Stimulating Intergenerationality: Millennials in Europe

Stimulating
Intergenerationality:
Millennials in Europe
Lisa Fleury
Vassar Wesleyan Program in Paris, lfleury@vwpp.org – www.en.vwpp.org
&
Laura Raynaud
Dickinson en France, raynaudl@dickinson.edu – www.dickinson.edu
CIEE Annual Conference: The Reinvention of Study Abroad
Berlin, November 4-7, 2015

Stimulating Intergenerationality: Millennials in Europe - Lisa Fleury & Laura Raynaud
CIEE 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 tell
families, 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 Prospectus
http://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 exchange
Older 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 contact
I 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 students
collect 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?

Stimulating Intergenerationality: Millennials in Europe

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