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Intergenerational Strategies for Promoting Lifelong Learning and Education

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Intergenerational Pathways to a Sustainable Society

Part of the book series: Perspectives on Sustainable Growth ((POSG))

Abstract

This chapter highlights the relational nature of learning and especially notes that through education, intended intergenerational practices have great potential to foster sustainable relationships in society. Examples of international intergenerational programs focused on lifelong learning and education in countries as different as Germany, India, Spain, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and U.S. are presented as pathways to combat the following three main threats to sustainable societies: cultural discontinuity, lack of trust, and the increasing challenges to living in diverse contexts. Special attention is paid to the move from multi-generational learning and education contexts to intended intergenerational endeavors at all levels. Purposeful efforts are made to facilitate interaction between generations to enhance learning and education. The traditional paradox in evidence is that most of our school systems consist of age-segregated classrooms while a community of teachers, families and students from different generations are living side by side. This phenomenon is highlighted. In order to illustrate how this paradox may be solved, we present a few cases of international intergenerational initiatives carried out in educational settings where generations meet purposefully to teach and learn together across the lifespan.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “Historypin.com is an online, global archive to which people can add photos, audio, video, stories, and memories by pinning them to a particular place and time on the Historypin map. The Historypin app also lets people add and explore content while walking around their local areas. Since its launch, Historypin has been a catalyst for numerous online and offline collaborations between older and younger people” (Armstrong, 2012, p. 294).

  2. 2.

    http://www.montessori-muenchen.de/?seite=werkstatt_allgemein

  3. 3.

    http://www.changemakerschools.org/profiles/2016/3/2/ceip-ramn-y-cajal

  4. 4.

    http://www.cregaghprimary.org.uk/intergenerational-project/

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Matthew Kaplan

  2. Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Mariano Sanchez

  3. Optentia Research Focus Area, Ageing and Generational Dynamics in Africa (AGenDA), North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

    Jaco Hoffman

  4. Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Jaco Hoffman

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  1. Matthew Kaplan
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  2. Mariano Sanchez
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  3. Jaco Hoffman
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Kaplan, M., Sanchez, M., Hoffman, J. (2017). Intergenerational Strategies for Promoting Lifelong Learning and Education. In: Intergenerational Pathways to a Sustainable Society. Perspectives on Sustainable Growth. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47019-1_5

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