Inclusive intergenerational family learning as a tool for lifelong learning

IFL - 1st Meeting, SITIA, GREECE

Seminar 1: “Trends and challenges in

Generational Ageing”

Th 18th – Su 21st October 2012

Family Learning promotes a learning culture within families and leads

to better outcomes for children and adults.

Family Learning means we can learn together about

absolutely anything by using the skills and experiences of

different generations, valuing one another’s experience

and enjoying one another’s company.

What is Family Learning?

• an opportunity for parents and children to work together, to learn new skills and to work better with the venues children attend

Although parental involvement had the greatest effect in the early years, its importance to children’s educational and literacy outcomes continues into the teenage and even adult years. (Desforges, Abouchaar, 2003 )

• Family Learning is a diverse, holistic and innovative approach to learning using family life, roles and responsibilities and school support as the context for re-engaging adults in learning and raising children achievement.

There is strong evidence of the intergenerational transfer of disadvantage from parents with poor literacy, language and numeracy skills to their children.

Family learning can play a key role in helping to reverse this process. (National Centre for Research and Development,

2008)

A definition of Family Learning

• It enables mother, fathers, carers and children to learn together – from and with each other

• It involves explicit learning outcomes for both

• It helps mother, fathers and carers to support their children’s learning

• It builds confidence, skills and interest to go on learning

A Family Learning pedagogical approach

• promotes the family as a learning environment

• builds on home culture and experience

• encourages participatory learning

• promotes learning as a change in or affirmation of skills, attitudes and knowledge

• promotes family relationships as supporting well-being and readiness to learn

• promotes a culture of aspiration in adults and children

• gives opportunities and builds confidence to try out new skills and ideas

• promotes community cohesion and sustainable living

What benefits from family-learning classes do parents identify

for their children?

Family benefits

•

How do parents rate the importance of these benefits?

What makes a Family Learning Programme Successful?

• Partnership

• Informal / non formal structure

• Interesting topics - Meeting the needs of groups

• Building on existing knowledge of learners

• Practical activities

Informal adult learning is about

• Learning to know

• Learning to do

• Learning to live together

• Learning to be

Children benefit from family learning in numerous ways:

• They receive higher quality support from their parents when helping them with their homework.

• Parents are also more likely to understand the education system, what is expected of their child and how they can best support them.

In addition, some studies have shown that children’s behaviour has improved.

Impact for adults

• Improved social and cultural capital

• Improved parental self-confidence and self-efficacy

• Parental empowerment

Key competencies for LLL

• communication in the mother tongue • communication in foreign languages • mathematical competence and basic

competences in science and technology • digital competence • learning to learn • social and civic competences • sense of initiative and entrepreneurship cultural

awareness and expression • cultural awareness and expression

ActivitiesListening to parents

• Parent questionnaire

• Translation

• Community link person

• Improving parents’ engagement with school

• Increased confidence of parents and improved parenting skills.

Family Learning Courses

Project Objectives

• Building a partnership between home, school and community in order to maximise support to parents

• Providing parents with opportunities to improve their own parenting skills (workshops)

• Fostering the notion of lifelong learning

2nd meeting Palermo, 12-16 December

• Leaflet, poster

• Logo

• Website

• Good practices: family learning experiences

• Results of questionnaires – different perspectives about intergenerational FL dialog