Intergenerational programs that bring together young people and older adults have been the subject of investigation in recent years. However, there is little research on the topic of intergenerational education programs, and virtually no research on collaborative, intergenerational music education programs in public school settings. This study sought to capture senior citizens' reflections on their experience as co-participants with adolescents in an Ontario Ministry of Education fully-funded daytime instrumental band program. This program has been running continuously and successfully at a high school since 1994. The site is a rich source of information about the ways in which seniors interact musically, socially and educationally with their own age cohort and with adolescents in this co-learning environment. Qualitative data were gathered using tools of ethnography including participant observation, interview and document analysis, while quantitative data regarding demographic and other information about participants' backgrounds, experience, practice habits and so forth were gathered by means of a questionnaire. An instrumental case study approach was used to investigate the associations of young and old both in social and learning contexts in a broad sense, so that the findings would not be limited to the specific interactive associations that occurred in a music learning and performance environment, but could be applied to other intergenerational associative situations. The study reports on the personal, social and intellectual benefits that senior participants divulged as they reflected on their participation in an intergenerational instrumental music program. The study concluded that an active daytime high school music program that included senior citizens as registered music students, which supported the interaction of young and old as equals in music learning activities, resulted in a greater understanding, acceptance, care, respect and appreciation of one age group for another. Recommendations for social policy regarding support for intergenerational, collaborative, publicly funded educational programs are offered.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.115599 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Alfano, Christopher J., 1964- |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Culture and Values in Education.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 003135295, proquestno: AAINR66282, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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