Pathways to Sustainable Intergenerational Programs: Lessons Learned from Portugal
Metadatos
Afficher la notice complèteEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Sustainability Managers Autonomy Relationships Participation
Date
2019-11-23Referencia bibliográfica
Azevedo, C., & Sánchez, M. (2019). Pathways to Sustainable Intergenerational Programs: Lessons Learned from Portugal. Sustainability, 11(23), 6626.
Résumé
Despite the fundamental role given to the sustainability of intergenerational programming
regarding their demonstrated impact on an aging society, only a few studies have undertaken an
exploration of the qualitative core dimensions of sustainable intergenerational programs. This article
addresses how the sustainability of educational intergenerational programs relates to why and how
intergenerational program managers in the Portuguese area of Porto may have developed different
attitudes and beliefs around adequate implementation of the programs. Drawing on qualitative
interview data of a four-case fieldwork study conducted in Porto, Portugal, the study examines
autonomy, empowerment, and intergenerational relationships as dimensions other than time duration
behind program sustainability. Attention to the managers’ narratives on how intergenerational
programs are implemented can help to explain why some dimensions are more highlighted than others.
A qualitative analysis of intergenerational program sustainability, it is argued, offers considerable
findings which provide opportunities to its implementation and intersection with managers’ beliefs.
Findings suggest a need to de-emphasize both time duration and managers’ persona as the key
for sustainability. We recommend intergenerational program sustainability as an area for future
theorizing through providing a conceptualizing framework that might go beyond the normative
focus on its duration and into the relational nature of these programs.