Learning at home with grandparents in London’s East

End

John Jessel, Charmian Kenner, Mahera Ruby, Eve Gregory and Tahera Arju

Department of Educational StudiesGoldsmiths College London

Intergenerational learning between children and grandparents in East

London

ESRC funded project 2003-2004

A study of how grandparents and young children exchange knowledge and skills in a variety of learning events including ICT activities, in Sylheti/Bengali speaking and English speaking families with children aged three to six

Methods used

• Questionnaire for families on activities that children and grandparents do together at home

• Interviews with grandparents and children about how they learn together

• Video recordings of events such as cooking, gardening, storytelling and computer activities

• Scrapbooks to show what children and grandparents enjoyed doing together

What kinds of activities do children and grandparents do together?

We sit together as a family and talk a lot, we laugh, tell stories (Sumayah's grandmother)

  We do a lot of things together, we go shopping, we eat out, we go to the park, museums, the zoo, we do cooking, lots of things…make pop-corn, reading, singing together… (Gloria about her grandson Steven)

  I bath them, read to them, feed them, take them to the park, play pretend games, sometimes they come into the garden and dig up things and get very muddy (Pam, Oscar and Cosmo's grandmother)

  Storytelling, playing, babysitting, she sleeps with us, we go to the park. She talks about what she does at school and discusses things with us (Abida's grandfather) I love reading stories to them, because they love listening... (Razia, Sahil's grandmother)

Who is teaching and who is learning?

I like to grow trees with Bubu and Dada, like to go outside with both of them. We watch Bangla TV together. I like reading my Kaida (Qur'an) with my Bubu.We teach them English, but my Dada already knows it, they don't know how to spell 'mum', we say to them 'M...U...M'(Sumayah about her grandparents) He's happy when he's here...we do gardening sometimes out there (on the balcony). He makes me happy, I love listening to the funny things he says and does. He tries to teach me how to play football! (Gloria about her grandson Steven) 

  With computers, they're far more advanced than we are. If you've got a problem they go click and click.(Pam, Oscar and Cosmo's grandmother) They introduce me to new things and new ways. Things have really changed. I find it interesting how he plays cards on the computer, when I used to play as a group manually. (Razia, Sahil's grandmother)

 

Sahil and his grandmother Razia reading Bengali poetry together

What language and literacy skills is Sahil developing through this activity? 

What language and literacy skills does his grandmother bring to the activity?  

How can grandparents’ skills be used as a resource for learning by educators?

Implications for educators

• Studies of home learning should be an integral part of initial teacher education and teacher development

• Grandparents should be key partners in home-school liaison

• Family learning programmes should include grandparents