their pre-existing mobilization and commitment to
used KNAG social media platform. fighting CSG in the Northern Rivers region of New South
An interpretive model was developed to conceptualize Wales. These findings are encapsulated in Figure 2.
the elements of Nannagogy, enabling the synthesis of all Age, gender, and purposeful retirement were significant
data sources. Nannagogy was framed as an Australian contributing factors to both intrinsic motivation and
CoP in older women’s environmental activism. The frame alignment. A pre-existing interest in knitting or
collected research data revealed similarities with elements crafting was found to be peripheral. Qualitative analysis of
of the SML theory frameworks proposed by Branagan & responses to the survey question, “What motivated you to
Boughton (2003), based on Newman’s taxonomy, Scandrett join the Nannas?” identified three key themes (n = 63): (i)
et al. (2010), and Kluttz & Walter (2018). Using existing wanting to be part of anti-CSG campaigning (37 mentions);
frameworks assisted in summarizing the key findings of this (ii) already being concerned for the environment (35
research and indicating their application to the KNAG CoP. mentions); and (iii) being attracted to an older woman-
The model includes an additional element to the centered movement (34 mentions). Comments related to
previous frameworks to recognize the influence of active aging were mentioned 19 times. Knitting or other
learners’ entry behaviors and prior capabilities on their forms of crafting were not mentioned as motivators but
motivation in relation to activist skill acquisition. The three rather as useful skills that a number of women did not have.
levels (micro, meso, and macro) drawn from Scandrett et The desire to be an effective activist against CSG and its
al. (2010) and Kluttz & Walter (2018) are reinterpreted as impacts on climate was a strong motivator for Nannas, as
distinct elements. Instead of being viewed as levels, they are expressed by S.13, “I believe it is one of the most effective
couched in terms of learning cognition. In the presented non-violent protests ever. I am strongly against CSG and
model, these are: (i) Cognitive – Instrumental learning; (2) concerned about climate change”.

Volume 10 Issue 2 (2024) 7 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.381