Intergenerational service learning: linking three generations: concept, history, and outcome assessment

In August 2006, the Foundation for Long Term Care (Albany, New York) received funding for a variant on service learning in elder care in which Boomers, other older adults, as well as college students would jointly engage in service-learning projects designed to address community needs in five different college towns and cities. This article reviews the historical antecedents to this project describing how it evolved from service of youth for the benefit of elders to the conceptualization of intergenerational service learning as service with elders. This new conceptualization ties in with Erikson's concept of generativity and the rising interest in civic engagement among elders. Recent research on the impact of volunteerism and health on an older population is reviewed, as is a summary of the different service-learning projects at each academic institution. This article discusses culminating evaluation findings on civic engagement, generativity, and satisfaction from participants at the five colleges in the project and describes challenges associated with evaluating outcomes of the diverse service-learning projects. Recommendations for future work are also discussed.