stimulating intergenerationality: millennials in europe

Stimulating Intergenerationality: Millennials in Europe

Lisa FleuryVassar Wesleyan Program in Paris, [email protected] – www.en.vwpp.org

&

Laura RaynaudDickinson en France, [email protected] – www.dickinson.edu

CIEE Annual Conference: The Reinvention of Study Abroad Berlin, November 4-7, 2015

Stimulating Intergenerationality: Millennials in Europe - Lisa Fleury & Laura RaynaudCIEE Annual Conference: The Reinvention of Study Abroad – Berlin, November 4-7, 2015

Session outline

• Activity 1 – Generation association

• Presentation: Intergenerationality and our students

• Activity 2 – Intergenerational project

• Wrap-up and conclusions

Generation association activity


What is a generation?

Three critera for members of a generation:

• Share an age location in history.

• Share some common beliefs and behaviors, including basic attitudes about risk taking, culture and values, civic engagement, and family life.

• Have a sense of common perceived membership in that generation.

Source: http://www.lifecourse.com/about/method/phases.html


People never “belong” to an age bracket.

Rather, they belong to a generation that happens to be passing through an age bracket—a generation with its own memories, language, habits, beliefs, and life lessons.

Source: http://www.lifecourse.com/about/method/phases.html


What is intergenerationality?

Related terms: Intergenerational exchange / contact / practice / ties

younger

generation

cooperation

exchange

interaction

older

generation


Intergenerationality:

a hot topic in Europe• Spain's lost generation: youth unemployment surges above 50

per cent, The Telegraph, January 27, 2012

• Who’d be young and Greek? Searching for a future after the debt crisis, The Guardian, July 26, 2015

• Make space for your grandparents at home, Cabinet ministers tellfamilies, The Telegraph, October 5, 2015

• Where older people support gay marriage, WEST, September 29, 2014


Intergenerationality = Transversal topic

Social sciences

Law

History/Culture/Heritage

Health & Social

Services

Education

Policy/Politics

Diversity/Gender studies

Finance/Economy

EU: Changing relative size of population

groups over the period 1950-2050 (in %)

Source: UN World Population Prospectushttp://www.fgcsic.es/lychnos/en_EN/articles/population_ageing


Why focus on

intergenerationality?

uni-generational campus setting with limited intergenerational contact

international setting with increased multigenerational exposure

unchartered territory


College students spend 85% of their time with people under 35.


Benefits of

intergenerational exchangeOlder people Younger people Community

Increase in vitality

Relief from isolation /

reintegration in the

community

Reflect on life

experiences

Exposure to difference

Develop skills (social,

technological)

Practical assistance

Increased self-worth

Increased sense of

social responsability

Access to adult

support

Less isolation

Positive perception of

older adults

Increased resiliance

Learn about history

Less drugs/violence

Builds social cohesion

Develops bridges

across community

Encourages/creates

models of civic skills

Acts as impetus for

other community

projects

Source: Report to NYARS 2006, Community building through intergenerational exchange programs


Student feedback:

Intergenerational contactI do enjoy older people and what I can learn from them but it is difficult to connect with them due to their usual conservative background.

The questions he (+/- 60 yrs.)

asked and the conversations we had were much more

genuine that the small talk my classmates

make.

It is interesting to see how older generations view the potential of

younger generations….I try to explain and justify the actions of my generation by using examples from

my life.


I feel like I gain a lot from their

perspectives.... I believe cross-generational

interactions are really important as

they allow us to gain a broader

understanding of the experiences

and backgrounds

of those around us.

Interacting with younger

generations is very helpful and fun. I've

noticed that younger kids with

whom I've interacted seem to have a little more freedom in what

they do...their parents seem to be

less strict than I'm used to.

I interact with my host (+/-

50 yrs.) every day. Social

and societal differences

are frequently topics of conversation. I view this

relationship as the most

beneficial to my French, as

she corrects me as I'm

speaking. Also, she has lived in Paris for a while,

and can tell me about the

history and how the city

has changed over the

years.

Wesleyan intercultural

competency scale (WICS)*

•A way to measure students’intercultural skills

•Elements of a high degree of cultural competence:

knowledge, attitudes, and skills

* From Stemler, Imada, Sorkin, Development and Validation of the Wesleyan Intercultural Competence Scale (WICS): A Tool for Measuring the Impact of Study Abroad Experiences

Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, Vol. XXIV Fall 2014


Conclusions WICS

Who scored the highest on intercultural competence scale?

• Those who experience a wider variety of situations and experiences where they are interacting more widely and/or deeply with the host community

• Students who reported spending a great amount of time speaking a foreign language while abroad


INTERGENERATIONAL CONTACT

�

+ VARIETY OF SITUATIONS AND

INTERACTIONS

�

HIGHER INTERCULTURAL

COMPETENCE


Intergenerational project

Academic

excursion /

Cultural activity

Homestays /

student

housing

Community

service

Course

Understanding

of local

societal

debate, event

or trauma

Pre-departure /

re-entry


Academic excursion/

cultural event

Ex. Students travel as a group to a planned destination for a short period (weekend).

How is the destination chosen? What preparation is required of participants? Who travels with and accompanies the students during the excursion? What are the housing arrangements? What and how are the activities chosen? What is expected of participants before, during and after the excursion?

or

Ex. Organize a site/cultural/historical visit or an event.

How are participants chosen? How is the venue or the event chosen? What preparation is required of participants? What is expected of participants before, during and after the visit/event?


Homestays/Student housing

Ex. Students are paired with local hosts to share living space,

some or all meals, etc.

How are student/host pairs attributed? What preparation is

required of participants? What practices/resources should be

put in place to ensure positive outcomes?


Community service

Ex. Students engage in the local community.

How is the community service environment chosen? What

preparation is required of participants? What is expected of

participants before, during and after the community service?


Course

Ex. Develop a short or long-term program/course based on the many intergenerational facets present in France today.

How are topics chosen? What preparation is required of participants? What is expected of participants before, during and after the program? Who intervenes in the program?

or

Ex. Develop an intergenerational heritage project where studentscollect oral histories from locals.

How are participants chosen? What preparation is required of participants? What is expected of participants before, during and after the project? Once completed, how is the project presented?


Understanding of local societal

debate, event or trauma

(planned or unforeseen)Ex. Help students decipher one or several specific events or

societal phenomena through an intergenerational lens (ex. Charlie Hebdo attacks, climate conference, pension reforms, high young-adult unemployment).

What format is chosen? What materials are chosen to help students understand? Who intervenes in this process?


Pre-departure / Re-entry

Ex. Develop a pre-departure session.How can intergenerationality be included in

preparation for study abroad? Who intervenes in the session?

or

Ex. Imagine how to best continue the momentum of intergenerational experiences when students return to an age-segregated campus.

How can students continue to develop life skills learned in an intergenerational/intercultural experience? What can students contribute to the campus/local community?
