Ann-Kristin Boström

Changing Notions of Lifelong Education and Lifelong Learning

Drawing on material from IRE as well as other sources, this article describes how the notion of lifelong education came into prominence in the educational world in the late 1960s, how it related to the concepts of formal, non-formal and informal education, and how it contrasted with the idea of recurrent eduction, as promoted by the OECD. The author goes on to discuss the emergence of the broader and more holistic concept of lifelong learning and the various ways in which it is understood. The article shows how IRE and its host institute have played an important part in the debate on these issues.

Intergenerational Learning and Social Capital

Intergenerational learning can be seen as an entity of lifelong learning. When lifelong learning was introduced as a concept by OECD, UNESCO and EC it was connected to the theory of human capital. As such quantitative measures were used and economics outcomes were in focus.

Lifelong Learning in Intergenerational Settings : The Development of the Swedish Granddad from Project to National Association

This paper will develop the subject intergenerational learning as a form of lifelong learning. The project in focus was originally called “More men into the schools,” a support program for children attending compulsory school. It was initiated as a pilot project in the autumn of 1996 as the result of the interest shown by a male senior citizen in assisting a handicrafts teacher in school on a voluntary basis. The project, as it has been initiated in Sweden, is based on the understanding that those senior citizens who wish to do so ought to be given the opportunity to work in schools in order to improve the quality of their lives through this engagement and the network in which they thereby participate. Increased social capital, which has been defined by Coleman (1988, 1990), has been found in the schools that have employed a granddad. The results show that the work of the class granddad, both together with the teacher and outside during the breaks, also influences in a positive way the social capital between the pupils and the teacher. The work of the teacher is greatly influenced by the relationships between the pupils in the group. The recent situation is that one national organization and 10 regional associations support about 1,000 men working all over Sweden. The development and implementation of this model from 1996 to 2011 will be described.

Social Capital in Intergenerational Meetings in Compulsory Schools in Sweden

Intergenerational learning as an entity of lifelong learning and the creation of social capital in meetings between older men (class granddads) and pupils within compulsory schools in Sweden is the focus of this paper. In a study of the class granddad project on behalf of the Association of Class Granddads and the Swedish National Agency for Education, 19 different schools in Greater Stockholm were studied. These men, who come to the school for the sake of the children, are to be considered as a human resource that is at the disposal of the school, the classes, and the teachers concerned. Questions were constructed to measure parts of social capital. One of these factors is security, which has been described as being where one feels secure in school, but also involves being provided with assistance by other persons in the organization. Norms and structures indicate whether there is peace and quiet in the classroom. Cooperation and solidarity and good communication between the various parties in the organization are also part of the social capital in a group or an organization. A total of 788 pupils have provided responses to the same questions. It is possible to construct indicators for social capital and thereby measure the extent to which there is social capital in the relationships between people in a school. The results show that the work of the class granddad, both together with the teacher and outside during the breaks, also influences, in a positive way, the social capital between the pupils and the teacher. The work of the teacher is very greatly influenced by the relationships between the pupils in the group.

Reflections on Intergenerational Policy in Europe: The Past Twenty Years and Looking into the Future

This article will start from a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-sponsored meeting on intergenerational programs in Dortmund, Germany, in 1999, as this was an awareness-raising moment for intergenerational programs in Europe. The connection between lifelong learning and intergenerational learning as one reason for the increased interest for intergenerational programs in the creation of European policy are discussed and connected to demography, health, aging, and well-being in policy. Therefore recent actions and reports from a European perspective are analyzed in order to reflect over the social and cultural factors that can have an impact and influence the intergenerational field in Europe in the future.

Intergenerational Initiatives in Sweden

ABSTRACT It is pointed out in this report that the intergenerational perspective is conspicuous by its absence in Sweden, compared to several other countries where specific programmes exist for activities across generational boundaries. Activities across generational boundaries have also been a specific area where financial incentives for local projects have been provided in recent years through the governments project, Freedom of Choice/Older People and Public Health. But despite these efforts, comprehensive and systematic measures to develop and strengthen contacts across generational boundaries have been few and far between in Sweden. Instead, official measures within various areas have targeted different groups, often defined in terms of their age and stage of life course.

[Review of] Childhood and Old Age: Equals or Opposites? : Edited by Jørgen Povlsen, Signe Mellemgaard and Ning de Conick-Smith. Odense: Odense University Press, 1999.

Abstract CHILDHOOD AND OLD AGE, EQUALS OR OPPOSITES? Edited by Jørgen Povlsen, Signe Mellemgaard and Ning de Conick-Smith. Odense: Odense University Press, 1999. Reviewed by Ann-Kristin Boström THE DAY GOGO WENT TO VOTE. Elinor Batezat Sisulu. Cape Town & New York: Tafelberg Publishers, 1996. Reviewed by Suzanne Stutman THE STEPFAMILY PUZZLE: INTERGENERATIONAL INFLUENCES. Edited by Craig A. Everett. Binghamton, New York: The Haworth Press, Inc., 1993. Reviewed by Wilma Wolfenstein MALE INTERGENERATIONAL INTIMACY: HISTORICAL, SOCIOPSYCHOLOGICAL, AND LEGAL PERSPECTIVES. Edited by Theo Sandfort, Edward Brongersma and Alex van Naerssen. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1991. Reviewed by H. P. F. Mercken

Intergenerational Relationships and Lifelong Learning

We are delighted to introduce this special issue of the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships (JIR). It includes research articles that expand the arena of intergenerational relationships into the context of lifelong learning, and the area is broadened where lifelong learning and intergenerational learning meet. The circumstances for these meetings are different, the learning between generations takes place on several continents, and the authors of the articles are researchers who have been part of the lifelong learning movement from the beginning as well as younger researchers new to the area. The concept of lifelong learning as such has been used since the 1970s. Different agents, both at the grassroots level and in policy, have used it. In the beginning it was used in a narrow way meaning mostly recurrent education and adult education. There are still many who define lifelong learning as adult education only, but since the 1990s the concept has been used in a broader sense (Hasan, 1999). The broader concept can be interpreted to consist of four criteria that define a lifelong learning society: each individual, young or old, should be motivated and equipped to engage in learning on a continuing basis throughout life, in formal and informal settings; each has access to opportunities of lifelong learning; and each is faced with incentives, both financial and social, to take advantage of such opportunities (Hasan, 1999, p. 53). The broader meaning of lifelong learning was also evident in the publication Learning the Treasure Within, 1991, as a result of an international commission that was chaired by Jacques Delors. The goals stated were described as learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together (Delors, 1996). The concept of lifelong learning has been liked and used differently around the world and in different levels of education. In policy, the concept was first related to human capital because its incentive was to give possibilities for individuals to learn and develop new skills that could be used in the workplace. The difference between learning and education developed during the 1980s (Tuijnman & Boström, 2002) and from around 2000 lifelong learning became related to social capital and social cohesion. This changed the focus and social relationships were prioritized. It is also within this scope of learning that lifelong learning connects with intergenerational learning, and the social and policy interest in social relationships between different generations is growing. Intergenerational learning is more than just a facet of intergenerational relationships. On the one side, it enables the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, skills, competencies, attitudes, and habits in both directions—from the younger generations to the older ones and the other way round. On the other side, intergenerational learning opens up a space for generations to learn more about each other, to understand perspectives of other generations without necessarily adopting them. Therefore, intergenerational learning is related to intergenerational relationships in different ways as relationships of generations form these learning environments and the interaction of learners, but also it can be changed through learning processes. Interestingly, these statements seem to be true for different concepts of generations. The interrelation between learning and relationships can be found for different generations within a family (genealogic concept of generations), for a sequence of generations in the society in an JOURNAL OF INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 2017, VOL. 15, NO. 1, 1–3 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2017.1260408

Community Well-Being Through Intergenerational Cooperation

Intergenerational learning is a form of lifelong learning. A short description of the concept of lifelong learning is included in this chapter in order for intergenerational learning to be more fully understood. Introduction of lifelong learning policies haves many practical consequences for local and regional governments. The first consequence is that lifelong learning dissolves the boundaries between policy sectors. This is because of the fact that lifelong learning concerns such sectors as education policy, labour market policy, industrial policy as well as social policy. The second consequence is a shift in responsibility for education and learning from the public to the private and civil spheres. The case of an intergenerational learning program in Sweden is presented in this chapter.

Relationships Are the Common Denominator

In this issue of the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships (JIR), readers will find a diversity of relationships. All relationships are culturally dependent on their context, which is made evident in the article titled “Solidarity Between Generations and Elders’ Life Satisfaction: Comparing Jews and Arabs in Israel,” by Ruth Katz and Ariela Lowenstein. They write about cultural background as an important, contextual indicator of the linkages between intergenerational family support and filial norms to life satisfaction of older Arabs and Jews, which is especially evident in view of changing norms in the Arab community. Of special interest is the way expectations of support and economic help flow upward or downward. The authors write from a gerontological perspective. The next article has a base in psychology, “The Role of Childhood Relationships With Older Adults in Reducing Risk-Taking by Young Adults,” by Shelia M. Kennison and Elisabeth Ponce-Garcia. This article shows that positive relationships with older adults during childhood predict less risktaking behaviors and less agism by young adults. The results appear to be the first to demonstrate that childhood relationships with older adults, including grandparents, can have long-term, positive impacts on children. These first two articles use quantitative methods, but the third paper in this issue of JIR is a case study titled “Culture and Familism: An Exploratory Case Study of a Grandparent-Headed Household” by Emily S. Ihara, Catherine J. Tompkins, and Hisako Sonethavilay. The authors describe the King family as an example of how grandparents may change over time and how cultural values may play a part in a child’s life. They found concepts