Community and generations in ECEC services

Abstract

ECEC services are places of encounter between genders, generations, cultures, and areas of knowledge. A de- sign-based approach to education generates educational practices and relationships, along with effective care and prevention, especially for those who are most at risk of marginalization, vulnerability, and educational poverty. During the COVID-19 lockdown, educational staff and older adult volunteers took joint responsibility for a project funded by the Con i Bambini Foundation, producing generative action, which in turn promoted resilience and other valuable resources needed by both individuals and the community.

It is of interest to investigate the synergy between the pedagogical intentions of educators and individualized interventions by volunteers in everyday life settings, in support of mothers and children who are in difficulty or at risk of educational poverty.
Can collaboration between different generations and types of knowledge, and between educators and volunteers, inform new pedagogical-organizational models for ECEC services?