Predictors of Intergenerational Learning in Kindergarten

Abstract

An exploratory study is part of a project of a quantitative nature conducted in 2021 on a sample of 105 preschool teachers of preschool institutions in the Banja Luka region, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its goal was to examine whether elementary knowledge and sociodemographic variables of preschool teachers (work experience and year of completion of formal education) play a role in the prediction of intergenerational learning in a kindergarten context. The theoretical framework of the study is the concept of both intergenerational learning and professional development. Using multiple regression analysis, preschool teachers’ elementary knowledge was singled out as a predictor of intergenerational learning in kindergarten. The predominance of elementary knowledge about intergenerational learning for its implementation in relation to other variables that do not carry individual action, confirms the importance of a constructivist approach in pedagogical work and indicates that the active construction of individual knowledge through various types of education is crucial. The findings of the study indicate the need for more emphasis on the design and implementation of education on intergenerational learning through formal, non-formal education and informal learning in order to acquaint preschool teachers with this concept and ways of its implementation in everyday life and work through various programs and projects.

Keywords

• elementary knowledge
• intergenerational learning
• preschool teacher
• professional cooperation
• the inclusion of older adults in educational work