Intergenerational Practice in Schools and Settings provides guidance through the many approaches in education that bring generations together. Identifying the purpose of intergenerational practice, this book offers an insight into how other educational settings have used programmes to enhance the learning experience and connect students to their community and local environment. Serving as a practical guide on setting up an intergenerational programme and identifying how to overcome the barriers that educators may face as they progress, this engaging book provides the knowledge and skills needed for developing sustainable projects and provides students with the opportunity to enhance the world around them. With case studies from a range of educators and practitioners, this book encourages readers to reflect on how to establish multi-agency relationships to create mutual learning spaces for different generations. Intergenerational Practice in Schools and Settings is an accessible text to understand the evidence behind the approach, with experiences from educators who are fully engaged with intergenerational practice. It is an inspirational guide for experienced educators, trainee students interested in adopting an intergenerational approach, and for those with prior experience in the field, providing a rationale of how to develop and extend intergenerational opportunities.
Based on innovative global practice, Intergenerational Learning in Practice presents a unique contribution to the field of intergenerational learning. Drawing on the Together Old and Young (TOY) programme, this book provides a comprehensive background to intergenerational learning, along with tools and resources to help develop and improve your own intergenerational practice. Experienced international authors from Europe, North America and Australia provide a broad array of perspectives on intergenerational learning, ranging from pedagogy to planning and community development, and cover topics including: The context, theory and existing research behind intergenerational learning The changing relationships between young children and older adults Building communities and services for all ages Managing everyday encounters in public spaces between young and old Ensuring quality in intergenerational practice Insights on how intergenerational learning challenges discrimination Intergenerational Learning in Practice is a valuable resource for practitioners and leaders in Early Childhood Education and Care and those working in primary schools, as well as professionals caring for older adults, and those working in community development.
"In this volume, At Our Best: Building Youth-Adult Partnerships in Out-of-School Time Settings, our authors and contributors reveal how intergenerational partnerships inspire both adults and youth to bring their best selves to programs. In varied ways, the chapters explore how youth-adult partnerships can enable people and programs to develop toward their full potential, while acknowledging the complexities and tensions of these relationships. Together, the authors in this volume suggest that building youth-adult partnerships expands our collective capacity to achieve transformational change in our organizations, schools, neighborhoods, and communities. This volume brings together the voices of over 50 adults and youth. Each of these individuals have thought deeply and critically about youth-adult partnerships; their unique perspectives foster new ways of thinking about the theory and practice of this work in out-of-school time settings. Comprised of 14 chapters, the book represents a mix of empirical research, theoretical and conceptual studies, and engaged dialogue about the complexities of intergenerational partnership work. Several chapters are co-written by intergenerational collectives of youth and adults, or people who began collaborating with one another in the context of a youth-adult partnership; their essays are a direct reflection of the many opportunities for learning and knowledge-building inherent in positive youth-adult relationships. In addition, throughout the book, we have incorporated short essays, poetry, and artwork by 11 young people who offer insights based on their lived experiences of partnership with teachers, youth workers, counselors, family members, and other caring adults in their lives. Through their varied works of creative expression and storytelling, readers can engage in the practice of listening to the voices of youth and learning from the wisdom they have to share. In addition to providing research-based evidence and participant testimonials that illuminate the promise of intergenerational learning in OST spaces, the volume also responds to key questions that scholars, adult practitioners, policymakers, and youth navigate in this work, such as: What role can (or should) adults play in supporting youth learning, voice, and activism? What strategies of (and approaches to) youth-adult partnership are most effective in promoting positive youth development and organizational transformation? What tensions and challenges arise in the process of doing this work? And what are the pressures of the contemporary era that influence youth-adult partnership in OST today? Through highlighting authentic youth-adult partnerships as a central component of quality youth programs, this fourth volume of the IAP series on OST aims to sharpen the field's understanding of positive, intergenerational relationships-an essential what of OST programming. In addition, it aims to articulate how positive youth-adult partnerships are nurtured, such that educators across school and community-based contexts can better enact context-driven, personalized learning, while also enabling processes of healing, empowerment, and transformation. Out-of-school time programs have the potential to model new paradigms of learning, creating, and being. In these spaces, adults and youth have the opportunity to re-envision learning and build social consciousness without the scripts of the classroom. However, OST spaces can also reproduce the adultism, misogyny, and racism from which youth seek refuge, if these systems of oppression go unchecked. When adults partner with youth in driving the mission, approach, and outcomes of learning, OST settings can become sites of resistance and transformation. Thus, we believe that it is imperative to address both the possibilities and the challenges of engaging in partnership work in OST, and we see these youth-adult partnerships as representative of the work we can do at our best. It is our hope that educators begin to draw more readily from the best practices of the OST field; we believe that the power and promise of youth-adult partnerships can become a foundation for this work"--
In Intergenerational Contact Zones, Kaplan, Thang, Sánchez, and Hoffman introduce novel ways of thinking, planning, and designing intergenerationally enriched environments. Filled with vivid examples of how ICZs breathe new life into communities and social practices, this important volume focuses on practical descriptions of ways in which practitioners and researchers could translate and infuse the notion of ICZ into their work. The ICZ concept embraces generation and regeneration of community life, parks and recreational locations, educational environments, residential settings and family life, and national and international contexts for social development. With its focus on creating effective and meaningful intergenerational settings, it offers a rich how-to toolkit to help professionals and user groups as they begin to consider ways to develop, activate, and nurture intergenerational spaces. Intergenerational Contact Zones will be essential reading for academics and researchers interested in human development, aging, and society, as well as practitioners, educators, and policy makers interested in intergenerational gathering places from an international perspective.
Intergenerational Programs: Understanding What We Have Created focuses on research efforts to design, improve, and evaluate activities among younger and older individuals while examining how intergenerational activities impact children, families, and older adult participants. The first single volume to reflect the current state of research knowledge in this area, this vital guide provides practitioners, program developers, researchers, and students with case studies, research findings, and models and examples of productive activities. It will help you guide short- and long-term program development, document activity effectiveness, and ensure program survival during fiscal hardships to give participants constructive and positive experiences. Discussing the opportunity to transfer experience and knowledge of older persons in our society to future generations, Intergenerational Programs: Understanding What We Have Created examines the challenges that may arise in providing meaningful activities for younger and older persons. This helpful book explores research methods, such as qualitative approaches with large, national data sets; observations; program histories; and qualitative analyses of interviews with small numbers of program participants to help you create appropriate activities and foster interdependence between these two age groups. Intergenerational Programs: Understanding What We Have Created will help you research programs and produce successful activity outcomes with such techniques as: using an ethnographic approach, involving a holistic perspective and using field-based data collection methods, to meet the challenges of creating programs among two different age groups and the social problems each group faces using constructivist and sociocultural orientations, which are traditionally applied to a “classroom learning,” to offer new ways of viewing and assessing learning in community-based programs understanding the positive effects grandparents can have on their grandchildren, including helping parents resolve children's behavioral problems and assisting in providing positive environments incorporating knowledge of drug abuse issues, problem-solving skills, feelings of self-worth, and academic goals into programs to benefit youths developing elder-care services in conjunction with businesses to improve the quality of life for the elderly and the workers, as well as decreasing workers’absenteeism, mistakes, and time used to make personal calls to elderly relatives who need careComprehensive and intelligent, this current book contains studies and research that explore the negative and positive aspects of certain activities, allowing you to learn from the experiences of others. This book provides research methods and evaluation measures to help you decide what kinds of activities are needed in order to best benefit participants. As a result, you will be able to create relevant programs, assess their effectiveness, and help join different generations in working together for an improved quality of life for all group members.
The "intergenerational programming concept," now garnering increased interest in America, has been applied to Japanese society as a strategy for maintaining intergenerational and cultural continuity in the face of social and demographic changes. While Japan is known for its enduring and resilient family structure which provides support for people of all ages, the country's growing aged population, combined with a trend away from three-generation families and changing social values, exposes a need for new mechanisms beyond the family to promote intergenerational communication, support, and cultural continuity. The authors identify a rich geographically diverse set of intergenerational programs and activities that serve a wide range of human and community development objectives. Beyond promoting intergenerational understanding among participants, these initiatives function to help people to pursue their educational objectives, arts and recreation interests, desired states of health and welfare, environmental preservation and community development goals, and religious and spiritual well-being. Intergenerational endeavors constitute an integral approach for supplementing familial support systems and maintaining social cohesion in Japan as it enters the twenty-first century.
This study sought to answer the question, "How can intergenerational programs in the K-8 school setting facilitate service learning?". Two Seattle schools, one public and one private, were utilized to determine the components of successful intergenerational programs incorporating the whole school approach. Parents, seniors, administrators, principals, teachers, and students were interviewed and surveyed to determine their knowledge and understanding of various factors including community, community service, and service learning as well as attitudes and perceptions toward the different generations. It was found that topical national public policy has provided guidance for the development of state and local programs that build internal and external community in the K-8 school setting through implementation of Intergenerational Service Learning strategies.
This volume explores intergenerational practices and their impact on social sustainability, with an emphasis on developing programmatic efforts to address profound social challenges such as underperforming educational and work-related systems, failing support systems for dependent or vulnerable populations, and community renewal and regeneration efforts. To this end, the core argument is to present issues related to age, aging, and generations, not only as problems, but as catalysts to facilitate improved quality of life for all generations. For societies to be sustainable, all generations must coexist at any given time and across time (non-contemporary generations). Hence, the ultimate vision presented here is one of intergenerational sustainability as both a conceptual tool and as a call for action. Intergenerational pathways are introduced as strategies for improving health and well-being across the lifespan, strengthening families, improving under-performing educational and work-related systems, and helping to build more cohesive, caring communities. Reviewing some of the historical factors and developments influencing intergenerational studies, as well as presenting regional case studies and comparative research, this book presents successful models that may be applied to everyday multigenerational practices in institutions such as education, family life, housing, healthcare, employment, and community development. The result is an accessible resource for students, academics, policymakers, community leaders, and citizens concerned with creating opportunities amidst challenging demographic and social changes.
In Intergenerational Approaches in Aging: Implications for Education, Policy, and Practice, leading practitioners and academics from a variety of disciplines come together to discuss theoretical issues, current practice, and future directions for this rapidly developing field. The authors address key topics such as defining the intergenerational field, the effects of the segregation of groups by age on social function and organization in our communities, and designing, implementing, and assessing programs that create cross-generational connections. Exploring ways to provide services to different age groups while tapping the strengths and skills of each age group, Intergenerational Approaches in Aging examines the application of intergenerational approaches to important social issues as well as specific challenges faced by practitioners. It makes suggestions for integrating intergenerational studies into the higher education system and for challenging segregated services and funding programs. As the book shows, promoting cooperation between diverse segments of society also depends on: making intergenerational programming a permanent feature of public schools understanding and meeting the social, mental health, and medical needs of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren using observational research to study and evaluate intergenerational program effectiveness and the relationships among the people involved viewing differences among people as assets developing intergenerational program models providing children with a 'life-cycle’view of the world Intergenerational Approaches in Aging offers the personnel of state and local agencies on aging, nursing homes, senior centers, and geriatric homes practical advice, innovative ideas, and supportive materials for developing and implementing intergenerational activities and programs that can benefit all parties involved. Academics and school administrators will also benefit from this book as they learn concrete methods for integrating aging education into already existing curricula and building new conceptual frames of reference for a wide variety of social issues and historical topics.
