ERIC Number: EJ1412774
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0966-9760
EISSN: EISSN-1469-8463
Meaning-Making in an Intergenerational Project: A Dialogic Narrative Analysis of Young Children's Interactions with Older Adults
International Journal of Early Years Education, v32 n1 p173-188 2024
This article reports on findings from a case study of an intergenerational project between a nursery school and a residential care home for people with dementia in the South-East of England. It examines how multi-modalities support meaning-making between 3-year-old children and older adults. The study is qualitative, interpretative and explorative. Data were collected using naturalistic observations of children and older adults during intergenerational sessions at the care home and qualitative interviews with nursery school practitioners. The analysis draws on a dialogic narrative approach informed by the work of Mikhal Bakhtin. Our research demonstrates how multi-modalities support young children's engagement and meaning-making with older adults. The findings explore how the context of the intergenerational sessions was influential in shaping the interactions between the children and older adults. The study contributes to existing research, as well as offering new understandings about the interactions between children and older adults within a co-located intergenerational project. Our research would suggest a benefit in the re-establishment of intergenerational practice in a post-pandemic context when such encounters pose less physical health risks.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Constructivism (Learning), Older Adults, Intergenerational Programs, Preschool Children, Residential Institutions, Preschools, Dementia, Interpersonal Relationship, Learning Modalities, Imagery, Singing, Physical Environment
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A