Learning from Childhood to Mature Adulthood: What makes people want to learn to learn and keep on learning?

This article describes 35 individuals who have expressed an interest in taking university courses after retirement. Longitudinal data and individuals' own accounts are presented, in an effort to clarify the role that symbolic resources play in individuals' lives, for their capacity to construct their own identity, to function as social actors, and "to learn to learn". It is argued that their lives provide grounds to consider a re-conceptualisation of adult learning.