Written from a Maltese point of view Spiteri’s article honed in on the relationships formed between seniors in social clubs and young people who volunteer with them. It provided numerous insights into the ways in which the seniors benefited from these interactions, including:
- seniors more likely to become social isolated / suffer from depression (Spiteri 241)
- feel less isolated, connected to younger generations (Spiteri 242)
- derive satisfaction from child-minding / teaching – have a job to do, they are needed and important (Spiteri 242)
- older people with more positive self-perceptions of ageing live longer (Spiteri 245)
- living ‘vicariously’ through students – changing own perceptions of aging
- learning from young people (i.e. about technology) (Spiteri 247)
- more positive outlook to life = delaying of clinical symptoms associated with dementia & other disease (Spiteri 245)
Spiteri also argues that these relationships benefited the students and society at large, as it helped counter ageism and a reciprocity of learning was created. Though this article provided some great foundational insights, it represented many situations that aren’t inherently beneficial to my research. For example:
- The setting (Malta) has different social structures and government support than here in Canada
- The age of the students was late teens, not elementary-school aged
Spiteri, D. (2016) What do older people learn from young people? Intergenerational learning in ‘day centre’ community settings in Malta. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 35 (3), 235 – 253. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2015.1132278
