Intergenerational Volunteer Community: Essential Characteristics And Pedagogical Capacity

Abstract

The article considers the phenomenon of intergenerational community from the perspective of pedagogy. The authors present an analysis of the essential characteristics of intergenerational communities (group identity, socially significant activity, interpersonal relationships mediated by the sociocultural context and social roles of participants, readiness for intergenerational interaction and value openness, opportunities for mutual development), the existing typologies, areas of activity of different age groups, as well as features of relationships and intragroup communication. The main emphasis is on identifying features (the informal and voluntary nature of interaction, high emotional involvement, informal education updating, equal rights of participants, organizational difficulties in planning and working, etc.) and revealing the pedagogical potential of intergenerational volunteer groups. The authors reveal the essence of the educational and socializing influence of intergenerational volunteering (as voluntary socially significant activity and informal communication) on representatives of various age groups and on the community as a whole. The article describes the experience of empirical research, which was conducted with volunteers of the Novgorod Maly Theater, as well as the environmental volunteer group “Dobry Novgorod”. There are offered the following recommendations for optimizing the activities of intergenerational volunteer associations: the organization of pedagogical support, targeted preparation of participants for intergenerational interaction, development of self-generation of the intergenerational community, creation of conditions for leisure outside the scope of volunteer activities, organizational support from local administration, etc.