Preparing Participants for Intergenerational Interaction

Training for Success

Melissa Hawkins, Kenneth Backman, Francis A Mcguire

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136378515
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Gerontology
• Index: Social Sciences

Preparing Participants for Intergenerational Interaction: Training for Success examines established intergenerational programs and provides the training methods necessary for activity directors or practitioners to start a similar program. This book contains exercises that will help you train colleagues and volunteers for these specific programs and includes criteria for activity evaluations. Preparing Participants for Intergenerational Interaction will help you implement programs that enable older adults to build friendships, pass down their skills and knowledge to adolescents, and provide youths with positive role models.Discussing the factors that often limit the interaction of older adults with youths, this text stresses the importance of conveying information and history to younger generations. You will learn why the exchange between different generations is crucial to society and to the improvement of the community in which you live. Preparing Participants for Intergenerational Interaction provides you with proven suggestions and methods that will make your program successful, including:

• examining Howe-To Industries, a program that teaches entrepreneurial skills to youths through older adults
• focusing on activities between older adults and youths that address aging sensitivity and racial and ethnic understanding
• defining the roles of a mentor, including teacher, trainer, developer of talent, and counselor
• increasing support and understanding in your community by defining target markets and selling the project to the public
• describing the aspects of group dynamics and how group decisionmaking methods are used to assess the success of the program and its volunteers
• understanding the community where participants live in order to address issues important to them, such as poverty and other social problems

Containing sample handouts, self-evaluations, and detailed lessons for different types of programs, this book offers you guidelines that apply to participants that have a variety of needs within different communities. Preparing Participants for Intergenerational Interaction: Training for Success will enable you to help older adults remain an active and essential part of these communities by teaching youths valuable life skills they may not receive from anyone else.

Chapter 1
Introduction to Intergenerational Programs

Francis A. McGuire
Melissa O. Hawkins

For centuries the way society conveyedd culture, values and the means of survival has been through the enculturation of the young by the elderly. In today's society this process is of enduring importance. However, factors such as increased mobility often limit the interaction of older adults with youths. The networks of economic, educational and cultural interdependence supported by households and neighborhoods composed of grandparents, parents and children have largely disappeared. Job mobility and the breakup of many extended families have changed our society from a "front porch" social system to one defined by generational isolation (Creating Intergenerational Coalitions, 1995). Grandparents often live far away, parents work outside the home, and single parent households are common, Tasks and opportunities that previously drew families together are now handed over to paid professionals, institutions and the government. According to Kaplan (1994) "today's living, learning, and recreation activities separate people according to age. As a result, youth and senior adults share neighborhoods but live in different worlds" (p. 3). An alternate method of fostering interaction between the generations is rapidly becoming part of the American landscape, planned intergenerational programs.

The resources provided by young and old Americans arc crucial to the future of the country. There is a need to identify techniques for effectively combining the energy of youth with the experience of the elderly for the betterment of the communities in which they reside. As Leiloglolu (1996) wrote: "the historical perspective and experience of old people and the energy and idealism of young people must be linked to deal with the monumental societal problems that endanger our world." Intergenerational initiatives provide one such link. These activities create opportunities for interaction between generations and may result in the exchange of values, beliefs, and attitudes between older Americans and their younger counterparts.

In his landmark study entitled Partners in Growth: Elder Mentors and At-Risk Youth (1988), Freedman identified the basic principle of intergenerational programming: older adults provide a largely untapped resource with great amounts of unobligated time that can be used to help youth. The premise is deceptively simple. It implies that bringing young and old together will result in a mutually beneficial arrangement. Older adults will find fulfillment in the role of mentor to needy young people and the young will have access to positive role models sharing knowledge and experience because of their contact with mature adults. The promise and potential for such interactions seem boundless. However, as Freedman's work documents, the premise and the promise are often lost in the operationalization of intergenerational programs. The reality is that successful intergenerational programs require careful planning and preparation of all involved parties if they are to succeed. The purpose of this monograph is to provide information needed to develop successful programs.

A Brief History of Intergenerational Programs

The idea of bringing together young people and older adults in intergenerational programs is not new. Lutz and Haller (1996) indicated that intergenerational programming has evolved into a distinct field, with a wide range of projects, over the past twenty years.

The roots of the current trend toward intergenerational programs can be traced to the 1960s when the federal government established the Foster Grandparent program. The Adopt a Grandparent Program was developed in 1963 at the University of Florida, and Serve and Enrich Retirement by Volunteer Experience (SERVE) was established in New York. These programs provided the impetus for the development of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in 1969. The 1970s and 1980s marked the development of several new intergenerational programs and initiatives (see Newman, 1989, for a review). The University of Pittsburgh established Generations Together in 1979 and Temple University established The Center for Intergenerational Learning one year later. These two university-based centers continue to serve as clearinghouses for intergenerational resources. In the 1980s the emphasis of the National Council on Aging was on the "creation of strategies for linking individuals over the age of 60 with youths under 25." Generations United was founded in 1986, by more than 100 national organizations, to increase public awareness about issues faced by Americans of all ages. Generations United promotes programs which increase intergenerational cooperation and exchange. Generations United also participates in attempts to bring generations together in service to one another and to the community (Scannell & Roberts, 1994). In the 1990s the National Recreation and Parks Association initiated a major effort to increase the use of intergenerational programs in recreation agencies.

Since their genesis in the 1960s intergenerational programs have become accepted, and in fact expected, components in the comprehensive mix of programs for older individuals. A variety of groups, including school-age children, latch key children, children with disabilities and at-risk youths have been included in the variety of intergenerational programs.

Description of Intergenerational Programs

The landscape of intergenerational programs is marked by diversity. There are programs of every sort, sharing only one commonality, the mix of young and old. According to Friedman (1996) there are several intergenerational program models. These include:

1. Youths serving older adults-These are programs that bring younger individuals into contact with older adults through the provision of a service. For example, youths may install smoke detectors in the homes of older individuals, visit long term care facilities or visit older people who are confined to their homes.
2. Older adults serving youths-This model involves older individuals providing a service to their younger counterparts. One of the most common programs of this type is homework assistance with elderly helping children complete assignments and providing tutoring. Other programs include working with pregnant teens, assisting in child care centers and developing job skills in adolescents.
3. Young and old serving the community-Programs of service such as building playgrounds, intergenerational crime watch programs, and community beautification efforts fall into this category.

Intergenerational programs are not defined by their content. In fact, the foci of the programs are as diverse as the communities where they occur, since community needs should determine program direction. The essential ingredient shared by all intergenerational programs is the beneficial merging of the young and the old in a planned program of service.

Benefits of Intergenerational Programs to Adults

The advantages of participation in intergenerational programs have been well documented (Freedman, 1988), Scannell and Roberts (1994) list several benefits older adults may receive from involvement in intergenerational programs. These include opportunities to;

• remain productive members of society;
• use skills accrued over a lifetime in new ways;
• interact successfully with young people;
• develop new friendships;
• have new experiences;
• decrease loneliness and isolation.

DeBoard and Flanagan (1994) suggest mtergenerational programs also offer older volunteers the opportunity to achieve a sense of fulfillment by passing on life experiences and skills to others. In addition, there is an opportunity to earn extra income or make a valuable volunteer contribution.

Leiloglolu (1996) identified several benefits from involvement in intergenerational programs. These include increased personal and social adjustment, enhanced life satisfaction and increased feelings of well-being. In addition, older participants in intergenerational programs experience increased levels of activity and industry and an opportunity to give and receive love.

The opportunity to serve as a mentor and role model to a young person can be the catalyst for experiencing the multitude of benefits identified above. However, the value of intergenerational programs is in the exchange relationship between young and old. As a result, young participants also benefit from their involvement with older adults.

Benefits of Intergenerational Programs to Youth

A variety of justifications have been provided for intergenerational programs with adolescents. Cherry, Benest, Gates, and White (1985) claimed adolescents and elderly share a variety of needs and characteristics. Therefore, many benefits experienced by the older participants in intergenerational programs are also identified as positive outcomes for the young participants.

Youths' access to adults, particularly older adults, is frequently limited. This is unfortunate since older adults, including grandparents, can play a unique and valuable role in the development of youth.

Intergenerational programs provide youth with adult role models willing to share their experience and maturity. Older adults can serve as effective mentors to youths helping them deal with the problems and crises experienced during an often difficult time of life. The mentor may be the only older individual to whom a young person can turn for encouragement and advice.

Programs bringing young and old together can also assist in the development of social, academic and work skills in youths. The contact with individuals who are willing to share a lifetime of skills may be crucial to the later life success of the youths involved in intergenerational programs. Scanncll and Roberts (1994) view intergenerational programs as giving youths an opportunity to gain awareness and appreciation of the aging process while dispelling stereotypes about older adults. As Freedman (1988) concluded, ". . . all these relationships appear to help change a life trajectory from one headed for failure to a more adaptive path of survival."

Characteristics of Successful Intergenerational Programs

The components of successful intergenerational programs are no different from the factors that are necessary for success in any program. A clear mission is a necessity. The purpose should be clear to all individuals involved in the project. There is a need for careful recruitment, selection and placement of the participants.

Since the older participants are typically volunteers, the same procedures used in any volunteer program should be in place. There should be job descriptions, clearly explaining roles, duties and limits. Volunteers should know what is expected of them and how they will be used in the program.

An effective recruitment program must be instituted. Fischer and Schaffer (1993) examined the research related to recruiting older volunteers to determine what techniques are most effective. They concluded that a systematic method of recruiting new volunteers through personal solicitation is crucial for all volunteer programs. Personal solicitation includes using current volunteers to identity potential volunteers as well as recruiting through existing organizations. However, they also concluded that recruiting solely through personal contacts is not sufficient if the program is to continue to grow. Building volunteer recruitment entirely on personal contacts may result in volunteers coming only from a narrowly defined population. Fisher and Schaffer (1993) found that media-based recruitment can be effective if the messages fit the interests and motivations of the targeted audience. Programs seeking to expand their population of potential volunteers tend to use media-based recruitment techniques. A multiphase volunteer recruitment effort relying on several approaches will be the most effective campaign. In addition, it is easier to recruit volunteers who already have community ties, such as prior volunteer experience, attachment to community organizations such as churches or social organizations, or have been long time residents of a community. Therefore, initial volunteer efforts may be focused on individuals with attachment to their community.

Recruiting volunteers is crucial to the success of most intergenerational programs. However, recruitment is only effective if it is married to retention. Turnover in volunteers is to be expected and is part of a cycle. Most volunteers will leave the program at some point. Nevertheless, older volunteers are a highly committed group and continue to volunteer for a long period (Fischer & Schaffer, 1993). Retention strategies can be effective in retaining volunteers for as long as feasible.

The research on retention points toward several approaches that will maximize the likelihood volunteers will continue in a program (Fischer & Schaffer, 1993). The initial step in ensuring retention is selectivity in volunteer recruitment. Targeting individuals who have prior volunteer experience, who are motivated by a desire to help others and are well matched with their assigned duties will assist in retention. Once volunteers are recruited and placed, successful experiences further enhance commitment. Training and preparation of volunteers will increase the likelihood of success.

There are some unique aspects of intergenerational programs that require attention If they are to succeed. There must be a balance between the costs and benefits older adults accrue because of their involvement. According to Antonucci (1990), reciprocity is a "basic aspect of normal well-functioning support networks" (p. 211). Reciprocity requires that a balance between rewards and costs be experienced by all parties in an interaction. If one party receives more rewards than he or she provides then the relationship is not reciprocal. Therefore, if intergenerational programs are to succeed, there must be reciprocity between older adults and younger partners in the relationship. Such a balanced relationship requires all participants receive benefits as well as incurring costs from their involvement. There must be real, as opposed to contrived, opportunities to contribute to the well-being of others while at the same time there must be opportunities to reap the benefits of involvement. Mentoring and partnering are ways to build reciprocity into intergencrational programs.

Older adults may have limitations that must be taken into account in intergenerational programs. For example, individuals living on a fixed income may need to be reimbursed for expenses resulting from their involvement. Transportation or health related problems may also be present and require accommodations. Potential volunteers may be concerned that too many demands will be placed on their time and impinge on their freedom. Other volunteers may be available at only certain times of the year since they may travel in the winter or take extended trips to visit friends or family. Scheduling should allow for these absences.

Lutz and Haller (1996) analyzed data from a 1994-1995 survey conducted by the National Council on Aging Family Friends Resource Center which included information from 150 intergenerational projects. They were able to identify nine elements considered critical to the success of intergenerational projects. These "best practice" elements included:

1. Community need The assessment of community need forms the basis for the planning and implementation of projects. Documenting and specifying areas of community need is crucial to success.
2. Community involvement—Community involvement is necessary to facilitate volunteer recruitment, secure financial support, and locate technical expertise. Involvement as early in the project as feasible, through, for example, the establishment of an advisory board, pays dividends later in the program.
3. Project planning and development—Developing a plan with goals, specific objectives, tasks and needed resources helps focus the program and keep it on track.
4. Motivated volunteers—Volunteers are the backbone of any intergenerational program. They are the single most important resource. Finding ways to motivate them is crucial to success. The motivation of volunteers begins in the recruitment stage when enthusiasm and commitment can be fostered. Training, monitoring, supporting,...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. Introduction to Intergenerational Programs
• Chapter 2. Exemplary Intergenerational Programs
• Chapter 3. Evaluation of Intergenerational Programs
• Chapter 4. Community Awareness
• Chapter 5. Oral History
• Chapter 6. Introduction to Sensitivity
• Chapter 7. Understanding and Mentoring with At-Risk Youths
• Chapter 8. Aging Sensitivity
• Chapter 9. Racial and Ethnic Understanding
• Chapter 10. Introduction to Groups
• Chapter 11. Group Dynamics
• Chapter 12. Marketing
• References
• Resource List
• Index