Incorporating Seniors into the Educational fabric.

• In Event: Transforming education through social emotional learning: Happiness curriculum, garden of listening, and empathy cultivation through storytelling

Proposal

Introduction

The impact of social isolation and loneliness is taking a toll on the health and well-being of seniors (HM Government, 2018). The purpose of this study is to explore the power of integrating the knowledge and experience of these seniors aged 65 and older into the education system, who have worked for decades in different professions and have explored various situations in life. Seniors can be extremely useful for the upbringing of the younger generation. Limited research exists on the value of integrating the elderly into the education system. This research is grounded in my own experiences as a granddaughter, an educator and a volunteer working for isolated senior citizens in North America. Through this research, I aspire to raise awareness about the situation of retired professionals to help this population have better living situations and help educators collaborate with the seniors to help the younger generation learn from their experiences.

Overview of the literature.

Laura Carstensen’s (2011) research has found that as people age, their brains improve in many ways, including complex problem-solving and emotional skills, due to the practical experience that they acquire over decades. Furthermore, when older adults guide students about their feelings and perceptions, they may influence students to look at the situations holistically and be self-aware of their actions in different educational settings. Even though sociological theories have focused on the concept of generations as an agent for social change, much less theory is applied to educational settings (Rudolph et al., 2017). Elder’s life course perspective emphasises linked lives and notes the primacy of intergenerational relationships and interdependence of human lives (Hutchison, 2011). Hutchison (2014) further explains that the life course perspective theory also acknowledges people’s strengths and capacity for change. Therefore, it is important that young people senior to seek advice. It is important to have reciprocity, too; generations co-existing with each other is not enough; it is necessary to consider how these generations cultivate a mutual framework of relationships.

Bronfenbrenner believed that a child’s success in life is tied to meaningful relationships and high-quality interactions that occur on a regular basis over extended periods with seniors (Bronfenbrenner et al.,1998, 2006). Young people increasingly require emotional skills, which comprise crucial attitudes, behaviours, and strategies to manoeuvre in a complex and technological world. These soft skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving and social interaction, influence social connections and a sense of purpose. They are crucial to success in school and work and enable people to contribute meaningfully to society. However, these skills need to be developed and trained in social settings. There is a lack of research to prompt schools to integrate intergenerational programmes and interventions for lasting and effective school reforms, intergenerational projects can lead to more significant learning and better attitudes of adolescent students in educational settings. Crosnoe (2004) argues that there is a need for studying intergenerational bonds other than the parent-child relationship.

Today’s older people are healthier mentally and physically than older generations before them (Generations United, 2010). It is found that Intergenerational programmes may influence the quality of relationships; some programs found that the pairings of children with older adults resulted in a grandparent–the grandchild-like relationship between the dyads (Bagnasco et al., 2020). These effects are significant given the unique nature of these relationships—they are often non-familial, with a significant age gap spanning two or more decades, and are developed over a short period. Christine Holmes (2009) interviewed 38 preschool children in the United States (US) and found that 50 per cent of the students used negative words to describe their attitudes towards their parents. However, after participating in a one-year intergenerational programme, all children changed to using more positive words. Silva et al. (2015), interviews revealed that family relationships are marked (and improved) by interactions with seniors, valuing above all the advice transmitted by the elderly. Moreover, young people valued the ties established between different generations that combined the wisdom and experiences of older people with the knowledge of modern life.

Moreover, the American Association of Retired Persons work to end senior poverty by helping older adults by providing them with employment opportunities. There are various challenges faced by the elderly after they retire, namely, isolation, social and emotional distress, losing purpose in life and low financial stability. Incorporating seniors into educational settings will help put the elderly back into the fabric of society and to help the young generation succeed.

Methodology

This research will focus on the lived experiences of the young and old generations by having an interventionist approach. Seniors would be interviewed using a semi-structured interview questionnaire. These senior adults will then be appointed to work with young people in educational settings on a weekly basis. Different adults will be segregated based on their professional strengths and will be appointed to work with students having difficulties in those areas. The intervention will last for a period of eight months. In the end, qualitative interviews will be used to determine the impact of these collaborations on the overall health and well-being of the senior citizens and the impact it had on the educational outcomes of the students situated in North America.

Implications.

As a granddaughter, I have been primarily raised by my grandmother, and the strength of her experiences gave my knowledge new horizons. It was observed in many research studies that the collaboration between different generations has benefitted young people in reaching their educational goals, and older adults feel contended in disseminating the knowledge and experience that they have gained over many decades. This paper will provide evidence to the educators and the policymakers that collaborations with the senior citizens can prove to be beneficial for both the involved groups and would alleviate the problems faced by the ageing population involving isolation and losing purpose in life.

Author

• Ashika Ashika, McGill University