The Meadows School Project: Case Study of a Unique Shared Site Intergenerational Program

Abstract

This paper describes a unique intergenerational project that the authors propose to be considered under the banner of “shared site” programs. The Meadows School Project shares important features with many intergenerational shared site programs. Its goals to build community, dispel stereotypes, and increase understanding and meaning in relationships between generations are achieved through intensive, high-quality interaction sustained over time. This case study highlights benefits and challenges in line with those noted in other studies of intergenerational shared sites and underscores the importance of further research on important environmental, community, program, and policy dimensions to inform theory and best practice guidelines.

Keywords:

• intergenerational programs
• shared site programs
• intergenerational relationships
• social connections
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

Editors' note: The editors thank Arlene J. Carson, Karen M. Kobayashi, and Valerie S. Kuehne for the contribution of this invited paper.

The authors acknowledge the work of Sharon MacKenzie, founder of the Meadows School Project. We express our gratitude to research participants, article reviewers, and Dr. Sharon McCoubrey of the University of British Columbia (Okanagan). We also acknowledge funding for this study from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Notes

1. Throughout this paper, the term “older adults” is used to refer to persons who are two or more generations older than the students involved in the project, typically those who are 65 years and older. The term “residents” is used to refer to older adults who reside at Coldstream Meadows Retirement Facility and who participated in the project.