Toward Productive Intergenerational Learning Ecologies: Lessons From a Youth-Led Social Movement in South Africa

• In Event: Learning in and for Collective Action: An Intervention Into the Learning Sciences

Abstract

Background and Theoretical Perspectives
Although most learning scientists acknowledge the role of agency among young learners (e.g., Kirshner, 2008; 2015; Watts and Flanagan, 2007), there is a limited body of work that addresses the practical implications of such a recognition. Yet, often times, the recognition of learners’ agency necessitates that educators deeply consider the implications of such agency on learning environments that, invariably, tend to be premised on hierarchical conceptions of expertise, and therefore educators yield much structural power (Mayo Jr, 2016; Rogoff, 1990; Valenzuela, 2010). In this paper, I consider a viable and effective organizational model for productive collaboration between learners and educators that accounts for both agency and structural factors. As such, this work adds to the growing body of literature that seeks to theorize adult-student interactions in ways that recognize young people’s agency while duly considering the role, and implications on structure (Booker, 2017).

Methods
I draw on data from an ethnographic study of Equal Education, a youth-led intergenerational social movement that advocates for equality and quality in South Africa’s education system (Erickson, 1992). From 2014 to 2016, I hung out with members of EE as part of an international study that conducted research on organizing in six different cities. During this period, I administered surveys, conducted interviews, moderated focus groups, and recorded observational field notes. To show the utility of these data in providing insights on youth-adult relationships, I analyze these data using an adaptation of Evans’ (1995) concept of embedded autonomy.

Findings and Implications
I show that the movement’s organizational model allows for youth to be relatively autonomous from adults while ensuring that learning goals for both adults and youth are embedded within the social ties. Given how such an organizational model has led to a social transformation of the capabilities and roles of youth within a policy process that conventionally privileges adults by shifting conceptions of expertise and learning identities, I argue that such a model has the potential to address challenges confronted by educators committed to acknowledging the role of learners in transforming learning ecologies and broader society (Booker, 2017; Valenzuela, 1999; Watts and Flanagan, 2007). Given its rich history of complex, yet successful youth-adult partnerships, the South African case offers a useful model of navigating challenging power dynamics within a global context such models largely remain elusive (Strong, 2018).

Author

• Tafadzwa Tivaringe, Spencer Foundation