Exploring the dynamics and potentials of reimagining and engaging intergenerational learning

Intergenerational learning has been a feature of human communities since time immemorial. However, over socio-historic time we have created institutions that have shifted, disrupted, and transformed not only what is, or is not learned in intergenerational contexts but also how learning itself unfolds. This is particularly true in industrialized nation states in which mass schooling has become a central facet of childhood (e.g. Rogoff, 2003, Cole, 1998). Importantly, the disruption and transformation of intergenerational learning has not been happenstance or desired for all communities. Indeed, disrupting and preventing intergenerational learning (e.g. through family break up and child extraction) has been a key tool of domination across time. This symposium works to understand both the disruptions and reimaginings of the engagement of families and intergenerational learning dynamics with insights into the design of more effective learning environments that contribute to human thriving.