Relevance of informal intergenerational learning for internet use and media competence

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha
• Subject Area: Education Systems and Educational Institutions
• Term: from 2010 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 178400209

The proposed project enquires into the connection between intergenerational processes of interaction and of learning, the development of competence in dealing with modern information and communication technologies, and the significance of age- and generation-related images of self and images of others in media-related intergenerational learning processes. Based on a previous study, it is assumed that intergenerational contacts open up new perspectives on digital media while at the same time revealing intergenerational differences with regard to media practices and media competence. As yet, it has not been explained in how far subjective images of generations and age groups have an impact on intergenerational learning processes within the context of modern media and in how far the perceptions of the persons and generations concerned differ in this regard. Different qualitative approaches for tackling the desiderata are chosen in the proposed project. Empirically, the research design is based primarily on the secondary analysis of existing interview material, the collection of twenty additional interviews, and the organization of three group discussions which do not only shed light on media-related images of old age or of generations but also and above all allow for a deeper insight into intergenerational learning arrangements beyond formal settings. The study focuses on intergenerational processes of exchange about and via digital media within the family, during free time or at work, i.e. beyond pedagogically prestructured contexts. As regards the theoretical basis, the project takes up Karl Mannheims concept of generations and the concept of media competence modeled on Dieter Baacke; it is furthermore based on the few studies on intergenerational learning which have so far mainly taken the perspective of older people. Taking up previous research carried out by the applicant, the approaches mentioned are linked with research work and concepts on informal learning and on the relevance of images of old age in teaching-learning-arrangements.In the end, the study will not only yield essential empirical insight into a learning setting which is characterized by its informal and intergenerational nature and which, due to its thematic focus, broaches a content area that is difficult for intergenerational learning because of highly divergent experiences with media. Precisely through this focus and because of its qualitative design, the project will furthermore provide theoretical impulses both for the field of intergenerational learning and for research on images of aging and on the development of media competence. In addition, due to the fact that the previous project IGel-Media was extended by including the perspective of the younger and the middle generation, the results will also be of interest to job-related contexts of further education.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants