Session Information
15 SES 02, Case Study
Paper Session
Contribution
The paper is a sequel to an earlier project whose results were presented at previous ECER conferences (Helsinki, Berlin) which dealt with intergenerational learning in the family. This follow-up four-year project called INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING ACROSS SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS focuses, besides workplace and school learning also on intergenerational community learning.
Our two theoretical starting points are the concept of lifelong learning and the concept of intergenerational learning, the latter of which is understood by us as “a process aiming to bring people together through purposeful, mutually beneficial activities supporting greater understanding and respect between generations which can help build community coherence” (Fischer, 2008, p. 8). It is the very environment of communities and community education, i.e. activities involving primarily various intergenerational programmes, that creates scope for non-formal and informal learning and in which people across the age continuum engage where we focus our research attention.
We have categorized various community activities and arrived at three types of approaches reflecting the various themes of intergenerational programmes. The first – cultural – one focuses on diverse shared artistic and musical activities, arts workshops and learning about art through having fun. They are mainly offered by a range of cultural institutions. The second focus is social and supportive, aiming at seniors and their integration, and at families and supporting them in childcare and education. The third focus is an educational one. It includes courses such as IT fundamentals for senior people taught by students from the higher level of basic school (“Internet Connecting Generations”).
As far as target groups are concerned, there are also three types of intergenerational programmes, each with a specific role of the active generation. They are programmes where the older generation helps the younger one, programmes where the younger generation helps the older one, and programmes where both generations work to benefit others. This is consistent with international findings (Newman, 1997).
This categorization provides us with a basis to choose intergenerational programmes within which we analyse learning situations involving intergenerational learning.
The principal research question is “What and how do members of different generations learn and what opportunities for mutual community learning and community education do they have?” The principal research question is framed by topics such as intergenerational cooperation, sharing, relations and mutual support. It is broken down into sub-questions to be answered in the observation phase:
- Who are the participants of intergenerational learning situations?
- Who and from whom does learn in intergenerational contact?
- What is the content of intergenerational learning?
- What is the scope and nature of involvement of the participants in learning processes?
- In what circumstances does intergenerational learning happen?
And for the follow-up interview phase:
- What is the content of learning from the participants’ perspective?
- In what situations do the participants identify learning?
- How do the participants view learning situations?
- What circumstances hinder or support intergenerational learning?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Angersbachem, H. & Forster, S. (1999). Intergenerational Interactions: A Descriptive Analysis of Elder- Child Interactions in a Campus-Based Child Care Center. Child &Youth Services, 20 (1-2), 117-128. Bergman, M.M. (2008). Advances in Mixed Methods Research: Theories and Applications (2008). London: Sage. Creswell, J.W., & Plano Clar, L.V. (2011). Designing and conductiong mixed methods research. Los Angeles: Sage. Fischer, T. (Ed.). (2008). Intergenerational learning in Europe – policies, programmes, practical guidance. Final report. [online]. Erlangen: University of Elangen-Nuremberg. Hendl, J.v(2012). Kvalitativní výzkum. Praha: Portál. Jarrott, J. E. (2011). Where Have We Been and Where are We Going? Content Analysis of Evaluation Research of Intergenerational Programs. Journal of Intergenerational relationships, 9(1), 37-52. Kuehne, V. & Collins, C. (1997). Observational Research in Intergenerational Programming. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 28 (3), 193-193. Kuehne, V. (1998). Building intergenerational communities through research and evaluation. Generation, 22(4), 82-87. Langová, M. (1992). Učitel v pedagogických situacích: Kapitoly ze sociální pedagogické psychologie. MacCallum, J., Palmer, D., Wright, P. R., Cumming-Potvin, W., Northcote, J.K., Brooker, M.A. & Tero, C. (2006) Community building through intergenerational exchange programs: Report to the National Youth Affairs Research Scheme (NYARS). Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services & Indigenous Affairs . Available at: http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/2914/1/CommunityBuilding.pdf Miovský, M. (2006). Kvalitativní přístup a metody v psychologickém výzkumu. Praha: Grada. Newman, S., Ward, Ch. R., Smith, T. B., Wilson, J. O. & McCrea, J. M. (1997). Intergenerational Programs. Past, Present and Future. USA: Tailor & Francis. Yin, R.K. (2003). Case study research: design and methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Newmann, S. & Hatton-Yeo, A. (2008). Intergenerational learning and the Contributions of older people. Ageing horizons, 8 (8). Available at: http://dev.ageing.ox.ac.uk/system/files/ageing_horizons_8_newmanetal_ll.pdf. Sawano, Y. (2000). Chapter on Japan. In Hatton-Yeo, & Ohsako, T. (Eds.). Intergenerational programmes. Public policy and research implications: An international perspective (p. 31-34). Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Education. Smith, B. & Yeager, W. (2000). Intergenerational Communities: Where Learning and Interaction Go Hand-in-Hand In V. S. Kuehne, ed., Intergenerational Programs: Understanding What We Have Created. New York: Haworth Press. VanderVen, K. (1999). Intergenerational theory: The missing element in today´s intergenerational programs. In Kuehne, V. Intergenerational programs: Understanding what we have created. Binghamton: The Harworth Press.
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