The Intergenerational Field Needs More Ethnographic Research

Abstract

Dominant approaches to intergenerational research may be inadequate to meet new challenges to the intergenerational field, such as increasing complexity of program settings, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a mandate to address social problems. An ethnographic approach to intergenerational work may be an effective strategy for meeting these challenges. An ethnographic approach involves a holistic perspective using field-based methods of data collection and a cross-cultural research base. As ethnographic methods have been used successfully in related areas such as education, gerontology, and child development, researchers are encouraged to integrate this perspective into studies of intergenerational programming. Various resource materials are described for practitioners and researchers interested in learning more about the ethnographic approach. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service:

The Magic Box and Collage: Responding to the challenge of distributed intergenerational play

“…This is particularly important with pre-school children who may not be able to clearly articulate their needs and desires. This view coincides with a call for more ethnographic research in the intergenerational field in order to address some of the inherent complexities of intergenerational research (Ward, 1999).…”

Intergenerational practice in the community: A focused ethnographic evaluation

“…This is a variation of the traditional ethnographic approach characterized by shorter times in the field focused on a specific issue (Knoblauch, 2005). Several characteristics of ethnography make it suitable for evaluating intergenerational practice in the community: naturalistic location, focus on the participants' perspective and researchers personally involved in the research (Ward, 1999). In addition, it is suited to advancing community research due to its multi‐method approach and attention to context, while giving voice to individual experience (Miller, Hengst, & Wang, 2003).…”

Intergenerational connections enhance the personal/social development of young children

“…Considering that this is a new field of study and its orientation has been toward psychology, intergenerational research has been quantitative research more frequently than qualitative (Ward, 1999). A few studies have examined the effects of intergenerational programs on student learning, on participant's behavior, and the benefits of intergenerational interaction for the elderly.…”