Seeing life through life: Unpacking life education in intergenerational learning in China

Abstract

Life education is increasingly recognized as one of the potentially effective ways to reduce unnatural deaths. Existing research focuses mainly on classroom knowledge transfer and extracurricular practical activities, which has been criticized for their effectiveness due to insufficient interaction between teachers and students. Creating high-quality life education, therefore, has become a demand for human happiness. Intergenerational learning embedded in life education, developed by collaborating with primary schools and older adult schools in China, has become an effective practice. Two teachers, seven primary school students, and seven older adult learners were interviewed to reveal the characteristics and impact of this effective practice. This model of practice establishes a dual subject of teachers and students in breaking the boundary between teachers as subjects and students as objects, while recognizing diverse lives in the interaction and reflection of intergenerational learning. In addition, this study constructs a classroom teaching model of teachers, primary school students, and older adult learners jointly creating knowledge, skills, emotions, attitudes, and values, and I put forward the life education thought of ‘seeing life through life’. This study has implications for policymakers on improving educational policies and practitioners on innovating life education models in cross-cultural contexts.