Learning Across Generations In Europe

"Learning across generations in Europe: Contemporary issues in older adult education constitutes an important book in the emergent field of study of older adult learning. The book gives a clear and wide overview on the different concepts, ideas, and meanings, related to older adults’ education, learning and intergenerational learning through strong theoretical standpoints, empirical research, and policy directions. The field of older adult education has expanded immensely in recent years since it raised questions that are connected to a rapidly ageing society in very turbulent times of economic and social changes in Europe. This book provides the basis for an in-depth analysis of the understandings and interpretations of education and learning in later-life, rethinking the development of different approaches for education of older adults, as well as diverse research and evaluation of different forms of older adults’ education and learning. It brings together both orthodox approaches to educational gerontology and older adult learning on important emerging issues faced by educators around the globe. The chapters address the contemporary differentiated discussion on diverse phenomena labelled ranging from intergenerational learning to older men learning, providing robust impulses for the development of further theoretical and empirical research on older adult and intergenerational learning. It is the editors’ intention that this collection of papers acts as a persuasive argument for formal and non-formal learning agencies to open more doors for older adults. Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha Ph.D. is Full Professor of educational science with focus on continuing education and further vocational training at Institute of Education, University of Tuebingen. His research and writings address the topics of adult education, intergenerational learning, informal adult learning, and higher education Sabina Jelenc Krašovec Ph.D. is Associate Professor of adult education within the Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. Her research and writings focus on the education of vulnerable adults, and more recently, on older adult learning in the community and non-formal contexts. Marvin Formosa Ph.D. is co-ordinator of the Gerontology Unit, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta. Recent publications include Lifelong Learning in Later Life: A Handbook on Older Adult Learning (with Brian Findsen, 2011) and Population Ageing in Malta: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (with Charles Scerri, 2015). "

The idea for this book came about as a result of the ICT Guides project, which was funded by the Erasmus+ programme . The project was carried out in 2015-2018 in Gothenburg (Sweden), Berlin (Germany), Madrid (Spain) and Sheffield (United Kingdom). The cities identified for the project all have a relatively high percentage of young school students with immigrant backgrounds. This group of Europeans in particular are at risk of early school leaving, and are over-represented in terms of unemployment. The book addresses the issue of information and communication technology (ICT) use in an educational environment, and presents research results from the ICT Guides project. In order to discuss how ICT can be used as a means to prevent early school leaving among immigrant youth, this book explores the literature on how learning can be understood in the intergenerational context (Chapter 1); what the challenges are in preventing early school leaving (Chapter 2), and the prospects for ICT in education (Chapter 3). Finally, we present the findings of an empirical study on intergenerational learning with the use of information and communications technology (Chapter 4). As reports on youth in Europe show, young immigrants are most at risk of social exclusion. Employment is a strong protective factor against the risk of poverty, and - as identified in the EU 2020 strategy - one of the most important targets for a smart, sustainable and inclusive Europe. Immigrant youths suffer from having an incomplete education, partly because of the economic crisis in Europe, and partly because of the military conflicts and strife in places such as Syria and Afghanistan. Our findings highlight the fact that ICT-supported learning is a significant sociocultural platform for knowledge exchange, at the same time reducing intergenerational and cultural distance. It helps work toward the common good, creates a sense of belonging and ensures mutual support, and encourages better understanding and harmonious coexistence between young immigrants and older citizens. The function of ICT in intergenerational learning is changing, from serving as its catalyst to facilitating its participants' learning about each other.

The book provides a systemic view of the state-of-the- art of Digital Game Based Learning (DGBL) across the lifespan, from age-specific game design requirements to technological devices that could overcome child and older adult difficulties in the use of DGBL technologies. Other topics include cross-generational digital game-based learning, workplace gaming, exergaming, serious games to tackle societal challenges,and implications of DGBL across the lifespan for game designers. In addition to the state-of-the-art methodologies provided for age-specific gamedesign, development, implementation and assessment, a significant portion of the book focuses on case studies where DGBL have been designed and implemented in every age groups and in cross-generational situations.

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.

ÔThere is so much to praise in this important and timely book. Drawing on unique, fresh and intimate qualitative studies of families and the complex histories of their lives and businesses, the book will invigorate entrepreneurial studies with its intricate, theoretically bold and innovative analysis. The author takes us on a sensitive and fascinating journey with these families, and makes an outstanding contribution conceptually, politically, ethically and methodologically to the field, showing us how narratives are not simply methodological tools but ontological resources for gender and identify formation. It is an elegant and refreshing book which will be a rewarding and enlivening read for students and researchers.Õ Ð Elaine Swan, University of Technology Sydney, Australia ÔThoughtful, perceptive, and meticulously researched, Eleanor HamiltonÕs Entrepreneurship across Generations is an important contribution that will help advance the field of family business studies both conceptually and empirically. Based on fascinating field work with families in business and placing ÒfamilyÓ at the very heart of her study, Hamilton shows, through the stories her subjects tell, just how deeply and complexly family and firm are intertwined. A must-read for all those interested in family firm entrepreneurship.Õ Ð Andrew Popp, University of Liverpool Management School, UK Entrepreneurship across Generations examines dimensions of identity, gender and learning to understand the complex fabric of family business. An interpretation of narratives from two generations in five families constitutes entrepreneurship as an inherently social, rather than individual, phenomenon. This enriching book explains how entrepreneurial capacity is shared between generations, showing how learning is embedded within everyday social practice in the family and the business. It explores patriarchal practice and gendered entrepreneurial identities in family business. The author challenges dominant discourses of entrepreneurship. She argues that entrepreneurial identities are mediated by narrative and subject to constant negotiation within and across generations. With a new perspective on entrepreneurship, this insightful study will be essential and supplementary reading for students and practitioners within the field of entrepreneurship and family business.

This important book builds on recent publications in lifelong learning which focus on learning and education in later life. This work breaks new ground in international understandings of what constitutes later life learning across diverse cultures in manifold countries or regions across the world. Containing 42 separate country/regional analyses of later life learning, the overall significance resides in insiders’ conceptualisations and critique of this emerging sub-field of lifelong learning and adult education. International perspectives on older adult education provides new appreciation of what is happening in countries from Europe (14), Africa (10), the Americas (7), Asia (9) and Australasia (2), as authored by adult educators and/or social gerontologists in respective geographical areas. These analyses are contextualised by a thorough introduction and critical appraisal where trends and fresh insights are revealed. The outcome of this book is a never-before available critique of what it means to be an older learner in specific nations, and the accompanying opportunities and barriers for learning and education. The sub-title of research, policy and practice conveys the territory that authors traverse in which rhetoric and reality are interrogated. Coverage in chapters includes conceptual analysis, historical patterns of provision, policy developments, theoretical perspectives, research studies, challenges faced by countries and “success stories” of later life learning. The resultant effect is a vivid portrayal of a vast array of learning that occurs in later life across the globe. Brian Findsen is Professor of Education and Postgraduate Leader for Te Whiringa School of Educational Leadership and Policy, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Marvin Formosa is Head of the Department of Gerontology, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta, and Director of the International Institute on Ageing (United Nations - Malta).

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.

The concept of intimacy puts forth important challenges to contemporary cultural psychology. Intimacy refers to a felt experience of interiority that although is intuitively comprehensible, does not have rigorously defined limits. Intimacy can refer to a content, an object, a person, ownership, or even a part of one’s own body. A potentially problematic issue for cultural psychology is that acknowledging intimacy seems to bound the Self to areas disjointed from the social sphere. In a globalized world, we witness a developmental process where social life becomes sectioned, where people are involved in an identity search by foregrounding certain social roles. With this backdrop in mind, people redefine and rebuild their intimacy spaces and the ways they roam from these to the public and collective realm. Exploring the current historical situation leads us to consider intimacy as culture in the making; certainly, in the way it manifests itself, but particularly in how we approach and understand it. The lived (experienced) dimension of intimacy becomes truly important, since it casts new light on what we mean by intimacy in different spheres of the self’s life, as well as life with others.