Strengthening the Call for Intentional Intergenerational Programmes towards Sustainable Futures for Children and Families

Abstract

As a response to the call for reimagining early childhood education for social sustainability in the future, this conceptual paper aims to suggest revisiting and strengthening the case to include intentional intergenerational engagements and programmes in kindergartens as approaches towards sustainable futures for children. In this paper, we argue that we must talk about intergenerational solidarity on all levels, including in early childhood education and care settings, and that it must be deliberate and by design. Learning from cultural–historical concepts and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, intergenerational programmes in early years settings are to be presented as intentional initiatives and opportunities for interrelated and collaborating actors and institutions to bring younger children and older adults together. We present a conceptual framework that features conflicts and opportunities within overlapping and congruent spaces to understand conditions for various intergenerational practices and activities in different places, and to promote intergenerational dialogues, collaborations and shared knowledge, contributing to a relational and socially sustainable future for which we aim.

Using community-based participatory research to support the development of a co-located intergenerational program

“…Despite the clear benefits already acknowledged, there is limited work in existence on creating community-led and evidence-based intergenerational programs, that provide children with a voice, centring children and seniors equally at the heart of the decision-making. Individuals participating in intergenerational programs are part of families and communities that make up our diverse society (Keary et al, 2022), therefore the social impact of participation in intergenerational programs extends beyond the individual, influencing relationships outside programs and into communities (Jarrot et al, 2021; Kaplan et al, 2017; Oropilla & Odegaard, 2021). Benefits to children participating in intergenerational programs are often overlooked or taken for granted as part of children’s natural learning and development progression (Cartmel et al, 2018).…”

Towards a New Pedagogy of Grandparenting: Proposing a Participatory Project

“…Ethics of care are also central to an articulation of contemporary pedagogy (Luff, Kanyal, 2015) thus recognising the potential of intergenerational relationships for enrichment of the lives of children and adults alike, and as a contribution to a socially sustainable future (Oropilla, Ødegaard, 2021;Taggart, 2022).…”

The Use of Visual Methods in a Study of Kindergarten Food Practices

“…In the present article, close attention is given to how visual representation is utilised for the purpose of analysis. In their research, Ødegaard and Oropilla (Ødegaard, 2020;Oropilla & Ødegaard, 2021) have illustrated a range of thinking and analytical tools for understanding and developing practices through visual conceptualisations in early childhood research. Furthermore, it has been mentioned by Oropilla and Ødegaard (2021) that visual conceptualisation helps identify the conditions for various practices concerning children in their everyday lives and, therefore, contributes to the translation/transformation of knowledge into practice.…”