An international team composed of six civil society organizations from Poland, Spain, Greece, Austria, Italy and Latvia, with various fields of expertise, worked together for over two years to develop the recommendations. We believe that inclusive and attractive intergenerational education shall include three elements:

• learning with each other
• learning from each other
• learning about each other.

Here we would like to share some tips and recommendations, from the practicioners – adult educators – on how to plan, design and realise inclusive and attractive intergenerational learning process.

Recommendations for more inclusive intergenerational adult education

Learning with each other

• Create opportunities to encourage  learning with each other by planning and designing  learning processes to give time, create a safe space and opportunity to use each other’s experiences.
   
• Ensure equal participation: allowing everyone to be heard and challenging stereotypes and prejudice and, giving time and space for that, creating safe learning environments.
   
• Allow experimentation – allow failing, acknowledging that making mistakes is an important part of the learning process.
   
• Avoid unreflective censorship. Allow each type of ideas and contributions – try to understand them. Later on – together with the learners – decide if you want to keep/follow them or not, according to some clearly set, transparent criteria.
   
• Be flexible about the role of the facilitator: sometimes there is an uninvolved and unbiased facilitator needed (like during the Structured Democratic Dialogues), sometimes – playing an active role by the facilitator is essential (like during the linguistic mediation).
   
• Well planned and consciously designed intergenerational education can be very effective for bridging the gaps (cultural, ability, knowledge, etc.), supporting inclusion.
   
• ‘Role-play’ techniques, ‘role models’ as an educational methodology, supporting the learners to put themselves into someone else’s shoes are useful tools to learn with each other and from each other, to cooperate and include, challenging stereotypes, and fighting prejudices.
   
• Include learning about various cultures/contexts into the learning process to support inclusiveness. Activities related to national peculiarities and false stereotypes together with generational features to promote self-knowledge of participants and deeper understanding and collaboration are also recommended. The latter being a very useful tool for multicultural and multigenerational mediation.

Learning from each other

• When learning from each other it is important to overcome all kinds of challenges or initial expectations regarding different learning styles and preconceived ideas about assumed knowledge  (senior students might be used to more teacher-centered approaches whereas younger learners might be more independent). Therefore, senior learners are more reliant on the teacher and more passive in their learning, while younger students expect more independence and active learning. So finding the right balance between both approaches is paramount to learning. It is important to explain to learners how the learning process is implemented and why this implementation has been selected from the beginning.
   
• Showing more reluctant learners the benefits of more active learning might help them to understand the proven benefits of more active approaches and build more trust on the group as a generator of knowledge.
   
• It is essential to address the issue of different levels of digital competences among learners (younger generations might rely more on digital devices when learning compared to more adult learners). Encouraging group and pair work so that they can work together helping each other might reduce the gap.
   
• It is important to come up with activities and dynamics to break stereotypes and cultural barriers in order to enhance group cohesion. This might prove more difficult at first but only by building trust and relying on each other’s prior knowledge will learning take place. It is important that people meet each other at eye level, with mutual respect.

Learning about each other

• As an educator of an intergenerational group of learners, do your best to learn as much as possible about your learners. Ask, what are their previous experiences with lifelong learning? How do they imagine the ideal learning environment? What are their concerns concerning common learning? It is worth to devote some time to address this kind of questions at the first lessons/workshop together.
   
• Planning to work in a group of learners composed with ‘the youth’ and ‘the seniors’ - it may be a good idea to first ask those questions to the younger and older learners separately, before their first meeting together.
   
• It is worth to plan and realise some team building exercises to prepare the intergenerational group to learn together. It is worth to include cultural/artistic/creative activities here. Having some fun, co-creating, brings people together.
   
• Working with the groups of learners mixed in age, various learning approaches and teaching methodologies can be needed. Try to be flexible, hear the needs and expectations of the group of the learners. Personalise. Adapt. Engage.
   
• The ‘coffee breaks’ time is an important part of the learning process. Ensure this time.
   
• Include elements of the cultural exchange to the learning process: exchange on and sharing traditions, food customs, habits and background let the people see themselves just as interesting people, not just the learners.
   
• Digital competencies are important for all the generations, and it is worth to use also the digital tools for the learning process. Still, various generations may be accustomed to use those tools differently. Do your best to find synergies here, creating opportunities allowing learning from each other.

How were the recommendations developed?

An international team composed of six Civil Society Organizations from Poland, Spain, Greece, Austria, Italy and Latvia worked together for over two years to develop the recommendations for more attractive and inclusive education for all generations of adult learners.

In the frame of the project "E4All. More attractive and inclusive education for all generations" (Ref. Nb. 2020-1-PL01-KA204-082020) co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, the team has conducted six international exchanges of experiences and good practices, and two international learning, teaching and training events.

The E4All Partners all had experience in working both with the young adults (18 – 35 years old) and with the senior learners (60+). What is more, each of the Partners was an expert in one of the following areas regarded as of a great significance for the lifelong learning sector:

1: European educational mobilities - Erasmus+ opportunities for all generations. EU citizenship rights facilitating lifelong learning in the EU. The European identity (Foundation of Alternative Educational Initiatives, Poland, www.fundacjaaie.eu).

2: Foreign language teaching and learning: models, approaches, methods. Cultural and linguistic Mediation (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas Madrid-Villaverde, Spain, www.eoivillaverde.com).

3: Organising and running environmental education, promoting ecological lifestyle in everyday life (Ecological Future Education, Latvia, www.efe.lv ).

4: Digital competences (including media literacy and critical thinking). Blended learning, distance learning, flipped learning; best ways for upgrading digital competences of the adult educators (Europäische Bildungsinitiative, Austria, www.advanced-training.net).

5: Game-based solutions supporting adult education for all generations. Education and fun. Education and inclusiveness (Challedu, Greece, www.challedu.com/).

6: Intergenerational learning, intergenerational courses, workshops and activities planning, organisation and leading (ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE EDUVITA E.T.S., Italy, www.eduvita.it).

The E4All team has been working for the benefit of the managers, workers, co-workers and volunteers of the lifelong learning sector, civil society organisations: associations, foundations, third age universities, folk universities, social cooperatives, social enterprises etc., including informal groups.

As a result of the AER-V initiative, a list of Recommendations for more attractive and inclusive education for all generations of adult learners was developed and is now being shared with the civil society organisations and the other stakeholders interested in European cooperation, lifelong learning, intergenerational learning and the broad public.

The E4All Team consides that raising awareness of the value of designing, offering and promoting intergenerational adult education, including both learning with each other, learning from each other and learning about each other, is one of the most important steps to support extending and developing the competences of educators and other personnel who support adult learners and promoting Erasmus+ among all citizens and generations.
 

Related articles:

1. Practical experience in an intergenerational training of digital competencies
2. How to make education more attractive and inclusive for all generations?
3. MEDIATING THE MEDIATION - EOI Madrid-Villaverde and El Espinillo. Contribution to the E4ALL KA204 ERASMUS+ PROJECT.
4. How to plan a change in intergenerational groups?
5. Game cocreation for intergenerational audiences. Experiences shared to E4ALL Erasmus+ KA204 project.
6. What is the H5P Framework?
7. Animaker

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