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Families, Intergenerationality, and Peer Group Relations pp 307–327Cite as

Intergenerational Education and Learning: We Are in a New Place

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Part of the book series: Geographies of Children and Young People ((GCYP,volume 5))

Abstract

This chapter reviews and synthesizes contemporary theorizations and empirical research on intergenerational education and learning. Fast-changing contexts (such as aging populations, migration, and environmental crises), international policy, and interdisciplinary research all suggest intergenerational education is in a new and exciting “place.” At the center of much of the contemporary literature is the idea that contact between generations can and does lead to intergenerational learning for participants. However, this review suggests three emerging and necessary orientations for theory, policy, and practice in support of intergenerational education and learning: (1) the need to shift from looking at program inputs and outputs in a unigenerational manner toward an appreciation of how the processes of intergenerational learning and practice are relationally and reciprocally experienced and impactful across generations; (2) the need to shift from looking at intergenerational learning within families to harnessing the untapped potential for extrafamilial places of intergenerational encounters as contexts of learning; and (3) the need to widen the purposes of intergenerational programs: these will include improved relations between the generations but should also include improved ecosocial wellbeing. Taken together, these three shifts are suggestive of a need for a place-responsive understanding of intergenerational education and learning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Stirling, Room A44, Pathfoot, Stirling, Scotland, FK9 4LA, UK

    Greg Mannion

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  1. Greg Mannion
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Correspondence to Greg Mannion .

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  1. Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom

    Samantha Punch

  2. The School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Robert M. Vanderbeck

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Mannion, G. (2018). Intergenerational Education and Learning: We Are in a New Place. In: Punch, S., Vanderbeck, R. (eds) Families, Intergenerationality, and Peer Group Relations. Geographies of Children and Young People, vol 5. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-026-1_5

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